Strangely enough, ever since Ruan Jiu helped Xie Jingchu tend to his wounds that day, his injuries had healed quickly.
Even Doctor Zhou found it miraculous.
After the man who had stabbed Ruan Jiu was arrested and thrown into prison, the villagers of Xin'an Village had become much more well - behaved.
For quite a few days, they hadn't caused any trouble for the cloth workshop.
Soon it was the end of September. As long as the mulberry leaves were delivered on time, they could catch the last silk - spinning of the autumn silkworms this year. Then there would be no problem supplying brocade to the imperial palace at the end of the year.
But just at this crucial moment, another problem arose.
"Tell me, what on earth do you want before you're willing to hand over the mulberry leaves?"
Xie Jingchu's voice was deep, and his tone couldn't hide his anger.
Early this morning, they had invited the villagers of Xin'an Village to the cloth workshop, but now it was already noon, and they still hadn't reached an agreement.
"It's not that we're unwilling to hand them over. It's just that the mulberry leaves this year have grown so poorly that we really can't hand over that much," said Li Daniu.
Xie Jingchu narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze cold.
He had seen how the mulberry trees in Xin'an Village had grown.
"Really can't hand them over?" Xie Jingchu's patience had reached its limit.
"Really can't," Li Daniu said firmly, looking at Xie Jingchu defiantly.
He looked as if to say, "What can you do to me?"
It was really annoying.
"Fine," Xie Jingchu clapped his hands and then said, "Qin Yuan, the villagers of Xin'an Village broke into the cloth workshop without reason and maliciously damaged property. Report this to the authorities immediately and arrest them all."
"As for compensation, cut down all their poorly - grown mulberry trees," Xie Jingchu said coldly.
"You're talking nonsense!" Li Daniu immediately jumped up. "It was clearly you who invited us here! And when did we ever damage your property!"
Xie Jingchu just smiled calmly, but his smile was a bit creepy.
He picked up a porcelain bottle in his hand and, right in front of everyone, deliberately threw it to the ground. It shattered into pieces.
"This white jade porcelain bottle is worth 8,000 taels of silver. Surely I didn't break it myself. Do you think the authorities will believe you or me?"
Xie Yanchuan beside him looked at Xie Jingchu with admiration.
Sure enough, his fourth uncle was ruthless.
Now let's see if they still dared to be so arrogant.
"You! You're framing us!" Li Daniu shouted.
But Xie Jingchu pretended not to hear and said calmly, "Qin Yuan, report this to the authorities."
The villagers present immediately panicked.
The man who had been arrested before was still in prison.
"Daniel, forget it," the woman next to Li Daniu tugged at his corner of his clothes, looking worried as she tried to persuade him.
Ruan Jiu had seen this woman last time. She should be Li Daniu's wife.
Last time she had been wearing coarse cloth clothes, but today she was wearing cotton clothes.
"You go back first and take care of Xiaohu. Don't worry," Li Daniu patted her hand to reassure her.
Although the woman was worried, she obediently nodded and then quietly slipped out of the crowd.
"Everyone, calm down," Li Daniu's voice rang out again.
"Don't be afraid, everyone. They're bullying the common people at will just because they have the backing of the imperial power. Even if this matter is reported to the highest authorities, they wouldn't dare to arrest us!"
He had just slapped such a big label on them.
Ruan Jiu really didn't believe that there wasn't a mastermind behind Li Daniu.
"Qin Yuan, arrest them," Xie Jingchu's voice turned even colder.
His powerful aura made Li Daniu nervously swallow his saliva and take a step back involuntarily.
"Now you're scared? Where did all your bravado go just now?" Xie Yanchuan immediately showed a mischievous expression and taunted Li Daniu and his group.
Ruan Jiu thought for a moment. Something was wrong. If there really was someone behind Li Daniu, as soon as they arrested these people, the news that the Xie family was bullying the common people with the backing of the imperial power would spread like wildfire.
Since she could see this point, Fourth Master couldn't have failed to understand it.
Moreover, the cloth workshop in Huaizhou was a long - term business. If they really cut down all those mulberry trees, what would they do next year?
"Wait a moment," Ruan Jiu spoke up to stop them.
Then she stepped forward and said to Li Daniu with a smile, "Although it's already autumn, the weather is still a bit hot. It's only natural that everyone is a bit hot - tempered."
Li Daniu looked at her suspiciously, not knowing what she was up to.
"Here's the deal. You all go back first. I'll ask Chuntao to prepare some herbal tea and send it to you later. As for the matter of the mulberry leaves, we won't discuss it today. We'll make another appointment another day."
"You're a reasonable girl," Li Daniu said, secretly breathing a sigh of relief.
He had been worried about being arrested. Now that someone had given them a way out, he naturally took it.
"Let's go."
Xie Yanchuan watched Li Daniu lead the crowd away, feeling indignant.
"Fourth Uncle, are you just going to let them go like this?"
Seeing that Xie Jingchu didn't say a word, Xie Yanchuan pointed at the fragments on the ground. "This is worth 8,000 taels!"
"Fake," Ruan Jiu was really convinced by Xie Yanchuan's intelligence.
"What? Fake?" Xie Yanchuan looked at Ruan Jiu in disbelief, then at Xie Jingchu, who was calmly picking up his teacup and sipping his tea.
So what was all that just now?
"Qin Yuan, take the young master to the Fortune and Prosperity Restaurant to drink," Xie Jingchu put down his cup.
What he meant was that Xie Yanchuan was only fit for drinking. He didn't need to get involved in business matters.
Xie Yanchuan was dragged out by Qin Yuan in a daze, and Chuntao also retreated.
"A Jiu is really smart," Xie Jingchu couldn't help but praise.
"Weren't you afraid that I wouldn't understand your plan just now?" If they really arrested those villagers, let's see how you would handle the situation.
"I know A Jiu understands me," Xie Jingchu stared straight at her, not hiding the admiration in his eyes at all.
But his tone was easy to misunderstand.
If others heard it, they might think they were in love.
Thinking of this, her heart started to beat a little faster.
"What do you think of this matter?" Xie Jingchu got back to the point.
Ruan Jiu thought for a while and said, "I'm afraid there's someone behind Li Daniu giving him advice."
Xie Jingchu nodded. "I think so too."
Then he continued, "Could it be Xie Jing's doing?" After all, only the Xie family knew about the plan to set up the cloth workshop in Huaizhou.
"I don't think so," Ruan Jiu shook her head. "That day, the knife of that villain was clearly aimed at Xie Yanchuan."
After all, even if Xie Jing wanted to seize power, he wouldn't put his own son in danger.
Moreover, since he had sent Xie Yanchuan to Huaizhou, he must have intended to get a share of the profits.
If the cloth workshop couldn't be established, it wouldn't do him any good.
Who on earth was the person behind Li Daniu?
"However, this isn't the most urgent problem we need to solve right now," Xie Jingchu said.
The last silk - spinning of the autumn silkworms in October couldn't be delayed.
"What do you plan to do, Fourth Master?" Ruan Jiu asked.
"Combining kindness with might."
Ruan Jiu lowered her head and pondered. They had already shown their might today, but they still needed to figure out how to show kindness.
Not to mention what benefits the person behind Li Daniu had given him, just from their previous interactions, Li Daniu was not an easy person to deal with.
Suddenly, an idea flashed through her mind.
She had it!