In her past life, she had also visited a hot spring town, where she enjoyed a complete package of food, drinks, and entertainment – a truly extravagant affair.
If the hot springs of this Broken Gold Beach were utilized, fruit trees could be planted on the mountains on both sides, holiday cabins or courtyards could be built in the valley, and large areas of watermelons and grapes could be planted on the riverbank outside the mountains.
In spring, you can enjoy flowers, drinks, and hot springs; in summer, you can eat watermelon and soak in hot springs; in autumn, you can pick grapes and apples and soak in hot springs; and in winter, you can enjoy snow, eat hot pot, and soak in hot springs...
Just thinking about it makes me feel the sound of money flowing in!
The saying "Those who survive a great calamity are destined for good fortune" is perfectly embodied in this valley.
Everyone tossed and turned, and only managed to get some sleep when the sky began to lighten.
But it seemed like just as I closed my eyes, I heard someone shouting, "Who are you? Get out of here!"
Everyone was awakened and got out of the shack.
Suddenly, a dozen or so strangers squeezed into the valley.
Most of them were dressed in blue clothes and small hats, looking like servants.
The person standing at the very front was a young gentleman, dressed in a long silk robe, with a jade hairpin in his hair and a fan in his hand. He seemed like a scholar, but also had a frivolous air about him.
When the villagers gathered around him, the man frowned slightly, covered his mouth and nose with his fan as if he were somewhat disgusted, and then raised his hand to beckon them.
A middle-aged manager standing at the back quickly stepped forward and asked with a slightly arrogant tone.
"Who's in charge here? Step forward and answer me!"
Li Laosi and Liu Biaotou immediately stepped forward, coldly replying, "Who are you? This is our village. Outsiders are not welcome. You'd better get out of here!"
The manager snorted coldly, completely disregarding their words, and said with a sneer.
"Our young master has taken a fancy to this place. You all hurry up and pack up your junk and move it out!"
"Why should we move out? This is our village, allocated to us by the imperial court! Why should we be forced to move out!"
The villagers were furious and started shouting before Li Laosi and Liu Biaotou could even speak.
In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen young men squeezed forward, all of them glaring with fierce expressions.
"Who exactly are you, some kind of Heavenly King?"
"You come here and immediately kick people out? What, does Tianwu think it's your place to call the shots?"
The manager was startled, as if he hadn't expected a group of peasants to be so tough.
He raised his chin even higher and scolded, "What are you yelling about? I told you to move, so move now! Tianwu isn't ruled by our family, but this land belongs to our young master's family! Our master is the local magistrate, and you peasants are his officials!"
The son of a local official, the county magistrate?
The villagers all frowned and remained silent for a moment.
The young master thought they were afraid, or that they simply didn't take a bunch of peasants seriously.
At this moment, he looked at the hot spring waterfall rushing down the mountain wall with great joy in his eyes, and waved his fan rapidly.
"Haha, I'm just lucky! I delayed leaving for two days, and my mother is still urging me. If I had left earlier, I wouldn't have encountered such a good thing. In a month, less than a month! I'll turn this place upside down and transform it into a paradise on earth. Haha, when that time comes, I'll invite relatives and friends, and find a few beautiful women. It will definitely rival the Jade Pool of the Queen Mother of the West!"
His plan seemed well-thought-out, but the villagers grew increasingly angry as they listened.
The village chief helped the villager forward and said as calmly as possible, "Young master, this is land allocated to our village by the imperial court. We were delighted to find a spring yesterday and planned to build it up properly. We won't trouble you with that. Please come in; strangers are not welcome here."
"How dare you! You're asking for trouble! Our lord is the county magistrate. Do you lowly commoners still want to stay here? Don't think I don't know you're just refugees from the north! It's only because our lord has been lenient that you're allowed to breathe here."
The manager glared at him, his expression arrogant. "You say this is your land? Who can prove it? I could say you're hogging all this beautiful scenery! Get out of here while I'm still talking to you!"
The village chief was furious, his face turning ashen. In fact, everyone knew that the hot spring was a valuable resource, and their sudden discovery would surely attract envy from others.
But they thought they should wait until they finished building it.
To their surprise, the day after they discovered it, someone came and tried to steal it.
He took out the travel permit and land deed issued by the clerk when he registered his household.
The travel permit was one thing, but the land deed clearly stated that the two hills on either side of Suijin Beach, and the seventy acres of wasteland outside the beach, were all rightfully the property of the villagers, and they were exempt from taxes for two years.
“This is the land deed the imperial court gave us. This is our village. You have no right to drive us away. Even if the county magistrate comes in person, he has to listen to the imperial court, right? Does the county magistrate have more power than the imperial court?”
The steward seemed somewhat surprised, not expecting the villagers to actually have land deeds. He frowned as he took the land deeds and road permits. "Let me see," he said, "it's impossible. This place is so remote, how could it have been divided up?"
As he spoke, he took the land deed and the travel permit into his hands.
His expression immediately changed, he glanced triumphantly at the villagers, and raised his hand to tear it up!
"don't want!"
"stop!"
The villagers were so shocked their eyes almost popped out. Luckily, Li Laosi was nearby. He pounced and grabbed the steward's wrist, snatched back the land deed and road permit, then grabbed his entire arm and swung him around like a discus.
Everything changed too quickly. In the blink of an eye, the steward fell to the ground with a scream, leaving everyone speechless for a long time.
The young master flew into a rage, shouting, "You lowly commoners, how dare you lay a hand on me!"
"Hit someone? We'd kill someone too!" Li Laosi shouted. "Brothers, grab your weapons!"
All the elderly and children quickly stepped back, while all the able-bodied men, carrying machetes, axes, and pickaxes, rushed to the front and stood behind Li Laosi and the village chief, forming a solid human wall.
The young master and his subordinates were startled and took several steps back, their legs going weak, before they mustered their courage to shout.
"You lowly people, we're trying to reason with you, but you won't listen. Are you looking for death? Someone, go back to the county office and get reinforcements!"
Immediately, two servants took off running out of the valley, grabbed a horse from somewhere, and quickly rode away.
Madam Cui slept in the carriage last night, and now she is holding Jiayin, who has been woken up, standing next to Old Madam Li.
She thought for a moment and called Sister-in-law Qiong forward, "Go to the city and ask my sworn brother for help. I'm afraid this matter will not end well today."
Sister-in-law Qiong mounted her horse nimbly and rode off quickly.
The young man's heart skipped a beat when he saw that Sister-in-law Qiong was running towards Xindu.
He was domineering, but not stupid. He was also afraid of really messing with people he shouldn't, so he changed his strategy.
"Fine, fine, who told me I like it? Consider this valley my purchase. Five hundred taels, here's five hundred taels of silver. Go buy another estate and settle down. You can't grow crops here, and you wouldn't know how to manage it. It would be a waste for you to have it in your hands!"
Five hundred taels?
The villagers all sneered, thinking they were being treated like beggars.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com