Wanjin Lady

Chapter 29 Pay off debts

He pulled out a table and wrote down the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, the names of the drawees, matters, signatures, etc. on the top line. Shopkeeper Zhu figured it out this time. This was to make a withdrawal record.

Since Shopkeeper Wen is in charge, the repayment of the money is a foregone conclusion.

Soon, Aunt Liu brought the account book and, according to Wen Wan's instructions, piled up the round and full silver coins on the tray into a small mountain. The shopkeepers were stunned when they saw it.

Everyone just felt that the face of the shopkeeper Wen was... more pleasing to the eye than ever before.

Perhaps it would be a good choice for Wen Weiming to hand over this business to Wen Wan...

Wen Wan gently put down the reed pen, her expression normal, except for a slight smile on her lips. "Everyone, what are you standing there for? Take out your credentials."

soon.

The owner of the restaurant came hesitantly with the bill owed by Shi Jinquan.

"Every banquet hosted by Shi Jinquan is recorded under Shopkeeper Wen's account. Last year, I sent someone to Wen's house to verify it, and Shopkeeper Wen agreed. This year, Shi Jinquan has dined in our restaurant 58 times, totaling 63 taels and 6 qian of silver."

Wenwan is numb.

"I remember that the seventh day of the second lunar month is his birthday." Aunt Liu pointed to a date on the bill and explained to Wen Wan, "His birthday and Wen Jing's birthday are only one day apart."

On special days like the seventh day of the second lunar month, the Lantern Festival, the Cold Food Festival, and the Dragon Boat Festival, when people should at least go home and reunite with their families, Shi Jinquan's signature would always appear on the bills.

The shopkeeper seemed a little guilty. "I didn't cook the books. Shi Jinquan always invited friends and relatives to a banquet, and he signed every bill. If it weren't for his support from the Wen family, how could I allow him to buy meals on credit? Shopkeeper Wen, please don't default on your debt."

Wen Wan tightened her jawline and said coldly, "Hongmei, bring me sixty-three taels and six cents!"

The restaurant owner smiled broadly and bowed to her repeatedly, "Young Master Wen is very generous and destined to make a fortune."

Don’t get rich first, save your child’s mammary glands.

Some people came up with receipts to collect their money, but some noticed the words next to the signature: "I am responsible for the authenticity of the receipt. If I violate it, I will pay ten times the compensation. Miss Wen, what does this mean?"

Wen Wan smiled and replied, "Of course, this is to prevent some thieves from taking advantage of the situation and imitating Shi Jinquan's signature to defraud my family of money. Anyway, Shi Jinquan will be arrested soon, and then I will use this list to find those who took advantage of my misfortune."

The young lady smiled more sincerely, "Of course, this trick is just to guard against villains. Shopkeeper Zhu... you... can't possibly deceive me."

Shopkeeper Zhu wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "This is absolutely true evidence. I guarantee it with my life."

Wenwan smiled bitterly.

I watched helplessly as Shopkeeper Zhu took away half of the silver from the tray.

Of the 522 taels of property, most of the 322 taels contributed by Father Wen has been gone.

Wen Wan finally understood the meaning of the four words "heart-wrenching pain".

The village chief of Hexiang Village also came to collect his wages.

As he left, clutching the silver, he looked guilty, his tone half-concealed, "Since the young shopkeeper is so forthright, I, Old Li, will also be frank for once. This incident today... was... not my intention at all, but I can't help but be fanned by someone."

The young lady looked up from the account book, squinted her eyes and smiled, "Thank you, Village Chief Li, for the reminder."

Village Chief Li paused, and seeing that Wen Wan showed no surprise, he didn't ask any further questions. He then realized that the young woman in front of him probably knew the situation. "Since Manager Wen knows the situation, I won't say any more. I'm really sorry to have disturbed your good time today. Please come to Hexiang Village another day, and I'll hold a banquet to apologize."

Then the shopkeepers reconciled the accounts one after another, and Wen Wan saw that the pile of silver was almost empty.

Fortunately, after the shopkeepers had exchanged all their money, they left her with some loose change. Hongmei weighed it on a small scale and said worriedly, "Miss, the total expenditure is 765 taels and 3 mace, and there are 32 taels left."

Aunt Liu quickly whispered a reminder, "I haven't touched the three hundred taels yet."

Seven hundred and sixty taels, and incidentally, he also emptied out Old Man Wen's savings.

Apart from Shi Jinquan who ate and drank for free at the restaurant, the accounts of other shopkeepers were clear and all of them were used exclusively for the winery, so it was not too unfair to spend this money.

But three hundred and thirty-two taels is far from enough.

The autumn harvest is approaching and the corn will soon be waxy and ripe. It is urgent to purchase the raw materials for Bifang wine, which is the winery's largest expense every year.

Moreover, if they miss the autumn harvest, they will have to wait for half a year, which means that the Wen family winery will have no wine to brew in the second half of the year.

Wen Wan calculated that it would cost at least a thousand taels.

Seeing that everyone looked worried, Wenwan smiled and comforted them, "As long as the green mountains remain, there will be no worries about firewood. I will go up the mountain to chop wood tomorrow."

Old Man Wen came over from the front yard. As soon as he entered the house, he saw the few ingots of loose silver left on the tray on the table. He still had a last glimmer of hope in his heart, "How much is left?"

Wenwan nodded and glanced at the tray.

Old Man Wen covered his chest with his hands, looking dejected. Aunt Liu helped Old Man Wen sit down with fear in her heart, "Master, don't worry. I still have three hundred taels here."

Father Wen knew that it was just a drop in the bucket, but he still managed a forced smile. "It's okay. It's just that today's wedding banquet wasn't well organized after all. The most important thing in life—" He glanced at Wen Wan with guilt, "It's Dad who has dragged you down."

Wen Wan smiled and said, "Dad left me so much money, it's not a burden at all. Money is just a thing outside of the body. As long as Dad is healthy, we can earn this money back sooner or later!"

Aunt Liu also comforted her: "At worst, we still have two houses. As long as we can get through this period, we will be fine."

Father Wen's expression eased. Seeing that Wen Wan didn't look worried, let alone worried about the rumors, he thought that at his age, he wasn't as open-minded and steady as his daughter. He straightened his back slightly and reminded Wen Wan of the information he had gathered. "What happened today... is definitely not accidental."

Wen Weiming, worthy of his years of experience in the business world, was alert. "I just grabbed Shopkeeper Li and gave him two glasses of wine. Although he was slurring his words, he did reveal that there was a master behind today's drama."

Wen Wan also said: "Shi Jinquan ran away for only two days, they acted quickly enough."

Wen Weiming complained to Wen Wan, "Since you knew Shi Jinquan had run away, why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"Father, I only found out about this last night. I had hoped to at least have a peaceful wedding banquet today. Besides, I've already asked Second Master Tu to investigate this matter. I didn't expect them to make such a scene at the wedding banquet. It's clear that the person behind this has a serious grudge against our family. Does Father have anyone in mind?"

Wen Weiming knew that his daughter was hiding something because she was worried about her health, and seeing Wen Wan was calm and organized, he felt relieved. But when it comes to the feud with the Wen family -

"There have been some minor quarrels, but I've never had any personal grudges like this."

Wen Wan wanted to ask if it could be the Qi family.

But if it was the Qi family, the shopkeepers would not help cover it up, which shows that the other party at least has a certain status in Ping County.

Forget it, I don't want to.

At least there are still more than three hundred taels, which is not much better than the rest, but better than the rest. With this money, it won't be difficult to make a comeback.

Today is her wedding day!
You still have to get married first!

(End of this chapter)