Divorcing your wife might feel good for a moment, but seeing me make money will make you regret it f

Xu Qing said with a warm smile, "Since it has nothing to do with Aunt Tian, ​​then I will send the three of them to the authorities."

Aunt Tian's composure nearly crumbled; she froze for a moment, then stammered:

“It’s not worth sending them to the authorities… This Iron Ox and Iron Dog are the village chief’s nephews… They damaged your things, you can just pay for them.”

The village chief stood aside, wanting to plead for leniency, but thinking of the outrageous things his nephew had done, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Jianguo was still working under Xu Qing, and he was too ashamed to face anyone, so he simply sat down to the side.

"They brought this on themselves. Qingya can do whatever she wants with them. I have no complaints."

Seeing that no one was helping him, Xu Tieniu glared fiercely at Aunt Tian and said:

“Compensation? You make it sound so easy. Do you even know how much silver your sister Qing’s sweet potato field is worth?”

Ten taels! Where would we get so much silver to pay this?

Even if you deny it, it's fine. When I see the magistrate, I'll still say the same thing, and you can just wait to be summoned!

This is what Xu Qing told him last night. She said that if Aunt Tian doesn't admit it, or if she pushes all the blame onto them.

He could also defend himself in front of the magistrate, who was a good official and would find out the truth.

He was initially somewhat dismissive, since they were from the same village and such things had happened before.

It never escalated to the point of reporting it to the authorities.

I never expected today...

Aunt Tian felt her legs go weak. No, she didn't want to see the officials!

Everyone knows that the magistrate and Xu Qing have a close relationship. Even if it really has nothing to do with her, she wouldn't have a say once she's in the yamen.

Besides, it really was her who did it.

Aunt Tian stammered, "Although, although it has nothing to do with me, I can't bear to see the whole village in this state..."

"You three each pay three taels, and I'll cover one tael for you. Is that alright?"

Xu Qing looked at Aunt Tian with a half-smile: "When did Aunt Tian become so kind? It has nothing to do with you, yet you're willing to part with a tael of silver. Are you feeling guilty for doing something wrong?"

Aunt Tian chuckled awkwardly, "No, no, I just couldn't bear to do it. If I handed it over to the authorities, it would leave a criminal record, which would also affect the reputation of our entire Xu Family Village."

Xu Qing shrugged: "They damaged it twice, each time for 10 taels, so they should compensate me 20 taels."

Since Aunt Tian is so kind, you can use the remaining 10 taels to pay off their debts as well.

Aunt Tian's eyes widened; giving her one tael was already as painful as having her flesh cut with a knife.

Now there are 10 more taels of silver. Even if you kill her, you can't come up with that much money!

The village chief, who was watching from the sidelines, understood everything clearly. He realized that things might really be as his nephew had said.

He slammed his hand on the table and said angrily, "Mrs. Tian, ​​if you admit it now, I can make sure Qingya doesn't report it to the authorities."

If you continue to bury your heads in the sand like this, I'll send you all to the authorities right now!

The village chief slammed his hand on the table, making a loud noise that startled Aunt Tian, ​​who was already in a panic.

Unable to bear it any longer, she collapsed to the ground with a thud: "I said, okay...?"

Then, Aunt Tian poured out everything, like spilling beans.

She extended her index finger, trembling as she pointed at Xu Qing.

“In the past, your family borrowed money from everyone in the village to pay for your father's medical treatment. Later, no one was willing to lend money anymore, so your mother begged my family, and I lent her the money.”

With such a huge favor, why didn't you hire my eldest son as a worker for your workshop? And that's not all.

On your elder brother's wedding day, it was clearly agreed that anyone who pointed out an unfamiliar face would receive two taels of silver. But you turned around and reneged on your promise!

Not only did my two taels of silver become one tael, but before I could even say a few words, you gave me the cold shoulder! You called me a free watchdog...

I'm your elder, how could you treat me like this? I'm absolutely furious!

On the way back, I couldn't swallow my anger. It was just bad luck that I ran into Zhao Tieniu and his gang.

"Hmph, I only whispered a few words, and they actually went and dug up your sweet potato field! How can you blame me for that!"

After Aunt Tian finished speaking, she felt extremely wronged and cried while cursing:

"How can you blame me... Waaah... It's all because your Xu family was ungrateful first and then bullied me."

And Zhao Tieniu and his gang, they're bad people to begin with. How can you blame me! Waaaaah…”

Xu Qing remained silent for a long time. He wanted to help Aunt Tian up, but when he heard Aunt Tian's crying and cursing halfway through his hand, he withdrew it.

Her tone was icy: "I didn't take your eldest son in because he said behind my back that he wanted to eat my childless offspring."

The reason I didn't say it in public was out of respect for you. As for the reward you mentioned...

It was the matchmaker who first brought it up, so it's understandable that I wouldn't give it to you. You really shouldn't have acted this way out of momentary resentment.

Considering the kindness you've shown my family in the past, I'll let this matter rest. I won't pursue the matter further, and we'll call it even.

I hope you'll be more careful in the future and not make this mistake again, otherwise next time, I won't be so lenient.

Aunt Tian stared blankly at Xu Qing, unaware that her son had failed to be selected because of this.

Her son told her that Xu Qing is now rich and looks down on people like them.

If she had known the reason, she wouldn't have argued with Xu Qing about the reward money...

Aunt Tian's initial resentment had subsided, and now she only felt extremely ashamed, her face flushed with embarrassment.

Upon hearing Xu Qing's words, Xu Tieniu excitedly said, "Sister Qing, please forgive us for our past mistakes. We will never dare to do it again!"

Xu Qing looked back at the people tied up on the ground and said with a smile, "Aunt Tian has been kind to my family. What help do you have to repay her kindness?"

Although the village chief really didn't want to get involved with these people, he couldn't help but find that two of them were his only sister's children.

The villagers mostly didn't hold it against them out of respect for him, and he often helped them clean up their messes.

That's what shaped their personality.

He did intend to teach them a lesson today, which shows that Xu Qing wasn't going to hold a grudge against Aunt Tian.

Wouldn't that mean all the responsibility would fall on his nephews and his family...?

This made the village chief feel a pang of guilt. He suppressed his overwhelming shame and indignation and spoke:

"Qing'er, could you please, for my sake, not send them to the authorities? As for the rest, you should do what you normally would..."

The three men on the ground kept kowtowing and begging for forgiveness: "We really know we were wrong, we'll never do it again, please don't send us to the authorities! We'll pay you back, we'll pay you back..."

Xu Qing raised an eyebrow. She hadn't originally intended to hand them over to the authorities; she just wanted to scare them and get them to tell the truth.

However, this would leave a deeper impression on them, as their village chief owed him a favor, which Xu Qing was extremely happy to do.

"For Uncle Dehua's sake, I can let it go to court, but the money must be paid back, 20 taels, not a penny less."

"Regardless of where you find the sweet potato seedlings, you must restore my sweet potato field to its original state and not interfere with my sweet potato planting."

The village chief breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they weren't handed over to the authorities, that was fine. As for the rest, they deserved it!

The three people on the ground hadn't even had a minute to be happy when they heard what Xu Qing said next, and their faces turned ashen.

Not to mention money, they can't even find sweet potatoes!

Xu Tieniu said cautiously, "Sister Qing, the second time it was Aunt Tian who threatened us. Can we only pay 10 taels?"

"And these sweet potatoes, can we replant the ones we dug up?"