Chapter 432

When everyone heard what Ye Xiaotian said, they all fell silent. Some people even secretly hid the promissory notes in their hands.

The attendant poured a cup of tea for Ye Xiaotian. Ye Xiaotian picked up the teacup and took a sip. He said to the merchants, "Why aren't you saying anything? Don't worry, I, Ye Xiaotian, am a reasonable person. Why would I go back on my word? "

Ye Xiaotian put down his teacup and tapped the table with his fingers. He scanned the crowd coldly and said, "However, I have to say something first. Since we're partners in business, we'll split the profits and shoulder the losses. My brother is generous enough to give you promissory notes based on the amount of shares you've invested. Isn't that inappropriate? "

A merchant wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead and straightened his buttocks. "Yes! It's inappropriate! "

Ye Xiaotian smiled coldly. "Xiao An, the accounts of the carriage and horse trade are a mess. Even if you ask me to look into it, I won't have anywhere to look. However, I believe you won't screw me over. How about this? You can report the numbers yourselves and calculate how much your shares will be worth based on the losses at the time when you're about to withdraw your shares! "

Ye Xiaotian took out a large piece of paper and slapped it on the table. "Everyone, estimate it yourselves and write down the numbers. I'll compensate you on behalf of my brother!"

The merchants looked at one another. None of them dared to stand up. Of course, they were unwilling to just give up on such a large sum of money. However, while Ye Xiaotian was the chief of Crouching Ox mountain, he was not the official manager of Tongren Province. He was still a member of the chieftain's class after all. They had to consider whether the losses outweighed the gains by offending such an important figure.

There were a few among them who straightened their buttocks slightly. They were rather eager, but they just hoped that someone else would stand up first. That way, they would have no qualms about standing up. However, the problem was that no one was willing to be the first to stand up.

Ye Xiaotian squinted his eyes slightly and said coldly, "There's no need to worry. Just write down the actual amount that should be paid to you, as well as your names, addresses, and birthplaces."

The publicly elected senior of the business industry was similar to the future chairman of the merchant guild in everyone's eyes. He gathered his courage and asked, "Sir, why do you want us to write down our names, addresses, and birthplaces?"

Ye Xiaotian yawned lazily and raised his eyebrows slightly. "I've just fought a battle with the Shi Qian Yang family recently, and I've achieved a great victory! I want to reward the three armies. One head is worth five taels of silver. I will have to pay out several thousand taels of silver in one go. I don't have that much money to give you for the time being. I will write down the details of your situation. When I have enough money, I will send them to you! "

When the merchants heard this, they broke out in a cold sweat, and their legs began to cramp. After a moment, one of them suddenly stood up, bowed to Ye Xiaotian and said, "Actually, I didn't invest much money. In business, there should be profits and losses. Now that I've lost money, I accept it. Please take back this IOU."

He respectfully put the IOU on the table and ran away as if his butt was on fire. Seeing that someone took the lead, the second and third immediately followed. All the merchants stood up and rushed to place their promissory notes on the table.

Ye Xiaotian's face darkened. "What's the meaning of this? This bit of silver is nothing in my eyes. This Ye's reputation is much more valuable than this bit of silver! If you don't collect the debt today, I'll lose more than I gain if you go out and spread nonsense to ruin my reputation in the future. "

"No, no, no! How can that be? We gave up on our own accord. Since we are partners in business, we should share blessings and misfortunes together! Sir, you're thinking too much. If I speak ill of you outside, I'll be at your mercy! "

"Yes, yes, yes!"

All the merchants handed over their promissory notes and swore to Ye Xiaotian that they wouldn't speak nonsense outside. Ye Xiaotian sighed. "Forget it. I'll let my brother know about your good intentions."

When the merchants heard this, it was as if they had been granted amnesty. They hurriedly expressed their gratitude and rushed out of the door. Because they rushed out at the same time, the shoulders of two merchants heavily hit the door frame, causing the dust on the roof to fall down.

When they were all gone, Ye Xiaotian, who was sitting at the head of the table, suddenly stood up and laughed loudly.

"Clap, clap, clap!"

Yan Shiwei clapped his hands and walked in. He gave him a thumbs up and praised, "Little brother Xiao An, your acting is very good! That awe-inspiring and domineering aura is amazing! "

Ye Xiao An smiled proudly. Yan Shiwei continued, "Oh right, I was just about to tell you. Your second brother just returned to Tongren."

Ye Xiao An's expression changed. He cried out involuntarily, "My brother returned?"

Yan Shiwei glanced at him. "What, are you afraid he'll find out?"

Ye Xiao An forced a laugh and rubbed his hands. "Big brother Yan, I want to borrow some silver from you."

Yan Shiwei said straightforwardly, "We're brothers. There's no need to borrow. How much do you want?"

Ye Xiao An stammered, "Three … three hundred taels!"

Yan Shiwei said, "No problem! But why do you want to borrow silver? "

Ye Xiao An embarrassedly told him about how he hooked up with a young woman and was caught red-handed by her husband. The husband wanted him to take out three hundred taels to settle the matter.

Yan Shiwei laughed in spite of himself and said, "Three hundred taels is enough for you to buy a beautiful concubine. This romantic affair is a bit too expensive. I think it's just the couple acting to extort money. Why give her money? You can pretend to be your second brother again. I'll lend you these two bodyguards to scare them. How good would that be? "

Ye Xiao An shook his head. "No, no! Those merchants have families and businesses. If you scare them, they'll be scared. He didn't want to risk his entire family's life for a sum of money. But this family is different. I think that person is a scoundrel. But he has nothing. He's willing to risk his life. This kind of street scoundrel is not someone you can offend. "

Yan Shiwei stared at him for a long time and thought, "This guy isn't that stupid, he knows who he can intimidate and who he can make use of!"

Ye Xiao An saw his expression and couldn't help but feel uneasy. "Big brother Yan, what's wrong?"

Yan Shiwei smiled and said, "It's nothing. It's just three hundred taels of silver. That's easy!"

…

As soon as the Tian Clan siblings returned to Guiyang, they launched a vigorous advertising campaign. Tian Binfei used all kinds of occasions to talk about the dangers his sister had encountered in the Zhan Clan Castle. He even talked about how Zhan Boxiong was a beast in human form. It was as if he didn't know that one shouldn't wash one's dirty linen in public.

Tian Miaowen had always disliked gatherings with the aristocratic ladies of Shuixi. There were poetry gatherings, handkerchief gatherings, and a group of women would gather together to gossip about Miss Li or Madam Wang. In her eyes, this was a very vulgar and unbearable behavior.

But this time, she also frequently participated in these events. She didn't miss the opportunity to talk about the dangers she had encountered. Her words were full of unwillingness. At first, although the women were comforted on the surface, they were actually secretly happy.

"Hmph, who told you to pretend to be virtuous! The Tian family has four heavenly kings. What's so great about that? Your family is no longer what it used to be. Why are you still putting on airs in front of us! "

But after the joy passed, a sense of justice came. Although Tian Miaowen was usually a little arrogant and would occasionally attend these gatherings of noble ladies, she was also cold and didn't like to talk to others. But no matter what, they were always the same class.

When Tian Miaowen was treated like this, they were bound by a common enemy. Once these women's sympathy overflowed, they would think of themselves as protectors. Tian Miaowen knew how to act. Usually, she just looked down on them for being vulgar and boring. But now, she wanted to make use of them. She was able to put down her attitude and gain even more sympathy.

The injustice that the Tian family encountered spread quickly in the political center of Guizhou — Guiyang City. People confirmed one thing. The Tian family was really just an empty shell. Being bullied by a second or third-rate tribe leader, the only thing they could do was to denounce, denounce continuously.

The weak were always pitied. They were originally strong, but now they had become weak. It made people feel like a hero at the end of his road. The Tian family used to care about their face the most. Face was also a capital after a long time. Now that they didn't care about their reputation, it had become a powerful "influence"!

Young Master An knew, and so did Young Master An's parents. Very soon, at a family banquet, Young Master An's parents, uncles, and aunts raised this matter to Old Master An. "The Tian family and the An family are equally famous. Now that the Tian family has suffered such a great humiliation, but there is no way to avenge it. Should our An family do something?"

Old Master An pondered for a while, looked at the children in the hall, and asked with a light smile, "Then, what do you think our An family should do? Send troops to suppress the Zhan family on behalf of the Tian family? "

Young Master An's father replied hesitantly, "Send troops … Of course, there's no need. But as long as you say the word and let the Zhan family apologize to the Tian family, I believe Zhan Boxiong won't dare to disobey."

Old Master An waved his hand and said, "That's so boring!"

The children in the hall looked at each other. What did he mean by boring? Then what would be interesting? They were all big shots outside, but in front of Old Master An, they were his sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons, so they didn't dare to ask.

Old Master An smiled again. "We don't need to care about the matters between children."

Everyone looked at each other again. Children … yes, Zhan Boxiong was Old Master An's junior, and Tian Miaowen was even more so, but … was this a grudge between children?

At this time, Yang Yinglong also quietly arrived at Guiyang. Although the nobles of Shuixi, Shuidong, and other areas all had their own territories, they would go to Guiyang whenever they had nothing to do. Because this was where the nobles gathered, all kinds of information, all kinds of exchanges, all kinds of interests, transactions, and negotiations were mostly carried out here.

And this time, he came to Guiyang for another important reason. The new Guizhou Governor, Ye Mengxiong, was about to take office. At the beginning of the year, the imperial court had issued a decree to transfer Ye Mengxiong to Guizhou as the Governor, but he couldn't leave Liaodong for a while. Only now did the news of his appointment come.

This Ye Mengxiong was clearly a civil official, but he had always been doing the work of a military general. Exterminating bandits, killing pirates, and fighting in Liaodong, how could he be treated lightly?

Even though Yang Yinglong had always been arrogant, he didn't want such a person to treat him as a thorn in his side the moment he arrived in Guizhou. Therefore, he lowered his attitude and personally went to Guiyang to wait to welcome this Governor.

Even someone as arrogant as Yang Yinglong was like this, the other nobles could be imagined. For a time, the Guiyang Prefecture was full of people, and the matter of the Tian family had become the biggest topic of conversation among these nobles who were waiting for Ye Mengxiong to take office.

As soon as Yang Yinglong arrived in Guiyang, he immediately heard about the matter between the Tian family and the Zhan family. Yang Yinglong couldn't help but laugh. "This Zhan Boxiong is really a good helper! I don't need to ask him to be the scapegoat, and he will do it on his own initiative! "