After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 340 The Return of the Caravan
Cen Li slowly sat down, his brows furrowed. "The Emperor has only bestowed one title in the past few years: Marquis of Yong'an! This man came from a poor background and had been by the Emperor's side even before the Emperor ascended the throne."

It is said that he saved the emperor's life and was later entrusted with important responsibilities. As for what he did, no one knows. All that is known is that he contributed to the great victory of Langya Kingdom over Longxia Kingdom. There are many other things that outsiders do not know. No one dared to object when the emperor conferred upon him the title of Marquis of Yong'an.

"Hearing you say that, it really could be him. If he really is the powerful figure behind Shen Yi, then Mingzhu's situation is in trouble!"

The emperor's new favorite, whose status was far beyond what Cen Yingfan could compare to.

Zhu Yixuan's face darkened, and he clenched his fists tightly. "Uncle, I'm just a lowly officer in the military. I can take responsibility for Mingzhu's mistakes, but what if my father-in-law gets implicated?"

Cen Li's expression changed, and he gritted his teeth in anger, "She only taught two lowly people a lesson, but the Shen family is going way too far!"

Zhu Yixuan sighed, "Perhaps the servant didn't explain the situation clearly enough. Mingzhu broke into a private residence, injured innocent civilians, and even hired thugs to cause trouble in the village. And all of this was witnessed by Marquis Yong'an."

Since the incident, I have been keeping a close eye on the situation in Shenjiazhuang. The girl who was injured by Mingzhu was seriously injured and was taken back to the capital by the Marquis of Yong'an. If she can be cured, that will be fine. But if she can't be cured, Mingzhu will have committed the heinous crime of murdering innocent people.

I know what my uncle is trying to say. Money talks, everyone knows that, but the problem is the girl Mingzhu injured comes from a wealthy family. They're not short of money, and like the Cen family, they dote on their daughter; they would never accept monetary compensation.

After hearing Zhu Yixuan's words, Cen Li's face darkened. If that was the case, he would have to ask his older brother for advice. He absolutely could not act rashly now.

Cen Li came and went, barely getting a chance to sit down.

Zhu Yixuan closed the door as if nothing had happened and continued his low-key mourning period.

When the first frost fell, the Ke Dasong family, whom Su Tai and Shen Yi had been longing to see, finally arrived.

Just like in previous years, they first drove the cattle and sheep into Shenjiazhuang.

As soon as they arrived at the village entrance, someone ran to inform Su Tai.

Su Tai hurriedly came out to greet her.

"Uncle, how many cattle and sheep did you bring over this year?" Su Tai asked impatiently as soon as she saw him.

Ke Dasong became nervous because of her. "About the same as last year, a thousand sheep and five hundred cows. What? Is that too much?"

Su Tai shook her head frantically, "No, no, Uncle, let's go home and talk first."

As soon as Ke Dasong and his companions entered Su Tai's house, they were served hot tea and snacks. Their attentiveness and thoughtfulness left them completely bewildered.

"Xiao Tai, just say what you want to say. We're not strangers. It's strange to have so much going on!" Ke Dasong tightened his clothes and looked at the villagers in the room.

Su Tai smiled warmly, "Uncle, we have a big business deal we'd like to discuss with you."

When Su Tai revealed their bridge-building plan, Ke Dasong and his group were so shocked that they fell off their stools and onto the ground.

"You...you want 55,000 cattle and sheep? Are you sure?"

Several people tried to calculate the quantity on their fingers for a long time but still couldn't figure it out.

Su Tai kindly reminded them, "If you're not in a hurry, you can go back to the ice field again to collect sheep for us. We won't let you work for nothing; you'll get every penny you deserve for your hard work."

Upon hearing this, Ke Dasong had no reason to refuse and immediately called his fellow villagers to return the way they came.

Su Tai couldn't possibly raise so many cattle and sheep here, so she quickly notified Su Chunlin to come and take them away.

The autumn harvest is over, the weather is getting cold, and more families are eating roasted whole lamb.

Su Village can roast twenty or thirty sheep a day, and a thousand sheep would be consumed in no time if kept there.

She kept the beef for herself, which she could use to make beef pancakes and braised beef, or she could have Su Zhan and the others take it out to do business.

Judging by the days, Su Zhan should be back by now. Speak of the devil, and he appears.

Just as Su Chunlin brought the sheep back, Su Chuan and his group entered Shenjiazhuang.

The first thing the group did upon their return was to go to Su Tai's house to settle accounts.

They still have outstanding payments to make for the goods they took from the village, and there's also the money to be divided.

Su Tai called over Xu Shi, Qi Yan, and a few others to help cook and entertain them.

Just then, the guokui (a type of flatbread) next door came out of the oven, and Su Tai brought over a large bowl of guokui.

Su Chuan and the others took a bite of the guokui (a type of flatbread), drank a big gulp of fresh milk tea, and laughed heartily.

"Home is the best! I miss it so much when I'm away!" Su Zhan said playfully, then looked at Su Tai and asked, "Where's my brother-in-law? Where did he go?"

“Your brother-in-law became the town official of Dahe Town. He spends all his time there during the day and can’t come back.”

Su Tai's words stunned everyone, leaving them speechless for a long time.

She could only offer a brief explanation.

Su Sheng and the others were deeply moved by what they heard.

"Good people are rewarded, and that's exactly what my brother-in-law is like!" Su Sheng commented very aptly.

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

Su Zhan was overjoyed. "Now I have a town official as my brother-in-law! Hahaha. From now on, I won't go to Moshi Town for the market anymore, I'll go to Dahe Town!"

"Then you'll have to set off tonight!" Su Sheng mocked mercilessly.

After joking around for a while, they finally got down to business.

Su Chuan brought out boxes of silver and said, "Xiao Tai, the 50,000 taels of silver owed to the village are all here. In a little while, have the village chief come over to settle the accounts and pay back the villagers' silver first."

The rest is ours. Let's divide it up properly. My brother-in-law and I have discussed it, and we're going to the capital again before the New Year, to come back before then. We're sure we can make a fortune this time.”

"Yes! We all have this plan. Anyway, we're just sitting at home doing nothing in this cold weather, so we might as well go out and make some money."

Ye An echoed, "Before, my family was poor and we had to repair the house every year. Now we live in a sturdy brick house, so there's no need to repair it at all. In winter, we just go around eating, drinking, and visiting each other's homes, chatting about this and that. It's much quieter outside."

Seeing that they had all made their plans, Su Tai took them to the wool sweater workshop.

"Look, these are all warm wool sweaters made by our village. They are not only comfortable but also very warm. You can take them with you."

Su Chuan's eyes lit up, and without saying a word, he bought all the wool sweaters.

Knowing that Su Tai was going to process braised beef, they decided to rest for two more days and wait for her delivery.

While we have this time, we can also collect some crabapples.

Apples can be sold as soon as they leave Zhaohua County, and they can be sold out without even reaching the capital. They can buy as many as they can.

Knowing about this situation, Shen Ying went to Liujiazhuang to inform Liu Guangyao, and Liu Guangyao came to her door in person.

Su Chuan led his men to Liu Family Village to collect fruit.

Shen Dagou was busy until dark before he went home. Although he knew about his sister's situation from Su Tai, he didn't ask about the details until he got home and asked Huang Xinghua.