Chapter Twenty-Two: The Redemption Dispute
This batch of chili peppers seems to understand that they carry hope, so they are growing vigorously, each one facing the wind and the sun, and their appearance is gradually becoming perfect.
The first batch harvested was divided into three parts based on price, and the quantities were recorded and sent to Shen Zhiyi.
The best-looking chilies are dried separately using a heated kang (a traditional Chinese drying rack), ground into powder, and then those that look the best after drying are placed together separately...
I also asked the aunt in the village who makes the best sauce, and she made more than a dozen jars of chili sauce and put them away, waiting for the right time to open them.
I haven't tasted it yet, so I don't dare to take it out easily.
If it succeeds, it can be added to the sales list; if it fails, it can be considered a trial and error.
She is trying to maximize the uses of chili peppers, hoping to gain recognition through them.
Of course, she also knew that with fame came external crises. The methods of the local gentry alone were beyond what a farmer could withstand, let alone others.
When it comes to finding a powerful backer, you should naturally look for the biggest one.
Although she didn't know why Lord Lu had informed her of this, it didn't stop her from feeling grateful.
With the chili peppers fully harvested, all the goods that needed to be sold were sold out. Although the price was only fifty-six coins per catty at Jufu Restaurant, the whole village earned a total of more than sixty-seven taels of silver.
In front of the ancestral hall, Shen Zhiyi finished checking all the accounts and called out names one by one to come forward and collect their money.
The first one to come up was Old Man Tang. He grinned and asked as he received his money, "My family doesn't have any money to spend right now, so we've lent it all to the three banks."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Sanxing's tall, burly eyes instantly reddened, and his voice trembled as he said, "Brother Lao Han, I..."
His daughter had made a bold move to sell herself at Master Lin's house to get her mother medical treatment. Later, her mother couldn't be saved, and her daughter disappeared without a trace. Zhao Sanxing wiped away his tears and was about to speak when the others chimed in, "Give all the money from this batch of chili peppers to those families. Let the children come back first!"
Sixty-seven taels and two hundred coins, it would take ten taels to redeem one person. There were exactly six households in the village. The remaining seven taels and two hundred coins were distributed according to the principle of equal distribution, and Shen Zhiyi was responsible for calculating and distributing them.
Although this accounting will be a bit more troublesome, seeing the whole village working together to do something gives rise to a sense of collective honor.
Unexpectedly, everyone was pleasantly surprised to find that they could get money back after lending it out, and they all put their fingerprints on the document after hearing the account.
But none of them left; they seemed to be waiting for something.
Shen Zhiyi carefully wrapped the sixty taels of silver in a bundle and said, "While it's still early, let's go to Master Lin's house first."
"We're going too!" the others shouted.
"If the Lin family denies their debt, we can still help them!"
"That's right! We want to go too!"
Amidst these concerns, Mr. Lin's credibility has plummeted to its lowest point.
“Okay, we’ll all go!” Shen Zhiyi said loudly.
The six households went back and brought the deeds. Shen Zhiyi made sure the village chief read them over to make sure there were no other hidden clauses in the deeds before leading the people toward Master Lin's estate.
A gentle breeze rustled across the paddy field ridges, where elderly people and children, some hunched over and others squatting, were searching for something in the soil.
Having had experience in Yugou Village, Shen Zhiyi didn't ask them what they were doing, but instead quickly walked towards the large house over there.
The people following behind her didn't dare to linger.
Shen Zhiyi felt disgusted with this Mr. Lin she had never met before, and disregarded all etiquette, banging loudly on the front door. A lazy voice came from inside: "Who is it? What are you knocking for? Are you trying to summon my soul?"
When the door was just a cracked open, Shen Zhiyi slammed it open. With the help of the person behind her, the door was easily pulled open. She said, "We're here to ransom people. Get the person in charge out here right now!"
"Where did you scoundrels come from, daring to cause trouble in our residence! Don't you even know where you are?" the man said, puffing out his chest. Shen Zhiyi interrupted him, displeased, "I know this is Master Lin's residence. We are from Xiaba Village. We brought a contract to redeem all the people who came to work here before!"
"What redemption! That's not true! Once someone enters our manor, no one leaves! Unless..." The man chuckled, his eyes wandering towards Shen Zhiyi, but his gaze was immediately blocked by another man, who then coldly said, "Carry her out."
Li Shitou, who was standing in front of Shen Zhiyi, clenched his fists and said fiercely, "What did you say!"
Just as the fist was about to land, the man backed down at the opportune moment, while simultaneously increasing the distance between himself and them, saying with certainty, "I'm telling the truth!"
Shen Zhiyi, unwilling to continue this pointless conversation, said coldly, "Summon the person in charge here. We want to ransom our people!"
Li Shitou and Old Man Tang, who were nearby, simultaneously raised their fists to scare the man. The man immediately took a few steps back, straightened his shirt, and pretended to be calm as he walked inside, saying, "You peasants shouldn't come in, lest you dirty our house!"
"Who cares?" Li Shitou muttered to himself.
A moment later, the sound of footsteps came from inside, and the man's voice could be faintly heard.
Two figures emerged from behind the screen wall. Judging from the way the arrogant man who had spoken earlier bowed and scraped before him, it was clear that he was the one in charge.
"Butler Mo, it's them." The man pointed at Shen Zhiyi and her group as if he were accusing someone.
"You've come to our manor... to ransom someone?" Butler Mo glanced at the leader, his eyes full of disdain. "We don't have that rule in our manor. Don't come looking for trouble. Go back now!"
“Then this rule will be added from now on,” Shen Zhiyi said without backing down. “It’s clearly written in the contract. Don’t you even abide by the contract?”
Butler Mo scoffed and glanced down at the man beside him. The man immediately straightened up and menacingly ordered, "Get out of here! If you cause any more trouble, I'll go in and call in some thugs!"
In the shoving, Li Shitou and Old Man Tang stood at the front, while Shen Zhiyi was not affected by the crowd at all. Instead, she said coldly, "You don't admit it?"
Butler Mo turned to leave, but Shen Zhiyi continued, "Then I'm going to the county government office! I'll ask Magistrate Lu to make a decision!"
As the words fell with a firm and resounding tone, Butler Mo stopped in his tracks, turned around and seriously examined Shen Zhiyi. He then dropped his disdain and asked, "Whom do you want to redeem?"
"Chen Hua, Zhao Daya, Ge Niu, Xu..." Shen Zhiyi read the names of these six people carefully, while observing Butler Mo's expression. Her unease grew stronger.
“Ge Niu and Sun Sanni are not suitable, but the others can be redeemed,” Butler Mo said in a deep voice.
"Why!" Shen Zhiyi's voice rang out in unison with the other two families.
Butler Mo chuckled and said, "They are going to enjoy a life of luxury, so don't block their way."
"I want to bring my Niu Niu back!"
"Sanni isn't going anywhere, she wants to go back to my house!"
Amidst their pleading cries, the other villagers, heartbroken, rallied, shouting, "We've come to redeem everyone from our village! No one can be left behind! Quickly, call them out!"
"Shout it out!" More and more people behind him echoed.
Butler Mo frowned, and as if thinking of something, his expression became even more resolute: "Even if you shout until the heavens fall, they're not here! Redeeming them is a matter of mutual consent; going to the county government won't do any good!"
Shen Zhiyi remained silent.
"If you know what's good for you, redeem those four people," Butler Mo called out.
"Six people, not one less," Shen Zhiyi replied in a deep voice, knowing that there was no point in negotiating here, and turned to leave.
As Shen Zhiyi led the way and left, the people of Xiaba Village followed her out.
Butler Mo watched them leave with deep eyes, then whispered a few words to the man beside him.
Stepping out of the mansion, Shen Zhiyi whispered a few instructions to the relatively robust men beside her, such as Li Shitou and Old Man Tang. After gathering the contracts of the six men, she took Zhao Sanxing and Tang Huaya and drove to the county town.
From this moment on, it's a race against the other side!
Shen Zhiyi and the others walked along the main road, and as soon as they saw an oxcart, they quickly got on and secretly paid extra to make the oxcart go faster.
They walked silently toward the yamen, and luckily, they saw Xuan Yan at the gate. Shen Zhiyi quickly called out, "Brother Xuan Yan, we have something to ask the officials in the yamen to witness!"
Upon hearing that it was a serious matter, Xuan Yan quickly brought the person into the yamen.
During the walk, Shen Zhiyi briefly explained the situation: "It's like this..."
Xuan Yan listened attentively, and knowing what was going on, he took out the contract and said, "I don't know why Steward Mo is so sure. He has looked at the contract many times but has not found any flaws. I would like to ask Brother Xuan Yan to take a look."
"Miss Shen, you're too kind." Xuan Yan took the contract with both hands, first looking at it, then tracing each word with his fingers, and finally returning the contract. "It's just that they're used to being domineering in the local area. Miss Shen can resolve this by going to Magistrate Mu."
As Xuan Yan spoke, he led Shen Zhiyi down another path, straight to the door of the house. He exchanged a silent glance with the person inside, then took his leave.
Shen Zhiyi didn't quite understand the intricacies of official duties in the government, but since the way had been pointed out, she would just go directly there!
"My lord, I have something to say..." Shen Zhiyi said hurriedly, having learned from experience, she simplified the matter again, "We have the silver and the contract to redeem all the people, please grant us your request, my lord!"
As Shen Zhiyi spoke, Tang Huaya and Zhao Sanxing, who were listening nearby, had already knelt down to beg for mercy. She, however, was a beat slower and was about to kneel when she heard the adults on the other side hurriedly say, "Get up! Get up quickly!"
She then stood up and pulled the two people next to her up.
"I will go with you right away!" Magistrate Mu said in a deep voice. Seeing the figure walking past the door, he said, "Quickly call a few constables from the fast shift to come with me!"
"Yes!" came a loud reply from outside the door.
Shen Zhiyi and the other two finished their business in just half a circle of the county government office, which was quite astonishing!
As the group hurried out, they encountered the carriage specially sent by Lord Lu through Xuan Yan. This made Mu County Town take a few more glances at Shen Zhiyi, who was still thanking him, and felt even more confident.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
