Chapter 330 Oh no! The villagers next door are here to steal our grain!
Some people were still not convinced. After being knocked down, they sprang to their feet, raised their sickles, and with fierce expressions, swung them at him.
The carrying pole in Xiao Xuance's hand flew out and smashed into their chests.
"Bang!" The group was sent flying and landed on the ground again, "Ouch!"
The carrying pole snapped back into Xiao Xuance's hands. The next group waiting to attack him exchanged bewildered glances. They wanted to step forward, but didn't retreat, their eyes filled with apprehension.
He knows martial arts, and he's very skilled at it; he's even more formidable than the city defense troops.
The people from the Xiao family lined up, holding the grain behind them.
Xiao Xuance said, "The city defense battalion occupied your land, not ours."
"No matter who stole it, the land deed is in our hands. Even if the King of Heaven himself comes, we will take the land back!"
"Yes! That's right, this is a gift from God to us, ten bushels per mu."
"Then you're mistaken. Ten bushels per mu isn't because of the land, but because of our seeds. As long as the land can grow grain, it can grow ten bushels per mu."
"Aren't all seeds pretty much the same? It must be because of the land; don't try to fool us."
"We don't believe it either!"
"It's because of the land given by God."
"You people from the capital are all cunning and treacherous, like watering flowers."
"That's right, unless you can provide evidence that this land was cultivated by us and originally belonged to us, and that we have the land deeds."
...
Xiao Xuance gestured to his younger brother, "Quiet down! Don't make a sound!"
Xiao Xuanwu brought over a sweet potato, its root laden with plump twigs. "This is the evidence."
"What's this?"
"I don't know, I've never seen it before, it looks like food."
"Wow, so many! One plant has grown this many? A taro plant usually only grows one taro, but this one has so many, there are seven or eight of them."
Xiao Xuance said, "This is a sweet potato. Our ability to grow high-yield crops has little to do with the land; the key lies in the seeds."
Where do sweet potato seeds come from?
"I can't say."
The villagers were willing to risk their lives to reclaim this land because they valued its high yield.
If it's because of the seeds, that's wonderful. If they get their hands on these high-yield seeds, they can grow this kind of grain too.
The villagers gathered in a circle and whispered among themselves.
“Seeds are the foundation of high-yield grain. We can’t go against them. We should be on good terms with them. If they can give us some seeds, we can grow 10 shi of grain per mu. Besides, it’s not them who are taking our land. Going against them will only bring harm and no benefit.”
The others nodded in agreement, "The village chief is right."
"Are we giving up that place?"
"These dozens of acres of land represent the hard work of generations of our ancestors, and we have to come back."
"Let's report this to the authorities. I refuse to believe that there is no law in the Great Zhou Dynasty and that the city defense battalion can do whatever it wants."
"Yes! Report it to the authorities!"
“Listen to me, everyone. We can’t afford to make enemies with them. Let’s return the wheat we just harvested, apologize sincerely, and beg them to sell us some seeds. Then we can grow ten times the amount of grain next year.”
If they could also grow such high-yield grain, one acre would be equivalent to ten acres, which would be much more cost-effective than taking back the land. They should get the high-yield seeds first, and then ask the government for the land. They would make a sure profit.
Village chief Li Gensheng told everyone to gather all the rice they had just harvested into the sack in his hand and not to say anything out of turn, lest they anger the important person again and he refuse to give them seeds.
Li Gensheng stepped forward and bowed to Xiao Xuance, "May I ask how you are addressed, young master?"
"Xiao".
The village chief took the sack of rice from Tie Niu and placed it between the two men. He then bowed again and said, "Young Master Xiao, we apologize for our previous offenses. I, Li Gengsheng, apologize to you on behalf of the villagers of Xiao Li Village. This is all the rice we just harvested. We're returning every single grain here. We hope you will sell us some seeds so that we can also grow such beautiful rice paddies."
A few years ago, they were villagers in Datian Village. When the river overflowed and flooded their fields and houses, they moved to the neighboring Lijia Village. Although they all shared the surname Li, the original villagers divided the village into two separate villages to suppress outsiders and to make it easier to distinguish them. The original Lijia Village residents called it Da Li Village, and they called it Xiao Li Village.
After the village chief finished speaking and waited a while without receiving a reply, he assumed the man still remembered their earlier grudge. He knelt down, and the villagers behind him followed suit, pleading, "Young Master Xiao, please grant us high-yield seeds!"
"Get up, all of you. I can't make the decision about the rice seeds, so I can't give you an answer, but I can give you sweet potato vines to take back and plant."
He remembered that Yun Zhaoxue once mentioned that if they could grow high-yield grains, they should pass on the planting method and seeds to the surrounding villagers and even the entire Great Zhou, so that all the people could have enough to eat and wear and would no longer go hungry.
The villagers were still skeptical about things they had never seen before. They wanted rice seeds more, because they could pay their taxes with rice, and if they had more than they could eat, they could exchange it for silver.
"Can sweet potatoes really fill your stomach?"
Xiao Xuanwu immediately replied, "Of course, we eat this all the time. It can be cooked into porridge or rice, or you can cook it directly or eat it raw."
"You can eat it raw? What kind of fruit is this?"
"It's either fruit or sweet potato. There are many ways to eat it. I'll show you how."
Xiao Xuanwu plucked a sweet potato, wiped it on his body a couple of times, put it in his mouth, bit off the tip, spat it out, took a big bite, chewed it vigorously, then plucked another sweet potato from the root and tossed it to Li Tieniu, "Here you go."
Seeing how much he enjoyed eating, Li Tieniu took the food, wiped it on his clothes, and then put it in his mouth.
Li Gensheng then asked, "How is it? Is it edible?"
"It's edible, very delicious, and a little sweet."
"Give me a bite." Li Gensheng tried to snatch a bite from him.
Xiao Mingshu handed over a boiled sweet potato.
"Village chief, this has been cooked for you. The darker ones are a bit hard and not suitable for older people."
Once, my third sister-in-law said that sweet potatoes could be eaten raw, so she tried taking a bite. She could eat it, but it was tough on her teeth.
The village chief took the food, but instead of keeping it all to himself, he broke off a small piece and gave the rest to the villagers so they could share it.
Everyone took a bite, and their eyes lit up immediately. "It's delicious! It's even sweeter than rice!"
"If one plant bears seven or eight fruits, wouldn't one acre yield more than ten bushels?"
"More than rice."
An old man couldn't bear to finish that small piece of sweet potato in one bite. He took a small bite first, then licked it. "If we can grow such food in our lifetime, so that our descendants can have enough to eat, I, this old man, can die in peace."
His cloudy, aged eyes welled with tears, which slid down the mottled smile lines on his face. His old, withered hands trembled slightly.
Seemingly noticing the gazes of the crowd, she turned away and secretly wiped away her tears.
The village chief asked uncertainly, "Is Young Master Xiao really willing to give us sweet potato seeds? How much silver do we want?"
Xiao Xuance said, "We can give each of you a sweet potato plant for free. If you want more, just wait until we say you want sweet potatoes and then come back to buy them."
Each plant has at least five to a dozen sweet potato seedlings. The sweet potatoes can also be cut into pieces to cultivate seedlings. The sweet potato vines and sweet potatoes are all given to them.
The women of the Xiao family had all learned cultivation methods and taught them those methods.
The villagers felt bad that the other party had given them sweet potatoes and sweet potato seedlings after they came to cause trouble, and they wanted to help them harvest rice or do other work as compensation.
Xiao Xuance politely declined, saying that there was no place to dry the harvested batches, and they planned to harvest and dry one batch before harvesting another.
The villagers kowtowed to them in gratitude before leaving.
However, on their way back to the village over the mountain, they saw the cows tied to the foot of the mountain chewing on the sweet potato vines they had been carefully tending.
They really wanted to rush over and snatch it, take it home and plant it. Feeding such precious stuff to cows would be such a waste of grain.
Some villagers actually wanted to do it, but after taking two steps forward, Li Gensheng stopped them, "What are you doing? This should be the Xiao family's ox. Bullying the benefactor's ox is bullying the benefactor. If you anger the benefactor, you can forget about growing golden rice seeds in the future."
“The village chief is right. We can’t be short-sighted. We need to have a long-term vision. Let’s go back and plant sweet potatoes according to our benefactor’s method.”
When the convicts from Datian Village learned that Doctor Chen, Wang Youcai, and the Lu family had come to help because someone from the neighboring village had gone to rob the Xiao family's grain, they all grabbed their farm tools and rushed over to help. But when they arrived at the field, they found that the person had already left.
The rice they planted hasn't grown yet; they haven't been to the fields for a long time.
Everyone was stunned when they saw the Xiao family's golden rice fields.
As far as the eye could see, there were rice paddies, unlike the sparse rice fields they had seen in the village before.
That's incredibly prolific.
The Xiao family are simply divine beings; they can fight on horseback and conquer the world, and they are even better at farming than ordinary people.
You can do whatever you want.
Xiao Xuance thanked the three families for their kind assistance, and one family dug up two sweet potatoes for them.
Wang Youcai said excitedly, "I remember this. I said before that I would plant it with you. What is it called?"
"This is called sweet potato. It can be eaten raw, boiled, roasted, or fried. Like rice, it can fill your stomach."
“One plant… four, five, or six, not even counting the smaller ones, there are just too many.”
They came but didn't help, and even took favors from the people. Feeling embarrassed to leave directly, they stayed to help harvest the rice.
...
The third branch of the Xiao family learned that something had happened to the Xiao family's land.
Xiao Xuance rushed over there.
They felt their opportunity had come, so they casually brought some wild vegetables to visit the eldest son's house.
Red dates and green branches are used for cooking in the kitchen.
Zhuiying was chopping firewood in the yard.
Yun Zhaoxue and her two children rested inside the house.
Seeing them lingering at the door and whispering to each other, Zhuiying asked, "Third Master, what brings you here?"
They're acting suspiciously; you can tell at a glance they're up to no good.
“We heard that something happened to the eldest son’s family. We’re all family, so we can’t just stand by and do nothing. We came to see if there was anything we could do to help.”
“We don’t need your help. The princess and the two young masters are resting and it’s inconvenient for them to receive guests. Please leave.” Zhuiying lowered his voice deliberately, worried about waking Yun Zhaoxue and the two young masters.
Xiao Yuanhe angrily flung his sleeves, "How dare you! Since you call me Third Master, we are half your masters. How dare you drive us away? Every time I come, my sister-in-law and my two nephews treat me with courtesy. You, a mere servant, dare to touch me? We're not leaving today. Let's see what you can do to us! Humph!"
They refused to leave and even brought up the Yang family to pressure Zhuiying. Zhuiying couldn't do anything about them and couldn't lay a hand on them.
Seeing that they were just wandering around in the yard, they didn't chase them away.
He put down what he was doing and stared at them.
“If the Third Master really wanted to help, he should have gone to the fields to help harvest the rice or chase away those villagers, instead of wandering around here.”
They strolled around the courtyard casually, and while Zhuiying wasn't paying attention, Zhang slipped into the main room.
The door to the east wing was closed.
They guessed that Yun Zhaoxue was in that room, so they sneaked into the west wing and searched for her.
Zhuiying put down the axe in his hand and rushed into the main room.
Xiao Yuanhe stopped Zhuiying, "Stop right there! What do you want? Ace's wife is resting inside. How can you, a man, barge in like that?"
"Third Master, I am acting on the orders of the Prince to protect the Princess and the two young masters. The Prince trusts me, so you must not sow discord!" Zhuiying pushed him aside and rushed into the main hall.
Zhang and her daughter-in-law came out of the west wing and blocked Zhuiying at the door.
"Zhuiying, there are only women in the house. What kind of behavior is it to barge in like this? Get out of here right now!"
"A person with an upright character has nothing to fear from a crooked shadow!"
"Public opinion is a fearsome thing. If you're not afraid, will others stop talking?"
Zhuiying narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing them to see if they had stolen anything. "You've been obstructing us repeatedly. What were you doing inside just now?"
“We didn’t do anything, we just wanted to see the two children. The door to the east wing was closed, so we didn’t dare to knock. We just went to the west wing to take a look.”
"There was no one inside, yet you went in... I suspect you went in to steal things."
Green Branch and Red Dates were cooking in the kitchen. The firewood on the stove crackled and popped, the water in the pot boiled and sizzled, and the sound of chopping vegetables drowned out the noise outside.
At first, they didn't know someone was coming.
Hearing the commotion and worried that Yun Zhaoxue might be hurt, the two grabbed kitchen knives and rushed out.
"Lord Shadow Chaser, what did they do?"
“They just went into the main room and the west wing. I suspect they stole…something.”
"Steal? Don't talk nonsense. We are family with the eldest son's family. If we want something, we can just ask. Why would we steal? You are slandering us. When my sister-in-law comes back, I will make her stand up for us and clear our names."
The two sides were at a stalemate when a noise came from the doorway; Xiao Xuance had returned.
He was carrying two sacks of rice.
Zhuiying immediately complained to him, "Young Master, you just returned. The Third Madam and the others went into the west wing just now, acting suspiciously. I suspect them..."
Zhang slapped her thigh and cried out, "Third nephew, you're innocent! We just wanted to go inside to see your wife and two little babies and share in their joy, hoping my daughter-in-law will also have twins next year. We left before we even saw them, without taking anything. That damned guard actually slandered us..."
"Shut up! Get out of the yard and talk."
Outside the courtyard, Zhuiying felt that Zhang should be searched.
The third family felt that being searched was a great insult and refused to be searched.
Seeing their resistance, Zhuiying became even more convinced that they had something to hide and felt that he had to search them.
"Fine! Search us then! You can search us, but if you can't find anything of yours on us, you'll have to pay us 1,200 yuan in damages for reputational loss! Let everyone here be a witness."
Several people passing by heard someone talking about stealing something and came over to watch out of curiosity.
Hongzao and Lvzhi searched Zhang and her daughter-in-law's bodies but found nothing.
Zhang laughed in anger, put one hand on her hip, and reached out to Zhuiying, "Didn't find it, huh? Pay up, one thousand taels."
Zhuiying scratched his head in confusion, "How could there not be? I saw the two of them sneaking into the house, and they came out looking guilty. The Third Master even stopped me from going in..."
"Who are you calling sneaky? Nonsense! I came in openly and honestly, I did nothing wrong, you searched me, and you're paid!"
Red Dates shook her head and said, "No! We didn't agree to that just now."
Zhuiying said, "Your Highness, your subordinate..."
"Go look outside the window."
"Outside the window? That's right, how come I didn't think of that? I'll go take a look right away." Zhuiying quickly ran to the window of the west wing.
Others followed out of curiosity.
Xiao Yuanhe was on tenterhooks, wondering if that idiot Xiao Lao Er had followed his instructions.
We checked both windows, but there was nothing outside.
His heart finally settled, and he lunged forward, grabbing Zhuiying by the collar. "You bastard! You've accused my third branch of stealing from the first branch and are trying to sow discord within the Xiao family. What exactly are you trying to do?"
"I...I told you to leave, but you insisted on staying, so I started to suspect..."
Xiao Yuanhe raised his fist and was about to smash it down on his face.
He didn't resist because he was wrong. If he hadn't taken that punch, people would say that the prince disrespected his elders.
A large hand intercepted Xiao Yuanhe's fist and pulled away his hand that was gripping Zhuiying's collar, separating the two.
"Third Uncle, I suspect that you threw the things out the window and someone else caught them and took them away."
"Doubts, doubts? If you're so capable, produce some evidence. Xiao Xuance, I am your third uncle. If your father were alive, he would have to give me some face. You, as my nephew, have shown no respect to your third uncle. We've searched and looked, but there's nothing there."
You listened to the servants' slander and defamed your third uncle and aunt like this. Aren't you afraid your father will die with regrets?
“Brother, Father passed away early back then. As the eldest brother, you raised my second brother and me, promising to take care of us for the rest of our lives. Now that you're gone, the eldest branch of the family has turned their backs on us, kicking us out of the palace and even accusing us of stealing. If we hadn't suffered this humiliation, I should have gone with you back then.”
The west wing was where Yang lived with her eldest and second daughters-in-law.
Xiao Xuance didn't know what they had and couldn't check, so he sent Zhuiying to the field to call them back.
Before Zhuiying could leave, a low, miserable scream came from not far away.
"ah!--"
"Help! Someone help me!"
The crowd rushed toward the sound.
I saw Duan Hong and Shen Yichun lying on the ground in an alley.
One was covering his arm, and the other was covering his neck.
With his other hand, he grabbed a stone and threw it at the viper coiled around their legs.
The viper struggled in pain, frantically wagging its tail, biting harder and harder.
"Help! Help! There's a snake! A snake! A poisonous snake! I don't want to die..."
Several items were scattered around them, including a purse box and an exquisite box.
The box was opened, and there was about half a box of loose silver.
Hongzao pointed to the scattered items on the ground and said, "That's the second young mistress's purse."
“I saw that box in the princess’s room.”
Two vipers coiled around their feet, biting them and causing numerous wounds.
They dared not move.
There was another person lying on the ground, it was Xiao Yuanchuan, he was in a relatively far place. Was this a case of double-crossing?!
But where did those two snakes come from?
Xiao Xuance turned around and glanced at Xiao Yuanhe with his long, sharp phoenix eyes. "You colluded with them to plot against the eldest son's family? Where did the snake come from?"
Xiao Yuanhe hurriedly shook his head, trying to distance himself from the situation, "I...I don't know anything! It wasn't me! How could I have the guts to catch a snake? Good nephew, you have to believe your third uncle..."
"Help! Someone help me!"
Some people couldn't bear to watch any longer and stepped forward with wooden sticks to try and save the person.
Xiao Xuance stopped them, "There's no need to save them! They're beyond saving!"
"With bites like that, an ordinary doctor definitely can't save him, unless a miracle doctor comes to the rescue."
The divine doctor has a close relationship with the Xiao family. They have angered the Xiao family, so the divine doctor probably won't take action.
They're doomed now.
After Duan Hong and Shen Yichun killed the snake, they collapsed from exhaustion, barely alive. "Miracle doctor, save us..."
Hua Mu returned from the fields and came over to see what was happening when he heard the commotion. When he heard someone calling him, he was so frightened that he ran away quickly, waving his hand and saying, "There's no way to save him. You should prepare for his funeral."
Members of the Duan and Shen families rushed over.
Madam Duan helped Duan Hong up from the ground and shook him, "Master, Master, what's wrong? Don't scare me..."
The Shen family surrounded Shen Yichun, asking, "Father, Father, how are you?"
Xiao Xuance learned from Lüzhi that someone had pried open the window of the east wing where Yun Zhaoxue was and put in two short-tailed vipers.
She and her child were awakened.
They put the snake in a box, locked it, and waited for the fish to bite. Sure enough, the fish took the bait. The people from the third house stole valuables from the west wing and threw them out the window. One of the boxes was locked.
They shook it gently twice, heard the sound of breaking silver, and thinking it was silver, they threw it out the window.
Uncle Xiao was waiting outside.
Duan Hong and Shen Yichun, who had released poisonous snakes, ambushed Uncle Xiao in this alley, knocked him unconscious, and then double-crossed him to take the goods.
The two men picked the lock, released two venomous snakes, and were then bitten.
You reap what you sow!
"Are Xue'er and the child alright? Was she frightened?"
Green Branch shook her head, "The princess is fine, and the two young masters are also alright. They were trying to kill the princess and the two young masters. Their intentions are despicable. Your Highness, please do not let them go."
Xiao Xuance grabbed Xiao Yuanhe by the collar, slammed him against the wall, and punched him hard twice.
His narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes were filled with a chilling killing intent, and his sharp jawline was taut.
Xiao Yuanhe broke out in a cold sweat, his legs went weak and he could barely stand. His lips trembled and his tongue seemed to be tied in knots as he kept begging for mercy, "No, no, I won't do it again, I'll never do it again."
"For the sake of our past as family, I never intended to take your lives, but you wanted to kill my wife and children. You deserve to die!"
Xiao Yuanhe raised his arm to protect his head. His body was curled up like a shrimp. "Good nephew, spare me, spare my life! I only have that little courage, how could I dare to kill someone? I really didn't know about the snake. I just wanted some money... to treat your second uncle's illness. It's not good for him to stay like this. Last night I dreamed that my eldest brother appeared to me in my dream, telling me to go to the eldest son's house and ask you for money to cure him and find him a wife, children, and to continue the family line."
"Utter nonsense!"
“You were in cahoots with them. From today onwards, I no longer have you as my third uncle, and I will send you to the authorities on charges of theft.”
"The government? No, no, no, how can it be considered stealing from family members? I'm taking it, taking it openly and honestly, I didn't steal it."
Xiao Xuance ignored his excuses and ordered them to be tied up.
Duan Hong and Shen Yichun were carried to a doctor, who examined their wounds.
Duan Hong was bitten on a vein in his neck, and the venom flowed along the vein throughout his body. He had difficulty breathing, and before anyone could start to save him, he died.
His eyes were wide open, with bloodshot veins appearing in his eyeballs, and purple bulges appearing around the bite marks on the side of his neck.
Madam Duan checked his breath again, but there was no sign of life. Her face filled with terror, and she rushed over, pounding his chest. "Master, Master, how could you leave us like this? What will become of our family? Master, you can't die! Wake up! Our Yun'er is gone, and now you're gone too! What am I supposed to do? I don't want to live anymore..."
Shen Yichun was bitten on the wrist and was still hanging on by a thread. The doctor tied his upper arm tightly with a cloth strip, made a cross on the blackened wound, and squeezed out the poisonous blood.
The doctor sprinkled snake medicine powder on his rolled-up flesh.
He then instructed his family, "Quickly, take half a lotus root and pound it to extract the juice! Also, prepare three qian of five-spice powder!"
After being rescued, Shen Yichun's life was saved, but she may not wake up.
The Shen family begged Dr. Li to save their child again.
Doctor Li shook his head and said, "I have done my best. It is already a blessing that I can save your life. Unless a divine doctor comes to the rescue."
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