Chapter 50 Unexpected Changes
Ye Wan suddenly blushed.
"You're my ancestor, are you going or not?"
"Since you've been so sincere in asking me, I'll go." Lin Anyuan stretched.
The morning sunlight fell on him, as if he were bathed in a soft glow.
For some reason, Ye Wan felt that he seemed even more handsome.
Somewhat awkwardly, she turned her head away. "Who asked you for help? You're injured, go see a doctor while you're at it, otherwise your daughter will be pitiful if you die."
"If I die, you'll be a widow, which is pitiful." Lin Anyuan laughed and went into the kitchen.
Ye Wan wanted to retort, but then memories of last night flashed through her mind... and her face flushed red again.
In the kitchen, Daya spoke in a low voice, "Dad, before you came, there was a guy called Scarface who came to our stall to collect protection money, and he also said some things to Mom that he shouldn't have said."
Lin Anyuan's face darkened. "I understand. I'll go to town with you today."
He was only gone from town for a few days, and these people had already forgotten his methods.
Da Ya breathed a sigh of relief.
It seems that Dad cares about Mom a lot, and Mom won't be leaving anytime soon. Da Ya cherishes the life she has now, which is hard-won. She's afraid of going back to the way things were before, when she couldn't even get enough to eat, and San Ya was pale and muscular, eating tree leaves all day long.
She had her own selfish motives; she secretly hoped that Ye Wan would stay.
Just as the group was getting ready to leave, the village chief arrived.
The village chief was followed by several people, their faces grim. "Lin Anyuan, what you mentioned before is no longer feasible. The higher-ups have suddenly decided to increase taxes, and it seems we'll have to hand over all of this year's grain."
They used to say that sweet potatoes could choke people, but now that they've all been handed over, they'll go hungry. How are they going to get through this winter?
Ye Wan was puzzled. Why would taxes be increased out of the blue?
Lin Anyuan calmly said, "I understand. Just pretend I never said anything. Thank you, Village Chief."
"Well, it's good that you know what I'm doing, I won't say any more."
The village chief had previously hesitated about whether to agree to Lin Anyuan's proposal, and even considered going to the market himself to see how his wife's business was doing.
Now things are really messed up; I don't know how I'll get through this, and I can't do business anymore.
“The villagers were all envious of the Wang family for selling sweet potatoes to that Ye family. Now look what’s happened, the Wang family doesn’t even have enough to pay taxes, and they have to find a way to make up the difference.”
Ye Wan stared blankly at the departing villagers.
"Should we still go today?" Er Ya asked, looking rather unwell and listless.
Life at home has finally gotten a little better, what will we do if we lose the business?
Ye Wan hadn't expected it to turn out like this. "Go on, how many more days can we keep those powders at home? Sell as much as we can."
Since she couldn't continue this business, she had to find another way out.
"Oh right, didn't I find a purse in the mountains before? There seems to be a thumb ring in here. Take a look." Ye Wan took out the dusty thumb ring and handed it to Lin Anyuan.
That person was probably looking for something to write.
"It's just an ordinary thumb ring, not worth much." Lin Anyuan took it and examined it for a moment.
"Then you can keep it, I don't want it." Ye Wan handed the ring to Lin Anyuan.
Lin Anyuan took it and put it on his wrist.
Ye Wan was surprised. "Isn't this a bad idea?"
If the person in question sees this, they'll be in big trouble and get beaten up.
"Come here." Ye Wan waved to Lin Anyuan as she was leaving.
"What are you doing?" Lin Anyuan raised an eyebrow. Her gesture looked like she was calling a puppy.
Seeing that he didn't move, Ye Wan moved closer and said, "Your face is too eye-catching. Come with me and darken your face a bit."
As he spoke, Lin Anyuan's face had already darkened.
"What is this?" Lin Anyuan looked at her dark palm with a hint of disgust in his eyes.
"Don't worry about the soot from the bottom of the pot. I've put some on my face too. It'll wash off easily later. It's perfectly safe." Ye Wan looked at Lin Anyuan's dark face, suppressing a laugh.
Haha, the dark spots are barely noticeable on one side of my face, but very obvious on the other.
"The grain has all been handed over, how are we going to live now?"
Old Sun, who was rushing to catch the carriage, sighed deeply.
"Things will work themselves out, so don't worry too much," Ye Wan comforted him.
Life had just begun, and no one expected such a turn of events.
"I hope so. But if your family pays by the head, you'll have to pay a lot of grain, so you'd better prepare in advance."
Ye Wan then remembered this matter: they also had to pay grain, but they didn't even have a bag of flour at home, so what were they going to pay?
Lin Anyuan seemed to have seen through her thoughts and said, "If there is not enough food, you can pay with silver. It's two taels of silver per person, the same price for adults and children."
"Two liang? Are you crazy?" Ye Wan was stunned.
An ordinary family can't even save two taels of silver in a year, so does that mean their family has to pay ten taels?
How are we supposed to live like this?
Ye Wan suddenly remembered that a few days ago she wanted to rent a courtyard, and Lin Anyuan said to wait. Did he already know that?
...
...
"Boss, the people you had keeping an eye on have some news. Last night, they found two bodies on the road near Snake Mountain, and they found this on them."
Chu Qi came in from outside, looking travel-worn, and placed two waist tokens on the table.
Upon receiving the message from above, they withdrew from Min County, and Chu Qi went to keep an eye on the people alone.
"install?"
Chu Xiujie looked at the waist tag and thought about the people he knew. It seemed that there was no one with the surname An.
Only large, prominent families possessed such waist tags.
"I guessed wrong, they're not here for us." Chu Xiujie frowned. If they weren't here for them, then whose people were they?
Wang Dachui scratched the back of his head. "Boss, are you here for that enchanting man?"
Chu Qi glanced at him and then said, "Boss, I found out something else on this trip. There is a man who is indeed as handsome as Da Chui said, named Lin Anyuan."
"Lin Anyuan? An?"
Chu Xiujie pondered for a moment after hearing this, "I'll go to town again. You all stay here and keep watch. Once the master's men arrive, cooperate with them."
"yes."
...
...
There were noticeably fewer people at the market today than before.
"Madam Ye, these are green rice dumplings made by my wife. Please try them." The vegetable vendor at the next stall handed over a small basket containing several round mugwort green rice dumplings.
Ye Wan took it. "Are there still tender mugwort plants at this time of year?"
“It grew in the yard after a rain. My eldest daughter wanted to eat it, so her mother cooked it for her.”
"Is your youngest son doing well?" Ye Wan looked at the vegetables on his stall, which only had a few varieties.
"It's much better now. If things get chaotic, I won't be able to sell these vegetables anymore." The vegetable vendor looked worried.
Ye Wan gave the green rice dumpling to Daya and told her to give it to Sanya. She said in a low voice, "We should always look on the bright side. Maybe it's not that bad."
The vegetable vendor suddenly lowered his voice, "Madam Ye, you don't know yet, do you?"
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