Wufu was not someone to be trifled with.
That statement from Zhang Facai caused Lady Chen’s face to change slightly, standing there stunned as she watched them leave with a flick of their sleeves.
Her eldest son, Zhang Da, also turned pale with fear, subconsciously glancing toward the neighboring house, stumbling back two steps as if a wild beast might leap out and tear them to shreds and swallow them whole.
"Mom, uncle is right, that wild girl is not a soft touch," Zhang Da sharply tugged at Lady Chen’s sleeve, his face filled with terror.
Ha, now you remember that Wufu is no soft touch. Why didn’t you think of that when you were seizing land and clearing fields?
"Look at how cowardly you are. Are you even a man?" Lady Chen swallowed hard, trying to appear calm, "Not a soft touch, sure, but we haven’t done anything. We haven’t hit her or cursed at her; what can she do to us?"
"Mom, Baozi and his crew just gossiped about her servant, and she knocked their teeth out. Our doing here, this..." Zhang Da pointed to the land that was cleared but still overgrown with weeds, unable to continue.
What they did was outright robbery, a far graver crime than Baozi’s.
"What do you mean, ’our doing’? We’re clearing the land. Isn’t everyone doing the same? Claiming the land as you go. We’re in the right here, and we don’t fear her," Lady Chen’s eyes darted back and forth, growing more convinced of her right standing, settling her heart a bit more.
Besides, would a mere girl really dare to kill someone?
When Zhang Da saw his mother so assured, he said nothing more. Yet, his face was still marked with fear and unease. If only he had known, he wouldn’t have followed his mother here.
Madam Zhou returned to the room and couldn’t help but wipe away tears, furious.
"Madam, what’s wrong?" Hongyu was completely astonished and then turned to look at Liu Jin, who followed in afterward: "What happened? Weren’t you accompanying her to measure the land?"
Liu Jin recounted the events.
Hongyu, infuriated, threw aside the needle and thread basket she was holding and exclaimed angrily, "This is too much! I’m going to reason with them."
"Sister Hongyu, don’t go, it’s no use. That Lady Chen is a shrew. We need to think this through carefully," Liu Jin held her back.
Madam Zhou wiped her tears and sniffed, standing up: "They’re bullying us because we’re alone without anyone to back us up. I’ll go argue our case with the village chief. They’ve extended their clearing right beside our home—such a thing isn’t right. It’s blatant bullying and extortion; there’s no law left in this place."
"Exactly," Liu Jin said, "They knew we had plans to build a house, deliberately clearing to this spot just for silver. They are adamant that we have no choice but to pay up."
Hongyu sneered, "Do they think we’re all fools? I’ll tell miss."
"Miss is currently sculpting. Let’s not disturb her for now, and not interrupt her process," Liu Jin stopped her again, suggesting, "How about this, Madam? I’ll go to the village chief’s house first to ask about the rules, then we can make plans."
"You’re still young; it’s better I go," Madam Zhou shook her head.
Liu Jin, seeing her red-rimmed eyes, chuckled and shook his head, "It’s not a big deal, Madam. Don’t worry too much. After all, if they want to scheme against us, they’ll need to see if our miss is willing."
He wasn’t the least bit worried about being schemed against. Even if he was willing, considering the character of their miss, she would never allow it. According to her way of handling things, she would rather sink the silver into the water than give in and seek out Lady Chen to buy the land.
Feeling aggrieved was the last thing their miss could bear.
Therefore, whether the house is going to be built or not, Liu Jin wasn’t worried at all. The ones who should be worried were the entire family of Lady Chen.
Daring to scheme against their miss was like the God of Longevity hanging himself—tiring of a long life, courting death!