Chapter 61: Fire in the Backyard
Mu Ze walked into Xie Xuan's study with a difficult problem in hand, looking worried. He complained, "General, you said that Commander Cheng's youngest son was going to school, and yet you insisted on giving him math problems? Just give him some, and why did you ask everyone to help with the math?"
He looked at the paper as if he wanted to eat someone. "How can I do arithmetic? If I don't do it for him, Cheng Shoubei will be angry."
Chu Zhao rolled his eyes suddenly and turned his gaze to Xie Xuan who had just looked up from his military book.
"What's the question?"
Mu Ze slapped his head suddenly, "Yes, the general will definitely calculate it!"
He quickly handed the paper over, completely unaware that Chu Zhaozheng was rolling his eyes at him.
"Shoubei Cheng's son calculated the problem for two days and then pushed it to his father, who insisted that he mobilize everyone to help calculate it. He said he couldn't believe that so many people couldn't solve this problem. It's really amazing that he even asked me to solve the problem that was difficult for Cheng Shoubei."
Xie Xuan quickly glanced at the formula, answer, and question-posing ideas.
Seeing Xie Xuan didn't move, Mu Ze thought he was also stumped. "How about I go out and ask more."
Before he finished speaking, Xie Xuan wrote six big characters on the paper: There is no farmland at the natural barrier.
Mu Ze was stunned when he saw it, and looked at Xie Xuan hesitantly: "You can't be so mean, right? Is this really the answer to the problem?"
Xie Xuan did not answer, but was lost in thought. Mu Ze had no choice but to take the answer to Cheng Shoubei, who was still outside urging him.
Soon, outside the study, Cheng Shoubei's furious roar could be heard, "This little bastard has completely disgraced his father. I'll break his legs when I get back!"
At this time, Xie Xuan said to Chu Zhao: "Chu Zhao."
Chu Zhao immediately responded and stood in front of the desk, "I am here."
"Pass the order down, and start reducing the troops from today."
Chu Zhao was shocked when he heard this. He glanced at Xie Xuan who had picked up the military manual again, then clasped his fists and said, "Chu Zhao obeys."
…
Su Shengsheng gets up early every day to teach the memory palace course to the students who have passed the imperial examination. She also has a math class once a week. Although it does not require her energy, she still has to tutor Ning Jie and study extra classes every night. In addition, the Qianshang field that she just acquired needs to be cultivated urgently. She is so busy that she is almost like a spinning top.
Fortunately, Qing Ning has been able to take over the management of Shixianglou, otherwise she would not be able to handle it even if she had three heads and six arms.
On this day, the official document for her purchase of Qianshangtian was finally reviewed and issued, and the barren mountain that came with it was also transferred to her name.
Although that place was moved from Xie Xuan's fiefdom to Tianqian Pass due to volcanic activity, it was still within the pass in terms of its subordinate relationship.
This is good, so that when we confront the emperor in the future, we won’t have to implicate him.
The accumulated volcanic ash residue there is not strictly speaking a barren mountain, so no one is interested in it and it is still in the hands of the government.
Seeing that she was willing to accept it, the officials agreed without hesitation, fearing that if they delayed it for a day, she might find out that it was not right and then regret not buying it.
Su Shengsheng, who received the transfer documents, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The business environment here is extremely poor. Once many mineral deposits are discovered, they will be seized by the court and turned into public property.
The law of buying land and giving away barren hills has one advantage, which is that gifts are not subject to tax.
But as long as there is no tax, the question of whether natural gas is considered a mineral resource will be shelved for a period of time.
In other words, once the transaction for buying the land is completed, she will have the final say on the accounts of the gifts.
Even if court officials later discovered the problem, they could not reclaim the barren mountains unless the law was changed.
By then, she would have bargaining chips with the emperor.
Just as Su Shengsheng was busy recruiting the soldiers who had just been reduced in number, and the other three branches of the Su family were also busy getting familiar with the students, a fire broke out in the backyard unexpectedly.
East Courtyard
Su Shengsheng was hurriedly found by Su Nianwei. Before she stepped into the yard, she heard her grandfather coughing violently.
"This rebellious son! You can beat him or kill him as you like! The Su family has nothing to do with him anymore!" Grandfather's voice was filled with anger.
"Old man, repaying debts is a matter of course. Your Su family is full of scholars, so you wouldn't be ignorant of this, right?"
A man holding a wooden stick said this viciously, pulled off the rag that was blocking Su Deyong's mouth, and kicked him at the same time.
Su Deyong had already been beaten black and blue, and the pain from this kick made him howl like a pig being slaughtered: "Dad! You can't just ignore me! They're really going to beat their son to death!"
Seeing that Old Master Su turned away and didn't look at him, Su Deyong moved and crawled to Old Madam Su's feet: "Mother! Although I am not your own flesh and blood, you have watched me grow up! Can you really bear to let them beat me to death?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Su was so angry she couldn't breathe. "It's only been a few days since the night market opened, and you've already gambled away so much money! Who knows if you're after Sheng'er's money? You're just playing tricks on me!"
Su Deyong's hands were tied behind his back. He could only kowtow repeatedly upon hearing this: "Mother! They are going to beat me to death! How could I be in cahoots with them? Mother, save your son!"
When the leader heard this, he immediately ordered his men to untie Su Deyong, picked up the thugs' machetes, and said to Old Master Su, who still had his back to them, "Old man, I'm going to chop off one of his hands first. If he doesn't pay me back, I don't know where I'll chop him off next!"
When Su Deyong heard this, he was scared out of his wits.
He knew that this group of people were ruthless and would definitely do what they said.
With one hand held down, he desperately moved towards Old Master Su, "Father, save me. I will never dare to do that again."
Old Master Su's body swayed, and if the old butler beside him had not supported him, he would have fallen to the ground.
When Su Shengsheng stepped into the courtyard, she saw the chaos. "Grandfather, Sheng'er is back."
Old Master Su turned around and said to Butler Guo, "Didn't I tell you not to tell Miss Sheng?"
He panted heavily, holding his chest, and said to Su Shengsheng who walked into the yard, "Sheng girl, don't worry about what happened today. Let him fend for himself."
Su Shengsheng knew very well that his grandfather always attached great importance to etiquette.
My fourth uncle has developed a bad habit of gambling, and this time my grandfather really doesn't intend to save him.
When Su Deyong heard Su Shengsheng's voice, he immediately struggled desperately, "Sixth niece, save me. Fourth uncle will never dare to go against you again."
Su Shengsheng ignored Su Deyong's wailing and just glanced coldly at the people in front of her.
"I suppose this must be Shopkeeper Su of Shixianglou?" The leading official bowed with a forced smile. "I heard that Shopkeeper Su is now the head of the Su family. Now that you've made a fortune, you can't ignore your uncle, right?"
As soon as he said this, Su Deyong's face instantly turned as pale as pig liver.
But this was not because he felt ashamed, but because his face was covered in blood and his original skin color could not be seen at all.
The white-faced face was mottled like frost, and was intertwined with purple scars.
Su Shengsheng smiled slightly. "This boss is really joking. I'm just a woman from another family. How can I interfere in the Su family's affairs?"
The leader's eyes rolled, and he picked up the machete with a sinister look, "Since you Su family members are unwilling to pay back the money, don't blame me for being ruthless."
"Master, please do as you please." Su Shengsheng's smile remained as calm as water. "However, this house is under my name. It's one thing for you to trespass, but if someone dies, who will be held responsible? So, please move outside to deal with it."
The leader was obviously not a pushover either. Upon hearing this, he just chuckled, "So, the Su family really doesn't intend to take care of this matter anymore?"
At this time, except for Old Master Su, the rest of the people in the courtyard were women.
They had never seen such a scene before, and they just protected the two old people with pale faces.
All the men in the family are still working at the mine, and Su Deyong went to a gambling house last night, where he was detained and beaten all night. The purpose was to wait until there were no men at home during the day so that they could do whatever they wanted to these women and children.
Although Su Shengsheng needed it urgently, fortunately, Brother Bao was nimble and had already gathered a group of his former brothers to come and help.
As soon as they entered the yard, they all took out their weapons and the situation immediately became tense.
The leader saw Bao and his group of twenty or so enter the courtyard, but he showed no fear. "Manager Su, are you not going to settle this peacefully?"
When Li heard this, she was so frightened that she tightly protected Su Shengsheng, "Sheng'er..."
Su Shengsheng gently patted her mother's hand. Seeing that her grandfather was no longer able to stand steadily, she withdrew her gaze and said to the leader, "There are black ways, and there are white ways. I wonder which path this leader wants to take?"
"We will pay our debts in a fair way." The leader sneered.
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