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

Seeing Xu Jian's confident demeanor, Xu Wulai felt a little flustered.

But considering there's only one basket, even if his son really took it, he'd deny it to the death, and there'd be nothing they could do about it.

These baskets are all woven from bamboo and they all look the same. What evidence do they have to prove that they belong to his family?

Thinking of this, Xu Wulai felt a little more at ease: "Alright, we'll do it your way. If we don't find it and wrongly accuse my Dazhu, it won't be as simple as just paying 2 taels of silver."

“At least…at least five taels of silver, yes, five taels.”

"You scoundrel Xu, don't push your luck," the village chief said with a stern face.

Ms. Wen readily agreed: "Okay, no problem. You can also choose the people who go in with us, so you won't accuse us of colluding later."

Xu Wulai scanned the crowd of onlookers and picked out someone he was on slightly better terms with.

The basket was woven by Xu Jian, so Xu Jian, the village chief, and the three villagers, including Xu Wulai, went into Xu Wulai's house together.

Xu Wulai's house was not big, just two thatched houses, one kitchen and one outhouse.

The three of them first looked around the bedroom, and upon entering the room, they were so overwhelmed by the stench that they almost vomited.

The stench of sweat, feet, and some other unknown odor mingled together; I really don't know how Xu the scoundrel could stand living there.

The house was completely exposed at a glance. Not finding the basket, I went to the kitchen instead. The kitchen was cleaner and didn't smell bad, but it was also completely exposed, with pots and pans covered in dust.

Xu Wulai said sarcastically, "Give me five taels of silver."

Xu Jian calmly said, "What's the rush? We haven't even found a toilet yet."

As he spoke, he lifted his foot and walked towards the outhouse.

I covered my nose and searched inside and out, finally finding the basket in the pile of weeds behind the outhouse.

Xu Jian threw the basket in front of Xu Wulai: "What else do you have to say? Apologize to my niece right now! If you dare to bully my family again, I'll really cripple you!"

Xu Wulai started wailing and crying again: "This is clearly my family's basket! What proof do you have that it belongs to you? This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"

The village chief couldn't hold back any longer and kicked Xu the scoundrel in the chest.

"Your basket? Where did you get the money to buy a basket? Don't tell me you wove it yourself. You can't even straighten a pair of chopsticks. How could you possibly weave such a fine basket?"

"Stop trying to be a scoundrel. Apologize and admit your mistake, and this will be the end of it."

Xu Wulai looked indignant.

Xu Jian wanted to convince Xu Wulai and also prove to the villagers who were watching the spectacle that this was indeed his family's carrying basket.

"Since you say this is your family's bamboo basket, then tell me what its characteristics are."

Xu Wulai: "What special features could it have? Aren't they all made of bamboo? You're not going to talk a big game about a bamboo basket, are you?"

Xu Jian: "Since that's the case, if I can prove that this is the basket I wove, you not only have to apologize to my niece, but you also have to avoid any women in our family from now on, otherwise I'll beat you every time I see you."

Xu Wulai didn't believe Xu Jian had any way to prove it and readily agreed.

Xu Jian then asked the village chief and other villagers to be witnesses before stepping forward to untie the straps of the basket, revealing the dried herbs inside.

"This is a herbal medicine that my younger sister specially bought from Doctor Qian in Qianjia Village. It can repel mosquitoes, snakes, and ants."

The villagers were immediately in an uproar.

"Xu Qing is so good to her daughter. We're lucky if we can have enough to eat, and she still has extra money to buy her deworming medicine."

"Xu Jian is quite capable. He's a great worker, and I never expected him to be so skilled at such detailed work as well."

“Xu Qing is doing business in town. He buys land and builds houses, and those houses are so big. He must be rich.”

"It seems the Xu brothers aren't married yet. Any girl who marries into their family will be very fortunate."

"Absolutely! Xu Qing has her father protecting her from the underworld, and she even has gods as friends, my goodness."

“I have a niece on my mother’s side who is not married yet. I wonder if she can marry Aunt Wen and become her daughter-in-law.”

Listening to the crowd's discussions, Xu Jian felt as if he had inexplicably wandered onto the wrong film set.

Aren't we dealing with Xu Wulai's matter right now?

Xu Jian stood there, bewildered in the wind.

The magistrate chuckled: "Now that the truth has come out, Xu Dazhu should apologize to Xu Baobao and return the basket. Also, the agreement between Xu Jian and Xu Wulai will take effect immediately."

Xu Jian was stunned; he hadn't expected the county magistrate to agree to their earlier agreement.

Wen pulled her stunned eldest son aside and bowed to the magistrate to express her gratitude.

The magistrate was dressed in ordinary clothes. The villagers bowed to Wen Shi. The villagers who had seen the magistrate at Xu Qing's house before recognized him.

They all knelt on the ground.

"Greetings, Your Excellency..."

Xu Wulai was about to ask, "Who are you? You think you can just apologize like that? You think it's effective just like that?"

Upon seeing the villagers' actions, his face immediately turned ashen.

He was just threatening to report it to the authorities, but unexpectedly, the official was right in front of him...

Xu Wulai dared not cause any more trouble, so he could only vent his anger on Xu Dazhu.

He grabbed Xu Dazhu and pinched his arm hard: "Apologize now! You're so greedy, I've been feeding you all the good food and drink I could give you every day."

Xu Dazhu's eyes darted around in pain, but he dared not cry out or let the tears fall.

He said softly, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have taken the baby's basket and the wild grapes. I know I was wrong."

Unable to bear seeing Xu Wulai abuse the child, Madam Wen waved her hand and said, "An apology is enough; let's just let this matter go."

With the matter resolved, Xu Baobao happily slung her little basket over her shoulder and playfully snuggled up to Xu Jian:

"Uncle, when we get back, could you sew me a new baby carrier? I'll put some herbs inside, it smells so good, I love it."

Xu Jian smiled and patted Xu Baobao's head, agreeing.

As the crowd dispersed, Xu Wulai pulled Xu Dazhu back to his home. They placed the dilapidated gate at the entrance to block the view and ridicule from outside.

Then, Madam Wen cautiously asked, "Why has the magistrate come? Is he here to see Qing'er?"

The magistrate smiled broadly: "It's a long story, but in short, Madam Xu did me a great favor again, saving my son's life. I've come here specifically to thank her."

"Who knew I would arrive at Xujia Village before her? I asked the workers who were building your house, and they said you were here. We met the village chief on the way, so we came together to join in the fun."

After listening to the magistrate's words, Wen was still full of questions, but she did not dare to ask the magistrate any further.

The group headed toward the construction site where the Xu family was building their house.

Xu Qing drove three oxcarts back, but the villagers all went to Xu Wulai's house to watch the excitement, so it didn't cause a sensation.

As soon as she returned, she heard from the workers what had happened on the mountain. The county magistrate had brought a stonemason to Xu Qing, and the stonemason told Xu Qing that the county magistrate had already left.

Xu Qing was no longer in a hurry. In any case, her own family would not suffer any losses. After unloading the things and bricks from the oxcart, she discussed the details of laying the foundation stones and column bases with the stonemason.

They also asked the workers to build two temporary cowsheds. These two oxcarts were to be used to transport bricks and tiles, and it would be more convenient to place them on the construction site.

After she had settled things at the construction site, the county magistrate and Madam Wen's entourage returned.