As dusk fell and the sun began to set, the fifth waterwheel arrived and was installed, beginning to irrigate the highest rice paddies.
Magistrate Cao was also very pleased. The solution to the drought problem in Xinkou County was a result of the strong support from Zhengyang County, and this would bring him a good bonus in the annual assessment.
It was getting late, and they couldn't go back today, so they decided to head back tomorrow morning.
Zhao Xian was very happy that he had fulfilled his mission, but he never dreamed that something would happen at home that he would regret deeply.
This day was like any other; there were many things to do at home, and everything was proceeding as usual.
Just as Zhao Xian had predicted, quite a few people did bring dried mushrooms today, and Qin Yingying used the money she had collected from kimchi to pay for them. These funds were quickly used up.
Qin Yingying then made an agreement with the person who delivered the ground mushrooms to deliver them again in three days, and to purchase them at the same price of 120 wen per catty.
The purchase price of dried ground mushrooms was 120 wen per catty, which caused a sensation in the village. People who had ground mushrooms at home were very happy. The most was more than 10 catties of ground mushrooms per person, which was more than one tael of silver.
Many people regretted not picking wild mushrooms back then, while others picked some but didn't keep them and ate them instead.
Eating such expensive ground mushrooms was a waste of money, and they were filled with deep regret.
It was already late afternoon when Zhang the landlord arrived with two men. As agreed, he was at Zhao Xian's house to collect the principal and interest of the loan, amounting to twenty taels of silver.
The matter was not complicated. Li Chun'e had a silver note that she could use to pay Zhang Dahu, and Zhang Dahu could simply get the change.
However, Zhang the landlord lent the money to the scholar with a certain purpose. Given the circumstances at the time, the scholar would certainly not be able to repay the loan when it matured. As a result, the scholar's old house would belong to Zhang the landlord.
In fact, what happened later was pretty much what Zhang the landlord had expected. But in the last ten days or so, a modern person transmigrated into the scholar's body, which led to the events that followed.
In the past ten days or so, the scholar's family has undergone tremendous changes. Not only are they eating well every day, but they have also bought a mule cart, built a workshop, and hired three servants.
It seemed his wishful thinking had failed, which made him very depressed.
How can I make my plan work? When I go to the scholar's house to collect the debt later, I should think of some ways to make things difficult for him so that he can't repay the loan smoothly.
Once the hour of You (5-7 PM) has passed, it can be determined that the scholar has breached the contract, and the old house belonging to the scholar's family will belong to him.
Having made up his mind, he prepared to do so. At the hour of You (5-7 PM), he waited another half hour before arriving at Zhao Xian's house.
"Scholar's wife, is the scholar home?" Zhang the landlord asked, leading two men as he pushed open the courtyard gate and went inside.
"Oh, it's Master Zhang. Zhao Xian went out early this morning on business." Upon seeing Master Zhang arrive, he replied.
Hearing that the scholar had left early in the morning, Zhang the wealthy man was overjoyed; he seemed to see a glimmer of hope.
The scholar isn't home, and he might have forgotten about paying off his debt at the end of the month. In that case, his family might not be able to come up with twenty taels of silver right away. That would be great, saving me the trouble of explaining.
"Oh, didn't the scholar mention that he had to pay off his debt today when he left?"
"As I said, the money was prepared long ago. He also insisted that we take back the property deed and IOU. I wonder if Master Zhang brought these documents with him?"
"I brought it. Bring the silver here so I can take a look." Zhang the landlord thought to himself, "When I see the silver later, if there are any bite marks on it, I'll say that the silver is damaged and make them produce brand new silver to pay off the debt."
Li Chun'e asked Zhang the landlord to wait a moment while she went to her room to get the silver notes.
"This is a banknote for three hundred taels of silver. Just give me two hundred and eighty taels of silver in change." Li Chun'e showed the banknote to Zhang the landlord.
This was indeed a three-hundred-tael silver note. Zhang the wealthy man was stunned. How could the scholar's family be so rich, spending such a large silver note so easily?
“Scholar’s wife, we agreed with the scholar that he would pay back twenty taels of silver when the due date was reached. You can give me a silver note, but I don’t have that much money to give you.” What Zhang the landlord said made sense and there was nothing wrong with it.
“The family originally had a lot of silver. The workshop cost more than forty taels of silver. Currently, the family cannot come up with twenty taels of silver. However, the scholar said that the silver notes are issued by the government and are completely regarded as silver, which can be used to pay off debts.”
The scholar's words were certainly true, and I couldn't refuse the silver notes. However, I would use the excuse of not having change to delay as much as possible. Once it was past dusk, it would be considered that the scholar had breached the contract.
“Scholar’s wife, this banknote is too big, I really can’t make change. You’d better think of something quickly. According to the agreement on the loan, if you don’t repay it by 5 PM, it will be a breach of contract, and your old house will belong to me.” Zhang the landlord said coldly.
Li Chun'e was taken aback, clearly frightened by Zhang the landlord, and didn't know what to do for a moment.
Zhang the landlord's loud voice startled the people inside the house, who quickly came out to see what was going on.
After learning the whole story, Qin Shiyu couldn't help but sneer.
"That's where you went wrong. You refused to accept the banknotes on the grounds that you couldn't give change, and that's your responsibility."
Besides, you're only arriving now because the debt was due at 5 PM. If you had come a little earlier, you could have exchanged the banknotes at the money exchange. This shows that you did it on purpose.
Your intentions are clear: you want to take possession of this house. If this matter goes to the authorities, you might not get the better end of the deal.
In the patriarch's house, Qin Shiyu was not afraid of this wealthy Zhang; she wanted to protect the patriarch's interests.
In the village, Zhang Dahu was a ruthless character. He was not afraid of anyone. Although Qin Shiyu's words made sense, he didn't care at all. He was determined to get this old house. He had already revealed his vicious nature.
As dusk approached and the sun was about to set, Zhao Xiaosheng went to check on the rice paddies. Zhao Xiaoshan was the only man at home, and he couldn't let outsiders bully his family.
"It's just twenty taels of silver. Please wait a moment while I go to Grandma's house and will be right back."
Zhao Xiaoshan knew that his grandmother's family was wealthy, so he went to her for help first. He knew that Zhang the landlord had ill intentions today, and he would not let him succeed.
Upon arriving at Old Mrs. Zhao's house, Zhao Xiaoshan explained the situation and asked Old Mrs. Zhao to give him twenty taels of silver so he could go back and help in the emergency.
Upon hearing this, Old Mrs. Zhao frowned. She knew that anyone in the village who had borrowed money from Zhang the landlord had ended up being ripped off.
“That Zhang the landlord is too wicked. He won’t even accept silver notes. He’s deliberately trying to swindle our Zhao family. I’ll give you the money, and Grandma will go with you. If he continues to bully our Zhao family, I’ll make him suffer.”
After the old lady finished speaking, she went to her room, opened the cabinet, and found it full of small silver ingots and some loose silver. It would be no problem to gather twenty taels of silver.
In order to save time, the old lady almost ran out of the house, leaving Wu with a scolding.
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