northernbook Chapter 194 Qingshan Village
Chapter 194 Qingshan Village
"Yes, my family all came from Huaihe County. I was sold to the Zhao family as a maid when I was eight years old. I was redeemed and released from the mansion later. Because of the old lady's kindness, the second master of the mansion bought a boat for us to Guangyuan this time."
Due to the severe drought in the northwest, it is normal to migrate southward.
"The drought in Qinlongzhou is not obvious, why would they travel so far to Guangyuan?"
Su He looked up at Magistrate Ge's stern eyes and answered respectfully.
"My lord, my maternal grandfather's ancestral home is in Guangyuan. After getting the permission of Lord Chen, we headed south. More than 72 people from our three villages came here. Because of the earthquake, most of them settled in Su'an County, and the remaining of us came to Guangyuan."
Another surname is Chen.
"Which Lord Chen?"
"It's Master Chen Shi, Master. This is the envelope Master Chen Shi gave me."
Su He took out the envelope from his arms and presented it with both hands. After a while, the envelope in his hand was taken away.
Magistrate Ge took the envelope delivered by the express deliveryman, carefully checked the red seal on it, and then carefully opened it.
After a while, Magistrate Ge put away the envelope and looked at Su He seriously, "Have you ever thought about where you want to settle down?"
Su He's mind moved, he looked up at the magistrate and responded loudly.
"Sir, we are all peasants, and we don't have much money. All we need is land to farm. I hope you can choose a place for us. All 72 of us just need to be together."
Magistrate Ge nodded secretly, but he did not get too carried away.
"Once this matter is settled, you can report to Qingshan Village. There are still some fields there, but they are just ordinary land. If you want to buy them, three taels of silver per mu."
Su He was happy. If he didn't buy the farm, Qingshan Village would be a good choice.
"Hehua would like to thank you on behalf of all 72 of us. You are a good official."
County Magistrate Ge smiled and put the envelope away.
"Xu Wansheng, did you hear me clearly? You will be responsible for Wang Erming's medical expenses for the next three months."
Xu Wansheng witnessed with his own eyes that the county magistrate really helped this group of people choose a place to settle down, so he knew that Su He was not lying and she really knew Chen Shi.
It's over. I've offended someone.
"Xu Wansheng! The master is talking to you, why are you in a daze?"
"Ah? Yes, sir. Please rest assured, I will definitely not default on my debt."
Xu Wansheng was awakened by the loud call of the yamen runner. He replied in a panic and gave Su He a flattering smile. Unfortunately, the smile was too greasy.
Su He didn't take it personally and nodded politely in response.
County Magistrate Ge pondered for a moment and raised a question.
"Xu Wansheng, do you have any evidence to prove that it was a conspiracy by the crew?"
Xu Wansheng's mouth was full of bitterness. Where did he get the evidence?
"Sir, I can't produce any evidence. But it is a fact that I lost my money on the ship of Hongyun Trading Company. It is impossible that they have no responsibility at all. Please help me, sir."
Xu Wansheng cried sadly, he was the biggest victim.
"Sir, Wang Hongyuan, the owner of Hongyun Commercial Bank, wants to see you, and Chen Zhizhao, the third branch of the Chen family, wants to see you."
"Let them in."
Xu Wansheng wiped his tears. His eldest son-in-law had finally arrived.
Su He waited until the two men walked to the front before he turned his head to look curiously.
A middle-aged man wearing a brocade and fur cape spoke first, "Sir, I am Chen Zhizhao, the third branch of the Chen family. I heard that my father-in-law had arrived in Guangyuan, so I came to pick him up. I didn't expect to hear from passers-by at the dock that my father-in-law had been in court, so I came here to ask him."
"Sir, I am the young master of Hongyun Trading Company. I heard that someone on the ship was stolen, so I came here to find out the situation. If it is really our company's fault, we will definitely not deny the debt."
Next to him was an old man in a dark blue cotton robe. He spoke slowly and forcefully, which made people feel awe when they listened to him.
Magistrate Ge looked at the two men and ordered the legal advisor beside him to roughly repeat the previous conversation.
"Xu Wansheng said that a huge amount of property was lost and he suspected that it was done by the crew, but he couldn't provide any concrete evidence. You also heard the captain's defense, and there was nothing wrong with it. What do you two think?"
Chen Zhizhao frowned slightly. Ge Zhongheng had been in Guangyuan for six years and was very experienced. He had already established a firm foothold in Guangyuan. This time he was going to Beijing to report on his work and was to stay in office, so he could not offend him, and neither could the entire Third House.
Magistrate Ge's words clearly supported Hongyun Trading Company, and no one knew what his father-in-law had done.
He was very upset when he thought about his father-in-law losing so much silver, as at least half of it was given to him.
"Sir, I wonder if the three missing crew members still have relatives at home. Perhaps we can find clues here and get the silver back. My father-in-law did lose money on the ship, and it's impossible that Hongyun Trading Company has no responsibility at all."
County Magistrate Ge nodded and looked at Wang Hongyuan, "What does Hongyun say?"
"Hehe, sir, this is the business rule of our company. Please take a look at Article 59. It clearly stipulates that if the customer is unwilling to register the goods, then if the goods are lost, our company will pay a maximum of twice the freight. This time, there are people on board Mr. Xu's ship. I have calculated that the total compensation is taels."
Xu Wansheng collapsed. He had lost at least 20 taels, but this man was only willing to compensate him with less than taels.
"Swindler! We didn't even know about your rules. Who would read the entire rules before boarding a ship? You have the final say!"
Xu Wan was very angry. He was really in bad luck.
"Don't worry, Master Xu. I'm talking about the highest compensation, but you can't prove that our shipping company should bear all the responsibility. As far as I know, the manager next to you is very familiar with Lao Dao. Someone proved that they saw the two of them having dinner together three years ago."
Su He was really impressed after hearing this. The boss actually found the evidence in such a short time. It was not easy to find it after traveling all over the country.
Xu Wansheng and Chen Zhizhao looked at Manager Wang at the same time, and Su He was also curious about Manager Wang's reaction.
"Master, my acquaintance with Lao Dao doesn't mean anything. It was you who made the decision to choose this Hongyun merchant ship. And you also made the decision to compile the list yourself."
Manager Wang smiled and replied calmly. Su He intuitively felt that there must be something wrong with this man.
Xu Wansheng opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but he couldn't say anything. Manager Wang was right, it was all his own decision.
"Manager Wang, has anyone ever told me that Miss Xu looks a lot like you?"
Suddenly, a thunderclap sounded in everyone's ears, which made everyone's brain stop working for several seconds.
What does it mean? Who looks like whom?
Manager Wang's pupils shrank in an instant, and the look in his eyes for that half a second was extremely terrifying.
If Su He hadn't been watching, he wouldn't have noticed it at all.
"Su Hehua, what do you mean?"
Xu Wansheng looked at Su He with red eyes. Why would his daughter look like Manager Wang? This was an insult to him!
"Master Xu, please don't be angry. Just listen to me."
"I just figured it out. You have two daughters, right? No sons, right?"
Xu Wansheng nodded with a stern face, which meant that Su He was right.
"This time you sold all your property and came to Guangyuan. The silver and goods on the ship should be all you have, or most of your wealth. These are what you want to give to your eldest daughter. Your youngest daughter will get very little. Even the dowry may not even be half of what your eldest daughter gets."
Xu Wansheng subconsciously wanted to explain, "Yu Niang is a legitimate daughter, Lian Er is a concubine's daughter, how can they be compared?"
"Master Xu, you think so, but Miss Lian'er's biological father doesn't think so. He thinks that your property should be given to his precious daughter."
Su He's words were so certain, as if they were true. Xu Wansheng didn't want to believe it, but his eyes were already unconsciously searching Manager Wang's face.
The more he looked at it, the more it seemed wrong. His own facial features were single eyelids, thick lips, a high nose bridge, and fair skin. His eldest daughter looked very much like him, but his youngest daughter had double eyelids, a flat nose bridge, and her lips, when pursed, looked very much like the current Steward Wang.
Xu Wansheng suddenly felt his breathing become rapid, and he collapsed with his eyes closed due to brain deprivation.
"Father-in-law!"
Chen Zhizhao was overwhelmed at the moment. He originally thought that his father-in-law losing the silver was already a troublesome matter, but he was forced to witness the tragedy of his father-in-law being cuckolded. This was too embarrassing.
"father!"
Xu Lian'er suddenly ran in, looked at the fallen Xu Wansheng in panic, and called out loudly.
"Brother-in-law, you are here, why did my father faint?"
Xu Lian'er thought her brother-in-law was acting strange. Why was he staring at her? Xu Lian'er looked up and saw Manager Wang standing next to her. "Manager Wang, what happened to my father? Go find a doctor."
Magistrate Ge signaled the bailiff to go and check. A bailiff came out from the left and pressed hard on Xu Wansheng's philtrum. After a while, Xu Wansheng woke up, but he couldn't get up for a while.
As soon as Xu Wansheng opened his eyes, he saw Xu Lian'er. Xu Wansheng felt very uncomfortable. This youngest daughter was eight years younger than his eldest daughter. Although she was a concubine's daughter, he had always loved her very much.
Although most of the family wealth was to pave the way for his eldest daughter this time, he did not give up on his younger daughter. He just thought that he could still earn more money in Guangyuan.
Seeing that his little daughter had the same yellow skin and flat nose as Manager Wang, Xu Wansheng felt hopeless.
"Wang Qing, I think I've been very kind to you, why are you doing this?"
That’s right, Xu Wansheng has confirmed that Xu Lian’er is indeed not his biological daughter.
"It's not his fault, it's me."