Shazhu was really straightforward. With a loud “thud,” he dropped to his knees without hesitation.
Xie Yan, just setting down his tea, was so startled that he jolted, spilling the hot tea onto his hand, which turned red from the burn.
Lu Yang’s fist tightened.
Shazhu flinched under his glare, feeling like a chicken being stared down, too afraid to lift his head from the ground.
Xie Yan quickly reassured Lu Yang, “It’s fine, really. I haven’t been writing lately. I was just planning to collect vegetables. Let’s go, okay?”
Shazhu’s mother tried to make amends as well, “I’ll have him drive the cart and send the vegetables to the county for you!”
Lu Yang snorted, “Auntie, I’m only doing this because of you. If it were anyone else, it wouldn’t work.”
He pulled Xie Yan along and headed out. As they pushed open the door, the people eavesdropping on the wall scattered, like peeling wall plaster, slipping away in a hurry.
They faintly heard someone murmur, “Erxi really is a piece of work. No wonder he’s so cocky every day, talking about spending the silver and showing off his new house and wife. He really thinks he’s something now!”
It had worked out well.
The two families had a long-standing grudge, and this was an unexpected advantage for Lu Yang.
He squeezed Xie Yan’s hand and grinned, “Let’s go, next house.”
Chapter 23: The Fool
Next stop, the village chief’s house.
Shangxi Village was a mixed residential settlement with no particularly prominent surnames. The current village chief was named Zhang, with the honorific “Zhang Dashih,” which meant “Big Stone.”
Recently, his family had been in an uproar, with his husband and son both urging him to visit the Xie family.
“Xie Yan’s husband goes to the county every day. Who knows if he’s selling goods or sucking up to officials and doing deals?”
His son, Sangui, was very anxious, even saying, “Dad! You have to go! I’m afraid they’ll come and castrate me!”
Zhang Dashih had already been planning to go. He had visited before, but he had returned empty-handed and had left a message for Zhao Peilan, asking Xie Yan and Lu Yang to come and speak to him.
If the two young men hadn’t come yet, how could he, the big village chief, just go and check on them?
At home, Zhang Dashih had the final say. As the village chief, his authority was unquestioned. While his husband normally didn’t dare to contradict him, he was especially firm when it came to his son.
“You go, we still have debts to collect. The Xie family must be furious! So what if you’re the village chief? Xie Yan is still a scholar’s husband!”
Someone from the village had brought vegetables to the Xie family, and they had accepted them all.
Just this morning, Xie Yan’s formidable husband had even spoken to Shazhu’s mother.
Wasn’t this forgiving them?
Sangui said, “Everyone is delivering vegetables, but why are we talking to their family? They must have hidden something in the vegetables!”
This was a lie Zhang Dashih had spread, claiming that people in the county did things like that to build relationships.
His family argued and argued, and Zhang Dashih couldn’t take it anymore. He grumbled, “Fine, fine, I’ll go check on the Xie family!”
When he opened the door, he saw Lu Yang and Xie Yan standing at the entrance, though he wasn’t sure how long they’d been there or what they had overheard.
Zhang Dashih cleared his throat and asked, “Why didn’t you announce yourselves when you arrived?”
Lu Yang smiled widely, “Your house is so lively, I didn’t want to interrupt.”
Zhang Dashih instinctively shrank his legs and took a step back before inviting them inside to talk.
The living room had a stove, and when his husband saw Lu Yang, he was overly polite, eagerly making sweet tea for both Lu Yang and Xie Yan, saying, “Would you like some eggs? I’ll make you sugar-water eggs!”
Lu Yang watched his reaction closely and then turned to Xie Yan with an ambiguous smile.
Xie Yan understood that smile immediately.
If just an officer’s visit could cause such a stir, imagine what would happen if Xie Yan passed the imperial exams and became a jinshi. These people would probably flip out.
Lu Yang didn’t bother with pleasantries, “Eat!”
Zhang Dashih’s husband rushed to the stove, and Zhang Dashih, unable to hide his discomfort, finally managed to ask, “What’s going on between you two?”
Lu Yang acted surprised, “Huh? Didn’t you ask us to come here?”
Zhang Dashih was left speechless.
It turns out you remember.
Sangui also ran out, crouching in the corner, nervously watching the back of his father’s head, mentally urging Zhang Dashih to please, for the sake of the family, do a good job begging for mercy.
Zhang Dashih was once again speechless. Smiling awkwardly, he said, “It’s nothing much. I just wanted to ask about the situation with the report to the officials.”
Lu Yang sighed and immediately fabricated a story, “Xie Yan is kind-hearted, and my mother-in-law is a good person. She said that since we’re all villagers, living in the same place, there’s no need to escalate things to this point. She asked me not to report to the officials.”
“My father also advised me. I just got married, and the future is long. It’s better to avoid trouble, so he told me to let it go.”
Zhang Dashih looked at him eagerly.
Lu Yang let him down.
“But I can’t swallow this anger.”
Zhang Dashih sighed, “So how do you plan to get your revenge?”
Lu Yang dragged a chair closer to Zhang Dashih and assumed an expression of deep sincerity.
Xie Yan, following suit, also moved his chair to match his husband’s position. Wherever his husband went, Xie Yan stayed close behind.
Lu Yang didn’t mind Xie Yan’s awkwardness and felt pleased in his heart. He spoke in the same smooth, unsympathetic tone as ever.
“I have no way of getting my revenge. How could I? Our villagers are so strong! Under your leadership, the people here are even more formidable than those who owe money in gambling houses. At least gambling debts have an end, but our village’s debts seem like an endless pit. Village chief, you’re truly impressive! Next time I meet an official, I’ll be sure to praise you for the good work you’ve done.”
Zhang Dashih was taken aback.
How did this suddenly involve him?
He quickly thought of a way to save face and, trying to maintain his dignity, told Lu Yang, “Lu Zhuang, that’s not something to joke about. Debts must be repaid, that’s only right. Xie Yan’s father is gone, so his debts should be inherited by his son. Is that wrong? I know you’re angry, but you should also understand the struggles of the villagers.”
Repaying debts is right.
But there was no debt in the first place, because Xie Yan’s father had passed away and left no evidence. Yet they had created this debt, which was the real mistake.
One family fighting is a matter of bad character, but when multiple families get involved—relatives fighting, followed by villagers—it’s because the village chief allowed it.
If only he had stepped in sooner, things wouldn’t have escalated like this.
And yet Zhang Dashih had the nerve to claim that the Xie family owed him money, a sum of five taels of silver.
Lu Yang wasn’t interested in arguing. Instead, he brought the conversation back to the point.
“Our family didn’t pay the debt? How many fields have we given away? Didn’t you see? We’ve given the land, given the money, and still, someone greedy took the money and came back to stir things up. Does this seem right to you? Our fields have all been pawned and sold, and it still wasn’t enough? If it’s going to be like this, I won’t pay any more!”
Zhang Dashih had thought Lu Yang was here to protest, to say they didn’t owe money. But this wasn’t what he expected.
He knew Xie Sancai had taken land and was still spreading rumors that Xie Yan hadn’t repaid his debts. The numbers kept changing—yesterday it was a debt of two hundred wen, today it had doubled.
Frowning, Zhang Dashih asked, “Whose family is doing this?”
Lu Yang only mentioned two names to the village chief.
“Xie Sancai and Sun Erxi.”
Zhang Dashih replied, “I’ll talk to them.”
Lu Yang snorted, “Once they’ve pocketed the silver, who’s going to give it back? I’m afraid they won’t even admit it.”
Not letting the conversation die, he added, “We can’t fight them, but we can avoid them. If it comes to it, we’ll just leave the village.”
Once they left, there would be no more “fat sheep” in the village.
Zhang Dashih was still thinking about the silver, wanting to get something from the Xie family.
Sangui gave an annoying grunt, reminding him, and his husband came over, holding two bowls of sweet sugar-water eggs, and handed them to Lu Yang and Xie Yan, giving Zhang Dashih a glare.
Even if the Xie family was moving away, they couldn’t leave with bitterness. How would their son handle it?
If they no longer lived in Shangxi Village, they would have no restraints and could seek revenge. Would Sangui be alright?
Zhang Dashih spoke again, “I’ll go find Xie Sancai and Sun Erxi. Those two are out of line. How much silver did they take?”
Lu Yang had his own account in mind.
Xie Yan and his mother had been bullied like this because of Xie Sancai. First, he took five acres of land. Each acre was worth five or six taels of silver. If they dared to take the land, Lu Yang would demand compensation from them.
