Daming female local tyrant

Shen Wan sat on a chair with an official hat in the middle of the main hall of Xiulou, and accepted the visits of Liu Zhuangtou and Qi Zhuangtou through four flower and bird screens.

Jinglan and Cuizhu stood on both sides of the screen, responsible for passing messages or delivering things.

Old Steward Yan stood a little ahead of Liu Zhuangtou and Qi Zhuangtou, watching them salute Shen Wan behind the screen.

"Villain Liu Shiming, meet the girl."

"Little man Qi Yunping, meet the girl."

Both held a few thick account books in their hands, and bowed slightly facing the screen.

"Get up." Shen Wan said calmly behind the screen.

Although Shen Wan is no longer a woman in the room, but a woman from Heli, she doesn't want to meet strangers casually, so she asked the servant of the Shen family who came with the old steward Yan to display the four flower and bird screens that she found. , as a cover.

Jing Lan thinks this move is very appropriate, mainly because she thinks that Shen Wan is beautiful, if a foreigner sees her, she will be coveted by others, this feeling is simply too annoying.Ever since she kissed Shen Wan last night, she inexplicably felt that the less Shen Wan's beauty was seen by outsiders, the better. It seemed that Shen Wan was taken advantage of by outsiders.

"Yes, big girl." Liu Shiming and Qi Yunping agreed, and straightened up.

At this time, Jing Lan, who was standing on the left side of the screen, could clearly see the appearance of the two Zhuangtou.

Liu Shiming is a fat man in his forties, wearing a black satin robe with dark patterns and flowers, he looks like a rich man in the country.

Qi Yunping was a little older, in his early fifties. He was a thin man with a goatee and a blue cloth shirt. He looked like a peddler in a small town with a grocery store.

Jing Lan remembered what Shen Wan had told him, that the Shen family had [-] mu of school land and [-] mu of free land in Suzhou, and they entrusted two village heads to manage them respectively.

Looking at the two people in front of him, Jing Lan guessed that the one who manages the 15-acre school field should be Liu Shiming, who looks like a land rich man, because in the past [-] years, he has managed a lot of fields and has been greedy for money.

And Qi Yunping, who looks like a small businessman, manages only 15 acres of Yitian, and the greedy money is less, so naturally he can't compare with Liu Shiming.Based on her previous estimate that the two of them had spent at least 500 taels in the past 800 years, Qi Yunping should have gotten more than 800 taels, and Liu Shiming had [-] taels.

Sure enough, the old manager Yan introduced to Shen Wan through the screen that Liu Shiming managed the [-] mu of school land for the Shen family, and Qi Yunping managed the [-] mu of free land for the Shen family. The ledgers of Xuetian and Yitian's rent collection for the past three years have been brought.

"Alan, go and bring me the account book." Shen Wan said after listening to the order.

"Yes, girl." Jing Lan agreed, then walked over, took the thick account book from Liu Shiming and Qi Yunping, then walked back behind the screen and handed it to Shen Wan.

Shen Wan took it, put it on the small table in front of her, turned it over a little, and closed the account book.

Jing Lan knew that looking at the account books was just going through the motions, how could Liu Shiming and Qi Yunping let outsiders see something tricky in the account books.

What she could think of, of course Shen Wan could think of it too, so she flipped through it a little and didn't read it.

Next...

Shen Wan looked at Jing Lan and smiled, Jing Lan knew that a good show was about to be staged.

"Girl, you asked my family, Qiu Liu, to buy two stones of rice. The rice seller has already delivered the rice. This money..." Zhao Siniang suddenly shouted outside the hall.

"Alan, go and get the money for the rice farmers." Shen Wan immediately said to Jing Lan.

Jing Lan agreed, went out, walked to the entrance of the hall, and asked the rice farmer how much the two stones of rice cost.

The farmer standing at the entrance of the hall said: "As far as this sister is concerned, the rice I sell comes from my own field, and two stones of rice only cost one tael of silver."

Jing Lan then asked loudly: "But I don't know how many acres your family has, and how much grain you harvested last year?"

The farmer replied: "The villain's family has four acres of land. Last year, the weather was good and the weather was good. About thirteen shi of grain were harvested."

The voices of the two of them were quite loud, the two heads of the village standing in the hall, old manager Yan, and even Shen Wan who was sitting behind the screen could hear clearly.

Liu Shiming and Qi Yunping's eyes twitched when they heard the farmer say that last year's four-acre field had harvested thirteen stones of grain.

When the two of them received the notice from old steward Yan to come to the Shen family's old house today to meet the eldest daughter of the Shen family who came from Jinling, they both had a premonition that something bad was about to happen.

After all, ever since they were entrusted by the Shen family to manage the Shen family's school field and Yitian in Suzhou, the Shen family had never sent anyone to inquire about the harvest of the [-] mu of land.

For 15 years, Shen Wan was the first person from the Shen family to ask about the production of the [-] mu of land.

The old steward Yan also told them that Shen Wan was appointed by the old lady Li of the Shen family to ask about the affairs of the [-] mu of land.

So both of them solemnly took out the account books that had been carefully "prepared" to see Shen Wan.

They also thought that Shen Wan was just the eldest lady of the Shen family, and she had gained a little knowledge even after being married for a few years, but how could she find out the flaws in their carefully prepared account books, those who were corrupted by them? If the silver that has been exchanged for the food is not safely stored in her own box, Shen Wan will have nothing to do.

Unexpectedly, the farmer selling grain standing outside the hall at the moment exposed their shortcomings.

The two wanted to stop the farmer from talking again, and wanted to drive him away, but at this moment, not only Shen Wan, but also old steward Yan were in front of them, they couldn't find a reason to do that, and if they did, there would be no place here 300 taels of silver.

So the faces of the two of them turned blue and white, and they looked quite embarrassed.

Sitting behind the screen, Shen Wan couldn't see it, but Mr. Yan could see it clearly. He couldn't help but secretly exaggerated the cleverness of the young lady in his heart, and actually thought of this method to expose the shortcomings of the two villains.

However, Jing Lan's questioning was not over yet, she continued to smile and said to the farmer: "Seeing that you are already forty years old, you must have been farming for many years?"

The farmer replied: "My sister has good eyesight. I am in my forties this year. I have been farming for more than 30 years."

Jing Lan: "But I don't know where your field is? Is it good land?"

Farmer: "It's right next to the Shen family's school field. It's a good field."

Jing Lan: "So have you had a good harvest in the past ten years?"

Farmer: "My little man remembers that in the last fifteen or sixteen years, there were only two years of drought, and the harvest was halved. The rest were good years. Every year, there was at least five hundred catties of rice per mu of land."

"Okay, I have a tael of silver here, thank you for bringing it." Jing Lan took out a tael of silver that had been weighed with a dice from her purse and handed it over.

Just as the farmer took the money, he was about to turn around and leave when he saw Liu Shiming and greeted him loudly: "Mr. Liu, is that you? Are you also here to sell grain?"

Liu Shiming recognized this person as Shi Dalang, who owns four acres of land next to the Shenjia Xuetian. He lives in a village next to Jinhe Town with many farm laborers who lease the Shenjia Xuetian. That village is called Lijia Village, and most of the villagers in the village The surname is Li, and only a few families have the surname Shi.

However, these households surnamed Shi have fields in their hands, and they are not farm laborers.

When Liu Shiming goes to Lijia Village to collect grain every year, he will inevitably meet the Shi family. He has an impression of Shi Dalang.

But at this time, Liu Shiming simply wished he had never known this person before.

In particular, Shi Dalang asked him if he was also selling grain, which exposed everything.

Because it stands to reason that he is the head of the farm for the Shen family, and all the grain collected should be handed over to old steward Yan to transport it into the warehouse, so how can he have any grain to sell.

If he had grain to sell, the fact was that he withheld some of the grain that was supposed to be handed over to the Shen family, and then sold it for money.

Liu Shiming's complexion was even more ugly now, he turned his face quickly, turned the back of his head to Shi Dalang, and said angrily, "You misidentified the person."

Unexpectedly, Shi Dalang continued relentlessly: "Mr. Liu, you have come to Lijia Village to collect grain every year for more than ten years. We have to meet several times every year. How could I admit my mistake? There are also people who sell grain every year. At that time, we will meet again in several grain stores in Jiuting Town..."

Liu Shiming insisted that Shi Dalang admitted the wrong person, and drove Shi Dalang away.

Jing Lan saw that it was almost done, so she asked Zhao Siniang to take Shi Dalang out, and said that she would ask him to buy food if there was a shortage of food in the future.

Shi Dalang agreed with a smile, and happily followed Zhao Siniang out.

As soon as they left, the hall returned to silence, Jing Lan walked back again, and saw Shen Wan sitting behind the screen smiling at her with admiration in her eyes.

She turned around calmly and looked at Liu Shiming and Qi Yunping who were standing in the hall with ugly faces.

The old steward Yan suddenly said that he remembered that he had to collect the accounts of two silk merchants when he came to Suzhou this time, so he was about to go.

Shen Wan said behind the screen to let him go.

The old steward Yan immediately resigned.

He knew that the next two bosses might have something to say to Shen Wan, and it was not suitable for him to listen to it, but he hoped that Liu Shiming and Qi Yunping would get to know each other better and know how to honor Shen Wan with money, otherwise, Their position as the head of the farm is not guaranteed.

In the hall, besides Shen Wan's master and servant, only Liu Shiming and Qi Yunping were left, and Shen Wan said coolly behind the screen: "Liu Zhuangtou, Qi Zhuangtou, tell me, what's going on. You guys The account book presented to me records that our Shen family’s fertile land produces 200 catties of grain every year, but the farmer who came to sell the grain just now said that his field is next to our Shen family’s school field, except that in disaster years, the grain harvest is more than [-] catties However, in other years when the weather is good and the weather is good, you have to collect five hundred catties of grain. According to the records in your account book, is it possible that every year is a year of disaster?"

Here comes the trouble!

Liu Shiming and Qi Yunping looked at each other, not knowing what to say to Shen Wan's question.

Before they came, they never thought that Shen Wan would be so powerful, and they didn't make any preparations.

Liu Shiming originally wanted to say that Shi Dalang was talking nonsense, but after thinking about it carefully, he was talking nonsense.Since Shen Wan can find Shi Dalang to expose her faults, she can also find the rest of the farmers who farm near the Shenjia Xuetian to interrogate, proving that the fertile land here in Suzhou can indeed produce more than [-] catties of grain per mu in a year with good weather.

Therefore, it is impossible to deny Shi Dalang's words with unreasonable words.

But if he acquiesced to what Shi Dalang said, would he have to spit out the money that the Shen family had withheld from Suzhou Xuetian for grain sales all these years?

Over the years, I have spent more than 800 taels of silver on it. He used this money to buy a house and a field. If he spit it out, wouldn't he have nothing?

Qi Yunping was in the same situation as Liu Shiming. He also followed Liu Shiming's example and got a hundred taels of silver on the one-hundred-acre field he managed as the head of the farm. He used the silver to do business for his son, who was in the town. Opened a cloth shop.

Like Liu Shiming, he didn't want to spit out the money he ate.

It's just that they are still afraid that if they don't give Shen Wan an explanation, the position of Zhuangtou will be lost in the end, and they will no longer be able to get money from the Shen family's fields in Suzhou.What's more, if he lost his position as the head of the village, the 56 taels of silver every year would be gone.Adding up the money embezzled in the fields, it is 200 taels of silver per year. Now it is more difficult to find a job to earn 200 taels of silver per year.In addition, the Shen family is the first family in Jinling, a well-known family in the south of the Yangtze River, and there are many benefits to relying on such a family.

So losing the position of the village head is not what it seems on the surface, the consequences are much more serious.

Qi Yunping tugged at Liu Shiming's sleeve, and gave him a wink, motioning him to speak first.

Liu Shiming has long been flustered by Shen Wan's outstanding strange move, so he can't say anything to deal with it.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead, held back a word for a long time and said: "Girl, I guess the gentleman hired by the villain to settle the accounts made a mistake. The villain will go back and tell him to do the calculation again, and then come back to the girl."

When Qi Yunping heard this, he hurriedly said the same thing.

Shen Wan pondered for a while, and then said: "Then I will give you two days, and then come and tell me why in the next day or two. If there is no convincing explanation after two days, then..."

"Don't worry, girl, Qi Zhuang and I will give you an explanation after the first two days." Liu Shiming hurriedly patted his chest to promise.

Qi Yunping is also like an answering person, saying that he thinks so too.

"Then you go." Shen Wan finally said, "Alan, come and give them the account books brought by Liu Zhuangtou and Qi Zhuangtou, and let them take it back and do a good calculation."

Jing Lan agreed, and went to take out Shen Wan's account book on the small table and return it to Liu Shiming and Qi Yunping.

Liu Shiming and Qi Yunping took their respective account books and stepped back.

As soon as he walked out of the Shen family's old house, Qi Yunping tugged at Liu Shiming's sleeve and asked him what to do next?Shen Wan only gave it two days, and she was going to see her the day after tomorrow, and she had to come up with a convincing argument.

Liu Shiming is fat and sweats a lot, and now he raised his sleeves to wipe his sweat again, and said with an ugly face: "If you want me to spit out all the money I have eaten these years, I won't be able to spit it out. I said just now that I would go back and do the calculations, but it was just a way of delaying. Really, I didn't expect her to have such a trick, and I couldn't deal with it for a while. I just wanted to come out and discuss it with you. What do you mean by her? "

Qi Yunping stroked his gray goatee and said: "The left is only for money."

Liu Shiming gave him a disgusted look, and said that he didn't know that Shen Wan checked the accounts for money, but whether she wanted Qi Yunping and herself to spit out all the money they got over the years, or just a part of it.

Qi Yunping shook his head: "How do I know what she's thinking? If you ask me, who should I ask?"

Liu Shiming answered: "It's tiring to discuss something with you. It seems that we need to find someone to ask."

Qi Yunping asked: "Which middle-aged man? She just came to Suzhou, how can anyone talk to her?"

Liu Shiming thought for a while and said: "Isn't Mrs. Zhao a ready-made middleman? You ask your daughter-in-law to find her, and then ask Mrs. Zhao to call out the servant girl who is close to Miss Shen's family to find out what Missy wants. I saw that today's maid named Alan is very respected by the eldest lady, and she always ordered her to do things. When you go back, ask your daughter-in-law to go to Zhao Siniang tomorrow morning and ask her to help find that maid of Alan to come out and talk. Find out clearly, Mrs. Miss means, let's do things right."

"Also, if she opened her mouth like a lion, for example, asking the two of us to spit out half of the money we ate over the years, would you be willing?"

"I don't want half of it. If it's two or three percent, I'm still willing to make up for it."

"Is that [-]% or [-]%?"

"Thirty percent, at most I can only take out thirty percent."

Seeing Liu Shiming gnashing his teeth with distressed expression on his face, Qi Yunping settled the account by himself, feeling very heartbroken.He took out 300% of the silver he had embezzled over the years, which was nearly [-] taels, and he really didn't want to take it out.So, he said that was not too little.

"That can't be helped. If we pay a few hundred taels of silver in the long run, we will still keep our position as the head of the village. In a few years, we will earn back the money we took out. What's more, relying on the Shen family A big tree is good for our sons and daughters."

"You are right, but I just feel distressed and unwilling. She only gave us two days. If there are a few more days, I would like to go to Jinling to find someone to inquire about it. After inquiring clearly, I will give you money."

"What's there to inquire about? Didn't Mrs. Yan talk about the matter? She divorced the eldest grandson of the Xiao family. The old patriarch was so angry that the old lady punished her to come to Suzhou in a fit of anger. A hundred acres of fields."

"I always feel that there is an inside story here. Don't forget that the patriarch of the clan, that is, her father, is the successor patriarch of the Shen family. A patriarch can't keep his only daughter from the first line, and let her come to Suzhou Regardless of these nosy matters, can hundreds of taels of silver get into the eyes of those in the Shen family?"

Liu Shiming looked at Qi Yunping, who was stroking his gray goatee and speaking in a contemplative manner, and said with a sneer, "I didn't expect you to still have a brain. In this way, while we deal with her, we will send someone to Jinling to find out what you said inside|love."

Qi Yunping: "Okay, let's do it!"

After Liu Shiming and Qi Yunping left, Jing Lan put away the four flower-and-bird screens together with Cui Zhu, lifted them up and put them down, then turned around and said to Shen Wan: "Girl, these two Zhuang heads are indeed old foxes. Deliberately procrastinating, I went back to find a way to discuss the countermeasures, why didn't the girl ask them to say that she is ugly today?"