An Jing and Xiao Changyi had not expected Wang Youbao to suddenly start talking about his own affairs. They exchanged a glance but did not interrupt him.
Only after Wang Youbao had finished speaking did An Jing open her mouth to say, "You..."
But after uttering the word "you," An Jing didn’t know what else to say. She was not good at comforting others. She could hear the sorrow in Wang Youbao’s voice, and besides, the issue of legitimacy against illegitimacy was really taken very seriously here.
"Haha," Wang Youbao finally realized he had lost his composure and laughed awkwardly. "I have been inconsiderate. Please do not take offense." He had been too emotional just now.
Without waiting for An Jing to respond, Wang Youbao hurriedly redirected the conversation. "It doesn’t matter if you don’t sell fermented tofu, but does nothing else really matter? That Sun Beiwei is vengeful. He has already forbidden people from buying your tofu. I’m sure he won’t allow them to buy your other products either. If you want to do business in town in the future, whatever you sell, it probably won’t be possible."
An Jing immediately scoffed with a curl of her lip, "What, does he, Sun Beiwei, now cover the sky with one hand in Sixteen Town?"
Wang Youbao sighed, "With his brother-in-law, Official Zhao, backing him up, hasn’t he been covering the sky with one hand in Sixteen Town these years? As long as he speaks out, we have no choice but to comply obediently. Otherwise, it’s going against Official Zhao. Official Zhao is from the County Government. We can’t afford to provoke him. Otherwise, they could easily pin a crime on you, and you would end up in jail."
If the County Magistrate is considered the top authority of a county, then the official registrar is the second in command, specifically assisting the County Magistrate.
An Jing said, "Doesn’t the County Magistrate care? I have heard that our County Magistrate of Hecheng County is very just and incorruptible."
Wang Youbao sighed again, "The County Magistrate is just and incorruptible, but unfortunately, he is unaware of these matters. Whatever the County Magistrate knows is what the official registrar reports to him."
"Oh, so he’s been sidelined," An Jing nodded in understanding and then said with a smile, "Young Master Wang, thank you for going to such lengths to inform us of this. We understand your kindness, but our nature is such, it can’t be changed. Don’t bother persuading us. We will absolutely not bow to that Sun Beiwei."
Wang Youbao admired them even more.
He also did not want to bow down to anyone, but he could not count the number of times he had had to bow down to others. He had never managed to stand firm, whereas these two farmer’s children had done so.
How could he not admire them?
However, he also knew that further persuasion was a waste of breath. So, Wang Youbao did not try to persuade them any further but instead said sincerely, "If you need help in the future, you can always come to me. If I can help, I will certainly do my best to assist you."
An Jing felt grateful in her heart, knowing that Wang Youbao considered her and her husband as friends. Nevertheless, she did not say much, only uttering two words: "Thank you."
In the evening, Shi Xiaolan and An Fu arrived. They had not gone to town to sell tofu today but had been planting sesame in the field. When An Quangui told them that An Jing and Xiao Changyi had dealt with He Ba, they were both very worried.
Even though An Quangui had assured them that An Jing and Xiao Changyi were fine, Shi Xiaolan and An Fu were still uneasy. Therefore, they came together to check on An Jing and Xiao Changyi.
Seeing that An Jing and Xiao Changyi were truly unharmed, Shi Xiaolan and An Fu finally felt completely reassured: "It’s good that you’re fine."
An Jing looked at Shi Xiaolan and An Fu, who were genuinely concerned about them, and she felt quite moved.