Chapter 256: Karma Sooner or Later

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

On fifty acres of land, he built ten workshops, five warehouses, and some residential houses inside.

“Wife, all of these were built according to the blueprints you provided. I took the liberty to build a row of houses at the back for the workers to stay.”

“Well, it’s inconvenient for your county with people commuting daily.”

“Yes, they get only three days off per month.”

“After the New Year, we should start training the resin harvesters.”

“Yes, that’s my plan too. Starting work early will help the workers earn their wages sooner.”

The two then rode their horses around the outskirts, inspecting the forested area and checking the first batch of planted trees.

“Give it another year, and we should be able to collect pine resin.”

“Wife, I hope we won’t incur any losses.”

Qiao Mai shook her head. “We shouldn’t. The land in your county has been barren for many years. Now that it’s turned into a forest, the imperial court should have a say. It can’t be classified as arable land, and you won’t have to pay grain taxes. How much grain would we owe the court each year?”

Upon hearing this, Yuan Jiaqi felt somewhat embarrassed. He had impulsively bought several thousand acres of land, and if they had to pay grain taxes, it would be a huge problem.

Even if they plan to buy grain for supplementation, where can they get so much grain all at once?

“Let me draft a memorial to the emperor, seeking his approval.”

“Yes, you should seek approval. Otherwise, I won’t manage this.”

Yuan Jiaqi regretted his impulsive actions, only focused on changing County She, and hadn’t considered this aspect.

Qiao Mai had researched online and found that a mature pine tree could yield about one pound of resin per month. Pine resin from this region wasn’t in high demand, and setting a price was tough.

A ten-year-old pine tree produced around two hundred pounds of pine nuts yearly.

Looking just at the pine nuts, each tree could generate a profit of twenty taels of silver.

One acre could accommodate twenty pine trees, which was four hundred taels of silver. If they only sold the pine nuts, they could still maintain these thousands of acres of pine trees.

The key would be selling the products later on. Rare items were precious. With tens of thousands of acres of pine trees, they would become cheap goods if they couldn’t sell the products well.

They needed to plan carefully. Qiao Mai looked at the pine forest with some worry. She had only stayed in County She for two days before returning to Tian Shui town.

Riding Dong Zao, she passed by the entrance of Embroidery Manor and saw Nanny Jin, Yue Hong, and Yue Xia standing side by side, staring at someone.

It turned out that after the Tian family knew Ling’er had opened the Lucky Embroidery Manor, they would come to tempt her from time to time.

Ling’er still had some feelings of kinship with the Tian family. However, seeing them repeatedly harass her, she gradually became annoyed.

When they came, she didn’t even acknowledge them, heading directly inside.

The Tian family stood at the entrance and played the victim. When Nanny Jin sent someone to report to the officials, they would run, becoming cunning.

Upon seeing this scene, Qiao Mai immediately wrote a letter and had someone send it to County Governor Zhu.

When County Governor Zhu opened the letter, his brow furrowed.

Since taking office, he had thoroughly investigated all the wealthy families within County Yi.

Ling’er was adopted, yet the Tian family repeatedly harassed her, seriously affecting her life.

He didn’t go to find Tian Sanzhuang because Tian Sanzhuang wasn’t worthy of a personal visit.

He only found his father-in-law, who was the County Deputy Governor. His position was only a little lower than County Governor Zhu. However, County Governor Zhu’s status made people wary, so the deputy had to listen.

“I say, Old Zhou.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“What’s the deal with your son-in-law?

“He’s been resting at home recently.”

“Is resting this restless? The Tian family keeps bothering the girl who looks like him. Don’t blame me for not reminding you; the Qiao family is a major figure in our county. They offer help to people every year. Do you want your son-in-law to harrass them? If anything happens, your career will be over. Madam Qiao’s man is a fifth-rank county governor. He could be transferred to the imperial capital at any time.”

Deputy Governor Zhou was drenched in cold sweat. “Please rest assured, Sir. I’ll handle this matter properly.”

The next day, Deputy Governor Zhou immediately prepared a carriage and went to Peach Blossom Village. The Tian family thought their in-law had come to help them. However, as soon as they met, they were scolded mercilessly.

“Tian Sanzhuang, I warn your family; if you ever think about bothering Miss Ling’er again, you’ll bear the consequences. If something happens in the future, I’ll bring my daughter and grandson back home. Your family can go work the fields or whatever you want.”

Tian Sanzhuang was infuriated but had to force a smile. “Father-in-law, have they gone to complain to the county?”

“Humph, County Governor Zhu is friends with the Qiao family. They don’t need to file a complaint. With just a letter, they could deal with you. Do you know how much you weigh?”

“Father-in-law, don’t be angry. I won’t let them go there anymore.”

“Don’t blame me for not warning you. With the Qiao family’s influence today and the protection from County Governor Zhu, I’m afraid your family will disappear silently. Hmph, you’ll have no peace, always wanting to get rich.

Some day, you might encounter retribution.”

With these words, Deputy Governor Zhou left. He took his daughter and grandson back to the county town.

Filled with anger, Tian Sanzhuang banged on the brick bed, showing his resentment. On the same evening, he broke one of his legs, and Old Tian had one of his arms broken. Madam Tian was hung up at the entrance to their house.

At this point, the Tian family finally felt fear. Unless someone died, their insatiable greed couldn’t be tamed.

After their injuries had healed, they didn’t live quietly but continued to scheme against Ling’er. Qiao Mai would not let them off the hook.

With the father and the son injured, they couldn’t handle Madam Tian’s funeral, so they had to ask the village chief and their sons for help.

Hearing about these incidents, Deputy Governor Zhou was furious. He brought his officials and returned to investigate, but they couldn’t find concrete evidence. Although they knew that the Qiao family was likely involved, they couldn’t find any proof.

They had just left Peach Blossom Village but had to return the following day to investigate the case. His daughter also had to return to observe the mourning period for her mother-in-law. Deputy Governor Zhou wished he could kick Tian Sanzhuang a few times.

The day before, he had inquired about the Qiao family and discovered they were not to be trifled with. It wasn’t just because Yuan Jiaqi was a fifth-ranking officer.

Lucky Garden was also home to two bigwigs: one was a retired Grand Minister, and the other was a first-class decree’s noblewoman appointed by the Emperor himself.

With such prominent figures overseeing things, who would dare to provoke them?

Unfortunately, his son-in-law was driven by greed, desiring to share in the Qiao family’s prosperity. To make matters worse, the magistrate of Wei City was staunchly protecting the Qiao family’s interests.

Hearing this news, Deputy Governor Zhou was so upset that he bit his lips until they bled.

He wanted his daughter to come home after the Tian family’s funeral and separate from her husband to avoid future trouble. He was genuinely concerned that, due to Tian Sanzhuang’s recklessness, his position as deputy governor would be at risk.

The murderer who killed the body’s host, Madam Tian, was dead. Her death had struck fear into the hearts of Peach Blossom Village residents.

They had all watched how the Tian family mistreated Qiao Mai and had remained indifferent, not helping her when she needed it.

Now, with Madam Tian dead, some residents believed Qiao Mai was responsible. As a result, they began having nightmares.

In the beginning, humans are inherently good. As long as you carry a bit of kindness in your heart, you should never stand idly by and watch someone starve or be bullied to death without saying a word. It’s difficult to explain, but some people say that giving is a matter of emotional bonds, and not giving is a matter of one’s responsibility. Why obsess over it?

If one day, you’re starving or being mistreated, and someone stands there apathetically, please don’t call them heartless. Also, please don’t hold grudges against others because, as you’ve said, no one will be there to support you.

As the weather turned colder, the villagers prepared for winter.

They had a stroke of luck this year. They had cleared the forest, providing an abundance of firewood by collecting branches to burn during the winter..

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