Those words left the speaker speechless.
Seeing the things gradually turn to ashes, and realizing that Huang Xiaosan would rather burn them than let them get away with them, he suddenly became anxious.
"Village chief, please think of a solution!"
They lost the benefits they had already obtained before they even got them.
"What can we do?" Brother Huang was also racking his brains. "I have no ideas either."
They wouldn't dare offend anyone, so they could only rely on their kinship to cling to the relationship, but what could they do if the other party refused?
Should we take direct action?
As long as he isn't killed, he'll eventually go back home. When that happens, if he shows even the slightest sign of displeasure, even if they're right according to patriarchal principles, they won't have a good ending.
Since ancient times, officials have never fought with the people. The moment Huang Ye was granted the title of Marquis, they were already in two different worlds, and their only remaining connection was this thin bloodline.
"If I had known this would happen earlier, I would have been better off buying Huang Ye's house and land back then. At least I could have gotten some benefits."
"Are you still blaming me for not letting you buy it?"
“Isn’t that right?” Huang Yougen complained indignantly. “Back then, the village chief said that as long as we could keep things stable, we would get more benefits. Now they would rather burn it down than give it to us.”
"This was a decision we all made together, how can you put all the blame on me?"
"If it weren't for your instigation, how would we dare to offend the Huang Ye family?"
Seeing that the argument was getting more and more heated, Brother Huang finally stopped talking, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot, and his eyes flashed with anger.
A bunch of incompetent teammates!
They've only encountered a little setback, and they're all getting restless, you idiots!
"Feeling guilty now? If it weren't for your terrible idea, we wouldn't have had to watch so much stuff get burned."
Seeing this, Brother Huang said coldly, "Huang Yougen, shut up! If it weren't for the trouble you caused, the Huang family would never have left Huangjiakou. Why would I need to do these thankless and troublesome things?"
He hadn't even settled old scores yet, and this guy dared to take advantage of him. It's true what they say, if you walk around at night too much, you'll encounter all sorts of weirdos.
Everyone had their own guesses about this.
After Huang Si-ge exposed it, the way he looked at Huang Yougen changed instantly.
Everyone started to feel uncomfortable.
The gap is too big. When they were around, they could benefit even if they did nothing, but now, no matter how hard they try, they are still disliked.
Huang Yougen also felt guilty, and he forced a stiff neck and shouted, "Why should I be blamed for what Huang Youliang said?"
"Would this have happened if you hadn't been looking for trouble?"
Huang Xiaosan took in the scene before him and couldn't help but chuckle, "Nothing special."
He had planned to win over a few people to sow discord, but they started causing trouble themselves first.
As expected, they gathered for profit and dispersed for profit.
Shaking his head, Huang Xiaosan refocused his attention on the raging fire.
After returning home, Huang Xiaosan told Jiang Nuan about it.
"Mom, don't you think they're ridiculous? They're such grown ups, how can they act so thoughtlessly?"
"Without thinking?" Jiang Nuan murmured meaningfully, "They might be even smarter than you."
"How could that be? Just based on what they've done, you can tell they're not smart people."
Anyone with a modicum of intelligence would never do something so obviously pointless.
"If you had a choice, you could only get fifty taels of silver if you waited a day, but you could get five hundred taels of silver if you waited a year, which would you choose?"
"It's definitely five hundred taels."
Hearing this, Jiang Nuan smiled and said, "Go ask your grandma and maternal grandma."
“No need to ask,” Huang Lao Er called to his younger brother who was turning around, “They will definitely choose the one with fifty taels, and I would choose the first one too.”
"Why?" Huang Xiaosan asked, puzzled. "Second Brother, are you crazy? A tenfold difference."
"So what? A year is a long time. Who knows what will happen? If we miss fifty taels, we might not get a single cent."
"How is that possible?"
"Why not? You could get sick, suffer a disaster, or have someone back out of the deal—any of these could leave you with nothing."
Hearing this, Huang Xiaosan pursed his lips in dissatisfaction and turned to ask, "What about you, Big Brother?"
“I originally wanted to choose the five hundred taels, but then I thought that if I didn’t have the ability, being so greedy might not get me anything. It’s better to just keep the fifty taels. It’s better than nothing.”
"A tenfold difference, a loss of over four hundred taels of silver, aren't you heartbroken?"
"It hurts, but who can say for sure what will happen in the future? What you have in your hands is what matters."
“Don’t underestimate anyone, even a beggar. Anyone who can survive has their own set of wisdom,” Jiang Nuan explained calmly. “Those people in Huangjiakou know it’s not worth offending you, but what good is it if we don’t? We’ve already moved, and we might only go back once every few years. We’ll be in such a hurry that we might not even remember them.”
Rather than doing that, it's better to try every possible way to gain an advantage.
If I can get it, all the better; if not, at most I'll get a few cold shoulders, but there's nothing to lose.
Aren't they afraid we'll settle scores with them later?
“If there were no clan division, what accounts could you possibly have?” Jiang Nuan rolled her eyes at her son, annoyed. “As long as the village ancestral hall stands, there’s nothing you can do. Otherwise, just try it.”
Those who have nothing to worry about are not afraid of those who have shoes on; it is precisely because they have nothing to care about that they are uninhibited.
Upon hearing this, Huang Xiaosan remained silent for a long time before finally asking unwillingly, "So we just let them act like scoundrels?"
“The devil may be one foot tall, but the Tao is ten feet tall,” Jiang Nuan shook her head. “If you really want to settle a score, there are plenty of ways to completely absolve yourself of any responsibility.”
That's why it's said that the people can't fight against the officials.
Those in power only need a seemingly plausible remark or a meaningful glance to manipulate the common people, and countless people will do it for them.
“Mother is right. They dared not speak out against your arson today. If it were someone else, they would have broken their legs and locked them in the ancestral hall long ago.”
The three Tie brothers are a stark example.
"My son acted recklessly today."
"No, it was just a lucky accident," Jiang Nuan explained. "Our family is known in the village for being soft-hearted and easy to bully, otherwise we wouldn't dare to openly take advantage of you."
"Master, they won't give up."
"It's alright, I'll take care of it."
"What does Mother plan to do?"
"We won't do much, just give them a warning, so they don't think we can't do anything to them."
Jiang Nuan felt that Huang Xiaosan's methods were still too naive.
Is burning things the end of it?
It can't be that cheap.
Only when they fully recognize the gap between the two sides will these people understand that things are different now.
Jiang Nuan used crude methods, directly ordering the government to re-examine the tax grain in Huangjiakou.
Although no one was asked to re-deliver the grain, the whole ordeal left everyone in a state of panic and fear.
Having finally escaped the turmoil, the Huang family fully understood the difference between the two sides and dared not cause any more trouble.
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