Chapter 484 Father is Paving the Way for His Child
"That's right, he is the eldest son of the Zhou family and the magistrate of our Cheng'an County."
"But why would he come here?"
"I heard this academy is run by the Zhou family?"
"No wonder."
Zhou Ruiyuan frowned upon hearing their words and said sternly, "Who are you? Why are you causing trouble in our academy?"
The leading farmer looked up and said, "Magistrate Zhou, we are all villagers from a neighboring county. We've come to collect a debt."
"Debt collection? Who owes you a debt?" Zhou Ruiyuan asked coldly.
The leading farmer pointed at Mr. Yuan and said, "It's him. He owes us money and is now refusing to pay."
Zhou Ruiyuan turned his gaze to Mr. Yuan.
Mr. Yuan quickly explained, "Lord Zhou, I do not owe them any money. It is my uncle and aunt who owe them money."
One of the villagers chimed in, "Your uncle and aunt said that you have to pay back the money they owe!"
Mr. Yuan said angrily, "Go find whoever owes you money!"
The villagers ignored him and jeered, saying, "Your uncle and aunt ran away with their whole family overnight. Where are we supposed to find them to get our money back? Now you're the only one left in the Yuan family. If you don't pay back the money, who will?"
Mr. Yuan's eyes were red, and his heart was filled with anger.
His anger wasn't because of the villagers who came to him asking for money, but because of his uncle and aunt.
His uncle had been ill for years, and he had been working hard to earn money to pay for his medical treatment.
However, he didn't expect that his uncle's illness had long been cured, and that he and his aunt had come together to deceive him.
They made him pay them money every month.
This time it was even worse; they actually borrowed a large sum of money from the villagers under the pretext of needing money for medical treatment, and then ran away with their entire family.
They passed the blame to their nephew, who had been working hard to earn money to support them.
Mr. Yuan was angry because the affection he had given his family was nothing but a joke.
He worked for his uncle and aunt for over ten years for nothing.
Now we still have to pay them back the money.
Just as he was lost in thought, Zhou Ruiyuan suddenly asked, "How much silver do they owe you in total?"
The leading villager calculated, "About twenty taels of silver."
This amount of silver is nothing to the Zhou family, but for an ordinary farming family, it can buy enough grain to last for a long time.
He took out twenty taels of silver from his pocket and handed it to them, saying, "I'll pay this debt for you."
The villagers were overjoyed. "Thank you, sir."
As soon as they finished speaking, they rushed forward to take the silver.
Zhou Ruiyuan pressed down on the silver and said, "However, I have one request."
The villagers were stunned. "What do you want, sir?"
Zhou Ruiyuan glanced at them coldly and said, "The money has been returned to you, and the Yuan family's debt to you is settled. But what about the fact that you caused trouble in my academy?!"
The villagers were startled and knelt down in panic, saying, "Sir, we know we were wrong. We shouldn't have caused trouble at your academy."
Zhou Ruiyuan slowly released his hand from the silver and said, "Those who came to collect the silver, go to the yamen and get your beatings."
The villagers lowered their heads and dared not speak.
Zhou Ruiyuan lowered his voice and said, "You don't have to take the beating, but you have to find that Yuan couple within three days."
"Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor. They owe you money, so go and collect it from them!"
No one in the village dared to take the silver anymore; being flogged at the yamen was a matter of life and death.
It's only a few dozen coins for a family; there's no need to deliberately avoid going with Lord Zhou.
They all replied, "Yes, Lord Zhou."
Zhou Ruiyuan took back the twenty taels of silver and coldly ordered them, "Go down."
"Yes, sir."
The villagers left the academy gate one by one, looking disheveled and ashamed.
Mr. Yuan strode over, bowed to him, and said, "Thank you, Lord Zhou."
"No need to thank me. If you want to thank someone, thank Yi'er and Yu'er. They're the ones who found me." Zhou Ruiyuan said, then looked at Yi'er and Yu'er behind him.
Mr. Yuan understood that Zhou Ruiyuan wanted him to owe the two children a favor.
It's easy to imagine how much the Zhou family values these two children.
He is merely the teacher of these two children, yet he has received such favor from the Zhou family.
He bowed deeply to the two children once again.
Zhou Ruiyuan said to him seriously, "In the future, when you encounter villagers like these, don't tiptoe around. The more afraid you are of them, the more they will bully you."
Mr. Yuan nodded. "Yes, sir."
Zhou Ruiyuan led the two children toward the academy, asking them as they walked, "What's the story behind your uncle and aunt?"
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