Chapter 457: Chapter 444: Small Bribe

Zhang Xiangrui and Mrs. Guo dared to stir up trouble at the door, probably taking advantage of Zhang Xiangrong and Mrs. Guo’s honesty.

“Your Uncle Xiang Rong, in fact, just didn’t pick fights with them before, always feeling that they were brothers, and for the sake of saving Aunt Liu’s face. Therefore, he never made big deals out of small disagreements.”

Mrs. Cao chuckled, “Now that everything is clear, and we can see the kind of people they are, Uncle Xiang Rong naturally has nothing to worry about.”

“Not just you, I was also taken aback.”

Zhuang Qingning pursed her lips.

In other words, even Mrs. Cao usually thought that Zhang Xiangrong was a simple and honest man. They did not expect him to come up with such a good way to deal with the situation.

Indeed, one should never underestimate someone who appears to be honest, expecting to bully them.

This so-called honesty is just not wanting to stoop to your level, not that they’re afraid of you. When a quiet person starts to fight back and gets angry, you’ll know why the flowers are so red.

However, knowing the truth and understanding that Zhang Xiangrong was not entirely weak, Zhuang Qingning felt entirely reassured about the matter with Zhang Xiangrui. She believed that with Zhang Xiangrui and his incredible wife around, there wouldn’t be any significant issues.

After being busy at the tofu shop for a while, Qin Qingning went to Ruyi Pavilion for lunch.

She had sheep soup noodles. The soup was fresh, the noodles were chewy, and Zhuang Qingning ate a bowl and a half until she burped twice and put down the bowl.

—-

During the less busy times in recent days, Zhuang Qingning continuously transported wheat seeds from the system and neatly stacked them in the courtyard. Zhuang Jingye then distributed the wheat seeds in batches according to the household needs and registration.

Like the bean seeds before, the wheat seeds could first be credited to the villagers, and after the wheat harvest, they could be used to offset the seed costs. If it was an outsider, they had to buy it at the market price, pay the money first, and then receive the wheat seeds.

There was quite a hustle and bustle at Zhuang Jingye’s house these days.

This was partly because the villagers were coming to fetch the wheat seeds, and partly because the village chiefs from nearby villages were all visiting.

“Village Chief Zhuang, for these wheat seeds, we can offer twenty percent more than the regular price.” Village Chief Feng, with a full face of laughter, said, “Moreover, this is a newly obtained jar of wine, bought from a winery in the county town, authentic sorghum wine, very mellow aftertaste.”

“Village Chief Zhuang, we can also offer a twenty percent higher price,” said Village Chief Shi, “this is the tea that I had brought back from the city, newly harvested in Jiangnan, do you want to taste it?”

“Village Chief Zhuang…”

Seeing those people eagerly promising him all sorts of things, Zhuang Jingye was so pleased that he almost had his eyebrows reaching the sky.

No doubt, it felt great to be courted.

Still, even though it felt good, he couldn’t lose himself in it and forget his position.

He was the dignified Village Chief of Enji Village, in charge of a village’s affairs. He worked for the common people, and even for the imperial court indirectly. Could he lose his integrity for these small bribes?

Impossible!

Zhuang Jingye looked at their eager eyes, cleared his throat, and said, “I see your intentions. You all want to get some good wheat seeds, think about the villagers, and consider for everyone.”

“But honestly, it took us a lot of effort to get these wheat seeds from the traders. We only have this much left. We have to prioritize our village’s needs.”

“If there are any left over after we’ve distributed them in the village, even if we have only ten or eight catties left, I will inform you. Whatever I can spare, I will give.”

Those who had been hoping to get two or three hundred pounds of seeds initially but ended up not getting even a hundred and eighty, left with just ten or eight, found it hard to accept at once.

The other village chiefs looked at each other in dismay and looked somewhat distressed at Zhuang Jingye after a moment of silence.

“Village Chief Zhuang, this…”

“Don’t panic. The hasty man can’t even eat hot tofu,” Zhuang Jingye said calmly. “We only have this much wheat seed. As the Village Chief of Enji Village, I certainly have to consider the needs of the people in my village first. If there’s not enough wheat in Enji Village, but we’re selling it to you from other villages, wouldn’t that leave me at the risk of being accused of neglecting my duties?”

“So, I really can’t do anything about it. I can only prioritize the needs of our village first. If there’s nothing left, I can’t give it to you. If there’s a surplus, I can share it with you.”

“But this wheat seed was not much to begin with, and with the village taking a portion of it, I can’t say how much will be left. So I better tell you in advance, so you can keep that in mind and not expect too much. Otherwise, if there’s only three or five pounds left, you might get upset with me.”

Zhuang Jingye was reasonable, and the village chiefs there were not unreasonable people. After listening to him speak, they all nodded slightly.

But although they understood this, seeing Enji Village harvest high-yield crops every day, they were really envious.

If they could compete for it, they should make an effort.

Even if it meant a little more talking and losing a little bit of face, it didn’t matter.

“Village Chief Zhuang, we understand your point, but we…” halfway through his statement, Village Chief Feng sighed helplessly, “Aren’t we thinking about the village…”

“Again, I appreciate where you’re coming from, but you shouldn’t be too anxious. Even if we don’t have any wheat seeds this year, it doesn’t mean that we won’t have them every year.”

Zhuang Jingye said, “Even if there are no surplus wheat seeds this year, and you can’t plant this good wheat, but by next year around the Dragon Boat Festival, when the wheat in Enji village is harvested, won’t we have as many wheat seeds as you want?”

“All things considered, it’s just a matter of waiting another year. It’s not a long time.”

“Besides, these wheat seeds, they are being planted for the first time…”

The village chiefs looked at each other again.

They were so eager to get the wheat seeds that they had forgotten that wheat is a crop that needs to be planted every year.

As Zhuang Jingye said, wheat needs to be planted every year. So when Enji Village’s wheat is harvested at the Dragon Boat Festival every year, however many wheat seeds you want, you get.

It may not be enough for the entire region, but at least it should be enough for the nearby villages to plant wheat.

Not to be discouraging, but the surrounding villages have been so poor for so many years, one more year doesn’t make much of a difference.

If you think about it, although the beans previously planted by Enji Village could yield a lot more, the wheat seeds are new. Who knows if they will turn out to be as good as the beans?