This amount of money wouldn't even buy a farm in Junyang, let alone in Xindu.
People from all over Tianwu flocked over; if five hundred taels of silver could buy fifty acres of land, they should be laughing all the way to the bank.
But the Broken Gold Beach covers a full 400 acres, and there are still hot springs there today!
They wouldn't even consider 10,000 taels, let alone 500!
This is their new home, a blessed land bestowed by God!
"I'm not selling! Get out!" The village chief took back the land deed and travel permit, his eyes red with anger. He had almost been tricked.
"Yes, I won't sell it for any amount of silver. Get out!"
"Get out!"
The shouts of the villagers were deafening, echoing through the valley.
Perhaps the commotion was a bit too loud, or perhaps some people had been curious about the hot springs last night, but a hundred or so villagers from nearby villages gradually gathered not far from the valley.
Their gazes toward the small waterfall were equally fervent; some even ran to the waterway to scoop up the hot spring water and wash their faces and hands, finding it all incredibly novel.
Li Laosi and Liu Biaotou exchanged a glance, both knowing they absolutely could not back down today. Otherwise, the people from other villages were watching, and if they saw that they were weak and easy to bully, they might come and bully them in the future.
The magistrate's son was so angry that he jumped up and down, feeling as if his face had been ripped off and was being rubbed on the ground.
If it were just the aristocratic families from the north in Xindu, that would be one thing, but a bunch of peasants actually dared to ride roughshod over him.
He was so angry that he gave the order.
"Beat them! Beat these lowly bastards to death! How dare they occupy my territory! Throw them out!"
His lackeys are skilled at bullying men and women.
Whenever the young master unleashes his power, everyone kneels down and begs for mercy. When have we ever encountered such a tough nut to crack?
They had been holding back for a long time, and now they pulled out their sticks and charged forward while cursing.
"Come on, didn't you take a knife? Cut my neck!"
"A bunch of lowly commoners, how dare they challenge our young master!"
The village chief didn't want to really cause a death, so he shouted at the villagers, "Throw down your machetes and grab your carrying poles! If they dare to come forward, beat them! If someone dies, we'll go to Xindu and kneel down to beg for forgiveness! I want to ask the Emperor and the officials of Xindu whether the Emperor or a mere county magistrate has the final say in the world!"
"Old man, you've got a silver tongue! Give him a beating!"
The young master got angry and shouted a urging.
So, the dozen or so lackeys became even more ferocious and charged forward.
But this time they are destined to suffer a crushing defeat. In the past, they were like tigers among sheep when facing the common people, but today they are sheep among tigers!
In a single exchange, Li Laosi and Liu Biaotou raised their hands to block the two men's sticks, then hoisted them up by the waist and threw them out heavily.
The lackeys who came up later were knocked down three or four times before they could even swing their sticks to hit anyone.
Before he could even get up, the villagers had already swarmed around him.
Long carrying poles, pickaxes, and hoes rained down, beating the henchmen helplessly.
"Ouch, ouch, that hurts so much!"
"Stop hitting me! Waaah, my arm is broken!"
"Young master, help me! Help me!"
The twenty-odd villagers had an overwhelming advantage over the dozen or so lackeys, and they achieved a complete victory in no time.
A dozen or so lackeys were beaten black and blue, tied up like pigs and thrown into a pile.
Anyone who dared to shout would be immediately kicked by the villagers without mercy.
The young master, now left without any troops, turned pale with fright. He tried his best to appear fierce and shouted, "My father is the county magistrate! If you dare to touch me, you will all suffer the consequences!"
"So what if your father is a county magistrate? Does that mean a county magistrate can do whatever he wants and let his son commit crimes?" Old Li stepped forward, kicked him to the ground, and tied him up by his hair.
"When I was killing barbarians, you were hiding behind your father and wetting your pants!" Chief镖 Liu also stepped forward and kicked him, then picked up the magistrate's son and threw him together with his lackey.
The villagers outside the valley watched from afar, all shrinking back in shock.
"Aren't these people refugees from the north? They're too fierce! That's the magistrate's son! They beat him up and tied him up just like that?"
"Yeah, they're really too arrogant. They came to the village to trade cabbages and radishes before, and I chased them away. Won't they hold a grudge?"
"Don't talk about that. I just gave directions to the magistrate's son... What if they come to my house and kill us?"
Everyone was starting to feel scared. They didn't actually have any grudges against each other; they were just a little envious when they saw the hot spring dug out in the valley last night.
The magistrate's son, who stayed at the county lodge this morning, asked about it, and they said a few more words...
Leaving aside the fear and unease among the people outside the valley, even Li Laosi and his men, having captured someone, were somewhat troubled.
Although they are in the right, he is the son of the county magistrate. How should they deal with this?
We can't just kill him and bury him in front of everyone, can we?
The village chief puffed on his pipe twice, and a fellow villager said.
"Pack your things, let's go, let's go to Xindu to file a complaint! This Broken Gold Beach was originally just a lump of dirt, but it turned into a lump of gold after we dug out a hot spring. Today it's the magistrate's son who's trying to steal it, tomorrow it might be some marquis's son or prime minister's son who's trying to steal it! We might as well just throw caution to the wind and file a complaint directly in Xindu!"
“Yes,” Li Laosi also lost his temper, “Let’s ask the high-ranking officials in Xindu: Does the imperial court no longer keep its word? Anyone can just snatch the land that the court allocated to us. What prestige does the court have left?”
"Yes, let's go to Xindu and appeal to the emperor! We'd rather die in Xindu! If they don't give us a way out, we won't live!"
"We're not afraid of wolves or bandits in the deep mountains and forests, so what are we afraid of being reported to? At worst, we'll just starve to death in front of the palace!"
It must be said that the more than 1,000-mile escape route from north to south completely ignited the courage and ferocity of these farmers!
Immediately, everyone had to pack their things and head to Xindu.
While the others were unfazed, the magistrate's son and his lackeys were completely dumbfounded.
They were just envious of the hot springs here and wanted to take them for themselves or buy them at a low price.
Is this some big deal? I've done this at least 800, if not a thousand, before.
Why didn't it work this time?
They've already been beaten to this miserable state, and now they're being taken to Xindu to be punished!
Remembering the few words his father had told him before he left, the magistrate's son panicked completely.
When the emperor suddenly moved the capital, too many powerful nobles and high-ranking officials from the north came to settle down, which inevitably led to many conflicts with the local powerful families.
Xindu is now like a powder keg, with the accumulated conflicts and hatred between the two sides growing ever stronger, and it may explode at any moment.
He doesn't want to be the fuse!
"Oh dear, fellow villagers, it's all my fault! I was blind to your worth, and I shouldn't have tried to force you to buy from me! Please forgive my foolishness and let us go. Let's pretend we were never here, okay? Let's not go to Xindu, I accept it, I accept it!"
The magistrate's son struggled, knelt on the ground, and begged for mercy very sincerely.
The villagers never expected him to be so flexible and to admit his mistake and beg for forgiveness so quickly.
Going to Xindu to file a complaint actually has such power?
Madam Cui guessed what was going on and went up to say a few words to the village chief and Li Laosi.
Once everyone knew the truth, their contempt for the magistrate's son lessened somewhat. Although the man was greedy, fortunately he had some shrewdness and hadn't eaten the whole meal.
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