Yang Chuxia paused before continuing, "It wouldn’t be right to make people from the same village, our fellow villagers, become servants in my house. If word gets out, people will say that my family is oppressing the villagers, bullying our fellow villagers just because we have some wealth. We cannot do that."
After Yang Chuxia finished speaking, Land Officer Yang also said, "Xiaxia makes a good point. Even though Jinxiu was bought by Xiaxia, we are all from the same village. No one is more important than anyone else. We cannot treat our fellow villagers as servants."
The elder heads of the four families nodded in agreement with Land Officer Yang’s words.
"But, Uncle Land Officer, Fourth Uncle, my family... We really can’t afford to pay seven taels of silver to redeem Jinxiu." As Yang Jinshui spoke, the grown man unexpectedly began to cry. It seemed his family indeed faced deep struggles.
Upon hearing her husband say these things, Aunt Caixia too, was wiping away her tears.
Yang Jinxiu, being a sensible child, didn’t want to cause her parents more trouble. She directly kneeled in front of Land Officer Yang and said, "Grandpa Land Officer, if it wasn’t for Xiaxia, I might have ended up getting sold off to who knows where and would probably never see my parents again in this life. Now that I can return to the village and see my parents, I am already content. I cannot bear to see my parents worry about me anymore. I beg Grandpa Land Officer, I beg Uncle and Aunt, Xiaxia, to allow me to serve here."
Yang Chuxia was speechless. She hadn’t demanded the immediate repayment, why was everyone reacting so tragically?
"Uncle Jinshui, Auntie Caixia, can you please not be so emotional? It’s not easy," Yang Chuxia paused, perhaps feeling her tone was not very courteous, adjusted it and continued, "I never said you have to repay the seven taels of silver right away."
"Xiaxia, what do you mean then?" Land Officer Yang, being an impatient man, quickly asked, "If you have a good idea, share it with your uncle and aunt. Can’t you see how anxious they are?"
"Isn’t that what I’ve been saying?" Yang Chuxia weakly shrugged, thinking to herself, would you please not interrupt me.
After pausing, Yang Chuxia continued, "The seven taels of silver must be repaid. Otherwise, if this sets a precedent with so many people in the village, it could create problems further down the line. But how to repay? I thought about it, and my uncle and aunt can repay me in installments. Repay one tael of silver per year, for a total of seven years. In between, I won’t charge any interest, but you will have to sign a contract. This shouldn’t be a problem, right? Auntie and uncle, you should be able to earn one tael of silver in one year."
Upon hearing Yang Chuxia’s proposal, Yang Jinshui’s eyes widened. One tael of silver per year, that was definitely doable. He was sure he could pay it back.
"Xiaxia, thank you so much. This is no problem at all. I promise I’ll repay the silver before the seven years are up." Yang Jinshui, joyfully wiping away his tears, spoke rapidly. Perhaps feeling embarrassed for crying in front of so many people, he blushed.
Upon hearing this, Aunt Caixia too, was overjoyed, continuously thanking Yang Chuxia, "Xiaxia, thank you, thank you... I don’t know how to express my gratitude."
Land Officer Yang and the clan elders on the side also felt relieved at Yang Chuxia’s decision, seeing that Yang Chuxia’s family hadn’t forgotten about their fellow villagers just because they had come into some wealth.
"Alright, now that Jinxiu is also back, and matters have been clarified, you should sign the contract mentioned by Xiaxia, and take your child home. She’s probably quite traumatized by the recent events. As for the village, I will announce this matter tomorrow, so that no one will be spreading rumors about Jinxiu." Land Officer Yang, smiling warmly, added.