Chapter 523 - 525: Misunderstanding
Chapter 523: Chapter 525: Misunderstanding
"You’ve misunderstood, Village Chief Xiao," Lichun said quickly, immediately understanding their actions. "We’re people of the Rong Dynasty, not those bandits."
Village Chief Xiao did not let down his guard. Flanked by the two old women who had followed him, he silently retreated a few steps. "We’re not selling these dried goods anymore. You should leave at once!"
Lichun retorted, "You old man, how can you go back on your word? Everything was fine just a moment ago! Besides, look at the three of us. Do we look like hardened criminals?"
Someone muttered, "It’s not like villains have it written on their faces. Besides, I’ve heard those bandits are the most cunning of all."
Before her two maids could retort, Jin Qianqian spoke. "If that’s the case, then we won’t enter the village. My apologies for the disturbance."
’It’s good to be cautious.’ Jin Qianqian understood.
Seeing Jin Qianqian actually turn to leave, the people of Zhaoyu Village felt a little uncomfortable, thinking they might have misunderstood her.
"Village Chief, about this..."
Who would turn down a chance to earn silver? But before they could finish speaking, a dozen or so men armed with swords appeared before them.
"Madam," Ming Zhong and his men rushed over. Only when they saw her standing there, perfectly unharmed, did they secretly let out a sigh of relief.
"I’m fine. Let’s head back."
"Honored guest, please wait!" Seeing that they were really leaving, Village Chief Xiao hurried after them.
He was intimidated by the sight of so many large, armed men, but he also realized that they couldn’t be the rumored bandits.
In broad daylight, those bandits skulking in the shadows would never dare to act so openly.
Jin Qianqian stopped and turned to look at him. "Village Chief Xiao, is there something else?"
Xiao Cunshan smiled sheepishly. "A misunderstanding. It was all a misunderstanding. We’ve just been made paranoid by those bandits.
I’d forgotten they wouldn’t even bother with a small fishing village like ours."
Those bandits truly had no interest in a village like theirs. They were after grain, gold, and silver. Why would bandits who lived on the sea care about the piddling amount of dried seafood their village had to offer?
Besides, the village had no farmland; they had to trade their seafood for grain. Attacking them would be a complete waste of effort.
Once he pieced it all together, Village Chief Xiao wanted to slap himself. "It’s just... the Lord Prefect sent men to warn the coastal villages to be on high alert. We were only taking precautions. I hope you can forgive us, honored guest."
Jin Qianqian knew that Ancient Wen Heng had sent people to spread awareness. While it couldn’t turn every citizen into a soldier, the various instructions were meant to give people a strategy for dealing with bandits.
"I understand. My maid was being insistent earlier because we, too, had our own concerns."
Hearing this, the villagers of Zhaoyu Village lowered their heads. They had been wary of these outsiders, but the outsiders had also been wary of them.
"Yes, yes. It’s all these damned bandits’ fault. They don’t let anyone live in peace.
With the autumn harvest just around the corner, we were worried they might have sent scouts."
Village Chief Xiao chuckled. "Now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, I wonder if our honored guests are still willing to buy our dried seafood? I’ll have my people bring out their absolute best."
Jin Qianqian nodded at Li Qiu, who immediately said with a beaming smile, "That would be wonderful. We’ll have to trouble you then, Village Chief Xiao."
Seeing that the deal was back on, the people of Zhaoyu Village all broke into smiles. They began cheerfully telling them what kinds of dried goods the village had.
"Madam, would you like to come inside and rest for a while?" Village Chief Xiao knew she was the one in charge. Since her guards called the young woman "Madam," he dared not show any disrespect.
Jin Qianqian gazed at the distant sea. "There’s no need. I’ll just stand here and enjoy the view.
Your village’s seafood harvest seems quite impressive. You must be skilled fishermen here."
Village Chief Xiao stroked his beard and chuckled. "We fishermen live at the mercy of the heavens. On a good day, we come back with a full haul. On a bad day, we might not even catch a whiff of fish.
It’s only in the last couple of years that the young men of the village, desperate to provide for their families, have worked hard to train in the water. That’s how they can venture into more distant waters to make a living, which naturally means they bring back more than other villages.
But, as you may know, honored guest, these lads are risking their lives out there. And when the merchants who buy from us see our hauls getting bigger, they naturally try to force the price down.
Sigh... If the prices they offered didn’t get lower each time, we wouldn’t have started setting some aside to sell on our own."
Jin Qianqian asked, "If you sell your seafood to us now, will that cause a conflict with them?"
Village Chief Xiao fell silent for a moment before replying, "To be honest, honored guest, our contract with them specifies a certain quantity. We’re free to dispose of any surplus ourselves.
The problem is, the entire area around Lu City is their turf. We can’t take our goods into the city to sell them ourselves. Our only chance is to occasionally sell a little to tourists who pass by, just to find some outlet for the villagers.
It doesn’t conflict with their business interests, so you don’t need to worry about them causing trouble, honored guest."
’It wasn’t that Jin Qianqian was afraid of them causing trouble. If they really came looking for it, she might just teach them a lesson.’
’A monopoly is one thing, but to exploit the common folk like this... that was just wrong.’
But another matter caught her interest. "So, from what you’re saying, the people in your village are all strong swimmers?"
Village Chief Xiao replied, "They’re decent enough. It’s how we make a living, after all. You have to work hard at it."
"Your village doesn’t look very big. How many people are there in total?"
Village Chief Xiao’s expression turned guarded again. "May I ask why you’re asking, honored guest?"
"What’s wrong? Can’t I ask?"
Village Chief Xiao knew he had overreacted. "No, not at all. It’s just that few people ask for such specific details."
Jin Qianqian said, "To be frank, I came here hoping to find a few fishermen who are excellent swimmers..."
"I’m afraid that’s not possible," Village Chief Xiao interrupted, refusing before she could even state her reason. "The old and young of this village all depend on those young men to provide for them."
’They were the village’s treasures. No matter what this honored guest wanted them for, he would never agree.’
Jin Qianqian didn’t press the issue. She began to observe the small village before her. "This is a nice place. With such a good catch, life will surely improve for you all over time."
"Thank you for the kind words," Village Chief Xiao said, silently sighing in relief when she didn’t press the matter further.
* * *
Li Qiu, who had gone into the village with Ming En to collect the seafood, started chatting with an older woman sorting the goods. "This is all top-grade stuff. You’ve clearly taken great care in preparing it."
The older woman beamed with pride. "You’ve definitely come to the right place. Of all the villages around here, ours has the freshest seafood.
We eat anything that isn’t perfectly fresh ourselves. Just look at this dried abalone—every piece is the same size. It took a lot of work to sort them like this."