Just by hearing the sounds, it was clear that Auntie Li had been severely beaten.
Although Land Officer Yang didn’t specifically tell Yang Chuxia about the incident, she still found out, and it was Yang Dongxue, the little girl, who told her while she was playing at her grandfather’s house.
Well, everyone had overlooked a child, especially one who could mimic what others said.
When Yang Chuxia first heard the news, she was quite displeased, but she quickly let it go, realizing that people are naturally selfish, and even more so when their very lives are at stake. This is just human nature and the normal state of affairs.
So she didn’t take it to heart and let it pass.
And it was true that Yang Dachuan had recently hired guards, thanks to Constable Hong who had helped recruit five or six men.
Mu Shaoling was also supposed to help, but Yang Dachuan was a step ahead. Initially, Yang Dachuan planned to buy from the brokers, but the local brokers were too insignificant to have the right talent. Broker Liu then pointed him in the direction of Constable Hong. Upon hearing that it wasn’t a difficult task, Constable Hong readily lent a hand.
As a result, in just over half a month, Yang Dachuan had swiftly replenished the maids, manservants, and old women in the house, secured guards, and began to train the people needed for the pickled crab workshops and the fried goods business.
The Yang Family gradually got back on track, except for the mastermind behind the scenes who had yet to be found, and those who had been exiled had not returned.
However, these days the Yang Household was still too gloomy, and the children’s faces lacked any trace of laughter. They walked and talked with an air of caution and prudence.
That’s when Yang Chuxia revisited her previous idea of stirring up some cheer with a wedding, considering there was still some time before the New Year.
So she first went to inquire with Li’s mother, asking if Ming Liu was betrothed, and mentioned Fugui’s intentions. Naturally, Li’s mother was willing, as she could make the decision as a grandmother, despite the absence of her daughter-in-law.
After confirming this, she then asked Tieshu and Xiu’er, only to discover that the two had indeed taken a liking to each other long ago.
With that, what could be wrong?
Xiu’er had no relatives, and Tieshu’s indenture was a death pact, which the master could directly decide his marital matters, plus his own willingness made everything easy to arrange.
So, while everyone was still discussing who had been thoughtless enough to lead the bandits to their place and while some merchants contemplated seizing the opportunity to buy recipes for drunken crabs and so forth, the Yang Family unexpectedly started preparing for a wedding.
People thought about it, the Yang Family had two sons and two daughters, the eldest daughter had just celebrated her wedding in the summer, the eldest and second sons were not yet fifteen, and the second daughter was still a child. What wedding were they having? It was only after some inquiries that they found out it was actually a wedding being arranged for two servants.
Upon hearing this, some people felt that the Yang Family must be quite well-off; to be able to afford a feast for their servants meant they weren’t short of money. If they weren’t short of money, those seeking to buy recipes would probably not succeed. On further thought, they realized that some of the family’s shops hadn’t changed hands yet, nor had there been news of selling off land. If they were truly in need of money, they would be selling land or shops first.
Hence, those who had hoped to take advantage of the situation to buy the recipes for drunken crab or shrimp paste put their plans on hold.
The fact that the third branch of the Yang Family had been attacked by horse bandits was impossible to hide; the nearby towns knew all about it, and some merchants began to get ideas, thinking that nobody knew how much the bandits had stolen from the Yang Family. The household, having recently come into wealth, probably had limited reserves and the incident must have severely drained their inner energy.