After a male student transmigrated into the body of a widow,

Gu Lin wasn't a particularly curious person, but what Zhao's sister-in-law and brother-in-law had talked about that morning was clearly related to him, and their expressions were rather unpleasant during their conversation, which made Gu Lin even more curious about what they had discussed.

While the store was busy with more customers and Zhao's wife was distracted by them, Gu Lin started a conversation with her.

When Gu Lin noticed that Zhao's attention was becoming increasingly distracted, he began to subtly inquire about what had happened that morning. Caught off guard, Zhao's sister-in-law was tricked into revealing information by the young man beside her.

After learning from Sister Zhao why she was angry that morning, Gu Lin's previously gentle and smiling expression turned cold.

It seems he's too easy to talk to, or rather, too easy to bully; otherwise, how could the villagers of Xiahe Village dare to trample on him and humiliate him?

Gu Lin's purchase of melons and vegetables from the villagers of Xiahe Village was indeed driven by his own agenda, but he also genuinely wanted to help the villagers and achieve a win-win situation.

He was prepared for a thankless task, and even spoke frankly with the village chief beforehand, but the villagers of Xiahe Village were still insatiable and started causing trouble.

They dared not jump directly in front of him, but since Brother Zhao lived in Xiahe Village, he became their primary target.

Gu Lin entrusted the task of purchasing melons and vegetables to Brother Zhao. The villagers initially had no objections, but they somehow learned that Gu Lin paid Brother Zhao several taels of silver a month, and their eyes turned red with envy.

However, although they had opinions about this, they dared not show them, and at most they would secretly criticize Gu Lin and the others.

But things changed after Huang Mazi from the village returned from outside.

Huang Mazi was dissatisfied when he learned that Gu Lin had bypassed their family and was not buying their melons and vegetables.

So he stirred up trouble among the villagers of Xiahe Village, saying that Gu Lin had made so much money doing business in the county town, but he was undercutting the price when buying melons and vegetables from the villagers.

Normally, the villagers wouldn't listen to Huang Mazi stirring up trouble in front of them.

However, the villagers, who were already dissatisfied with Gu Lin paying Brother Zhao a generous wage, became even more resentful of Gu Lin after Huang Mazi added fuel to the fire.

They couldn't help but suspect that Gu Lin's reason for buying melons and vegetables in Xiahe Village was to take advantage of their village life and ignorance of the ever-changing vegetable prices in the county, thus making it easier for him to lower the purchase price.

The villagers became increasingly uneasy about it.

Why is it that I can only earn a few hundred coins for the melons and vegetables I grow with all my hard work, while Brother Zhao, who transports melons and vegetables, can earn several taels of silver?

Several hot-tempered villagers, who were already envious of Gu Lin's business success, now saw the discontent among the villagers and, under the guise of seeking justice for them, incited other villagers to cause trouble at the village chief's place.

However, according to Brother Zhao, they were suppressed by the village chief before they could even cause any trouble.

Gu Lin lowered his eyes slightly, a hint of coldness flashing across his usually gentle gaze.

His voice was slightly cold as he said to Sister-in-law Zhao, "Sister-in-law, I'll leave the shop to you this afternoon. Brother Zhao and I are going back to the village."

Sister-in-law Zhao quickly put down her work, turned to look at Gu Lin, and said with concern, "Brother Lin, they outnumber you and have the upper hand. You can't just fight them directly!"

She understood the young man before her. He appeared gentle and weak, but in reality, he was resolute and tough. If anyone crossed his bottom line, Gu Lin would very likely fight them head-on.

But who are those people in the village? They're all incredibly savage.

People in the county town have conflicts with each other, but they dare not cause trouble because of the presence of the government.

The villagers of Xiahe Village are different. Taking advantage of the fact that the emperor is far away and no one can control them, they often quarrel so fiercely that they sometimes fight and even draw blood.

When Gu Lin, Zhao Dagen, and the other two went there, they were no match for the villagers.

Gu Lin reassured her, "Don't worry, sister-in-law, I won't get into a conflict with them, but they shouldn't try to bully me either."

At noon, after Zheng Hao returned from school, Gu Lin told him about what had happened in Xiahe Village and that he was going back.

Zheng Hao said to Gu Lin, "Uncle Gu, I'll go back with you."

"No."

Gu Lin answered without even thinking.

In any case, Zheng Hao is still a child, and it's best for the other party not to get involved in these adult feuds.

Moreover, even if Gu Lin was slow-witted, seeing Zheng Hao's diligent study after enrolling in school, he understood Zheng Hao's desire to take the imperial examination.

Although Gu Lin did not know the details of the imperial examination system in this era, he knew that in this era, reputation was more important than life to scholars who planned to enter officialdom through the imperial examination.

Especially considering the opinions from his fellow villagers, if Zheng Hao were to go back with him now, how would he present himself and make a choice in front of his father and the villagers if a conflict were to break out between them later?

If things go wrong, the villagers might develop resentment towards Zheng Hao because of this incident and directly do things to defame his reputation.

Even if Zheng Hao can prove himself, good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast. When that time comes, Zheng Hao will be a blank sheet of paper, and gossip will be the ink. A blank sheet of paper stained with black ink will eventually be stained.

Zheng Hao's expression was firm: "Uncle Gu, let me go."

Zheng Hao knew that returning to Xiahe Village would do him no good, but he couldn't bear to watch Uncle Gu go back alone.

Gu Lin looked at Zheng Hao without backing down. He patted the young man in front of him on the shoulder and said, "Listen to me, trust me, they can't hurt me. Besides, Brother Zhao and Da Gen will go with me."

Zheng Hao pursed his lips, looked at Gu Lin in front of him who was unwavering and would not change his mind, and finally said, "Uncle Gu, be careful and come back soon."

After calming the other party down, Gu Lin felt relieved and got into the car to return to Xiahe Village with Brother Zhao.

Xiahe Village.

The village chief's house.

Upon seeing Gu Lin arrive with Brother Zhao and Zhao Dagen, the village chief knew why they had come.

Thinking of the recent troubles in the village, the village chief's face showed shame and apology: "Brother Lin, I really have no face to see you."

Gu Lin shook his head slightly and stepped forward, saying, "Village chief, there's no need to feel guilty. Everyone has their own thoughts, and none of us can control them."

Seeing that Gu Lin didn't immediately confront him with accusations, but instead spoke to him politely, the village chief was somewhat at a loss and said, "This... Brother Lin..."

He wanted to tell Lin Ge'er that he would discipline the villagers of Xiahe Village properly in the future and prevent them from gossiping, but when he met Lin Ge'er's unusually gentle and cold eyes, the village chief couldn't bring himself to say anything.

"Village Chief?" Gu Lin asked, seeing that the village chief seemed to have something to say.

The village chief, however, couldn't bring himself to speak.

What's wrong? Gu Lin did a good deed, but instead of thanking him, the villagers cursed and blamed him. Instead of forcing the villagers to come over and apologize, he thinks he can rely on his old face to make Lord Gu Lin be magnanimous and forgive them?

The village chief himself felt incredibly ashamed when he thought about it.

He didn't have that much face. Besides, it was the villagers of Xiahe Village who had done wrong. If he further alienated Gu Lin, would Gu Lin simply abandon Xiahe Village?

The village chief thought about it more and more and felt that he couldn't speak easily. He pondered carefully and swallowed back the words that were about to come to his lips.

In the end, the village chief felt that the interests of the entire village should not be lost for the sake of a few fools.

His previously troubled expression turned firm, and he said to Gu Lin, "Brother Lin, you probably know what happened in the village. It was my fault for not managing them well. Tell me how you want to deal with it, and I will support you!"

Seeing the village chief standing firmly on his side, Gu Lin was somewhat surprised, but considering the relationship, he could only say that the other party was truly worried about Xiahe Village.

Because of the village chief's connections, no matter how fiercely the villagers protested, they would eventually have to give the village chief face and let the villagers go.

However, Gu Lin wouldn't let himself be taken advantage of.

Gu Lin said to the village chief, "Village chief, please call every household in Xiahe Village over! Some things should be resolved face to face. If the villagers feel that I have taken advantage of them, I do not want to force them to do anything against their will."

Upon hearing Gu Lin's words, the village chief's heart sank, and he was at the same time glad that he hadn't been senile and advised the other party to let the matter rest.

"bang bang bang"

Not long after, the gong in Xiahe Village rang out again.

Although the village chief's courtyard was crowded with people, it now seemed lifeless compared to the joyful and excited atmosphere of the last time.

When the villagers saw the young man standing in front, some of them had anger in their eyes, while others looked away guiltily after meeting Gu Lin's gaze.

The village chief looked at everyone, his voice old but loud: "Everyone's here! Let me speak!"

"Everyone knows why I called you here. Recently, a few people have even made a fuss about this with me. I won't beat around the bush with you. I'll just ask you one question: what exactly do you want?"

“Before, every household in the village had to tighten their belts to make ends meet, counting every grain of rice, afraid that they wouldn’t have enough to eat next time. Ever since Brother Lin started buying melons and vegetables from the village, everyone’s lives have gradually improved. Some earn a few hundred coins a month, and some hardworking ones can earn one or two taels of silver a month. What exactly are you dissatisfied with?”

After the village chief finished speaking, he banged his pipe heavily a few times.

Wang Mazi, standing in the crowd, turned his eyes to the village chief and said, "Village chief, what do you mean we're not satisfied? It's just that Brother Lin is bullying us too much. We're all from the same village, yet he only offered us three coins for two pounds of vegetables. He's so heartless!"

“They drive down the price when they buy our vegetables, but they pay the Zhao family’s three workers higher and higher wages. Isn’t that just exploiting us to help the Zhao family make ends meet?” a woman muttered under her breath, but her muttering was unusually loud in the quiet courtyard.

Gu Lin's gaze shifted and landed on her, a woman who wasn't entirely unfamiliar with him: Tian Dahua, the daughter-in-law of the Chen family.

The village chief's face darkened as he said, "Shut up!"

"Tell me, what do you want?"

Seeing that the village chief didn't scold them, but instead asked them what they wanted, most of the villagers in the courtyard were overjoyed.

They glanced furtively at Gu Lin, only to find his face calm and expressionless.

But in the villagers' eyes, Gu Lin was angry. The usually cheerful young man was no longer smiling; it was because he was so angry that he couldn't laugh anymore.

The villagers felt that Wang Mazi had finally proven himself reliable. They believed that as long as they dared to stand up and speak to the village chief, Lin Ge'er, he would surely yield to them and raise the purchase price in order to buy the melons and vegetables.

The villagers discussed for a while, figuring out how to negotiate with the village chief. Finally, they chose Chen Dali, the eldest son of the Chen family and Tian Dahua's husband, as their representative.

Chen Dali said to the village chief, "Uncle Village Chief, we didn't want to cause trouble, but ever since we learned that melons and vegetables in the county town cost five coins per pound, we've felt that Brother Lin is deliberately buying melons and vegetables at a low price in Xiahe Village. We're all from the same village, we see each other all the time, how could Brother Lin do something like this to take advantage of the villagers?"

Upon hearing Chen Dali's words, the village chief's forehead veins bulged slightly, but he stubbornly endured it and asked, "How many other people have this idea?"

The people behind Chen Dali hesitated at first, but thinking of the two coins, they stepped forward one by one and said, "Our family has the same idea."

"My family is the same!"

It was clear that, apart from the Zhang family he managed and a few honest families in the village, the other villagers all felt that Gu Lin was taking advantage of them.

The village chief cursed, "A bunch of ungrateful bastards!"

Immediately, Tian Dahua retorted angrily, "Village Chief, how can you say that? It was clearly Gu Lin who cheated us first, and instead of standing up for us, you're scolding us!"

Tian Dahua's words were practically an admission that the village chief had accepted bribes from Gu Lin and was deliberately helping Gu Lin exploit them.

The village chief's lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to speak, but Gu Lin, who had been silent all along, spoke up: "Uncles and aunts, I think you've misunderstood something."

As soon as Gu Lin's voice rang out, everyone in the courtyard immediately turned to look at him.

Gu Lin looked at them, his expression different from his usual coldness, and said in a light tone, "I don't know what made you uncles and aunts have the misconception that I'm deliberately exploiting you in Xiahe Village because I can't buy vegetables elsewhere."

“I didn’t want to be too explicit before, for fear of hurting everyone’s self-esteem. Now it seems I was wrong.”

Gu Lin's gaze swept over everyone in the courtyard, and he said without any mercy, "I do need a steady supply of melons and vegetables, but my uncles and aunts should know that it's not me begging you to sell melons and vegetables; on the contrary, it's you who need me to buy them."

Wang Mazi pointed at Gu Lin and shouted, "That's no reason for you to lower the price!"

Gu Lin looked at him, his usually gentle and mild appearance surprisingly appearing somewhat cold and hard: "Price negotiation? Recently, the price of melons and vegetables in the county town has indeed risen to five copper coins for two catties, but that's because the cost of entering the town has increased to three copper coins per person. If my uncles and aunts can deliver the melons and vegetables to the county town to sell to me, and guarantee that the melons and vegetables are intact, I can also pay five copper coins."

The villagers' expressions changed. Xiahe Village was so far from the county town, and it would cost two coins to go there and back, and another three coins to enter the county town. How could they possibly bear to do that?

Seeing the unpleasant expressions on everyone's faces, Gu Lin didn't stop talking, nor did he bother to argue with them any further. He said, "I won't force you. Since you uncles and aunts feel that I'm taking advantage of you, from today onwards, I will no longer buy melons and vegetables from the village."

Gu Lin's words caught the villagers completely off guard.

Gu Lin said, "I originally thought that people from Xiahe Village should take care of each other, so I asked Brother Zhao to help transport the melons and vegetables, even though the journey was quite far. But now it seems that I should just buy the melons and vegetables from the villages around the county town. They are closer to the county town, and it is more convenient to transport them there. Brother Zhao won't have to work from dawn till dusk every day."

"From now on, all uncles and aunts can relax and live their lives without worrying about the price of vegetables and melons, or about Brother Zhao and Sister-in-law Zhao's wages."

"As far as I'm concerned, Brother Zhao and Sister-in-law Zhao have been helping me with chores from morning till night without ever complaining or saying they're tired. They deserve all of this."

After saying his last words, Gu Lin left with Brother Zhao and Zhao Dagen, regardless of the reactions of the people in the courtyard.

The villagers were dumbfounded.

They didn't understand why things were fine at first, but then things didn't turn out the way they expected.

The villagers immediately realized they had done something wrong when they recalled the young man's cold expression before he left and his statement that he would not buy their melons and vegetables.

Moreover, it was a huge mistake.

Gu Lin seems to be serious; he will no longer buy melons and vegetables from them.

The villagers began to panic. For them, the several hundred coins they earned from selling melons and vegetables each month was a large income. What would they do if it were cut off so suddenly?

The villagers had completely lost their previous composure and arrogance; they were now running around the village chief's yard like ants on a hot plate.

How to do?

How to do? !

Suddenly, they looked up and saw the village chief ahead. Their eyes lit up, and they rushed over as if they had found a savior.

"Village chief, I was wrong! Please help me plead with Lin-ge'er. My family has elderly members and young children; we can't be without this money!"

The villagers thought that since Brother Lin respected the village chief so much, if they asked the village chief to plead for them, everything should be fine.

The village chief naturally understood the thoughts of the group in front of him. He snorted coldly and said, "If you knew what you were doing, you would have done it tonight!"

After saying that, the village chief ignored them and went into the house, leaving the villagers in the courtyard staring at each other in a daze.

They saw deep regret in each other's expressions and eyes.