Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 102 Asking for money
After Xu Siye, Zhao Sanye, and Zheng Sanye had their fill in Sanhe Village, the villagers escorted them all the way to the inn.

The inn was located in the southern part of the city, very close to Yuyingqian Street. When the villagers left, they even pointed out the way to the market to the servant.

The three brothers felt that the trip had gone very smoothly. Madam Xie hadn't taken up much of their time, and the villagers of Sanhe Village had been very considerate. When they left the village, they even ran into Master Xie.

As previously agreed, when Master Xie stepped forward to speak, they tried their best to evade the question.

Zhao Sanye pretended to be drunk, and the three of them staggered onto the carriage right under Master Xie's nose.

Upon arriving at the inn, the three of them gathered in Master Xu's room.

"That Master Xie doesn't seem like a kind person."

"It's strange, the villagers here aren't afraid of him."

"It's all because of that Madam Xie!"

They had never seen a woman who could do all that. So many people had gone to the mine, and they, the bystanders, were all very worried, but Madam Xie remained calm and didn't care at all. The people of Sanhe Village trusted her implicitly and didn't pay any attention to those matters, continuing to do their own work.

When they left, the men from Sanhe Village had not yet returned; they were said to have gone to Beicheng to make lotus root charcoal.

"There's a reason why the people of Sanhe Village trust Madam Xie."

While eating, Uncle Zheng asked a villager about it and then told his two older brothers.

"So it turns out he saved my life."

"This is the first time I've ever heard of buying land so thoroughly, and they're even going to help build houses next year. How much money must have gone into this?"

Merchants wouldn't doubt whether Madam Xie could earn the money back; on the contrary, they would think she was resourceful.

"Get some rest!" said Master Xu. "We should be leaving tomorrow or the day after."

These things have nothing to do with them.

The three of them went back to their rooms to rest.

That night, Master Zheng couldn't sleep, his mind filled with thoughts of lotus root charcoal. He finally made it to dawn and, hearing a noise outside, immediately got up and opened the door.

He waved to the waiter and asked, "I heard you sell noodle soup?"

The waiter laughed and said, "You mean the face wash soup? I'll call the water seller for you right away."

Master Zheng nodded.

A moment later, he saw a man carrying buckets walking over.

"Would you like some face wash water?"

The man greeted Master Zheng familiarly. After Master Zheng nodded, he busied himself, found a basin, filled it with hot water, and handed a towel to Master Zheng: "Please enjoy. There's also medicinal tea. Would you like a bowl?"

Even though Master Zheng had traveled all over the country for many years, this was the first time he had ever seen someone selling hot water.

"Have a bowl to try."

"okay."

I washed my face with hot water, and there was a glass of warm water next to me for brushing my teeth and rinsing my mouth.

After everything was washed clean, the herbal tea was pushed in front of him.

Master Zheng picked up the cup and took a sip. This herbal tea was a bit weaker than the tea in the teahouses of the capital, but you could still taste the medicinal herbs.

"How much silver?"

"Thirteen coins, three coins for face wash soup, and ten coins for herbal tea."

No sooner had the man finished speaking than someone else shouted: "Medicinal tea!"

Master Zheng hurriedly paid the money and stood at the door watching the man busy himself.

When Master Zhao walked up to him, he realized that he had forgotten to leave hot water and tea for his two elder brothers.

"Second Brother," Zheng Sanye pulled Zhao Sanye back, "Hurry up and wash your face, drink some herbal tea, let's go out and check out the water shops and the market."

The three people walked out of the inn and were about to ask where Shuntong Water Shop was when they saw someone pushing a hot water cart past them. Along the way, people called out to the water cart and brought buckets to fetch water.

Looking at the bustling crowd, the steaming waterwheels, and the busy water carriers, they realized that seeing is believing. If they had seen this earlier, they wouldn't have asked such a foolish question as "Will the lotus root charcoal sell?" "Let's go straight to Yuyingqian Street!"

Master Zheng became increasingly anxious.

The three quickened their pace and soon disappeared into the crowd.

Wang Zheng, who was not far away, withdrew his gaze. Why did he feel that the three people the Li family had found for him were a bit foolish? He frowned slightly. Anyway, these three would leave in a couple of days. He hoped that they wouldn't cause any trouble.

He also sent a letter to his elder brother, in which he mentioned that Madam Xie asked him to help find three people to put on a show in front of Xie Chongjun.

I figured my older brother wouldn't object to such a small matter, so he took it upon himself to do it.

Now he just hopes things go smoothly for his sister-in-law; otherwise, he'll worry that he hasn't helped enough.

……

Yong'anfang, the courtyard of the three rooms.

Yu's mother walked quickly into the house.

Xie Yuyan had just finished eating and was feeding the catfish.

The dried fish was baked until crispy on the clay stove. The cat bit into it with a "crunch" sound. After finishing one, it licked Xie Yuyan's palm ingratiatingly, wanting another one.

The atmosphere in the room was so relaxed that Yu's mother was a little embarrassed to speak.

"What?" Xie Yuyan asked. "Have people from the clan come?"

Mother Yu replied, "They are two close relatives. They said there was an emergency at home and they wanted to take back the money that was sent earlier."

Xie Yuyan picked up another dried fish without looking up: "Then give her the money, let her sign the documents and make it clear that she doesn't need to come in the future, no matter what business the third branch of the family has."

Mother Yu said, "I'm afraid there are more people behind us. How much should we give them?"

Xie Yuyan said, "If there are many people, write down their names first. Tell them that we have guests today, and we can discuss everything later."

Mother Yu could foresee that once these words were spoken, someone from the clan would likely come to the third branch of the family to demand an explanation and prevent the eldest daughter-in-law from closing a deal with the merchants.

Two clansmen took the money, and before a quarter of an hour had passed, another clansman came knocking.

Mother Yu looked at the tribesman: "Have you thought it through?"

The tribesman did not hesitate at all.

Before the money had been fully spent, several more clansmen came to the door.

“We also want to take the money.”

Mother Yu frowned, but before she could speak, someone started arguing: "Didn't we agree that we could take the money anytime?"

"We can forgo the interest that is due, but the principal must be returned to us in full."

"Yes, hurry up and back out."

"If there are any more sales of the third house in the future, we will simply not come."

"Where is your mistress? Call her out and speak with us."

Surrounded by people, Madam Yu showed no sign of panic: "Madam said that as long as someone wants the money back, our third branch will return it. But since we have important guests visiting today, everyone can come to our third branch tomorrow to collect the money..."

Why wait until tomorrow?

An aged voice rang out, and Yang Zongdao was helped through the door.

"Since we made a promise beforehand, we cannot go back on our word; otherwise, how can we manage the household affairs?"

The clansmen immediately moved a chair over and invited Yang Zongdao to sit down.

“Go,” Yang Zongdao instructed, “invite your eldest daughter-in-law over; I have something to say to her.”

"Everyone knows about the accident at the Sanhe Village mine. She can't hide it anymore. She should tell everyone as soon as possible. The villagers have contributed their life savings. If they lose it here, how will they survive?"

Yang Zongdao's words made the clansmen inside the house even more excited, and those who had been peeking out to see what was going on also came closer.

(End of this chapter)