Chapter 3157 Inquiry
Zhou Man picked up the teacup and took a sip of water, then looked up at Aunt Qi.
Aunt Qi was also looking up at Zhou Man. Their eyes met. Zhou Man raised the corner of his mouth slightly and looked at her quietly with a warm expression. But Aunt Qi swallowed nervously, her knees softened, and she slipped off the chair and knelt on the ground.
Zhou Man's expression didn't change much. He took another sip of tea before putting down the cup.
In the silence of the room, the sound of the teacup being placed softly on the table seemed particularly loud, and Aunt Qi couldn't help but tremble.
Bai Shan couldn't help but be curious, "He doesn't look very courageous, so how could he have the courage to do such a thing?"
Before this, Bai Shan had never met Aunt Qi, but had only heard Zhou Man mention her. She said that when she stopped the car and asked her to take Miss Lu in, she was quite calm, but her acting was not very good, and in the eyes of Zhou Man, who had seen the world, there were many loopholes.
Not to mention that she has Mingda, who grew up in the deep palace, by her side, and her thoughts are transparent to Mingda.
Mingda and Zhou Man don't care if others are scheming in front of them. As long as there is no ill intention, they are willing to accept their scheming for a better life. If they can help, they will help. If they can't, they will just refuse.
But as soon as Aunt Qi appeared, they felt a sense of incongruity that they were forced to do so, so they asked people to stare at her.
Aunt Qi was trembling.
Bai Shan's face straightened and he said in a deep voice, "Speak."
Aunt Qi kowtowed, tears streaming down her face. "Please spare my life, sir. I was forced to do this."
Bai Shan said, "Please start from the beginning. I am all ears."
Zhou Man and Mingda both looked ready to listen.
Aunt Qi paused for a long moment before saying, "I am from Qizhou..."
They knew this. After Zhou Man and Mingda suspected that she had bad intentions, Bai Shan sent someone to investigate in Qizhou, which was not far from Qingzhou anyway.
But the fact was found out that the mother and daughter were indeed from Qizhou, and the information she provided was not false.
Aunt Qi wiped her tears and said, "My husband died early, leaving us an orphan and a widow. She is not his son, so my husband's family and the clan always look down on us and want me to remarry."
"I refused, so they called my family to kidnap me and take me back," Aunt Qi said. "My husband and I only have one daughter. How could I bear to leave her and remarry? Just when the situation was at its worst, a passing merchant saved me, gave me some money, and allowed me to bring my daughter to Beihai County."
She paused, her voice lowered. "He sent me to Beihai County to gather some information. All I have to do is pass the information to him. If I do this for three years, he will give us mother and daughter one hundred taels."
Aunt Qi said, "One hundred taels, we can find a village and build a small courtyard. The remaining money can also find a son-in-law for my daughter. It's enough for the two of us to live a lifetime."
Bai Shan asked, "What information does he want to find out?"
"They just told me to get into the weaving workshop and then take over the job of delivering clothes to the salt works. The rest can be dealt with later." Aunt Qi said hurriedly, "But I can't get into the weaving workshop, and I don't have any news to give him."
"How many times has the merchant contacted you?"
"Three times, but only once in person." Aunt Qi said quickly, "I didn't say anything. I've been working in the farm. I know nothing about the weaving workshop and the salt fields. They didn't ask me anything at first..."
The other party didn't seem to expect Aunt Qi to be of much use. After she settled down in Beihai, someone contacted her secretly. When they heard that she couldn't enter the weaving workshop or get to the salt field and had to stay on the farm, they didn't say anything, but just asked her to continue working on the farm so as not to arouse suspicion.
The second time she contacted was on her own initiative, because at that time she was assigned to Shunping Village. She was actually worried and didn't want to continue doing this.
Aunt Qi wiped her tears and said, "The master has been very kind to us mother and daughter. He has given us a place to stay and helped us make money. I really want to stay here, so I went to that man to tell him I was quitting."
"But he threatened me that if I didn't obey, he would not only report me to the adults, but also make us die without anyone knowing. I was really scared, so I didn't dare to tell anyone." Aunt Qi said, "But after we went to Shunping Village, no one came to see me anymore, and I, I never came to the county town again..."
At that time, Aunt Qi thought that being transferred to Shunping Village was not bad. As long as she never came to the county town and the man in the county town never came to see her, then this incident would be treated as if it had never happened.
Bai Shan and Zhou Man were both shocked that there were such naive people in this world.
Bai Shan finally understood why she wanted to marry Zhu Liulang, and now she felt that everything was fine.
Bai Shan asked, "What did that merchant say to you last time? Tell me everything, without adding or subtracting anything."
Aunt Qi told Bai Shan everything the merchant had said, and she could even remember his expression clearly.
Bai Shan and Zhou Man raised their eyebrows, and even Mingda looked up at Aunt Qi in surprise.
No wonder the merchant chose Aunt Qi to be his spy. This is indeed a rare skill.
The merchant came to see Aunt Qi not to ask about the salt field, but to ask her about everything she knew about Beihai County, including some rumors about Bai Shan and Zhou Man, the situation of Guantian Zhuangzi, etc. He asked everything Aunt Qi knew.
But Aunt Qi said, "I didn't dare tell him everything. I just said I was working on the farm and couldn't go out, so I didn't know much. I only told him some things about farming on the farm, and nothing else."
Bai Shan asked, "I heard he stayed at the village for an extra day. What did he do that day?"
"I didn't do much, just wandered around the fields and asked people about hiring workers here," Aunt Qi said. "I think he doesn't trust me anymore, so I asked people in the village for information."
Bai Shan frowned, "Which areas is he wandering around in?"
Aunt Qi said, "He was just wandering around the rice and wheat fields. Oh, the wheat harvest was just underway, so he came to see us harvesting wheat."
This year, all the official fields in Beihai County were planted with new wheat seeds, and many villages also planted some new wheat seeds, and the harvests were good.
But the most important thing is that new rice seeds were planted in the official fields of Beihai County this year. Due to the limited number of seeds, not all of them were planted, but it was also guaranteed that every farm had at least ten acres of land planted with new rice seeds.
All of Bai Shan's fields were covered with new rice seeds.
Bai Shan looked at Aunt Qi with deep eyes and asked, "How is the rice in the fields this year?"
Aunt Qi was stunned for a moment, not understanding why this was suddenly brought up, but she still said, "Although there was a bit of drought recently, it's not bad. I see that the ears of grain are emerging quite well."
Bai Shan raised an eyebrow, exchanged glances with Zhou Man, and asked, "Who is responsible for the fields in the village where the new rice seeds are planted?"
"The steward is personally responsible."
Bai Shan nodded in satisfaction and felt slightly relieved.
(End of this chapter)
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