Chapter Fifteen: Persuading Father to Plant Sweet Potatoes
"You have quite the audacity. The higher-ups have ordered that the land reclamation be done in a simple manner and that no excuse be used to obstruct it. Yet you have set so many rules and regulations, and even added the requirement to accept bribes. Do you know that if the imperial court finds out about this, you could be sentenced to death!" Huo Ran stared at the village chief, his tone icy.
The village chief choked.
The county magistrate had said this before; this was the bottom line from above, and he couldn't obstruct it. He originally thought these country bumpkins probably didn't know the laws issued by the higher authorities, so he could scare them a little. Who knew there was actually someone here who knew the law?
At this, Village Chief Yang was completely embarrassed. The man who had been so arrogant and domineering was now extremely cautious: "Misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding! I was just acting rashly."
Although Village Chief Yang pleaded for mercy, a shadow of gloom flashed in his eyes. Anyone who dared to ruin his plans would die.
"You, Village Chief Yang, you're trying to extort us!" Before Huo Ran could reply, Jiang Yan finally realized that Village Chief Yang was deliberately messing with them. Just as he was about to argue with the village chief, his father stopped him and glared at him.
The common people cannot fight against the officials. They are just ordinary people, and most of the people in Qingyun Village are surnamed Yang, so they are not at a disadvantage at all.
Jiang Yan pouted, looking aggrieved, but didn't say anything more.
"So, Village Chief Yang, do you think we can stop them from clearing the land?" Huo Ran looked at Village Chief Yang with a half-smile: "If Village Chief Yang is not satisfied, you can ask the county magistrate to uphold justice for you. As for if you want to take revenge on me, you are welcome to do so anytime."
Huo Ran's cold, moon-like eyes seemed to reflect the darkest corners of human nature, making Village Chief Yang, who originally intended to mess with Huo Ran, feel a pang of unease. Could it be that he has a powerful background?
"No! No! Their land reclamation is in accordance with the imperial decree and they are free to develop it." Village Chief Yang awkwardly agreed with Huo Ran, and then said to Mother Jiang, "You are free to develop it. Although this is your dowry from your family, this is still Hongyang Village. You'd better not plant anything here."
“This is our own business, so you don’t need to worry about it.” Jiang’s mother retorted to Village Chief Yang with a forced smile, “We are about to eat, and we haven’t prepared any food for the village chief, so we won’t keep him here.”
This obvious attempt to expel him caused Village Chief Yang's expression to freeze again, and in the end, he could only leave dejectedly.
After Village Chief Yang left, Mother Jiang approached Huo Ran with a smile on her face: "Little Huo, you've been busy for so long, you must be hungry, come and eat."
If Huo Ran hadn't stepped forward today, given her husband's temperament, he would probably have pulled up the sweet potato seedlings that they had worked so hard to plant. Wouldn't all their hard work these past few days have been for nothing?
At this moment, Jiang's mother was truly grateful to Huo Ran.
As she spoke, Jiang's mother ladled rice from the earthenware pot and handed it to Huo Ran.
Faced with Jiang's overly enthusiastic mother, Huo Ran looked a little awkward. He took the rice bowl, gave Jiang's mother a dry laugh, and looked to Jiang Mi for help.
When Jiang's mother noticed his gaze, she naturally shifted her body to block Huo Ran's view.
She appreciates your help, but trying to use this as a pretext to get close to her daughter is a no-go.
Huo Ran, whose view was blocked: "..."
Jiang Mi was completely unaware of the power struggle between the two; at that moment, she was frowning as she looked at the place where Village Chief Yang had left.
Her intuition told her that the trouble that Village Chief Yang had come to cause for her family today was not so simple.
Is she overthinking it?
"Honey." Just as Jiang Mi was lost in thought, Jiang Yan's voice rang in her ears, and then Jiang Yan put a bowl of rice in her hand: "What are you thinking about so intently?"
Coming to her senses, Jiang Mi pursed her lips, gripped her rice bowl tightly, and looked at Jiang Yan: "Big brother, do you think someone instigated Village Chief Yang to come and cause trouble for our family?"
Jiang Yan frowned: "Maybe. Okay, don't think too much about it. Let's eat first. If we eat well, we'll have the energy to work. Let's finish planting the land as soon as possible so I can go back to the restaurant in town and earn more money."
Jiang Mi had no choice but to hastily finish her lunch, and in the afternoon they continued planting sweet potato seedlings.
What surprised Jiang Mu the most was Huo Ran.
With his delicate skin and fair complexion, he looked like a pampered young master from the city. Yet, he followed them around all day without complaining or getting tired. Moreover, he did his job very well, without any complaints.
This made Jiang's mother think more highly of Huo Ran.
However, one downside is that he always peeks at her honey while he's working, which is quite annoying.
After a busy day, they finally managed to plant sweet potatoes all over the land they had cleared.
Just as they were packing up their tools and about to leave, Huo Ran called out to them, "Auntie, I have something to discuss with you."
They turned to look at him.
"I will buy your sweet potatoes for one tael of silver per pound." Huo Ran's words were a direct attack, which greatly frightened the Jiang family.
The members of the Jiang family all swallowed hard.
Mr. Jiang was the first to react, looking at Huo Ran: "Really?"
Huo Ran nodded and took out a written document from his pocket: "This is the document I have written. I have signed my name and put my fingerprint on it. As long as you sign your names, it is valid. Don't worry about me going back on my word later. If I do, you can go to the government and sue me."
Fearing that Jiang's father wouldn't believe him, he took out a five-hundred-tael silver note from his pocket: "Consider this my deposit."
Father Jiang looked at him, then at the written agreement, then at the banknotes, and for a moment he didn't know what to do.
Just then, Jiang Mi stepped forward and took the silver note from Huo Ran's hand: "It's settled then."
Huo Ran smiled at her, didn't linger, and turned to leave.
After Huo Ran left, the Huo family surrounded Jiang Mi. Jiang's father frowned and looked at her, saying, "Honey, is this child trustworthy? And is this silver note genuine? It's worth one jin and one liang. We planted about three mu of land. If we follow what our ancestors said, the yield per mu is a thousand jin, which means at least three thousand jin. That's three thousand taels of silver."
As soon as Jiang's father finished speaking, everyone in the Jiang family swallowed hard again and looked at Jiang Mi with eager expressions.
Jiang Mi nodded: "We can trust him."
Just as Jiang Mi was about to tell her what had happened, her mother came up and stopped her, turning to everyone and saying, "Everyone remembers the five hundred taels from before, right? That was his, so his words can naturally be trusted."
As for the money Huo Ran brought today, she chose to keep it a secret.
Jiang Mi glanced at her mother, and after receiving a look from her mother, she ultimately did not reveal the 1,500 taels that Huo Ran had taken out today.
"Alright then." Jiang Cheng immediately made the decision: "Let's agree to his request."
"Dad, how about we plant sweet potatoes on our land too? We have two mu of land, which would cost two thousand taels," Jiang Yan suggested at this moment.
“Yes, yes, yes! I think eldest brother is right. Father, why don’t we start planting the land?” Second sister-in-law also spoke up hurriedly, as if afraid that if she spoke too slowly, the money would slip away.
“Father, I also think it’s feasible. That’s two thousand taels. Even if we have to pay taxes, we can convert it into silver. Even if we can’t convert it, we can buy it from the grain store to fill the gap.” Third sister-in-law Su Yindi also spoke up quickly, her eyes gleaming with greed. That’s several thousand taels! They might not earn that much in their entire lives, but now they only need to plant some sweet potatoes.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
