"You are such a shameless woman! How dare you slander us?" The woman who was accompanying them also started to curse.
"Shut up, everyone." Zhang Tingzhang was a little annoyed. "Tell me clearly what happened today, and I will naturally give you a fair judgment on who is right and who is wrong."
Chun Xiao quickly lowered her voice and said, "I was angry just now and said something without thinking. I hope you will forgive me."
"What on earth happened today? You actually fought openly. Do you have any regard for the village order?" He threatened Chunxiao and pointed at her. "You speak first."
"Master, I'm a villager from the nearby Yanjia Village. I usually make some money selling charcoal. Today, when I finished selling charcoal and was leaving the alley, they stopped me. They said I was stealing their business and beat me up. They said they would never allow me to go to Fuqiu Alley again. My waist is so painful from their kicks."
Zhang Tingzhang frowned after hearing this and looked at the Cao family mother and son. "You three, is what she said true?"
"Sir, she's talking nonsense. It was obvious that when we were doing business, she came over and lowered the price to steal our business. Her behavior was extremely hateful. We couldn't bear it anymore, so we took action. She even injured my leg." After saying this, Boss Cao rolled up the trouser leg of his left leg, "Look." There was indeed a bruise on the mid-leg bone.
Zhang Tingzhang looked at Chunxiao again, and Chunxiao burst into tears. "No, sir, they are the ones who lied. I didn't steal their business. When they stopped me, I had already sold all the charcoal and was about to go home. They said Fuqiu Lane was their territory, and I went there to do business without their permission. They told me not to go there anymore. I thought that the public security in Sanye Town was so good, it must be the result of the fair, honest and strict rectification by the higher-ups. I thought that someone would uphold justice, so I was not afraid of them. But I didn't expect them to be so fearless and beat me in front of so many people. That's why I misunderstood when I saw them trying to get close to you, sir. I hope you can understand. Many people saw what happened in Fuqiu Lane just now. You can find out by asking someone."
Zhang Tingzhang turned to look at the Cao family and their two children. "I'm going to ask you again, is what she said true? If you try to quibble, I'll have someone investigate and prove you're lying. From now on, your Cao family won't have to sell charcoal in town anymore."
Upon hearing this, the mother and her two children all knelt down and said, "Master, please spare us. We were confused for a moment and made a mistake today. Please forgive us."
"You guys are so bold! Business has always been based on ability. You failed to bully people and even beat them up. Are you rebelling against heaven? Did you hit her head too?"
Boss Cao wanted to say no, but with the yamen runners testifying, he couldn't argue. He had no choice but to nod.
"Now the matter is clear. You are bullying the weak and disrupting the order of the village. You are fined 10 taels of silver and must compensate the girl with another 2 taels of silver. Do you accept the judgment of this pavilion chief?"
Although the Cao family mother and son were dissatisfied, they had no choice. After all, the head of the pavilion was the most powerful in Sanye Town. If they offended him, they would probably not be able to continue their business. "We accept the punishment."
Chunxiao lowered her head and said nothing.
"Why don't you reply?" Zhang Tingzhang was a little unhappy. "Don't you think these two taels of silver are too little?"
"No, you are the great judge. You have done justice for me. I am grateful, but I dare not take these two taels of silver. They already hold a grudge against me. If I take their silver, I am afraid they will retaliate as soon as I leave the house. I really dare not do that."
"Stop talking nonsense." Cao Laoer was very angry. This woman was really difficult to deal with.
"Don't worry, just take the money and go see a doctor. If anything happens to you in the future, the first people I will ask will be them." This was both a comfort and a warning.
Chun Xiao didn't show it on her face, but she was actually quite pleased in her heart. "Since Your Excellency has said so, I am relieved. I accept Your Excellency's judgment."
Fang Tingzhang then smiled complacently, "Since both parties have no objection, then sign and pay the money."
When she went out, Chunxiao took the silver that Cao and the other two paid her as compensation, looked at them with pretended pity, and then left without looking back. Although she was angry and hurt today, at least she got her revenge in the end, so she couldn't be too angry with them.
Afraid of being conspicuous at home, she went to the pharmacy. The doctor examined her wound, wiped the blood with a cloth, and sprinkled her with some medicinal powder. "It's okay, it's just an external wound. Don't touch water for two days. It will heal after a scab forms in two days." With that, he charged her 200 coins. She had originally wanted to ask if there was any medicine to dissolve the bruises on her waist. Her waist was definitely bruised, but she thought the medicine was too expensive, so she decided to go back and apply hot water compresses.
After leaving the pharmacy, she went to the grocery store. The lanterns at home belonged to her eldest brother. Now that she had money, she must buy some and return them. She bought two lanterns at the grocery store. She saw that the grocery store also sold straw raincoats and bamboo hats, which she would need on rainy days, so she bought another set of straw raincoats and bamboo hats, spending a total of 230 coins. After leaving the grocery store, she went to the tool store and spent 400 coins to buy a small wooden box with a lock. Finally, she went to the grain store and bought 20 kilograms of rice. She also bought 10 buns at the bun stall in front of the store before going home.
The morning sun was very soothing, and it didn't feel hot at all. However, she began to sweat unconsciously while walking, and her forehead felt a little burning. If Zhou saw this injury, she would definitely ask about it. What should she say then? She was thinking about her response in her mind.
Back home, she put the grain in the cupboard, closed the door, and took out all her land deeds and silver. She counted the silver and found 8 taels, 8 qian, and 42 copper coins. Given her temperament, it would be best to pay back all the money she owed, but she couldn't explain where the money would come from now. Finally, she put the 8 taels and 8 qian and the household deeds into the box and locked it. She dug a hole in the corner of the bed, slightly larger than the box, found some small gravel and smoothed the inside, put the box in, found two slightly flat pieces of wood to cover it, and then covered it with soil again. This made it very hidden, but it was a little troublesome to take it out.
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