"I understand, Auntie."
On the second day, Yan Dashan told the village head the notice he had brought back from the city, and asked him to inform the villagers that this year's cotton would be bought at 45 wen per catty. It was not that they did not want to give a price, but if they had to sell it, they could only sell it at 45 wen per catty.
When the villagers learned the whole story, they not only did not blame them but also praised Chun Xiao for his kindness and righteousness. Although the price was low, he did not lower the price on theirs.
Shuwen, Huaitian and others left early on the third day, and their families from both sides went to see them off.
Haitang's mother, Fang, did not show any reluctance. She knew that Yan Bingfa had made a fortune and had done a lot of business outside, and her daughter could go with him because of the love of her mother-in-law, Tian. She only told Haitang to take good care of Shuwen and herself outside, and thanked Tian for her tolerance.
Yang Huaitian was a little reluctant to let Shufeng go, so he pulled her aside and talked to her for a long time, while Shuwen kept urging her.
"Oh brother, I didn't know you were so fussy before. Okay, I will definitely take good care of you, don't worry." Yang Xue laughed at the side, "Look, Brother Shuwen is urging me again."
Yang Huaitian sighed and finally got into the car and left.
In mid-August, every household began to harvest cotton, and the fields were full of people picking cotton. Although the price was a little lower for them, compared with other things, they still made a lot of money, so everyone was very happy before the harvest.
Although the Yan family couldn't sell their cotton, the sight of the pristine white cotton they'd picked eased their worries. Now, practically the entire village was out working in the fields day and night, leaving early and returning late. Chunxiao was no exception, returning each day drenched in sweat.
To facilitate the cotton harvest, the three families now cook together, taking turns each day. Chunxiao's laundry duties were also shared among the three women. After nearly a month of hard work, the cotton was finally harvested. Each family sold all but the tax cotton to her as agreed. Tian's family and Zhang Yuqing also sold some. Fortunately, they had built more houses, otherwise storage would have been a real problem. The processed grain from the farm had already been delivered.
Many villagers bought grain from her again. They thought it was a great idea. They could save their own land to grow cotton, which was much better than growing grain.
One day in mid-September, Chunxiao was bored and teaching Xiaohua how to weave crickets in the yard. Suddenly, Shuduo came over and asked her to go to the village.
"Is there something wrong with the head of the village?"
"I don't know. The soldiers have come to the village and are asking for a gathering. Grandma asked me to come and inform you."
Chunxiao had a bad feeling, "Officers and soldiers? Didn't we take all our tax cotton to pay a few days ago? Why are they here again?" She was shocked. She thought it wouldn't be another corvee or something like that. She dropped the things in her hands and followed Shuduo out the door, with Xiaohua following behind.
"Did the officers and soldiers come and say anything?"
"Auntie, I haven't even seen the officers and soldiers. I just know they're told to assemble. Let's go quickly."
On the way, we met other villagers who were also asking around, but everyone was confused. They didn't know why the soldiers came to the village. They never had a good impression of soldiers coming to the village. It couldn't be that they were being rewarded for their good cotton planting.
Soon they arrived at the gathering point in the village. Most of the villagers were there, and the village head stood in front with a sense of sympathy.
"Are all of you here? Why are you taking so long?" The leading officer was a little impatient.
Chunxiao saw two familiar township government officials, but he had never seen the others before, and he had never seen the fierce-looking leader before.
"Your notice is too urgent. It will take some time for them to arrive. Please wait a little longer, sir." Li Zheng was accompanying him carefully. "I don't know what the sir is here for this time. We have paid the autumn tax honestly."
"You'll know once everyone is here. Why are you in such a hurry?" The captain sneered and started urging people again.
Chunxiao's bad premonition grew stronger and stronger. Judging from the attitude of these people, this was definitely not a good thing.
Another stick of incense passed before everyone finally arrived. The official lost his patience. "You, Yanjia Village, are so bold that you dare to buy cotton privately. I want to ask you, where did the cotton grown on your registered tax fields go? Did you keep it all for yourselves?"
When everyone heard this, they all lowered their heads and said nothing.
The officer looked at the crowd, who looked like quails, and asked, "Which one is Yan Chunxiao?"
The Yan family's heart skipped a beat. Zhou pulled Chunxiao and looked at the servants with some horror, wondering what they wanted to do with Chunxiao.
"I'll ask again, who is Yan Chunxiao?" Seeing no one answered, the officer quickly drew out his sword, and the villagers in the front row screamed in fright.
Chunxiao broke free from Zhou's tight grip and walked out. "I am Yan Chunxiao, sir. I don't know what crime I have committed, but you are trying to draw your sword against me." Xiaohua bravely followed behind.
"What crime?" the officer sneered. "Your crime is serious. Let me ask you, did you harvest all the cotton grown by the villagers? Did you not see the county government's notice?"
"I have seen it, but I am not buying or selling. They signed an agreement with me before planting. I provide the technology, and the harvest can only be sold to me. What's wrong with that?"
"You're such a sharp-tongued person, making such specious arguments. The higher-ups have clearly issued a notice stating that all crop sales can only be conducted through the county government. Not only are you trading privately, you're also openly hoarding crops. You're clearly making an enemy of the county government. Are you plotting treason?"
As soon as the name of treason came out, there was an uproar among the people.
"How can this be considered treason? What does this have to do with treason?"
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