A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 78: If someone destroys me, I will take away three buckets
"Bang, bang,"

Mrs. Guo, who was nearly eighty years old, could no longer maintain the image of a kind-looking noble lady. She angrily slapped the silver cup in front of her away. The exquisite eight-petal silver cup with a gilded lady hunting pattern fell to the ground and bounced up again, clanging towards...

With red eyes, Du Shiniang bent down to pick up the silver cup with a handle. This silver cup was made by the most skilled gold and silversmith in Shi Alushan's gold and silver shop in the West Market, and was full of Western Hu style.

This six-liang silver cup was specially ordered by my father from Shi Alushan Gold and Silver Shop on the occasion of the old lady's seventieth birthday. In order to hire the best craftsman to make it, this silver cup cost ten liang of gold.

The old lady always likes it very much.
But today I dropped it.

"Grandpa, don't get angry and get yourself sick," Du Shiniang put the silver cup back in front of Mrs. Guo.

Guo was so angry that she gasped for breath and her face flushed red. The darling and precious jewel in her palm before, but today she came back crying with red eyes. As soon as she entered the door, she started to blame her.
"As I grow older, my elbows start to turn outward."

"Azu, how could you treat Li Lang like that and let the Wei family kidnap him."

Guo pointed at Du Shiniang, her fingers trembling, and she was so angry that she couldn't speak.

"Ah Zu, if it weren't for my second brother defending me in front of the King of Qin, even if the King of Qin didn't pursue A Zu, I'm afraid my third uncle would have been thrown into prison."

Guo couldn't catch her breath and fainted.

"Azu?"

"Old lady."

A group of maids were in a panic, and Du Shiniang was also panicked. She felt guilty and blamed herself, and tears flowed down her face.

Half a day later,
Mrs. Guo drank the medicine and her face turned extremely pale. At her age, she almost died.

"Madam, Shi Niang is still kneeling outside."

"Send her back to the west wing and ground her for seven days. Send a strong woman to watch over her. Barrier all the doors and windows. Except for delivering food and drink, no word or paper from outside is allowed to pass in."

After thinking about it,
"Hurry up and send the servants on horseback to Luoyang and ask her father to send someone to pick her up."

Du Sanlang's wife tried to persuade him, "I heard there's chaos in Luoyang, with constant fighting. It's not safe to travel right now. There's even a food shortage in Luoyang City. Even if a bushel of rice costs a thousand coins, many people can't buy food."

Guo sighed, "This girl has become possessed by the devil. I'm afraid if I keep her any longer, something bad might happen if I'm not careful, and it would be too late to regret then. It's better to send her to Luoyang as soon as possible. That little idiot can't possibly chase her there. If he really dares to go, have the clerk beat him to death and bury him."

The old lady opposed Shi Niang's relationship with Li Yi, and the women in the Du family all had the same attitude. That man was not worthy of the Du family's daughter.

Du Sanlang's wife was a little worried about her husband. "Madam, I didn't expect that Sanlang would mess things up this time. It's all his fault for being useless."

Guo was also helpless. Who would have thought that Jingzhao Wei and Du, working together to do such a small thing, would make a mistake.

"That little calf's nose is so good at climbing that it actually climbed up to the King of Qin."

"That boy has some skills. He returned to secular life in June, and it's only been less than two months. Even the emperor has conferred two official titles on him and even granted him the title of baron. If it weren't for his humble background, he would have a bright future."

This made Guo even more troubled.

I don’t know why Shi Niang suddenly became fascinated by this guy.

Qi returns to Qi,
But having been in charge of a wealthy family for many years, Guo did not lose her composure. After some thought, she made a series of arrangements. First, she confined Du Shiniang at home and stopped her from having any contact with Li Yi. Then she notified her son Du Yan to send someone to pick up Du Shiniang and take her to Luoyang, completely severing their relationship.

"Let Sanlang go to Chang'an to find the second brother of the East Courtyard and tell him that it was the manager of Guazhuang who got greedy and used the Du family's name to talk nonsense to the Wei family.

It was because we didn't discipline him properly, so our Du family will allocate 100 acres of land from Guazhuang to Li Yi as compensation."

"Donate another 1,000 dan of grain to the Yongzhou government office."

"Have the steward of Guazhuang surrender himself to the Yongzhou government office," the old lady said with a sharp look in her eyes. "Send someone to bring his wife and children to work in the outer courtyard here. Give him a settlement allowance and ask him to admit his guilt. Tell him it won't be a big deal, at most he'll suffer some physical pain and will be released soon. Then we'll arrange a good job for him."

"Old lady, there's no need to give that little path a hundred acres of land, right?"

"The Wei family asked the Yang family to give fifty taels of gold. We have to give face to the Second Prince. Young man, you just need to save face." Mrs. Guo said slowly. Although a hundred acres of land is not worth mentioning to the Du family, if it were not for the King of Qin, the Du family would never give Li Yi any land.

Guo had to admit in her heart that she had misjudged Li Yi.

If she had known this earlier, she would never let Shi Niang have any contact with Li Yi. She thought Shi Niang would not look down on Tian She'er, who had returned to secular life. Who knew that the most unlikely thing would happen.

Guo lowered his head.

Looking at the beloved silver cup on the table that had been slightly deformed due to being dropped, his brows furrowed and his breathing became more rapid.

His eyes passed the silver cup and saw another pair of crystal clear glass cups.

That was the pair of cups that Li Yi gave her in return when she asked Sanlang to give him the gold bowl, silver plate and silver cup last time. They were unique glass cups, as crystal clear as crystal, but the shape of the bottom was particularly beautiful.

Mrs. Guo also liked the pair of cups very much.

But seeing it now made her feel upset.

"Take this broken silver cup to the West Market and ask the old craftsman of Shi Alushan to repair it. Then give it to Li Yi and tell her that this was a gift from my son for my seventieth birthday. I love it the most and have treasured it for ten years. Shi Niang is the apple of my eye, the jewel my son left me.
I will now use this silver cup that I have cherished for ten years to exchange for Shi Niang from him."

"I admire his talent very much. As long as he can let go, the Jingzhao Du family will support him."

The implicit meaning is that if you don't know what's best for you, then Jingzhao Du Shi will ruthlessly suppress you. This move doesn't mean you can withstand it next time. Jingzhao Du Shi, these four words, you are still young and can't grasp them.

When Li Yi saw the silver cup sent by Du Sanlang and explained the origin of the silver cup, he just smiled slightly.

In Guo's eyes, this silver cup represents the deep love between mother and son, so the six-liang silver cup made by the top Sogdian goldsmith in the West Market is worth ten liang of gold.

But in Li Yi's eyes, he was just an object worth ten taels of gold.

"Sanniang will be going to Luoyang soon, and she will be engaged to Wei Erlang soon."

Li Yi had no expression on his face.
When Du Sanlang took out the deed to the one hundred acres of land in Guabao, Fanchuan, and conveyed the old lady's words, he sneered a few times.

"I have no interest in growing melons,"

"Sanlang, since your Du family also wants the recipe for dried bean curd sheets and tofu puffs, I'll sell it to you. The Wei family just bought it from me for fifty taels of gold, and I'll still sell it to the Du family at that price. After all, we have a good relationship, good neighbors separated by a Shenheyuan."

Du Sanlang was stunned.

Fifty taels of gold to sell the Du family’s recipe for bean curd sheets and fermented tofu?

How could this thing be worth so much?

If it was an exclusive business, it would be more valuable, but now the Wei family also knows about it. Wouldn’t it be a big mistake for the Du family to spend another fifty taels of gold to buy it?

"What's wrong? Do you think it's too expensive, or do you not want to buy it but just want to snatch it away?" Li Yi's eyes were as sharp as knives.

Du Sanlang was actually frightened by his sharp eyes.
How dare Li Yi blackmail the Jingzhao Du family?

What a big dog!
"Sanlang, I have to remind you. The two stewards of the Wei family have confessed that you, the steward of the Du family's melon farm, were all under your orders. You don't want to be sent to Yongzhou Prison by the King of Qin, do you?"

"You!" Du Sanlang shouted angrily, standing up, but he was terrified. He was Du Sanlang of Jingzhao, but he was only a maid's son and held a low position in the palace, responsible for general affairs.

If the matter is really brought to light, Mrs. Guo will not protect him.

"Li Daizhao, please give me some space. Why are you so aggressive?"

"Haha, now you're trying to persuade me to be magnanimous? If someone shows me respect, I'll show them respect."

There was still half of the sentence Li Yi didn't say.
Du Sanlang thought to himself, if someone destroys me a little, I will take away three buckets.

I didn't expect Li Yi to be such a vindictive person.

"The Wei family took the initiative to bring gold to buy my prescription, and even specially asked the Hongnong Yang family's prince Qianniu Yang Hongwu to come. I am willing to sell you because I have always had a good relationship with the Du family and Sanlang.

This thing is very profitable, and you have been coveting it for a long time."

Du Sanlang's face turned green and red.
In the past, he was known as the Du family of Jingzhao. Although he was a concubine's son born to a maid, others had to give face to the Du family. He had never encountered a situation like today.

"Go back and ask Madam Guo for instructions. I know you can't make the decision."

Du Sanlang left in dismay.
Ji, who was helping to make tea, couldn't help but worry about him when she saw him leave. "Ah Lang, that's the Du family of Jingzhao. Madam Guo gave you the silver cup out of kindness. Aren't you really afraid of Madam Guo's wrath or Madam Du's revenge?"

"I've always respected and tolerated them, but they still rode on my neck and pissed and shit. So, now is the time to show my claws.
Even if they think I'm just a toad on the banks of the He River, I still have to jump on their feet and disgust them."

Ji poured a cup of tea for Li Yi.

"Ah Lang has developed feelings for the Du family's daughter, so he was so angry when he heard that she was going to be sent to Luoyang to be betrothed to the Wei family?"

Li Yi did not admit it.

"I just wanted to earn fifty taels of gold from the Du family."

"Ah Lang is sure that the Du family will pay this much money to buy the house?"

"Haha, Du Sanlang doesn't want to go to jail, and Guo wants to keep things quiet. Fifty taels of gold isn't expensive to settle the matter, not to mention the recipe itself is valuable. With the Du family's strength, with this recipe, they can make a profit in the bean curd and bean curd business in the Guanzhong states."

"What about our workshop?"

"The water is already muddy, so why not muddy it further?" Li Yi said with a smile, "The Wei family is trying to squeeze me out by lowering prices and then establish an exclusive monopoly. It's really not worthwhile for us to engage in a price war with them.

But if the Du family comes along, can the Wei family still lower prices so recklessly? That would only hurt both sides and they wouldn't make any money. So as long as the Du family also opens a tofu skin and bean curd workshop, even if everyone lowers the price, it won't be too much.

From now on, everyone will trade based on their own abilities. Although the profits won’t be as good as before, at least we can still continue.”

Ji couldn't believe that Li Yi had such an idea, and she couldn't help but admire him very much.

"Will the Du family really send Shi Niang to Luoyang?"

"Maybe."

Li Yi felt that it was very likely, and he felt a little uncomfortable, but he was powerless.

Perhaps, we can ask Du Ruhui to come forward. He is a direct descendant of the Du family. He may be able to persuade Guo to give up the idea of sending Shi Niang away by saying that it is unsafe on the road due to the war in the Central Plains.

(End of this chapter)