Lin Feng was very happy to see Kang Yueran, "Miss Kang, you came to Shengzhou? Are you going to do some business again?"
Kang Yueran didn't waste any time talking to him. "A merchant from Shengzhou was delivering goods to Anzhou and told me that someone had died in Luoyang Mountain?"
"I've already ordered that the news not be spread. How did it get to Anzhou so quickly? Someone's dead, but I've already made arrangements for them."
"Just take five taels of silver to settle down?"
Lin Feng suspected Kang Yueran had planted spies in Luoyang Mountain. He asked in a cold tone, "How did you know? What else do you know?"
"I also know that you must go with me today to the homes of the four deceased to make amends and pay the remaining thirty taels of silver."
"I go there myself? They are just pariahs..."
Kang Yueran slammed the table and said, "They are not pariahs, they are the people of Dayong, good citizens. You know, if you are accused of taking human life, you will have no way to explain yourself. Do you want to go to jail or apologize? It's your choice!"
Lin Feng didn't want to go to jail, so he chose the latter.
The four deceased were from the same village and their funeral had just been held.
Led by Zhang Dayong, a small manager in Luoyang Mountain, Kang Yueran and Lin Feng came to the home of a deceased man named Zhang Dong.
Zhang Dong's house was shabby, but fairly clean. Kang Yueran didn't go into the house, but stood in the yard and let the villagers watch.
Four children stood in a row, the oldest girl holding a one-year-old baby in her arms. They looked timidly at Kang Yueran and others.
Zhang Dayong, the son of the village head, said, "Zhang Dong's wife died of complications during childbirth two years ago. Now Zhang Dong is gone too, leaving only five children in the family."
Kang Yueran glanced at Lin Feng. Lin Feng took a purse from his attendant and poured the silver cakes inside onto the table. "This is thirty taels of silver. It's our coal yard's compensation to Zhang Dong. The managers were not thoughtful enough before. I hope you can understand."
Thirteen-year-old eldest sister Zhang Qiao didn't dare to step forward and looked at Zhang Dayong helplessly.
Zhang Dayong put the silver back into the purse and handed it to Zhang Qiao. "This is what your father deserves. Take it!"
Zhang Qiao then took the silver and whispered, "Thank you!"
A woman jumped out from the side and snatched the purse from Zhang Qiao's hand. "Xiaoqiao is a girl, and Dasheng is only eight years old. As their aunt, I am helping them take care of it."
Zhang Dayong scolded, "Ma, your two families have long since separated. Return the silver to Xiaoqiao!"
"I'm being kind. They're still young and they'll spend the money recklessly."
Zhang Dasheng couldn't help but retort, "We won't spend it recklessly. If you take it today, you will definitely not give it back to us. It's my father's life that paid for it."
Ma held the silver tightly and said, "Don't talk nonsense. I'm doing this for your own good."
Kang Yueran looked at Zhang Qiao and Zhang Dasheng, "Are you willing to come with me to Anzhou to settle down? I'll find a village for you. Your two sisters can go to the workshop to work and earn money, and the boys can go to school to learn to read and write."
Zhang Dasheng murmured, "Can you read and write?"
Zhang Qiao knew that Zhang Dasheng had always envied scholars, and Zhang Dong had also said that when he made money in the future, he would send Zhang Dasheng to school.
"Don't worry, there's no danger in making snacks or clothes."
Zhang Qiao rubbed the corner of her clothes and blushed, "I, I don't know how to embroider." Before Zhang Dong went to work in Luoyang Mountain, they often didn't have enough to eat.
"As long as you know how to make clothes, you'll be fine. People will teach you in the workshop, so don't worry!"
Zhang Qiao patted Zhang Dasheng's head lovingly and asked Kang Yueran, "Can you stop my brother from selling himself?"
Kang Yueran suddenly laughed, "You don't have to sell your bodies. If you agree, I will have your household registration transferred over. You will still be good citizens, but you will no longer be citizens of Shengzhou, but citizens of Anzhou."
Zhang Dayong had been working at the coal yard in Luoyang Mountain when it was first built, and he knew Kang Yueran. "This is Kang Dadong from Anzhou. She's a good person. You're lucky to be able to follow her."
She didn't have to sell herself, and working as a dressmaker wasn't dangerous. She could also study, and everything sounded good. Zhang Dayong also said Kang Yueran was a good person, so the siblings nodded in agreement.
Kang Yueran said to Zhang Dayong, "I'll have someone come to help them transfer their household registration in a few days. Before that, I'll leave it to you to take care of them."
Zhang Dayong nodded in agreement, and following Kang Yueran's gaze, he also looked at the silver in Ma's arms. "Ma, hand over the silver. I'll keep it for Xiaoqiao and the others first. When Xiaoqiao leaves, let them take it away!"
The owner of Luoyang Mountain was a marquis' mansion in the capital, and Ma couldn't afford to offend him. She glared at Zhang Dasheng fiercely and reluctantly handed the silver to Zhang Dayong.
Zhang Dayong took the silver and repeated it loudly in front of many villagers.
The money was safer in Zhang Dayong's hands, so Zhang Qiao was happy to let him keep it for her. "Thank you, Uncle Dayong!"
Zhang Dayong smiled innocently, "You're welcome!"
After dealing with this family, they went to the other three. Kang Yueran and Lin Feng were very nice and gave them more money. Two of the families accepted the money and said they would not pursue the matter further.
Only the last family, relying on the fact that there were many males in the family, complained that thirty taels of silver was too little.
Kang Yueran didn't get angry and kept reasoning with them.
Finally, Zhang Dayong lost his temper and said that everyone should pay 30 taels. If they thought it was too little, they could ask the other people in his family who worked in the coal yard to find other jobs. Only then did the family give up.
Before leaving, Kang Yueran gave Zhang Dayong ten taels of silver and asked Zhang Dayong to pay attention to the reactions of the villagers.
Lin Feng returned to his home in Shengzhou and threw a tantrum. He felt that Kang Yueran must have regretted it and wanted to take Luoyang Mountain back, so she deliberately embarrassed him.
After listening to Lin Feng's complaints, Lin Zixuan also began to become suspicious. "How about I go and test Zheng Yuan?"
"What could a servant like Zheng Yuan know?" Lin Feng slapped his thigh. "It must have been Zheng Yuan who tipped off Kang Yueran. I told you, I had already ordered it not to be spread outside, so how could it have reached Anzhou so quickly?"
Lin Zixuan still believed in Zheng Yuan very much. "Zheng Yuan would not do this. He just reminded us a few times and didn't say anything more afterwards."
"He didn't tell us, he told Kang Yueran! If she's not one of our own, then we can't keep her familiar. It's a pity that we still believed she was a good person."
"Then what should we do? Kang Yueran is very shrewd, we can't outsmart her. Anyway, we have the land deed in our hands, so we just don't give it to her. At worst, we can make a scene in front of Prince Ping. I don't believe she dares to ask for it back in front of Prince Ping."
Lin Zixuan didn't want to have a bad relationship with Kang Yueran, "Second Uncle, don't go to Prince Ping to complain for the time being. Let's wait for Kang Yueran to bring it up first."
"Kang Yueran isn't a good person. Maybe she's embarrassed to go back to Luoyang Mountain, so she'll turn around and ask for the Peanut Workshop back."
Lin Zixuan's heart tightened. "With such a big business like hers, she would definitely look down on this small workshop."
"That's hard to say!" Lin Feng flicked his sleeves and left.
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