Colleagues here are all white lotus [Rebirth]

Although the village is very quiet and peaceful, the ancestral hall is really different from the prince's mansion, and everyone woke up just after dawn on the second day.

Xie Yin was still a little dizzy when he got up in the morning, but Xiaoliuzi was used to it. After serving him to wash, he boiled water and handed it to him. Xie Yin drank it and found it was sweet.

Walking out of the ancestral hall, it is snowy outside, but it has cleared up.The surrounding black mountain walls cannot condense snow, only a few tree branches on the top of the mountain are covered with snow.

It is rare for Jiangnan to have such a cold and severe winter. There is a layer of ice on the surface of the water, which is neither thin nor thick, but it is very obstructive.Fishermen can't sail boats on the river to catch fish with nets, and they are afraid of the ice cracking, so they can only smash ice on the bank to fish.With very little income in a day, it is a blessing from God to barely make enough to eat, and there is nothing to sell.

When Xie Yin stretched his waist and went out, he saw villagers in twos and threes wearing bamboo hats and carrying fishing rods made from tree branches, walking outside the village.

Xie Yin asked a few villagers who passed by the ancestral hall. It turns out that the Fuyu River they rely on for survival is nearby. If the group hadn't entered the village yesterday, they would have walked along the narrow road among the stone piles to reach that river.

Xie Yin once asked about this name when looking at a map, because there are so many eddies in some sections of this river that even fish that live in the water all year round may be involved, so it is called Fuyu River.

Xie Yin was standing in front of the ancestral hall with his sleeve stove in his arms, stomping his feet. Seeing the village chief Du Shan approaching from a distance, he suddenly remembered something and asked curiously, "Why don't you keep dogs in your village?"

Du Shan said, "If everyone can't eat, who will feed the dog?"

Xie Yin frowned and didn't answer.

Du Shan took a piece of bamboo, stepped his leg on the dead wood pile, scraped the mud on the soles of his shoes with the bamboo slice, and asked, "I heard from Du Ling that how many people are here to sell charcoal? We are in short supply here, and people are cold Quite a few died. It’s a pity that people here are poor, and no one can afford your charcoal.”

Before Xie Yin could answer, a voice came from behind: "Is that true? Human life is at stake. Didn't you hear that the imperial court allocated relief money, why would people still freeze to death?"

Xie Yin looked back, Chu Yan came over at some point, his brows were slightly frowned, and there was a worry in his expression.

Du Shan murmured, "The imperial court?" He sneered as if hearing something ridiculous.

Chu Yan sighed, and said, "Although my brother and I are out to do business, we are not profit-seeking people. I heard that in the land of fish and rice in the south of the Yangtze River, when spring comes next year, your village can use fresh fish to pay for charcoal."

Xie Yin's eyes lit up instantly, and he looked at Chu Yan with burning eyes.

Sure enough, Du Shan didn't respond immediately, he put down his feet and patted the old padded jacket, his eyes couldn't hide the suspicion, "The two noblemen came from the north, next year we will use live fish to pay off the debt, it's such a long way, and we will transport it to the north They're almost dead. Could it be that it's okay for a nobleman to do business at a loss?"

Chu Yan smiled and said, "To tell the truth, Brother Du, our family's business is complicated, and we have long been willing to expand to Jiangnan. Although this trip is for a charcoal fire business, I actually want to come to the south to see if there is room for business. I intend to run a restaurant in Jiangnan. I have taken a fancy to Huaizhou. Huaizhou is not far from here, and a small boat can be transported to Huaizhou Wharf in half a day. This business is not just to help you, in fact, my two brothers have just arrived, and we have to be prepared for the first one or two years. The local restaurant has lost its plan to oppress the supply of goods."

Xie Yin quickly agreed, "That's right, my brother and I also wanted to find a few fishers and vegetable sellers. We can't stop eating, rice and meat every day when we open a restaurant. If you think you are taking advantage, you can give us less money!"

Chu Yan couldn't help laughing, and patted Xie Yin's head, a harmonious scene of brothers and sisters respecting each other.

Du Shan rolled his eyes back and forth on them and agreed.

Once the two parties reached an agreement, Chu Yan ordered some able-bodied villagers out of the village to the place where they parked their carriages.In order to disguise himself when he came, several boxes of charcoal used for display when discussing business were packed in the back of the carriage, just as a deposit.

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Chu Yan's statement was beyond reproach, and Du Shan agreed after inviting the villagers to discuss it.It's just that Xie Yin took a sneak peek at their expressions. It should be the joy from the heart of being given charcoal in the snow or the anxiety of worrying about not paying off the debt in the coming year, but those "villagers" look more like they are riding a tiger.

Xie Yin was overjoyed... well, something was really wrong.

This awkwardness reached its climax when Chu Yan took out the draft contract and required the head of each family to press their fingerprints.

The scattered villagers suddenly raised their heads and stared at Chu Yan with puzzled expressions.Du Shan also narrowed his eyes slightly.

Chu Yan smiled and said, "Don't bother you, businessmen always have to keep the contract, and both parties need to press their fingerprints, so as to avoid any mistakes in the middle and have fair evidence."

None of the villagers spoke.

Chu Yan asked people to put the two contracts on the table, and opened a red ink pad next to him. He first went up and pressed a fingerprint next to "Mu Yuan"'s name, and Xie Yin followed suit.Then he stood aside, smiled and looked at the villagers without urging them.

After a while, no one moved, Chu Yan asked suspiciously, "Didn't you all agree? But... what's the problem, can't we make a contract?"

Xie Yin rubbed his chin, "That's right, if you have any questions, we can discuss them later?"

The two sang together, and in the end Du Shan was the first to step forward and press his fingerprints. With him as the beginning, young and middle-aged people in the village stepped forward to press their fingerprints one after another.

Since entering the village last night, Xie Yin has never seen any children in the village.There are some women and old people, who seem to be afraid of strangers, and quickly avoid them when they see them through the doors and windows.

After accepting the contract, Xie Yin asked Du Shan Du Ling if he was at home, and troubled her to show them the way, and wanted to send some extra gifts to her family.Although Du Shan's complexion was not good, he finally asked Du Ling's second uncle to take someone to Du Ling's house.

Uncle Du led Xie Yin and Chu Yan to a single thatched cottage at the west end of the village. The door was closed, and two women in their 50s and [-]s were chatting in front of the door.Seeing strangers approaching, he hastily avoided them.Second Uncle Du hammered on the wooden door and said loudly, "They're here to find you!"

After a while, the door opened, and the person who opened the door was also a woman in her 50s and [-]s. She was thin and her eyes were a bit sinister. After seeing Xie Yin and Chu Yan, she quickly lowered her eyes.Behind her, Du Ling came out, and Xie Yin grinned at the woman familiarly, "This is Ah Ling's mother, right?"