Chapter 50: Eavesdropping Climbing Over the Wall
Xingnong watched Village Chief Gu and the Village Chief’s Wife leave. She glanced at the small window of the house diagonally across from her. The window gently closed.
A cold glint flashed in her eyes. She turned around, about to go back to her room, but vaguely heard a shout. She thought for a moment, then walked over to the window.
Inside the house
“Ouch!” Aunt Li got down from the stool. Her legs were numb from standing for too long, and she fell to the ground.
Shen Dafu walked in, reeking of alcohol. He frowned at the sight. “What are you doing?”
Seeing him, Aunt Li ignored her numb legs and immediately said, “Didn’t Madam Yao ask me to keep an eye on that family of sluts? Just now, I saw the village chief of the Refugee Village come to visit Madam Gu’s family and hand them a stack of land deeds and house deeds. He even said that the house had been repaired and they could move there. Madam Gu must have used the silver she just swindled from Madam Yao to buy land and a house! You go and tell Master Shen quickly.”
Aunt Li’s heart was filled with envy and jealousy! Over a hundred taels could buy a lot of land.
She had been helping Yao Shi keep an eye on Madam Gu’s family for so many years, and she had never received more than a hundred taels!
Yao Shi only gave her enough silver to build this blue brick and tile house, trapping that family of sluts in the narrow alley, leaving them in darkness.
Hearing this, Shen Dafu immediately cursed, “Damn it, no wonder that deadbeat Gu Yangbin had the silver to buy land! He cost me a few taels!”
Peach Blossom Village was originally a Refugee Village. Most of the villagers were refugees who had settled there. It was also the poorest village in the surrounding area. People from nearby villages mostly looked down on the people of Peach Blossom Village.
Hearing this, Aunt Li immediately endured the numbness in her legs and stood up, asking nervously, “What do you mean you lost a few taels? What happened?”
Shen Dafu said, “Shen Shihua said that Sun Wenhao lost a lot of money at the gambling den and had to sell a few mu of fertile land and dry land. He knew that Sun Wenhao and I often drank together, so he asked me to go to Sun Wenhao and buy it. I specially spent a hundred copper coins to buy a jar of good wine today, thinking of getting him drunk and taking the opportunity to make him sell those fields to me cheaply! Then I could earn some profit! I didn’t expect that Gu Yangbin would ruin my good deed again!”
Aunt Li was furious when she heard this. “That son of a bitch! No, I’m going to tell Old Master Shen!”
Yesterday, Li Shi was arrested and imprisoned, Shen Mingzhu was beaten with a board, and the eldest branch of the Shen family paid more than a hundred taels of silver to Madam Gu’s family. Everyone in the village knew about this!
Yao Shi sent her maid to tell her that as long as she kept an eye on Madam Gu’s family and passed on any useful information, she would give her one of her cow’s calves.
She had been herding those three cows of the Shen family, and she knew that the mother cow was pregnant again!
Aunt Li rushed out.
Outside the wall, Xingnong stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall in a lazy posture. Hearing this, she straightened up and glanced coldly at the house of the eldest branch of the Shen family.
So Yao Shi had been having Aunt Li keep an eye on their family all these years.
It seemed that the eldest branch of the Shen family became rich after Shen Ruolan went to the capital.
She thought about the actions of the eldest branch of the Shen family over the years.
No wonder Madam Gu encountered robbers every time she went to the city to earn silver, and even broke her leg because of it!
It must have been because Aunt Li tipped them off!
Oh~
The wealth of the eldest branch of the Shen family was built on eating Madam Gu’s flesh and drinking her blood!
What a wonderful Shen Family Winery!
Xingnong returned to the house. The family was talking about moving to Peach Blossom Village the day after tomorrow.
Madam Gu asked Xingnong, “Xingnong, how about we move to Peach Blossom Village the day after tomorrow?”
“Whatever Grandma decides is fine.”
“Then we’ll move the day after tomorrow!” Madam Gu made the final decision.
Madam Gu handed the land deeds and documents to Xingnong. “Your Uncle Gu bought land for us and registered it under Zesen’s name. He wants to help us save some taxes. But he’s not the kind of person who would do such a thing. His own land is also only registered under Zesen’s name. He probably wants to help us pay the taxes secretly. Tomorrow, you go to the city and change the name back. There are sales documents below. Just take the documents with you.”
“Okay.” Xingnong took them and stuffed them into her bosom. With a thought, the stack of land deeds disappeared from her bosom.
It’s so convenient to have a portable space. Before Xingnong could finish sighing, the stack of land deeds entered the Creation Space, and with a flash of starlight, they disappeared!
Xingnong: !!!!!!
Where are her land deeds?
Could it be that this Creation Space can’t hold foreign objects?
With a thought, another stack of land deeds appeared in her bosom.
She finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Although she couldn’t see where the land deeds were stored after entering the Creation Space, it was enough that she could take them out with her mind!
They were probably stored in that inaccessible corridor.
โฟโฟโฟ
At night, the family gathered around the oil lamp, each busy with their own tasks. The problems Xinghui brought back were getting more and more difficult, almost all of which were taught by Xingnong.
Xinghui even suspected that Master Zhang’s problems were not for him, but for his sister.
~
A dark and windy night
Xingnong gently pushed open the door and walked out. She glanced at the high wall, then leaped up, grabbing the wall with both hands. With a flip, she landed on the other side of the wall.
The original owner had seen Shen Shihua bring a box of things back from the city every once in a while, and he always carried it home after dark. She guessed it contained account books.
The Shen family’s house only had two courtyards, and there weren’t many rooms. Xingnong saw a room locked from the outside with a padlock. It should be the storehouse.
She walked over and took out a piece of wire.
A dark figure silently approached and grabbed her hand.
Xingnong’s heart skipped a beat, and she reflexively grabbed the other person’s wrist.
A faint scent of cedarwood wafted into her nostrils.
“It’s me,” a deep, cold voice sounded close to her ear.
Xingnong: “. . .”
How did he end up here?
Chu Tiankuo, dressed in nightclothes, let go of her hand and motioned for her to step aside.
Xingnong stepped back two paces.
Chu Tiankuo took out a bamboo tube and blew some smoke into it.
After a while, he took the wire from Xingnong’s hand and easily opened the door.
“Let’s go!” Chu Tiankuo walked in first.
Xingnong followed him in and discovered a wolfhound sound asleep in the corner.
Xingnong asked curiously, “What are you doing here?”
Chu Tiankuo glanced around and saw the brazier in the corner. The ashes inside were no longer warm, and there was a faint smell of smoke in the air that hadn’t completely dissipated. “Checking the account books. What about you?”
He wanted to check the transactions from more than ten years ago, but it seemed he was a step too late.
There were several large wooden chests in the room, all locked.
Chu Tiankuo opened a wooden chest with the wire. It was full of account books.
Xingnong: “Same.”
Chu Tiankuo guessed what she wanted to do and said, “The Shen Family Winery didn’t evade taxes. Their daughter wants to participate in the imperial selection. The family backgrounds of all the candidates are investigated because they will serve the emperor in the palace in the future. So the investigation is very strict. If the Shen family has this plan, they wouldn’t dare to evade taxes.”
The reason Ren Zilin made such a big deal about checking taxes was to use it as an excuse to check the account books from previous years, see the flow of silver, and find some evidence.
“Hmm, then I came here for nothing!” Xingnong rested her chin on her hand, looking at the chests, wondering if there was any silver.
Good morning, everyone~
