Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

Being ridiculed so brazenly by a group of peasants, Zhao Erlv felt utterly humiliated.

Although he was a slave, a servant of Master Zhao's household, he didn't think he was superior just because of his status as a dog relying on his master's power.

At least taller than these peasants, right?

In the past, every time they came to collect grain, these guys would always respectfully call him "Master Donkey" and treat him to good food and drink.

But now, these peasants dare to laugh at me?

So Zhao Erlv was very angry and immediately jumped onto the table, shouting loudly in a voice like a duck.

"Listen up, all of you! Only the Zhao family can buy your grain! Anyone who dares to sell their grain to others is going against Master Zhao! They can't afford the consequences. Do you all understand?"

However, his seemingly imposing threat appeared utterly ridiculous to these farmers.

Zhao Erlu was short in stature, and his current height would be around 1.4 meters.

Seeing him standing on the table shouting and yelling only made him seem somewhat comical.

"Alright, Mr. Donkey, stop yelling and sit still. We've signed an agreement with them."

This year's grain won't be sold to your Zhao family. We'll talk about it next year, okay...

Li Tiedan glared at Zhao Erlv sideways, then continued working in the fields.

The other farmers were too lazy to argue with this guy, each casting a sympathetic and pitying glance before going about their own work.

Enraged by the peasant's attitude, Zhao Erlv said with trembling fingers, "Fine, so you don't even respect Master Zhao anymore! Very well, then there's nothing more to say!"

After saying that, he roared at the Zhao family servants beside him, "What are you all standing there for? These peasants dare to disrespect Master Zhao, shouldn't they be taught a lesson? Beat them!"

"it is good!"

The servants immediately rolled up their sleeves, grabbed their weapons, and prepared to attack the farmers.

"Oh no! The Zhao family is attacking someone!"

"Help! The Zhao family is about to kill someone!"

Before the servants could even make a move, the women and children who were delivering water nearby saw this scene and immediately began to wail and cry.

This shout immediately alerted the farmers in the other fields, who rushed over carrying their farm tools and with their bare feet covered in mud.

In no time at all, the group of servants had been surrounded by the farmers.

"What are you doing? What do you want to do?!"

"I'm telling you, don't do anything reckless!"

Seeing the angry faces before them, both Zhao Erlu and the servants panicked.

There were only six of them, but there were seventy or eighty men, women, and children around them.

Without the participation of martial artists, if a fight were to break out, they would likely be ganged up on and killed.

"You fool, are you out of your mind? What Zhao family? Bah! You don't even deserve the Zhao surname!"

"You son of a bitch, you donkey, you think you can take advantage of me just because I've given you a little leeway?"

"Didn't you want to make a move? Come on, let's see who lies down first today."

At this moment, Zhao Erlv had already cowered, curled up on the table, covered his head, and trembled in a posture of protecting his face when he was about to be beaten. He no longer had the arrogant attitude he had before.

"Zhang Dong's men have come to collect the grain!"

Just then, a child jumping and shouting at the entrance of the village attracted everyone's attention.

"Boss Zhang is here, go and greet him quickly."

Upon hearing this, Li Tiedan didn't have time to deal with Zhao Erlv and immediately called everyone to head towards the village entrance.

At the village entrance, on a mule cart loaded with large and small bags, a chubby rice merchant was smiling and making faces at the children running around the cart, looking very kind.

Dozens of burly men followed behind the vehicle, each wearing a short-sleeved shirt and carrying a sickle.

Just by looking at his stance, you can tell he's a trained martial artist.

"Boss Zhang, you've finally arrived! We've been waiting for you for a long time."

Li Tiedan was the first to rush to the mule cart and greet Zhang Pangzi warmly.

"Brother Li, you look even more energetic these past few days. Look at your physique, you're getting stronger and stronger."

"Mr. Zhang, you're joking. We're just farmers who eat from the fields. How can we compare to your elegant demeanor?"

"Okay, okay, you can talk, hahaha."

Fatty Zhang laughed and joked a few times, then stopped the mule cart in front of the crowd.

"Fellow villagers, this is our first time doing business together. We don't know each other well, and we don't know what you like."

So I specially prepared some small gifts before coming. Please don't mind, just share them freely.

After saying that, he grabbed a bag of oil paper, took out a handful of candy and gave it to the children in front of him, and then stuffed the rest of the bag of candy into the hand of an older child.

"Thank you, Uncle Zhang."

After thanking them, the children happily ran off.

Meanwhile, the martial arts practitioners who had accompanied them had already begun distributing the goods from the vehicle to the villagers.

The items weren't very valuable; they were just things like tea leaves, salt, shortbread, and soybean oil.

But these things bring warmth to the hearts of farmers.

This is the first time I've ever encountered a grain buyer giving me gifts.

Compare this to the Zhao family; when did they ever give anything to the villagers during grain harvests?

Li Tiedan, holding a jar of soybean oil weighing at least five pounds, was deeply moved and immediately said, "Boss Zhang, you are a good person."

We farmers don't understand any grand principles, but since you care about us peasants, we must repay you.

"I can't control what other people do, but if you want to take grain from my Li Tiedan family, one tael of silver and three shi will suffice..."

"Haha, Brother Li, you're such an honest man."

Fatty Zhang patted Li Tiedan on the shoulder, his smile as endearing as that of the Laughing Buddha from southern Fujian.

"But we signed a contract, so we'll charge you whatever price we say we'll pay. You won't be shortchanged."

Besides, if others heard you say that, they'd probably be cursing me in their hearts, hahaha.

Li Tiedan could only force a smile.

Upon hearing this, the other villagers found Zhang Pangzi's fat face even more pleasing to the eye and invited him to their homes as guests.

"Who are you? Who sent you here?!"

Suddenly, a braying sound like a quail broke the pleasant atmosphere.

Zhao Erlu stood in the middle of the road with his hands on his hips, glaring menacingly at Zhang Dongjia and his group.

"Hmm, who is that?"

Fatty Zhang asked, puzzled.

Li Tiedan: "Him? He's Zhao's lackey, Zhao Erlv. Boss, you don't need to worry about him. He's a scoundrel."

"Wait, the Zhao family?"

Fatty Zhang immediately perked up, jumped off the mule cart, and slowly walked towards Zhao Erlv.

Zhang Pangzi weighs 220 pounds and is 1.81 meters tall, creating a stark contrast with Zhao Erlv, who is 1.4 meters tall and as thin as a monkey.

When the two stood face to face, Zhao Erlv looked up at his face, which was shaded by the sunlight, and couldn't help but swallow.

"The Zhao family? I remember I spoke with your boss before, and he agreed to let Yongchang Goods Company handle the grain for these eight nearby villages this year. What, you're going to back out after only a few days? Hmm?"

The overwhelming force of the attack made Zhao Erlu tremble uncontrollably, and he could only stammer and utter a single word.

"Come on, take me to see your boss. You took the benefits from my Yongchang Goods Company and still dare to breach the contract? It seems he doesn't know the methods of me, Fatty Zhang."

After saying that, he picked up Zhao Erlv and casually tossed him onto the car.

"Good~"

Upon seeing this, the villagers immediately erupted in cheers and applause.