Farming to Defy My Fate 21

Chapter 21: Doing Business

Feng Shaoping had made a special trip from the county town to Zhaojia Village not only to inform Hu Sheng to stay out of the city for a while but also to conduct a piece of business with Zhao An.

However, he didn’t mention this in front of everyone. It was only after he rode his horse up to Zhao An that he cupped his hands and said, “Has Young Master Zhao encountered some trouble? Is there anything I can help with?”

Zhao An grinned and pointed at Zhao Fuxiang, who was lying on the ground. “Young Master Feng, you’ve arrived at just the right time. This person climbed the wall into my house to steal, but was bitten by my dog. Now he’s lying here trying to extort money from me. I was just about to report him to the authorities.”

Feng Shaoping had a favor to ask of Zhao An, so he immediately put on a stern face and said to the surrounding villagers, “Who is the village head here? With such a villain, why haven’t you sent him to the authorities yet?”

The person serving as the village head of Zhaojia Village was also an elder of Zhao An’s clan and held the title of a scholar. However, the Zhao family’s population was too small, and the Liu family made up the vast majority of the village. When the Liu family encountered problems, they would never go to the village head but would directly seek out their clan head, Liu Huan, to resolve them. Therefore, the village head of Zhaojia Village was very weak. Hearing Feng Shaoping call him out, he finally stepped out from the crowd.

But he was still more inclined to side with Zhao Tongming. He stammered, “It’s just the younger generation being ignorant. He didn’t steal anything and even got injured. Young Master Feng, please be merciful and let him off this once.”

He wasn’t helping Zhao Tongming for any tangible benefit, but rather because he was a pedantic scholar who always believed in concealing the faults of relatives, so he was unwilling to see the younger generation of the Zhao family go to court. Another point was that he didn’t want a criminal to appear in his clan. So, seeing Feng Shaoping’s unwilling expression, he once again bowed to him pleadingly, then turned to Zhao An. “Zhao An, why don’t you let me use the family law to teach Zhao Fuxiang a good lesson and apologize to you? Will that do?”

It wasn’t that he couldn’t distinguish right from wrong, but he preferred to use private punishment rather than go to the authorities.

Zhao An’s goal was to drive Zhao Tongming’s family away, so he was naturally not very willing. But Feng Shaoping had urgent business with Zhao An. Hearing that their clan wanted to resolve it themselves, he waved his hand dismissively. “Fine, but you must give him a harsh beating.”

But as soon as he finished speaking, he felt a sharp gaze on him. He turned his head and met Hu Sheng’s displeased expression. He instantly understood that he had said the wrong thing and was about to say something to make up for it when he heard Hu Sheng speak. “I don’t trust your clan to do it yourselves. What if you go easy on him and let him escape this easily? I will administer the punishment on Zhao An’s behalf.”

“No!” Zhao Fuxiang was the first to object. Although he hadn’t personally seen Hu Sheng subdue the wolf with just a few punches, the two hunters who had been sitting on the wall had vividly described the scene in the courtyard to the people outside. Zhao Fuxiang, lying on the ground, had naturally heard everything clearly.

As someone who had personally witnessed the wolf’s ferocity and had been confronted by Hu Sheng before, Zhao Fuxiang knew very well that he wouldn’t be able to withstand a few blows before he died.

So, when he heard that Hu Sheng was going to beat him, he was so scared that he screamed. He propped himself up with his hands and scooted backward, shaking his head. “I don’t want to be beaten by you! I’d rather go to prison!”

Even if he went to the authorities, he could have his father bribe them a little. He might even have a decent time in prison. But if he were beaten by Hu Sheng, just one punch might be enough to kill him. Thinking of this, a light shone in his eyes, and he immediately shouted, “I’m willing to go to prison! Don’t come near me!”

Since that was the case, Zhao An temporarily set aside his plan to drive Zhao Tongming’s family away. He beckoned to Liu Huan. “Send two people to escort him to the county.”

Liu Huan didn’t really want to get involved in this mess, but faced with Feng Shaoping’s gaze, he could only wipe the sweat from his forehead and nod. “Young Master Feng and Young Master Zhao, please rest assured. I will handle this matter personally.”

With that, he waved to his second and youngest sons, telling them to pick up the lying Zhao Fuxiang and carry him away.

Zhao Tongming and his other two sons wanted to stop them, but when Hu Sheng stood in front of them, they didn’t dare to make a move.

After seeing Zhao Fuxiang being carried away, Feng Shaoping waved his hand at the onlookers. “The matter is resolved. You can all go home now. Don’t stand around watching.”

The villagers didn’t dare to defy the son of the county magistrate. Even the most unruly ruffians obediently left.

Zhao An actually wanted to make Zhao Tongming’s family compensate him for the damaged door, but it was clear that Feng Shaoping had something important to discuss with him. He could only temporarily set the matter aside and led Feng Shaoping inside.

The first thing Feng Shaoping saw upon entering was the wolf tied to the pillar of the veranda. He then remembered Zhao An saying that his own dog had bitten the thief. He thought to himself, The person Hu Sheng fancies is indeed extraordinary. He’s clearly raising a wolf at home but insists it’s a dog.

Of course, the highly skilled Feng Shaoping was not afraid of the wolf. Instead, he walked up to it with interest and flicked its forehead. After angering the large wolf, he used his qinggong to leap more than ten feet away. Seeing that it was restrained by the rope and couldn’t bite him, he laughed heartily.

“Alright, if you have something to say, say it quickly,” Hu Sheng said, a hint of impatience in his expression, completely unlike the concern he had shown when Zhao An had almost been bitten while trying to pet the wolf’s head.

Feng Shaoping didn’t yet know he was being treated differently. Seeing Hu Sheng’s anger, he immediately straightened his expression. “A procurement eunuch from the Imperial Household Department has come from the capital. He specifically wants to buy the strawberries that our Ruyi House sells.”

“What method did you use to transport the strawberries to the capital?” Zhao An was very puzzled. Even in the pre-spiritual energy revival era with its abundance of resources, transporting strawberries across provinces was not an easy task. It required meticulous packaging and even air transport.

Feng Shaoping shook his head with a bitter smile. “My father is just a minor county magistrate. How could he possibly have the connections to the Imperial Household Department? He was ecstatic when he learned of this. It’s just that a scholar from Shuzhou once came to Ruyi House and fell in love with the strawberries after eating them. He wrote several articles and poems praising them. Later, he went to the capital for the imperial examinations, and these articles somehow made their way into the palace. That’s why the emperor specifically sent a procurement eunuch from the Imperial Household Department to buy them.”

From what Feng Shaoping said, it seemed this matter had nothing to do with Zhao Qingcheng. This reassured him somewhat.

Zhao An led Feng Shaoping to the place where he grew strawberries and pointed at the withering vines. “Look, the strawberries I’ve planted are almost out of season. And strawberries are not very resistant to transportation. If we pick the fruit and transport it back to the capital, it definitely won’t keep.”

“Have you planted any other strawberry vines? This time, we absolutely cannot let the people from the Imperial Household Department return empty-handed,” Feng Shaoping’s tone was rather stiff. He was afraid that Zhao An would be unwilling to part with the strawberry vines for a small sum of money. As the one who managed Ruyi House’s accounts, he knew how many strawberries Zhao An had sold to them and was well aware that he couldn’t possibly have just this small patch of vines.

As expected, he heard Zhao An say, “However, I’ve already had the villagers plant strawberry seedlings in their ancestral land. They’re just about to bear fruit now. Why don’t we let the villagers sell some to the people from the Imperial Household Department to take back? By the time they reach the capital, they should be just about ready to eat.”

Feng Shaoping was satisfied, and Zhao An was also very satisfied. After this, when the village’s strawberries were transported to the prefectural or provincial city to be sold, they could be marketed under the name of “Imperial Tribute.” He believed that business would surely be even better.

And his plan to lead the entire village to prosperity could take another step forward. When the entire village had benefited from him, he believed that if Zhao Tongming’s family were to oppose him again, the other villagers would not stand by and watch as they had today. They would surely choose to stand behind him.

Zhao An believed that with sufficient benefits, even illiterate villagers would know how to pick a side. Zhao An didn’t believe in human nature, but he did believe that sufficient benefits could unite everyone.