Chapter 88 Lost everything
It’s not like Xie Chongjun never thought of killing Xie Yuyan. If the Yang family hadn’t been so useless, this woman would have been buried underground, and there wouldn’t be all these troubles.
But if he asked people to take action, He Tan might find out and follow the clues.
In his mind, he had other ways to deal with Xie Yuyan, so there was no need to take risks.
When Zhou Hu mentioned it, he subconsciously wanted to agree, but he also knew that it was difficult to return the favor to those people.
If it is done well, everyone will be happy, but if it is not done well, if it is really investigated, he will end up like the Yang family.
The man from the west was hiding in Yangjiazhuang. Although the man committed suicide when he was captured by the government office, He Tan was caught by it. Even now, Yang is still considered suspicious of the case. The family members and others were detained in the inspection prison.
If this case is not settled, it will cause trouble. He cannot let the Xie family fall into such a situation.
Whether people from the west will make their own decisions is another matter.
However, he did not refuse. When a good opportunity came, Zhou Hu killed the people and escaped, leaving He Tan helpless.
Xie Chongjun called the steward outside the door in: "Go immediately outside Beicheng, ask how to sell the land, and sign the documents with the family as soon as possible."
The steward responded.
……
Sanhe Village.
The Yang family's carriage arrived in the village early in the morning.
Although the villagers of Sanhe Village have not yet relocated, they have vacated the houses where coal was found in the village. The coal mines had been excavated long ago, and the backfill soil was loosened by burning them.
Meng Jiu and a few men quickly cleared the mine, and it was much easier to dig deeper. They didn't think about how deep they dug. They mainly used it to teach the hired workers how to put the wood in the pit. The charcoal they dug out was naturally collected by the villagers to make lotus root charcoal.
Since Xie Yuyan started making lotus root charcoal in the village, the villagers of Sanhe Village no longer have to suffer from the cold. The lotus root charcoal given to them every day was enough for them to survive the cold winter nights.
Now that there are so many hired workers coming to the village, the village will also cook for them.
The old, young, women and children have something to do, and Madam Xie also pays them wages, which makes them very happy.
Only those who have endured hard times will understand how hard-won everything is today. Therefore, no matter how outsiders come to the village to inquire, no one in the village will tell anyone about the method of making lotus root charcoal.
Xie Yuyan was sitting in Meng Jiu's home, listening to what Meng Jiu Niang said: "Shi Yong and the others are not here, and Meng Jiu will take people around the village several times every night."
"In the big yard. , they have several big dogs. When they heard the dogs barking the night before, Meng Jiu and the others chased them with sticks. They were from the next village. "
Meng Jiuniang moved the charcoal basin towards Xie Yuyan's feet. He moved, and then said with a smile: "It was so late at night that he couldn't be sent to the government office, so several men in the village took turns looking at him and asking him to tell the truth."
"Now we are collecting lotus root charcoal outside. After being given fifty taels of silver, he became evil and wanted to come over and see what we had mixed into the lotus root charcoal. "
Fifty taels of silver, they were shocked when they heard it.
How could I have imagined that it would be so expensive? Thank you very much for how much Madam Xie trusts them, so she will leave these tasks to them.
Another woman said: "He also persuaded Meng Jiu to help us meet the buyer. He doesn't want a penny, and all fifty taels will be returned to the village."
" He also said that if the buyer is not from Daming Mansion, he will sell it outside, and the lady will not know about it. "
"Can we do that? "
"The lady gave us money, gave us fields, and helped us build houses. If we still have such thoughts, wouldn't we be more hateful than Zhao Shan?"
Everyone nodded.
They regard the method of making lotus root charcoal as more important than their lives. Not only did Madam Xie save the whole village, they also knew that by making lotus root charcoal, they would have a livelihood in the future, and if Madam Xie's business continued for a long time, they would not have to worry about it in the future. Elderly people in the village do not have to hang themselves or starve to death in order to save food. Who would harm themselves?
Xie Yuyan looked at the villagers in Sanhe Village: "It will be fine after spring plowing."
After spring plowing?
Some villagers who want to keep secrets for a lifetime don’t quite understand. But when I thought about it, Mrs. Xie might have meant that their lives would be easier at that time.
Xie Yuyan drank the hot water and felt much warmer. She stood up and said, "Let's go have a look at the mine."
Meng Jiuniang led the way: "The dig is not deep, but we can still get out. A lot of coal. "The main reason is that there are many people and food is provided, so everyone is not allowed to work?
The place where coal was dug was Zhao Shan’s house. After Zhao Shan was beaten with a stick, he was carried to an empty house at the end of the village. Every day the villagers would send him some food to prevent him from freezing to death. , starve to death, the villagers have thought about it and will raise Zhao Shan for a lifetime. As for how to raise him, it is the villagers who have the final say.
When I entered the yard, I saw people coming in and out of the house constantly.
Seeing Xie Yuyan, the men stopped one after another.
Meng Jiu climbed out of the mine and led Xie Yuyan to see the situation: "The pit has been dug for two feet. If we dig another two or three feet, we can start a fight."
Meng Jiu said excitedly. : "But there is already a lot of coal." This is not surprising. In the mines they discovered outside the village, sometimes you can see coal after just digging a few times.
The place is still a bit small and cannot be implemented.
According to Mrs. Xie's wishes, at least a deep shaft must be dug, with the opening at least three feet, but this is not enough.
Xie Yuyan went to see the excavated coal. Under the sun, the dark coal shone with a touch of luster.
“There are some other stones,” Meng Jiu said with a smile, “We don’t know what they are, so we just listened to the master craftsman and brought them up.”
Meng Jiu He said and pointed towards the corner.
Xie Yuyan walked over. The stone had been carefully cleaned and looked slightly yellow.
Xie Yuyan was watching when he heard a noise from the other side of the mine. Several more stones were being lifted up, followed by two men who were good at prospecting.
The two men looked a little ugly. They casually patted the dirt on their bodies and walked to Xie Yuyan's side.
One of them said: "Madam, let's go over and have a few words."
Xie Yuyan followed the two of them out of the house.
“Madam,” the older man whispered, “we found many more stones of the kind we dug out before in the pit.”
The man paused for a moment before continuing: "Before, we only dug out some gravel. Now that we have dug the shaft deeper, we can see more stones."
"I am sure now. Your mineral deposits...not only contain coal, but also...copper."
As the two of them talked, Xie Yuyan's face slowly darkened.
The imperial court prohibited private copper mining. If copper mines were discovered somewhere, they would be reported to the government office immediately.
“There may be a lot of copper ore in the pit, and it may not be able to hide it. Unless the pit is filled in, find another place, and dig deeper.”
The two knew that Mrs. Xie spent a lot of money to buy this land, and if the court took it away, they would lose everything.
Xie Yuyan was thinking about it before he spoke. He raised his head and saw a group of people coming this way. The leader was wearing official uniform and was obviously from the government office.
Xie Yuyan almost without thinking, directly ordered: "Put away those stones first."
(End of this chapter)