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墨書 Inktalez
The village chief of Shangqiao Village arranged a marriage for his son, the bride being the daughter of the village chief of Wheat Village. There is a bridge near Wheat Village, and Shangqiao Village planned to use that bridge.
However, the road from Shangqiao Village to that bridge has now become impassable!
Someone intends to enclose that area to build a manor. If the manor is constructed, it will be situated by the river on one side and against the mountain on the other, and that mountain also belongs to the owner of the manor. Shangqiao Village can only dream of crossing over unless they grow wings!
Upon hearing this news, the people of Shangqiao Village felt as if the sky was about to fall. The village chief has tried negotiating several times to no avail; the other party will not abandon their plans for the manor just because Shangqiao Village wants to use this road. That road was originally just a path used by common folk, not an official road. Now that the land has been sold, naturally, the road is gone.
The person who can buy such a large piece of land is certainly not someone to be trifled with. The people of Shangqiao Village were warned that if they continued to disturb them, they would have to deal with the government.
"So now the people of Shangqiao Village want to cross our Xiaqiao Village's bridge? They really have some nerve," Xiao Lihua said with a smile after hearing Yang Cao explain why the people from Shangqiao Village had come. She thought it was poetic justice; they had initially tried to squeeze Xiaqiao Village, and now it was their turn to suffer. They truly deserved it.
Yang Cao chuckled and said, "Indeed, their audacity is remarkable. Heaven can't stand their bad conscience any longer and is punishing them by making them experience what our village went through recently. Our villagers are quite amused; they're just waiting to see their misfortune. They are worse off than us; if they don't cross our bridge, they will have to take a longer route around our village, which is even more dangerous. Let them tremble in fear."
Zhang Lianxiang and Yumiang, sitting nearby, also smiled. It wasn't that they lacked compassion; it was just that the people of Shangqiao Village didn't deserve any sympathy.
Zhang Lianxiang asked, "Is your sister-in-law causing trouble? I can't believe she isn't speaking well of Shangqiao Village."
"She did cause a scene. When our village couldn't cross the river before, she didn't go stir things up in Shangqiao Village. But her fussing was pointless; my father-in-law just had to give her a glare, and she was scared into silence," Yang Cao frowned at the mention of her sister-in-law.
Yumiang said, "I think the village chief will definitely let the people of Shangqiao Village use this bridge. We have quite a few girls who married into Shangqiao Village, far more than those who came from there to our village."
"What good does that do? When her family village encountered trouble before, none of them made a fuss like Zhang Shuitao did; they were all afraid of being sent back home. Instead, they all ran back to their families demanding that their home villages build bridges for them. A bunch of ingrates! If they still want face now, they shouldn't come back."
Zhang Lianxiang snorted and then said to Xiao Lihua, "Li Hua, since you and your husband funded this bridge, you should say something to prevent Shangqiao Village from using it. If you do that, they definitely won't be able to cross."
Xiao Lihua smiled but thought that it was essential for Shangqiao Village to cross this bridge. If they were denied passage and pushed too hard, who knows how they might retaliate against Xiaqiao Village? She wasn't afraid but wondered how her village would react. As Yumiang mentioned, there were indeed many girls from their village who married into Shangqiao Village; if things escalated into a conflict, their own village would not find peace either. After some time of unrest, they would probably end up agreeing to let them use the bridge anyway.
Xiao Lihua would not stop after most people agreed; she would not go against others for a bridge. Shangqiao Village had never been her enemy, but she also did not want to let the people of Shangqiao Village pass for free. If they were allowed to cross without consequence, it would be as if they were repaying the favor for making Xiaqiao Village pay to repair the bridge in the first place. They had to learn a lesson for their selfishness. Xiao Lihua felt that this was not something she needed to worry about; the villagers of Xiaqiao Village, who had suffered so much from Shangqiao Village, would not miss this opportunity.
The people of Shangqiao Village came again and again, not only the village chief but also bringing villagers along. A group of old and young, men and women, cried and pleaded. In the end, the village chief of Shangqiao Village even invited the town mayor to help plead their case.
Once the town mayor arrived, village chief Li Gao could no longer hold out, and the villagers could not withstand it either.
In the end, just as Xiao Lihua had guessed, the people of Xiaqiao Village softened. However, Li Gao still came to find Xie Youshun and Xiao Lihua, saying they were the ones who paid for the bridge's repair and asking whether they agreed or not.
Xie Youshun and Xiao Lihua had already discussed this matter and had made up their minds.
"Village chief, let them pass, but they cannot do so for free. Let them offer three hundred taels from their village, then they can go."
"I think that's acceptable."
Upon hearing Xie Youshun's suggestion, the village chief nodded repeatedly. He also harbored resentment towards Shangqiao Village; if it weren't for the town mayor intervening, he wouldn't dare offend him and wouldn't want to let Shangqiao Village's people cross the bridge. Now that Xie Youshun proposed that they pay three hundred taels, it aligned with what he was thinking. The total cost of repairing this bridge was around four hundred twenty or thirty taels; making Shangqiao Village pay three hundred taels meant they would have to spend quite a bit more silver.
Li Gao conveyed this condition, and upon hearing it, the people of Shangqiao Village wilted. Three hundred taels? If both villages had repaired the bridge together initially, it wouldn't have cost that much at all. But Li Gao insisted on this amount of silver, and the town mayor knew well what good deeds Shangqiao Village had done in the past, so he no longer spoke in their favor.
The final outcome was that the people of Shangqiao Village could indeed pay these three hundred taels of silver but could only provide one hundred taels upfront; they would give the remaining two hundred taels before the New Year.
Xie Youshun handed over one hundred taels in banknotes to Xiao Lihua. Since they were the ones who paid for the bridge's repair, any silver returned would naturally belong to them. He requested that Shangqiao Village convert it into banknotes.
Xiao Lihua thought this was fine; originally believing they would spend over four hundred taels of silver for a good reputation, they now only spent a little over one hundred taels and could reclaim three hundred taels. Indeed, when one does good deeds, Heaven will not let good people suffer too much; only those like Shangqiao Village would face misfortune.
The wall built in the middle of the road by Xiaqiao Village was torn down, allowing the people of Shangqiao Village to start using this route again and cross the bridge once more.
After some time passed, the shame felt by the people of Shangqiao Village finally faded away.
In the blink of an eye, it was the season of Autumn Harvest again, with both rice and corn being harvested. The people from both villages were so exhausted that they could hardly stand up straight, and no one wanted to think about the troubles caused by that bridge anymore.
Xie Youshun's family had a lot of work this year because they had just bought a Paddy Field, so Xiao Dashu came to help. Not only did he come, but Wang also joined in. Both of them were skilled workers and could cut rice very quickly. They didn't let Xiao Lihua go to the fields; instead, they asked her to stay home and cook. However, Xiao Lihua still went to the fields to do some tasks she could manage, such as bundling rice stalks.
The fields were filled with people harvesting rice; the adults were busy working while the children picked up rice ears and caught grasshoppers, creating a scene of abundance in the fields.
As they finished most of the work in the fields, the weather began to cool down.
This year was a bountiful one for Xie Youshun's family; they harvested a lot of grain and earned plenty of money, making them the envy of everyone in the village. Xie Youshun's smile grew wider.
However, the Xie Family Old Residence was not very peaceful. Ruyi had originally planned to get married this autumn and then split from her family, but her engagement was called off.
The division of the family had actually been completed because of auspicious matters; the Wang Clan could no longer collect money earned by their son’s daughter-in-law. Aside from still eating together and living in one courtyard, there was really no difference from being separated. Even if Ruyi didn’t marry, some wanted to move out, but before they could propose it, the Old Couple suggested they wait another year, saying that by next year they would surely find a good match for Ruyi, and then they could move out.
Xie Youkang and his wife were reluctant; this house belonged to them. If their brothers had moved out earlier, it would have been quieter for them. Xie Youtai and his wife also didn’t want to stay; they preferred to live separately for more freedom. They envied Xie Youshun’s good life. Only Xie Youhe and his wife were content to stay; they thought it was fine here as they could save more money.
Ruyi listened as her family discussed her marriage and cried again.
Li Family rolled her eyes and said, “If you ask me, it’s all Fourth Brother’s fault. The Gao Family treated our Xie Family so poorly; why should they get to cross the bridge? We should take this opportunity to seek justice for Ruyi! They’re doing well for themselves while not giving Ruyi a single penny; how stingy! If Ruyi had two or three hundred taels as dowry, she would definitely have no trouble getting married—even to someone in the city.”
Xie Shengcai glared at her and said, “Shut up! Don’t set your sights on Fourth Son. If you really cared about this, why didn’t you go talk to the Gao Family back then?”
Li Family lowered her head and replied, “I’m not the one who paid for the bridge repairs; I don’t have that kind of ability to make demands.”
“You know Fourth Son is the one who repaired the bridge! If you’re not afraid of being drowned by village gossip, go find him! But I’m afraid you wouldn’t even be able to get through the door!” Xie Shengcai said. Ever since the village chief had scolded him once, he understood a lot more now and didn’t want to cause any more trouble for his fourth son.
Ruyi felt annoyed listening to them and went out alone.
Ruyi thought about what Sister-in-law had just said regarding Fourth Brother's unwillingness to support her. Unconsciously, she found herself heading towards Fourth Brother's house. Upon arriving at the entrance, she saw a very luxurious carriage parked outside, and the horse pulling it looked like a fine steed. Next to the carriage sat a coachman.
Ruyi wondered who had come to Fourth Brother's house; they clearly looked wealthy. She wanted to see who it was, so she walked in.
"Auntie," Shitou and Mutou were playing in the yard and called out when they saw Ruyi enter.
"Auntie," Mutou also called out, hiding behind Shitou as he was a bit afraid of Ruyi.
"Shitou, Mutou, Auntie has come to see you. Is your mother home? I need to talk to her about something."
Ruyi only glanced at the two children before walking straight inside. She heard men's voices and laughter coming from within; the sound was pleasant and clearly belonged to young men. Ruyi thought that any man who could afford such a fine carriage must be wealthy. She had heard that Fourth Brother and his family sold their Secret Recipe to someone; could this be that person?
Since being rejected by the Gao Family, Ruyi had been eager to marry into a good family to show the people in the Village that she, Xie Ruyi, was not so easily defeated. That was why she felt drawn to wealthy individuals now.
"Fourth Brother, Sister Four, I'm here! I have something to ask Sister Four. Ah, there are guests at home!"
Ruyi directly lifted the curtain and entered, but upon seeing the people in the Hall, she quickly felt a bit embarrassed and lowered the beaded curtain slightly, leaving a small gap that allowed half of her face to be seen. It created a sense of beauty reminiscent of holding a pipa partially concealed.
Xiao Lihua was speechless and thought that if only Ruyi's eyes wouldn't sneakily peek inside, she would look even more beautiful.
The author has something to say: There is a phenomenon called "commitment phobia," and it seems I've caught it. I said I would add more today, but it ended up being so late, and it seems I can't add more after all. I'm so ashamed; I'm afraid of making promises again and not being able to keep them. Let's see how things go tomorrow instead; promises should not be made lightly. I'm worried about being accused of being untrustworthy, so I won't make any more promises in the future.
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