Traveling through the farm, I just want to earn money by farming

After Shi Chong left, Manager Xu sat alone for a stick of incense before calling out, "Go to the yamen and ask the yamen runners on duty today if there's anything fishy about this matter."

The attendant received the order and was about to leave when he was stopped again: "Wait, take this silver for now. Don't worry if you need it for bribes." He was silent for a few moments before saying: "Just go and find out the whole story. Don't say anything else. Make sure you find out everything and come back to me."

"Yes, sir."

Standing by the window, his thoughts raced. He was the son of the Xu family, who had never made a mistake in their lives. They had only one daughter, whom they had raised like a treasure. But she was still a slave, so he considered marrying her off. While outsiders might think their status was well-off, it was still the lowest. He had originally thought of keeping this one precious child close to him, but after much deliberation, the couple decided they wanted their daughter to escape slavery and become a free citizen.

Therefore, the couple was particularly attentive in their search, and it was then that Shi Zhong caught their eye. Although he came from a farming family, he was hardworking and seemed honest and simple. After observing him for a while, the couple was satisfied and let him know.

Someone was sent to the village to inquire about the family's character and background. The person who came back reported that the Shi family, with three generations living under one roof, was doing well, possessing a few acres of modest land. It was also heard that while the family had some disagreements with their neighbors, they were trivial matters, and that the family was generally harmonious, though they treated the second branch less favorably. Shi Chong was rarely at home, and when he did return, he rarely interacted with the villagers, being polite when he did meet them.

Hearing this, the couple felt that there was nothing wrong. Every family has its own rules of conduct, and even parents who love their children tend to be partial. Having a large family was fine; they could just buy the couple a small yard in the county after they got married. As long as he treated their daughter well, that was all that mattered. So, the couple accepted the son-in-law.

But this girl was unwilling to be wronged, so she asked for a large gift, and a good dowry. Shi Chong did not hide his embarrassment when he heard this, but he also cherished it and swore that he would never let his daughter be wronged, saying that he would discuss it with his family.

But before he could get the result, something happened. He was furious when he saw Shi Chong's expression, but then he thought that some things are not groundless. He was used to being cautious and would not just listen to one side of the story. It would not be too late to take action after getting the news.

Besides, Shi Chong was the eldest grandson in the family, and he was naturally spoiled by his family. He had no worries about food and clothing, and he had a little change. When he ran out of money, he would ask his family for it. As he grew older, his family wanted him to work in the fields, but he was too lazy to endure the hardship, so he left home and went to the county town to make a living.

He had attended school for a few days as a child and learned to read a few words, which gave him a certain amount of pride. Farming was too hard, and work in the city was hard to find, and he didn't want to exert himself physically. So, seeing that Shiwei Pavilion was hiring a bookkeeper, he applied. The manager, Xu, and the bookkeeper, seeing that he could read and looked honest, gave him a routine test and then hired him as an apprentice.

This job was easy, and the pay was not bad compared to other jobs. He only needed to collect the money and keep the accounts every day, and the low pay was exactly what he wanted. He was also quite clever and good at pleasing others, so he quickly caught the eye of Manager Xu, which led to this good fortune.

He was delighted to have found the woman he liked and to have heard the truth, so he went home to discuss the matter with his family. When the Shi family heard that the steward's daughter was willing to marry, and that she was an only child, they began to make plans, determined to make it happen no matter what, so that the family would never have to worry about food and clothing. But when they thought about the thirty taels of betrothal gift, they became troubled. All they had in the family only had a dozen taels, which was far from enough. Where could they borrow another dozen taels these days?

So he set his sights on the second wife, and seeing that she was easy to bully, he asked her to find a way. When he saw that there was no other way, he thought of selling his daughter, because he was reluctant to give up his own daughter. But the second wife's daughter was young, so Shi Zhong's mother, Zhao, came up with such a cruel method.

The Ji family was well-off, but they had only one idiot and somewhat insane son, so no one was willing to marry a good girl to them. Everyone in the surrounding area knew about this. So the Shi family discussed it and decided on this plan. They sent someone to the Ji family's house to ask for Zhenzhen to be sold for thirty taels. The Ji family initially refused, thinking it was too expensive, but then they realized they only had one son and couldn't let it go without him. So they gritted their teeth and agreed.

If Tan Yueya hadn't met a matchmaker that day, who had mentioned it to her, the couple would have been kept in the dark. The couple would have been furious and immediately quarreled with the Shi family. Shi Chong, fearing the marriage would fall through if the truth were revealed, suggested a plan to pretend to agree, then trick the couple out of the house. He then kidnapped Zhenzhen while no one was around and sent her to the Ji family overnight.

When the couple returned and saw the girl was gone, they knew they had been tricked and were determined to kill them. Old Man Shi and his wife still cared about their own children and wanted to lock them up, but Shi Shuanghu was too strong to hold him down. Shi Chongyi, in a rage, teamed up with his entire family to break Shi Shuanghu's legs.

"As long as he is disabled, everything will be quiet. We can tell others that he broke his leg while working and pretended to ask someone to take a look. Any accidents that happen later have nothing to do with us." The Shi family was frightened by his words, but they accepted it when they thought about the good days in the future.

Seeing that the Shi family members disregarded human lives for money, Tan Yueya felt chilled and frightened. She wanted to go out to find someone to help her, but was held down by the Shi family members, beaten and insulted. If her mother's family had not arrived in time, the two of them would have died.

A group of people arrived at the county government office and handed the petition to the yamen runner according to the regulations. The yamen runner saw a large group of people and the presence of village chiefs and elders from both sides. He was afraid that it was not a small matter, so he opened the petition and his face immediately fell.

"You are the victims, who is the defendant?"

"Your Excellency, I am the victim. I want to sue Shi Chong and his family for deliberately murdering my husband and me, and for selling innocent people and my ten-year-old daughter to a fool." Tan Yueya was helped forward and knelt down and kowtowed several times to the yamen runner.

The yamen runner couldn't bear to see this, so he immediately signaled for the family to help her up. "Don't worry, my lady. We will definitely find out the reason and find evidence. If it's really as you said, the county magistrate will definitely make a decision for you."

"According to the law, since you submitted your complaint today, we will of course investigate. The county magistrate will not be able to hear the case until tomorrow afternoon."

"It's all up to you, my Lord."

According to the regulations, after submitting the complaint at the county government office, the bailiffs had to first obtain statements from both parties and record them, and then go to the scene to collect evidence, etc., so they had to wait until tomorrow afternoon before the court session could begin.

Seeing that the lawsuit had been filed, the Shi family members became really anxious and were waiting for Shi Chong to come back.

The village heads and elders of the two villages returned to their villages first, waiting to come back tomorrow afternoon. The Tan family sent Shi Shuanghu to the clinic and found a cheap inn nearby to stay, as the two of them could not move around freely.

The Shi family members waited in front of the government office. Seeing Shi Chong return, they hurried forward and asked, "What's going on? Did Manager Xu agree to help?"

"Grandma, Mom, Third Uncle, don't worry. I've already explained the whole story to Manager Xu. We'll just insist that he was unfilial and beat her first. We only hurt her by protecting our elders. We don't care about anything else. Zhenzhen has already exchanged the engagement letter, so it can't be considered a business transaction. The rest has nothing to do with us."

Shi Chong was completely at ease at this point, not worried at all.

"But, if the bailiff asks about it, will the Ji family let the cat out of the bag?" Old Man Shi still had some concerns in his heart.

"Master, don't worry. No matter what's happening with Zhenzhen or the Ji family, how will the Ji family respond?" Although he said so, Old Man Shi and his companions were still worried.

Shi Chong looked at the whole family and asked them to go to the inn with him to rest, and they didn't have to go back to the village. The Shi family members were very happy when they heard this, because they had never stayed in an inn in the county town in their lives.

A group of people went to the inn. On the way, Old Man Shi just frowned. He always felt that something was going to happen, but when he saw the confident look of his eldest grandson, he was afraid that his grandson had already made arrangements and was a little more determined.