Divorced woman with child travels through time

Upon hearing this, the merchants began to whisper among themselves and discuss the matter.

"That's true. My shop is just a small shop, where would I get five taels of silver for fire loss?"

"Me too, I haul goods into the city every day, and I only make two taels of silver every time I cross the bridge, but I can't even earn two taels of silver from this cargo."

"That's right."

"Exactly, exactly! How can a foot massage parlor like mine make any money? They come here and demand money. How are we supposed to survive? It's a disaster..." The crowd huddled together, complaining in a chaotic mess.

"Silence!" Chairman Qian shouted.

Among these people, the most influential and powerful are Chen Wenfang and his wife. After all, they have always dealt with Magistrate Ouyang. Moreover, Lord Li is still in office. If they make the decision, it will be the safest option. As for Ouyang's relatives, they didn't come, and Magistrate Zhou wouldn't even consider targeting them.

"Madam Chen, Master Wang, go and tell them what to do about this situation."

Chen Wenfang glanced at Wang Erniu, who then spoke up, "I've thought about it, and the best solution right now is for all the shops to band together and avoid paying taxes. After all, the law doesn't punish the masses. If there aren't enough people, and you're afraid to offend the officials, and you can't pay the taxes, then you should close down and go into hiding. I'll discuss this with Lord Li again. Lord Zhou's actions are causing our town to be unable to attract merchants. Such a desperate measure will surely lead to disaster!"

Chairman Qian stroked his beard, nodded, and deeply agreed. Even with his large and powerful family, he was still afraid of Zhou Bapi's reputation for constantly exposing others. That man was notorious in the next county, and he was truly terrified.

"Everyone, just do as Mr. Wang says. I'm going back to take care of things first," Chairman Qian said before leaving, showing he was also someone who didn't care about anything.

"Then we'll head back first, Madam Chen..." Everyone scattered like birds and beasts... Now, merchants and peddlers from outside are unwilling to come in, and there aren't many people even at the market. Who's going to pay taxes if they come into town? Business is tough for everyone, and they have to pay extra miscellaneous taxes. Zhou Bapi is a scumbag who eats from both ends; he's inhuman. It's a good thing to avoid him. It's rare to find someone willing to take the lead, so they feel at ease.

Since there was no business in the shop anyway, Wang Erniu went to find Ah Li and asked Wang Hanyang to take Chen Wenfang back to the manor.

That evening, Wang Erniu returned to the manor and handed Chen Wenfang a thick letter, saying, "Wife, this is a letter that Lord Li asked me to give you. He said it was a letter from Madam Jiang. Please take a look."

As soon as Chen Wenfang opened the envelope, he was shocked to find five silver notes worth ten thousand taels each! "Wow, so much money, could it be fake?"

This amused Wang Erniu. "Madam, you're so cute! What are you talking about? How could Madam Jiang do such a thing?"

Chen Wenfang smiled sheepishly and touched her face, saying, "It's also my fault for being so ignorant. You know what, I've never seen such a large denomination banknote before. The most I've ever seen is a banknote with a face value of one thousand taels of silver given by Madam Jiang. I've been saving money for so long this past year, and the most I've ever saved is one thousand taels at a time. I've never seen such a large denomination. Tsk tsk, ten thousand taels of silver. Many families couldn't save that much in several generations..."

Chen Wenfang sighed, carefully placing the silver note aside as if it were a treasure. She then picked up the letter and began to read it carefully. It turned out to be from the Jiang family, who had made a fortune from the autumn tea using the tea recipe Chen Wenfang had given them.

The south experienced more rain in the second half of this year, resulting in a good growth of autumn tea. The Jiang family's trade mainly focuses on overseas markets, and this year they also included tea from within the country, so they have made a lot of money. This can be considered as their dividend to Chen Wenfang as a token of their gratitude.

"Can the Jiang family really earn that much?" Chen Wenfang asked curiously.

Wang Erniu poured himself a cup of tea, drank it all in one gulp, and laughed, "It seems you still underestimate them. The Jiang family is so rich they could rival a country. They even sent one of their cousins ​​into the imperial court, and I heard she became a concubine. It's all thanks to money. So, I estimate they've earned at least several million taels this year. They have dozens of cargo ships, and each ship that carries tea and silk brings back hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. Giving you this is just a token of their appreciation."

"Holy crap, no way..." Chen Wenfang's mouth gaped open, deeply shocked, unable to close it. "How could I have run into someone so incredibly rich..."

"Madam is indeed lucky. This Madam Jiang and Magistrate Ouyang have been childhood sweethearts since they were young. They don't care about money, live in a simple house, and don't like social connections. It was purely by chance that they met Madam. Moreover, my wife is simple and honest, and she is especially lovable." Wang Erniu felt very honored.

"Hehe, you're so good with words. Here, this is a reward for you." Chen Wenfang joked, taking out a silver note and placing it aside.

Wang Erniu looked at her strangely, "That's for you, what would I do with it? You can keep it, Madam."

Chen Wenfang sighed deeply, handed him the letter, and said, "Madam Jiang said that there is unrest in the south, with pirates constantly harassing the people. I feel that even if you use this money to buy things, it won't be safe. We still have too few people and limited resources."

Wang Erniu carefully read the letter, put the silver notes inside his clothes, and hugged her, saying, "Don't worry, my wife, I will definitely protect you. I'll keep this money for now, and I'll recruit more people. Don't worry, our estate will definitely be fine; we will protect it."

Chen Wenfang nodded in agreement and said, "We'll talk about these things later. You should let Xiaoming and his brother get married first. They're in their twenties, not young anymore. There are too few people in our village. Once they're married and have wives, they'll get houses. If it's not enough, we can build more later. Now that we have money, we should make everyone rich."

Wang Erniu gently pinched her nose and laughed happily, "My wife's idea is the best. Okay, I'll go talk to them right now." Life seems to be getting better and better.

"Hmm. Oh, right," Chen Wenfang called out to him, "What did Ali tell you about paying taxes? This can't be delayed any longer. If it's delayed any longer, will our store still be able to stay open? Will everyone still be able to survive?"

Wang Erniu continued walking, saying, "I'll tell them the good news first, and then I'll tell you later."

Chen Wenfang waved her hand and said, "Then go ahead."

Huang Niu went to the two brothers' room, where they were soaking their feet and bragging. When he came over, Wang Xiaoguang said with a smile, "Second brother is here! Have you soaked your feet yet? Why don't you soak your feet together?"

Wang Erniu glanced at him sideways, acting all serious, and said, "I'm not here to flirt, I'm here to talk to you about serious matters."

Wang Xiaoming said gently, "Second Brother, is there something you need us to do?"

Wang Erniu sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) and said to them very seriously, "This is a big deal, a matter that will affect you two for the rest of your lives. You two must handle it well."