The leaves had all fallen, and the fragrant grass was gone without a trace. The pine and cypress were as green as ever.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan had already put on new clothes. Xiao Hong had nothing to do, so she got up early to catch up with the ducks and geese hatched by Cherries and headed to her own pond.
The servant next to her was replaced by the less busy Pomegranate. Song Jinggong was addicted to selling soybean oil and only came back to report a few days ago. Da Niu was still in charge of selling soy sauce and carrots.
Wang Juan was carrying two small sandbags in her hands. She gently swung them as she chatted with Zhang Xiaobao. "It looks like winter is coming. When it snows, what can we do to make money in winter?"
"I don't know. Anyway, there's a kang in the village, so we don't have to worry about the cold." Zhang Xiaobao was also carrying two sandbags.
"I'm actually worried about your family's Zhuangzi. This year, there's a lot of food everywhere during the autumn harvest, so there's bound to be people thinking about this place." Wang Juan threw the sandbags far away. She was distracted and almost tripped over.
Zhang Xiaobao was careful. The sandbags he threw were farther away than Wang Juan's. He trotted over and picked them up. He hesitated and said, "Don't be afraid. There's a way to deal with the people coming this year."
Because they were wearing a lot of clothes, the two of them only played for an hour before sweating profusely. Shiliu had already prepared hot water. Seeing that the sky was gradually darkening, she advised them, "Little Master, Little Miss, it's windy outside. Why don't we play in the house?"
The two responded and turned around to go back with Pomegranate. At this time, Song Jinggong, who had just returned yesterday, rushed into the courtyard. When he saw Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, his calm face revealed a worried expression.
"Zijin, you're in such a hurry. Did something good happen?" Zhang Xiaobao heard the footsteps and looked back. When he saw Song Jinggong, he asked with a smile.
"My little ancestor, what good news? Something big has happened. Little Young Master, the business over there can't be done." Song Jinggong saw that the Little Young Master was still in the mood to joke, and his expression became more bitter.
Wang Juan chimed in, "Is there anything Young Master Song can't do? Back then, you deceived many people. Why can't you deal with it today? "
"My little ancestor, this time is different from the past. I can't lie to you. Someone in Sanshui County said that something happened after eating the soybean oil sold by Zhuangzi Zhang. They called a doctor to check on him and said that he was poisoned. It's not easy to do business anymore."
Song Jinggong had a dejected look on his face as he recounted what had happened in detail.
Yesterday, when Song Jinggong returned to Sanshui County, he sold both soybean oil and tofu. He could buy them with money or exchange them with other things, especially soybeans. One catty of soybeans could be exchanged for two catties of tofu. He did this so that no one would know that soybean oil was made from soybeans.
That night, when Song Jinggong was about to ask someone to pack up the stall, a group of people came. Song Jinggong knew them. These people were idle and never did anything good. At first, he thought that they were here to force him to pay. When they came closer, he knew that they were here to buy soybean oil, a total of twenty catties.
At that time, Song Jinggong didn't think much about it and sold it to them.
Who knew that as soon as he came out of the 'Mindful Residence' this morning, those people came to the door, followed by a doctor who testified. They said that they bought oil last night, and when they went back, one of them was sick. The few of them even carried the sick person in front of the stall as a witness.
Song Jinggong knew that he was being blackmailed at that time. When he saw the people around him looking at him, he explained. Who knew that the doctor insisted that the person lying there fell sick after eating the soybean oil sold by the stall. His words were so convincing that people had no choice but to believe it.
Those people didn't say any threatening words. They just wanted Song Jinggong to take out fifty taels of silver. The people around didn't know who to believe. Listening to the words of those people, it seemed that they wanted more money. But since they fell sick from eating the soybean oil and there was a doctor as a witness, they hesitated for a moment.
When Song Jinggong saw this, he knew that he couldn't do business anymore. He hastily packed up the stall and ordered people to send the items back to the Mindful House. He told those people to come back the next day and then hurried back to Zhuangzi.
"Oh, so that's how it is," Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan nodded at the same time, but they didn't show any embarrassed expression.
"For the purpose of illegal sexual activity, the use of threats or blackmail against the victim to forcibly ask for public or private property. It's for extortion and blackmail. Xiao Bao, it's up to you. "
Wang Juan opened her mouth and said a series of words. She turned her head and looked at Zhang Xiaobao, meaning that she wanted to see how Zhang Xiaobao would deal with it in the future.
Zhang Xiaobao pursed his lips, as if he didn't want to deal with this matter. He sighed, "It seems that I have to spend money again."
"Little Master, are you going to give them money?" When Song Jinggong heard Zhang Xiaobao's words, he thought that Zhang Xiaobao would choose to give them money. He advised, "Little Master, you can't give them money. If you give them money today, they will come back tomorrow. Besides, there are other ruffians in San Shui County. When they see that there is profit, they will take turns to go to the paralyzed people.
"Who said that I'm going to give them money? It's not easy for me to earn money. If I want to spend it, I have to spend it on something useful. When you go back today, find out who is in those ruffians' families. Then use your High Scholar status to see the county magistrate of San Shui County. Bring along the hundred taels of silver, my Zhuangzi's chili sauce and the soybean oil you sell. "
Zhang Xiaobao naturally wouldn't give people money for free. He thought about how Tuqiao Village was under San Shui County's management and could still use it next year. It was better to give them money first than to use it now.
Song Jinggong didn't know about this. When he heard the hundred taels of silver, he couldn't help but tremble. He swallowed his saliva and said,
"Little Master, those ruffians won't really ask for fifty taels. If they can extort ten or eight taels, they will be satisfied. A hundred taels? Isn't that more? If you give me twenty taels, I can get the county magistrate to help me. "
Song Jinggong wasn't wrong. A hundred taels of silver was too much. Usually, for small matters, they only need to give ten or five taels of silver and the county magistrate will be flexible.
Without waiting for Zhang Xiaobao to speak, Wang Juan opened her mouth and said, "Little Master Song, do as Xiao Bao says. Give them money to show their attitude. Let those ruffians know and give them a warning."
"What's a warning?" Song Jinggong really didn't understand. Although he had cheated many people before, he didn't understand.
"Let him know that a hundred taels of silver can be used to find him for a small matter. It can also be sent to his superior to find his fault. If it weren't for the fact that we don't have much money and have changed all of it into food, we can directly give him two hundred taels of silver. It will be useful next year."
Wang Juan and Zhang Xiaobao had a tacit understanding. She knew what Zhang Xiaobao was thinking about and how to deal with people.
Song Jinggong thought for a while and finally understood. He nodded and said, "Little Master and Little Miss are still the best. I will do it now."
After talking, Song Jinggong was anxious about the matter and left in a hurry. Pomegranate and the other two continued to walk into the house.
"Little Master, when Little Master Song came and said something, I was scared and didn't know what to do. I didn't expect you to solve it so easily. Little Master seems to be not afraid of this kind of thing at all."
While Shiliu bathed the two of them, she exclaimed in admiration.
"Pomegranate, you have to remember that Xiao Bao is not afraid of this kind of thing. This kind of thing may not be easily solved. It's best that the county magistrate doesn't dare to do anything and takes our money. It will be easier to find him to do things in the future."
Wang Juan didn't care about this kind of thing. Such a small trick, if it was used on Zhang Xiaobao, he wouldn't even bother to do it.
Zhang Xiaobao also echoed and said, "Indeed, I still hope that those people have a higher status. At least there is a powerful person in their family. When they really want to do things, they are not afraid of spending money. They are only afraid that there is no place to send money."
"Little Master and Little Miss are talking about profound things. Pomegranate doesn't understand at all." Pomegranate listened to the two little masters and felt that she was very stupid.
"Pomegranate, don't be sad. Listen more and see more in the future and you will know. You did very well in the things that I asked you to do." Wang Juan was afraid that Pomegranate would lose confidence and quickly comforted her.
*****
Song Jinggong left the manor and hurried back. When it was evening, he finally returned to Sanshui County. He took out some silver from the Caretaker's Inn and bought some bean oil and chili sauce. Without any delay, he went straight to the county yamen.
Song Jinggong had met the county magistrate twice. He gave the gatekeeper a few copper coins. After the gatekeeper reported, the gatekeeper said that the county magistrate was inviting him in and let him in.
After walking through two doors, he came to the study. Song Jinggong directly bowed and said, "Student Song Jinggong greets the county magistrate."
"You don't have to be so polite. Please take a seat. I heard that Song Jinggong has done a few good deeds for the people of Sanshui County. I have long wanted to meet Song Jinggong, but unfortunately, I have been busy with the county affairs and couldn't find the time. Today, Song Jinggong has fulfilled one of my wishes."
The county magistrate Cheng Lingxiang was only able to meet Song Jinggong because of his scholarly achievements, so he also started to be polite.
"County Magistrate, I am really flattered to be remembered by you. Student Zijin will definitely follow your instructions in the future and work for the people wholeheartedly. I came in a hurry and didn't prepare anything decent. I only have some vegetable oil and chili sauce. It's too shabby."
Song Jinggong didn't pass the things to others and directly brought them to the study. He said respectfully as he slowly placed the big bag on the table. The oil and chili sauce were mostly packed in jars and there was a slight sound coming from them.
However, there were ten ingots and ten taels of silver. It wasn't easy to get such a large amount of silver. When County Magistrate Cheng Lingxiang heard this, his eyes lit up and signaled for Song Jinggong to drink some tea. He seemed to feel that the bag was a bit of a hindrance and used his hand to push it to the side. As he was pushing, his hand grabbed the place where the money was.
When he grabbed it, Cheng Lingxiang's expression changed. He roughly estimated how much money it was. So much money? What was Song Jinggong trying to do? Could it be that he killed someone and wanted him to change his sentence? This was difficult to handle. However, since the 'reason' was so big, he could think of a solution.
"Good, I have heard about this chili sauce long ago. It's a good opportunity to taste it. Zijin is so thoughtful. What has Zijin been busy with recently?" Cheng Lingxiang began to think about how to deal with this matter.
"Replying to Sir, I feel that I have no hope of taking the exam again. A few days ago, I found a good Zhuangzi and worked as an assistant. This oil and chili sauce was made by that Zhuangzi. Who knew … Sigh, let's not talk about it. Today, I am here to visit Sir."
As Song Jinggong spoke, he had a relaxed expression on his face, but as he sighed, his expression turned into one of dejection.
Today, there are two more chapters. In the next week, there will be three chapters a day. I urgently need to collect and recommend. Thank you.
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