Thirty-three years ago, Dingjia Village was not called Dingjia Village, but Yushuwan. Due to years of war, people were displaced. At that time, thousands of people were homeless and fled everywhere.
After the Emperor of Dayan unified the Central Plains, the Ding family happened to be exiled to Yushuwan. Seeing that the villagers were either dead or fled, Yushuwan almost became an empty village, the Ding family settled down in Yushuwan and later changed its name to Dingjia Village.
This situation was very common throughout the country at that time. Later, the government issued a notice that any occupied house would no longer be considered private property. The re-registered house deeds would be kept uniformly by the head of each village and town and would be considered public property so that they could be returned in case the original owner came back. Therefore, many people later saved money and built new houses.
Old Ding had long forgotten about this.
He forgot that Liu Xiazi hadn't forgotten that after Old Five smashed the iron pot and Ding Youtian extorted five taels of silver from his father, he thought that Old Ding might come and cause trouble one day and drive Ding Youtian and his family out of the old house. So he informed Ding Youtian in advance so that he would be mentally prepared and not move out of the old house in a foolish way.
When the village head came, he was holding the title deed of the old house. The title deed was handed to him by the previous village head. It was stamped with the seal of Lao Dingtou's deceased father. It was written in black and white that the ownership of the house belonged to the village. His father and his family only had the right to live in the house but not the ownership.
"Erdan, you are going backwards as you grow older. You want your father to have no peace in the afterlife, right?" The village head was halfway there when another villager came to report that Old Ding was going to drive Ding Youtian's family out of the old house. So he went back and found the house deed and rushed over.
He held the deed up to Old Ding's eyes and angrily shouted, "Look carefully at your father's handprint. What right do you have to drive out Old Fourth's family? I've made the decision. From now on, this old house belongs to Old Fourth and his family. If you, Ding Erdan, dare to cause trouble again, don't blame me for being ruthless! Do you understand?"
After that, he continued, "What good will it do you to offend the whole village?"
Old Ding said with a stern face, "Even if he can continue to live here, he has to make up for the money he spent on renovations and the additions over the years. Otherwise, I won't do it no matter what!"
"Yes, you have to give us the money, or I'll kill myself in front of them!" Seeing that things had developed to this point, Meng knew that it was definitely not going to work out. The severance agreement had already been signed, and her expression changed. Now the important thing was to get the money back. Thinking of the five taels of silver she lost last time, her chest still ached.
The people in Old Ding's family shouted in unison, asking Ding Youtian to compensate them with the money. Old Five even threatened to smash the iron pot again if he didn't give them the money.
"Are you threatening us?" Jane Ning had been paying attention to the movements here. When she heard Lao Wu say that he wanted to smash the iron pot again, she looked at him with a cold look.
The grass on the graves of those who threatened her in her previous life has grown very tall.
She saw that Lao Wu's skin was itchy again, so she didn't mind loosening it for him.
At this moment, Lao Wu relied on his numbers and became bolder. He shouted viciously: "If you are afraid of smashing the pot, then give us the money. Give us the money. Who would be willing to go to the trouble of smashing your pot? I still feel pain in my hands!"
"Whose father are you?" Jian Ning's face darkened. He was about to teach him a lesson when Ding Youtian spoke. He calmly said, "Okay, you name a price. As long as it's reasonable, I'll pay it."
Third Master Ding whispered to Jian Ning, "Forget it, Old Fourth Family. Brewing wine is the real business right now. Send them away quickly. Just consider it a way to ward off disaster."
Jane Ning agreed. If she delayed any longer, it would be dark by the time the last batch of wine was distilled. She glared at Lao Wu and said, "He was lucky today. It wouldn't be too late to deal with him if he got into her hands next time."
She looked at Old Ding, waiting for him to name his price.
In the countryside, buying land and building a new house with two courtyards would cost at most fifty taels of silver, but Old Dingtou actually asked for fifty taels for the old house. Everyone was shocked again. They all thought that Ding Youtian would refuse, and everyone was waiting to see Old Dingtou get slapped in the face.
Instead, Ding Youtian said, "Okay, I'll add another fifty taels. From now on, we'll go our separate ways. I'll still say what I said before: even if I have to beg for food, I'll have to go through your door!"
He then asked Jian Ning to give them a hundred taels of silver. Jian Ning did not give him any face. One hundred taels was enough to buy off their family ties and their relationship with the four little ones. She felt it was worth it!
When Old Ding heard that he agreed so readily and added fifty taels, he felt extremely regretful. But in front of everyone, he had to swallow his regret. It would be bad to go back on his word and be scolded, so he could only blame his bad luck.
Who knew that his fourth son would become so wealthy and powerful now?
I miscalculated, I regret it!
Meng hadn't reacted yet, and was only waiting to receive the banknote. She had never seen a banknote since she was born, especially one in the denomination of one hundred taels!
When Jian Ning slammed the 100-liang silver note over to her, she rushed forward to take it, staring at it greedily, reading it over and over again. The eldest daughter-in-law, Liu, came over to take a look, but was immediately glared at and scolded, causing everyone to laugh. Liu's face was as ugly as a boiled shrimp, as ugly as it could be.
After Old Ding and his family left, Ding Youtian handed another letter of severance to the village head, which was to be sent to the town government office for filing. Meanwhile, in the town government office, Ma Fuquan was quietly called aside by Guan, the head constable from the county government office.
"Brother Ma, you are truly remarkable. You were able to track down a criminal simply by the scent of a handkerchief. I truly admire you. There's a thorny case in the county lately, and I won't beat around the bush with you. Could you please, Brother Ma, accompany us to the county to track down the criminal?"
No one knew that Ma Fuquan relied on high technology and a scent tracker to find the hiding place of the Jade-faced Snake King. They actually thought that it was because of his extraordinary talent and sensitive nose as he said.
Recently, many young children have gone missing in Jin County one after another, causing panic among the people. The county magistrate was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. When he received the emergency call from the town government, the county magistrate was still cursing in his heart. He thought that the situation was urgent and the missing children were no trivial matter. If he could not solve the case and give an explanation to the people, he, the county magistrate, would be in trouble once the case was brought to Dazhou County.
He himself is short of manpower and wants to ignore it, but then he thinks that after all, this is the township under his jurisdiction and he has no clue at the moment anyway. If the case can be solved, the credit will be his, and it may even offset the crime of the unsolvable case in the county.
After thinking about it, he promptly sent Captain Guan and a group of constables to help.
Captain Guan has been under a lot of pressure recently. He has sent out all his informants, but there has been no clue at all. The county magistrate gave him seven days, and if he fails to solve the case, he will have to pack up and leave.
Wu Yanxu wasn't as fond of ancient costume dramas as Jian Ning, but he had seen Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Water Margin, and had a basic understanding of the ancient people's etiquette and speech patterns. He clasped his fists and said, "As long as the town's governor agrees, Ma will immediately accompany Captain Guan."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
