Moving to a new house? When Zhao Heng mentioned this, Liang Shuyan seemed to suddenly remember the furniture for the new house, and slapped her forehead, saying, "That's right, we need to go check on the furniture first. I almost forgot about it!"
The evening sunlight shone on the paths of Daling Village. A group of people were carrying tools and laying stones, and the villagers followed happily behind them, working together to pave all the paths in the village with stones.
When Li Zheng saw Liang Shuyan walking towards his new house, he said happily, "Oh, Auntie, I've been so busy lately and haven't heard from you at all. I was just about to talk to you about something. The road in our village has been repaired, and we'd like to find some time to celebrate with everyone."
The people who came to Daling Village to build the road were not only villagers, but also some people from other villages. Liang Shuyan also felt that it was necessary, and she expressed her thoughts.
"Now, the roads in our village are wider, but without a certain commercial purpose, wouldn't I be wasting His Majesty's good intentions? Why don't we build a small market in the village? That way, the people in our village, as well as those in the surrounding villages, won't have to go to the town to buy things. Wouldn't that be a good thing?"
Li Zheng strongly supported Liang Shuyan's idea, but in the end he still frowned: "What you said is true, but given the current situation in our village, is it really necessary to spend so much money to build this small market!"
Liang Shuyan hesitated for a moment and said, "Lizheng, don't worry about this. We'll contribute more. In addition, there's the silver that the Emperor bestowed upon me last time. I can contribute about 500 taels. The rest can be divided among the families. Of course, it will be in the form of a shareholding. If any family is unwilling, we won't force them. What do you think of this?"
Li Zheng exclaimed in surprise, "Oh dear, the Emperor bestowed these gifts upon you, and you're using them to build a small market in the village? What are you going to do?"
"It's nothing, it's just that I'd like to choose three of the best-located shops after the small market is built, is that alright?"
Li Zheng nodded firmly: "Of course, that's only natural. Your family contributed so much money, so these three storefronts are only right. No problem, no problem! In that case, I'll mobilize the villagers and tell everyone to see if this matter can be implemented."
Everyone was gathered together at the drying ground at the village entrance. Li Zheng stood on the low wall and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Everyone, please be quiet. Today, the road in our village has been paved. But next, Daling Village wants to build a small market in our village. This way, we won't have to go all the way to town to shop. Because funds are limited, we would like to ask for your opinions. Each family can contribute a little bit as a share. At the end of the year, the dividends will be distributed according to the amount each household contributes. For example, if our family contributes twenty taels of silver in the fall and winter, we will receive a share at the end of the year based on the amount of profit. If the profit is good, we will receive one hundred taels, and if the profit is not good, we will receive at least thirty taels."
Upon hearing this, the crowd immediately erupted in commotion.
The first to complain was Jin Wang, who shouted at the top of his lungs, "I'm telling you, everyone, don't believe Li Zheng's words! This isn't an investment at all, it's clearly a scam! We're all struggling to make ends meet, who has the extra money to build some small market? Besides, Daling Village is just a small village, who wants to buy things from us? Isn't this just an opportunity to fleece us?"
Following behind the hungry man, Zhao was the first to agree: "Yes, that's right. Jinwang from our family is absolutely right. This must be another trick my sister-in-law came up with. If she wants to do business, she should use her own money. Why should she squander all of our money?"
A moment of silence fell over the crowd, but then Jiao coughed and said, "Jinwang, look at the state of your lives. Now you're even opposing this good thing. This is a great way to make money. Think about it, each family has a strong man, and even if they go out to work, they won't earn much silver in a year. But once our small market succeeds and makes money, won't we all have a stable income every month? This is much better than sending our men out to do hard labor."
Aunt Liu coughed and walked over generously. She took out twenty taels of silver from her bosom and handed it to Li Zheng: "In-law, this is from our family. We don't have much more, but we support the construction of a market in the village. In this way, perhaps our Daling Village will become a model village, and perhaps we will even be praised by the county magistrate."
Aunt Liu was the stingiest of them all, and she had already given twenty taels of silver. When the others saw this, they all took out twenty or thirty taels, with the largest being sixty taels. Li Zheng took out two portions of one hundred taels each, one hundred taels for Qiu Dong.
He said emotionally, "This hundred taels is for my wife and me, and the other hundred taels is for Qiudong and Jinxia. Once the market picks up, we can just sit back and wait to collect the money. Of course, Jinwang, if your family doesn't want to contribute, I won't force you. Don't be envious. Also, your family shouldn't participate in any market activities or buy anything in the village. Everyone should keep an eye on each other!"
Liang Shuyan stepped forward and shook her head: "It's true, this is the industrial chain in our village. If anyone slanders it, doesn't want to participate, or rejects it, then Daling Village will not allow such people to live in our village. Daling Village will definitely be a model village in the future, so we can't let some petty people ruin the reputation of our village!"
Li Zheng nodded: "That's right. Since that's the case, then your family should move out from now on. This is for everyone's sake. Since you are unwilling to cooperate and even want to slander us, then move out!"
Zhao started acting tough: "Why should we? We are from Daling Village. Why should you kick us out? We'll go to the county government and sue you, you righteous official!"
Liang Shuyan retorted, "Why sue Li Zheng? This was my idea. If you want to sue someone, sue me!"
Zhao looked at Liang Shuyan and pointed at her angrily, saying, "You, how dare you bully our family like this! You won't let us stay in Daling Village if we don't pay you! Why should we? You shameless woman!"
"What?! She actually called Lady Cha a slut? Isn't that the same as cursing the Emperor? Guards, throw this woman out!"
A voice came from the crowd, and everyone turned to look, only to find that the speaker was none other than the county magistrate.
Liang Shuyan's face flushed red instantly: "Your Excellency, when did you arrive? How come I had no idea?"
Zhao was thrown onto a path in Daling Village, her buttocks split in two, and she screamed in agony.
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