Hearing this, the woman slumped to the ground, covering her face and crying bitterly.
"The harvest has been poor all along. That bit of money was the last savings of our whole family. With no harvest this year, what are we going to do?"
Perhaps her cries were too heart - rending, for grief clouded everyone's faces.
In the desolate North Border, only one crop could be planted each year.
Even families with some savings couldn't afford a year without a harvest.
Ye Zhinan heaved a sigh and took out the silver that Qin Yihuai had given her from her bosom.
"Actually, there was no need to pay for building the greenhouses in the first place. The government had already provided the silver. Right now, the most urgent problem to solve is the issue of the cloth."
"Really?"
The woman scrambled to her feet and grabbed Ye Zhinan's hand, as if she had seen a savior.
Ye Zhinan nodded firmly and held up the silver so that everyone could see it.
"It's engraved with the government's seal. There's no mistake."
As Ye Zhinan's voice faded, a coquettish sneer came from the crowd. She didn't even need to look up to know that the voice belonged to Wei Shishiqi.
A cold glint flashed in her eyes as she stared directly into Wei Shishiqi's eyes.
"If you had the money, why didn't you take it out earlier? Why did you wait until everyone was in a desperate situation to play the savior?"
Wei Shishiqi looked exhausted and a bit more down - at - heel than before.
But her figure was still graceful. With her head held stubbornly high, she still carried herself with an air of superiority.
"You were the one who didn't draw a clear line with me at that time. Even if I had said there was greenhouse technology, you wouldn't have believed me. This money did reach my hands a long time ago, but I've never touched it."
Ye Zhinan's eyes sparkled as she played with the silver in her hand.
She was not afraid at all. She strode through the crowd and walked up to Wei Shishiqi.
"But you, the Zhao family must have given you quite a lot of kickbacks. Considering the hundreds of families, it must have been quite a fortune for you."
Wei Shishiqi's face turned pale instantly. She stepped back repeatedly and raised her hand to slap Ye Zhinan.
But Ye Zhinan grabbed her wrist tightly.
No one knew where she got the strength from. It seemed as if she was going to break her bones.
"You even cheat the common people out of their money. Have you no conscience?"
She exerted force and pushed the woman to the ground.
Wei Shishiqi hugged her knees and cried piteously, looking at the angry villagers around her in horror.
"I was also thinking about you all. Do you know how much effort I put in to reach a cooperation with the Zhao family back then? I almost wore out my tongue."
She did spend a lot of effort.
It was just a pity that it was not for the common people but for her own self - interest.
Ye Zhinan sneered. Looking at Wei Shishiqi kneeling on the ground, she felt no emotion at all.
"Stop making excuses. Do you want me to show everyone the new land your family bought?"
She was not someone who could be easily bullied.
With the endurance to bide her time, she must have something in her hand that could completely defeat her opponents.
Whether it was the matter of the county magistrate or the current Wei Shishiqi, she was determined to win.
"Don't ask me how I know. If your Wei family had been more careful and discreet, and covered your tracks a bit, you wouldn't have been easily discovered."
The Wei family was the most impatient in the whole village, especially Mrs. Wei.
Seemingly from a family of officials, in fact, she had very shallow knowledge. All her emotions were written on her face.
If something bad happened in the family, the gate would be locked tightly, and the whole family would stay at home without even bothering to greet others.
But if there was a happy event, they would surely decorate the house with lanterns and festoons, wishing that everyone would know.
"Your family invited guests a few days ago. If you didn't have some valuables, where did you get the confidence?"
Wei Shishiqi was completely speechless. She clenched her fists tightly and looked at Ye Zhinan angrily.
"Why do you keep laughing at me?"
Ye Zhinan was so angry that she laughed. She never expected Wei Shishiqi to say such a thing.
"You should ask yourself why you always take risks and do those shady things. Stolen things will have to be returned sooner or later."
After saying these words, she didn't want to entangle with Wei Shishiqi anymore.
By this time, it was obvious to everyone what was going on.
The villagers were angry but dared not speak out. They could only throw their baskets on the ground heavily to vent their anger.
"Don't worry. If the greenhouse technology is promoted throughout the village, your Wei family will surely not be left out. As for the rest, you'll have to fend for yourselves."
Ye Zhinan held grudges. She was also not satisfied with the current situation.
She still remembered how the villagers had drawn a clear line with her at that time, but now she dared not get angry.
Wei Shishiqi left in a hurry with red eyes. Only a few of them were left in the field.
"I thought you would all mock me, but I didn't expect you to show some restraint."
Seeing that no one responded, she fixed her eyes on Sister - in - law Zhang.
Ye Zhinan was never an overbearing person, but when someone bullied her, she would surely get it back.
Sister - in - law Zhang's face was full of embarrassment. She rubbed her hands and thought for a long time before slowly saying,
"The Wei family has someone backing them up. They seem to be exiled, but in fact, they're living a very comfortable life."
Ye Zhinan was not very surprised by this answer, but it was still beyond her expectation.
The Wei family was indeed living a good life, but she didn't expect that it was because of the power behind them.
They and the Ye family were demoted for the same reason. Why did the person behind them help the Wei family instead of them?
Seeing that the situation was not right, Ye Shenyan quickly stepped forward and whispered a reminder.
"Let's talk about some things at home. Asking too many details here will make people suspicious."
Ye Zhinan nodded, forced a smile, and looked at everyone.
"Our goal is very simple. We should use all the resources at hand to study how to make the cloth we need. Once we have the cloth, we can start work."
She looked around and saw that everyone had their heads down. No one responded to her words.
Every family had something to do. Even during the off - farming season, they had to find other ways to make a living.
Who had the time to study the broken cloth?
"As we all know, our family used to be in officialdom. We didn't live a life of luxury, but we never wove cloth by hand. So if you don't contribute, we can only stare at each other."
Ye Zhinan simply gave up.
If they wanted to take advantage of her, they had to see if they had the ability.
"I don't believe the government won't care about us."
A domineering voice came from the crowd. Ye Zhinan looked up but didn't find the person.
"Inspector Qin is an official. Ask him yourself. Can he weave cloth?"
Ye Zhinan scanned the crowd with her eyes and then heaved a sigh. All the smiles disappeared from her face.
"The government is also in a bind at this time. I still say the same thing. If the sky falls, the people above will push you out to bear it. If you want to survive, you can only rely on yourselves."
She waited quietly, watching everyone's reaction.