Upon hearing this, the constables' faces darkened, and they roared angrily:
"Shut up! This is a decision made by the government. When did it become your place to interfere?"
Zhang Shuiniang's face paled: "What government decision... It clearly states that Ye Caiping is the one who wants to pay for the bridge's construction. It's all for the convenience of their village!"
The constable roared, "No matter who pays for it, the government has stamped it, so the bridge has to be built! And building the bridge is a good thing; you won't have to take such a long detour when visiting relatives anymore. Lady Ye is thinking of everyone's best interests."
Zhang Shuiniang gritted her teeth: "Hmph, what do you mean by thinking of everyone? She's just thinking of herself, isn't she?"
"Everyone knows she has two workshops, and countless people come and go every day to haul goods from them. The roads are almost worn out by their constant coming and going."
"She built a bridge in our village, just to make money and make things easier for herself. What's with all this talk about serving the people? She's already reaped all the benefits, and now she wants a good reputation."
"When those merchants come and go, making a huge commotion, how can we possibly have a peaceful day?"
Upon hearing this, the villagers all angrily exclaimed, "Yes! We can't let her build the bridge in our village! We can't let her build it!"
The constable was furious: "Shut up, you bunch of troublemakers! This is a decision made by the magistrate!"
Another constable said, "Let's go back and report first!"
Although they were just two government officials, the other side had a whole group of people.
The two turned and left.
Soon, he rode his horse back to Ye Caiping's house.
Explain the situation in Lijia Village.
Magistrate He slammed his fist on the table and stood up: "This is outrageous! Since I have posted the notice, the bridge must be repaired! Take more men with you..."
"Wait a minute." Ye Caiping stood up. "Let's go and talk to them. If they really won't let us fix it, then we'll find another spot."
Magistrate He immediately suppressed his annoyance and laughed, "Alright, I'm not the kind of person who ignores the people's opinions. Let's go and take a look."
Ye Caiping and Magistrate He, along with their constables, headed to Li Family Village.
Lijia Village —
The news of the bridge construction quickly spread throughout the village.
Almost all the villagers gathered under the big locust tree.
After reading the list, Li Lizheng frowned.
He dared not offend the government, but he couldn't swallow his anger if they actually built the bridge here.
"Ah, constables! So many constables!" someone suddenly exclaimed.
Li Lizheng turned around and saw two rows of constables walking quickly towards him, finally stopping in place.
A short while later, the two carriages behind also stopped.
Ye Caiping and Magistrate He got out of the car separately.
Hiding in the crowd, Zhang Shuiniang saw Ye Caiping in her fine clothes and felt a surge of jealousy and hatred.
Li Lizheng stepped forward: "Greetings, Your Excellency the County Magistrate."
As he spoke, he reluctantly cupped his hands towards Ye Caiping and said, "Greetings, Lady Ye."
A mocking glint flashed in Ye Caiping's eyes.
This Li Li is Li Zhiyuan's cousin. He always favors Li Zhiyuan and often belittles her.
Magistrate He said coldly, "I heard you are unwilling to build a bridge between Qinghe Village and Lijia Village?"
Li Lizheng was sweating profusely, but looking at Ye Caiping dressed in fine clothes, he couldn't swallow his anger.
“I… do not mean to disobey your orders, but building the bridge will have a huge impact on our village.”
The villagers immediately started jeering: "That's right, we can't build a bridge! Why should they be allowed to cross here!"
Their Li Family Village is the village with the best underground location. If a bridge is built, won't they lose that sense of superiority?
As long as they lose their sense of superiority and make things convenient for others, they feel like they've suffered a great loss!
Moreover, Ye Caiping will earn even more money after the bridge is built!
Why should they make it easier for her to make money?
At this moment, someone in the crowd said, "Unless you give each of us ten taels of silver as compensation! Also, I heard you're building a third workshop, then you'll have to hire people from our Li Family Village! At least one person from each household!"
Upon hearing this, the villagers of Lijia Village all had their eyes light up: "That's right! That's how it should be! Otherwise, why should we let you build a bridge in our village and make money from it?"
Ye Caiping scoffed, "Dream on. I, Ye Caiping, will not be blackmailed by you. There will be no compensation, and the new workshop will not use your services. Since you won't allow the repairs, then we won't go through you."
Then, turning to Magistrate He, he said, "Let's move the bridge to He'an Village!"
Magistrate He frowned slightly: "But Li Family Village has the best location. If the bridge is built here, there will be a main road leading directly to the town after you get off the bridge. You won't even need to turn."
"Madam Ye, don't worry about them! I am here. Anyone who doesn't allow the repairs will be thrown into jail for a few days."
The villagers turned pale with fright upon hearing this.
As the saying goes, one should not fight with officials, and Li Lizheng dared not offend them any further, and was about to give in.
Ye Caiping replied, "No need, sir. I'm just afraid they'll harbor resentment and damage passing carriages."
Magistrate He understood that if it were ordinary villagers, the Li family village might tolerate it.
But when Ye Caiping's businessmen passed by, they were afraid that the businessmen would try something underhanded.
"Alright, then we'll do as Madam Ye says."
Magistrate He didn't want to back down, feeling he'd lose face. But since Ye Caiping wanted to change, he naturally didn't dare object. There was nothing he could do; the other party had too powerful a backer, and moreover, they were the financial backer!
Ye Caiping said, "Let's go to He'an Village."
After saying that, he turned and left.
Hiding in the crowd, Zhang Shuiniang's eyes flashed with smugness. "You bitch, you think you can get through their village? Dream on!"
Although the villagers of Lijia Village were disappointed that they did not receive compensation, they still cheered as they watched the people leave, as if they had won a battle.
Hearing the cheers behind her, Ye Caiping found it somewhat amusing.
To get rich, build roads first!
With foot traffic, business opportunities will naturally follow, and money will come, right?
Lijia Village had no idea what they had lost.
However, they will naturally find out once the bridge is repaired.
Looking forward to this day!
...
Ye Caiping and Magistrate He went to He'an Village.
Upon hearing that a bridge needed to be built, Old Chen, the village chief of He'an Village, immediately agreed with a simple, honest smile, his mouth practically stretched to his ears with joy: "Okay, okay, great!"
“This will make it much easier for us to visit relatives between our villages. Speaking of which, I have a younger sister who married into your village.”
Ye Caiping: "Oh, which one?"
"Haha, it's my eldest daughter! Isn't she your neighbor, Madam Ye? She married Zhao Facai."
Ye Caiping's lips twitched slightly. So it was you, the ever-present Granny Zhao!
Old Village Chief Chen said shyly, "Well, once the bridge is repaired, I would also appreciate it if Madam Ye would give our Riverside Village a helping hand."
"good."
Looking at the shy appearance of Old Village Chief Chen, Ye Caiping sighed, "It seems that Old Zhao's mother left all her sharp tongue to Old Zhao and her sisters."
After the discussion, Ye Caiping and Magistrate He returned together.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
