They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 435 Holding a grudge
Master Mo quickly nodded: "No problem, no problem, what kind of request is this? Madam Xu can just take those worthless wastelands."

Xu Zhichun laughed loudly, "Master Mo is joking!"

Master Mo couldn't wait and made arrangements for the takeover without stopping. The whole manor was bustling with activity.

When word spread, the local gentry, merchants, and landlords were all envious.

Madam Xu was far more astute than anyone else. Why didn't her family follow suit and plant cotton themselves? Wouldn't they be rich now? Even if the price was lower than Madam Xu's, wouldn't that have given them a connection with the government?

You should know that this kind of relationship is something that no amount of money can buy!

Can offering help in times of need and asking for a favor have the same effect?

This Madam Xu is truly shrewd.

The world's misfortune, in fact, brought her good fortune.

What a blessing.

No wonder she's where she is today.

Many local gentry and landlords secretly resolved that whatever Madam Xu planted, they would plant as well.

The Qi family and Madam Dou were extremely jealous. They had always disliked Xu Zhichun and had been holding back their anger, never giving up the idea of ​​teaching her a lesson one day.

They already knew that Xu Zhichun owned a manor in their county, and they were just hoping for trouble.

Surprisingly, although Xu Zhichun was not present, the manager was quite capable. Everything was in good order, and there were enough people. There was no trouble at all.

They were extremely disappointed.

Unexpectedly, Prefect Yang sent someone over, and Xu Zhichun thus gained access to Prefect Yang's connections.

Madam Dou and Madam Qi were extremely frustrated. Their family could only rely on Magistrate Fan, and for some reason, Magistrate Fan was now somewhat indifferent to both of their families, and their relationship was obviously much more distant than before.

Originally, they were just a little disappointed, but now that Xu Zhichun had climbed up to Prefect Yang, who could tolerate it?
Madam Dou, in particular, felt her resentment grow exponentially.

She was imprisoned in the government office for several days, a humiliation she would never forget. After being released, covered in dust and grime, she remained depressed for a long time before gradually feeling better.

How can we just stand by and watch Xu Zhichun rise to a higher level?

Young Master Qi shared the same idea as her.

The two sides hit it off immediately and took a risk, bribing people to try to sneak into Xu Zhichun's estate and set it on fire, intending to burn down all the cotton in the two full warehouses, as well as the cotton in the cotton fields that had not yet been harvested.
Fortunately, He Biao and his men were very dedicated to their work and did not make any mistakes from beginning to end, catching the people they sent red-handed.

Xu Zhichun was furious, and everyone in the village cursed him.

"Poisonous, so vicious!"

"Utterly depraved!"

"Which bastard is behind this?!"

"I've seen plenty of jealous people, but it's rare to see someone jealous to this extent."

"Do they even know what they're doing? These are things the imperial court wants!"

"We cannot let them get away with this."

"That's right, we can't let them get away!"

Xu Zhichun made a firm decision: once Master Mo arrived, he would hand the person over to him directly.

They didn't even need to report it to the authorities.

She was filled with lingering fear.

If they succeed in this, and Master Mo arrives in high spirits with his men only to find nothing, she doesn't even want to imagine how embarrassing that scene would be.

Even if it wasn't her fault, she couldn't escape responsibility—who told her to fail to be vigilant and manage the estate properly?
This isn't doing Prefect Yang a favor; it's making him unhappy.

Having offended Prefect Yang, the future was uncertain. As for the question of who the mastermind was, Xu Zhichun didn't need to think for a second to answer it.

In this territory of Qingyang County, who else could it be but the Qi family?

The next day, Master Mo arrived and was furious upon learning of the matter. He ordered the magistrate of Qingyang County to be summoned for an on-the-spot interrogation, and the mastermind behind it was quickly identified.

Xu Zhichun was proven wrong.

It turns out that besides the Qi family, there was also Madam Dou from the Dou family.

Excellent, all the potential dangers have been resolved in one go.

Doing this kind of thing during a critical time is a very serious matter.

Young Master Qi and Madam Dou, as the culprits, were taken away by the yamen runners like wolves. It would be a disservice to their evil intentions if they were not imprisoned until the end of this great battle.

Both families were summoned to the county government office and severely reprimanded, and each was fined eight thousand taels of silver.

No cash? Then use land, shops, or something else as collateral.

If it weren't for the fact that both families were local gentry and wealthy households, just for doing something like this in a critical moment, it wouldn't be unfair to label them as accomplices of rebels.

Those who are accomplices to treason will surely face certain punishments.

A mere fine of eight thousand taels? You dare to haggle over it?

Neither family dared to haggle, and they obediently went back to scrape together the money.

Eight thousand taels of silver was a sum that even a wealthy family like theirs would find difficult to come up with all at once. Even knowing that they wouldn't get a good price for their antiques and collectibles at this moment, they had no choice but to sell them off with a heavy heart.

Otherwise what? Land and shops should naturally not be sold unless absolutely necessary.

The magistrate of Qingyang County handed over all the five thousand taels of silver notes and two large boxes of antique treasures that he had received as collateral to Master Mo, and dared not keep a single penny for himself.

Master Mo then handed them all over to Xu Zhichun.

"Madam Xu, please accept it. This is what Madam Xu deserves."

"In that case, thank you very much, Master. Consider this payment for the medicinal herbs."

"That's fine."

Master Mo smiled and said, "Madam Xu really isn't greedy at all."

The last batch of cotton was taken away by Master Mo's men, and it was almost October.

The grass and trees are withered and yellow, the leaves are falling and rustling, and the sky is a high and clear blue, which makes people feel both bright and inexplicably melancholy.

When the busy and hectic days came to a stop, Xu Zhichun couldn't help but miss Liang Minglang again.

Winter has already arrived in the north, hasn't it? Is there any hope that this campaign to quell the rebellion will be completely over by next spring? How is he doing now? Is he having a hard time?
Everyone on the farm received a generous reward, and they were all in high spirits and overjoyed.

Even if there is chaos and turmoil outside, at least they can still have a good New Year.

After instructing Steward Mao to take good care of the estate and to buy more suitable wasteland, Xu Zhichun planned to return home.

They probably won't be coming back before the new year; they'll have to wait until next spring.

Yes, the cotton is very good; we can expand the planting scale next year.

Unexpectedly, Madam Qi stopped the mule cart halfway through the journey.

Xu Zhichun felt a growing sense of disgust.

As soon as Master Mo left, Madam Qi sent a visiting card, wanting to pay a visit, but Xu Zhichun refused.

She brazenly went to the door, but the woman didn't give her any face and simply refused to see her.

Unexpectedly, she was even more shameless, actually stopping her halfway through the journey.