Chapter 299: Chapter 299: Meeting the County Magistrate
"County magistrate!"
"Wife!"
Qi Manman and Qi Quanjin’s voices rang out simultaneously.
Yi Meng froze, fearfully looking at her daughter, unable to comprehend how such words could come out of her daughter’s mouth.
Qi Quanjin didn’t hear what his daughter said, just noticed that his wife was motionless, with no reaction to his greeting.
His first reaction was that something had happened to his daughter.
Qi Quanjin hurriedly ran to his wife’s side, anxiously asking, "What’s wrong with our daughter? Wife?"
"Brother Jin, Brother Jin."
Yi Meng didn’t know how to explain this situation.
The county magistrate had been quite considerate of their family, but now her daughter was saying this other villain was also the county magistrate and was even aiding the people of Weston Village, which put her in a...
dilemma.
"Wife, what exactly is going on? Is Manbao feeling unwell? Or are you not feeling well somewhere?"
Qi Quanjin looked at his wife’s poor complexion under the lantern’s light at the eaves, extremely anxious.
Yi Meng shook her head, took a deep breath, and said, "Brother Jin, it seems that there are still more waves regarding Weston Village’s issue."
"Huh? This one? No way, Brother Liu said that this matter is already set in stone, and nothing will change."
Upon hearing it was this matter, Qi Quanjin immediately breathed a sigh of relief: "Brother Liu is a very reliable person, if it wasn’t something certain, he wouldn’t have told us."
Yi Meng opened her mouth, hesitated for a moment, then held back.
It didn’t seem wise to directly tell her husband that what her daughter said, as he probably wouldn’t believe it.
"Brother Jin, please go and bring father over!"
Yi Meng carried Qi Manman to the adjacent side room.
Qi Quanjin, although unsure of what was going on with his wife, didn’t see calling his father over as a big deal.
Besides, his mother had already asked his sister-in-law to cook noodles for Brother Liu, so they wouldn’t be discussing anything else anytime soon.
Very soon, Qi Zheng came into the side room, seeing the grave expression on his fourth daughter-in-law’s face, his heart skipped a beat.
"Meng Niang, what happened?"
Qi Zheng sat down opposite Yi Meng.
Yi Meng glanced at Qi Quanjin who had followed them over, and said, "Brother Jin, you go watch the door, don’t let anyone come in, I have something important to discuss with father."
"Alright."
Qi Quanjin obediently went to guard the door.
With no outsiders present, Yi Meng told her father-in-law what her daughter had just said.
Her father-in-law was the most respected person in the family, and the one who most believed in their daughter’s uniqueness.
Hopefully, he could find a way to deal with this!
After Yi Meng finished recounting, Qi Zheng furrowed his brows without speaking, instead reaching for the tobacco pipe at his waist.
The shock this matter brought him was enormous; he needed some quiet time to think about how to handle it.
Qi Manman looked at her silent grandfather, then at her solemn-faced mother, blinked her eyes, and suddenly said, "Grandpa, will our family start selling corn seeds next year? When the autumn harvest comes, will Manbao get to eat lots and lots of corn?"
Qi Zheng didn’t quite grasp the meaning of his granddaughter’s words, but still nodded: "Yes, when autumn comes next year, Manbao can eat as much corn as she wants."
Both Qi Zheng and the entire Qi family were willing to satisfy their granddaughter’s wishes as much as possible.
On the side, Yi Meng suddenly slammed the table.
It wasn’t hard, nor loud, but it still startled the grandfather and granddaughter.
Realizing what she did, Yi Meng quickly patted her daughter’s head and smiled at Qi Zheng, saying, "Father, we have a way!"
"What way?"
Qi Zheng’s eyes lit up as well.
If the fourth daughter-in-law says there’s a way, then it must be a really good way.
"Brother Jin, come over here!"
Yi Meng did not hurry to elaborate on the method but called Qi Quanjin over.
Qi Quanjin sat aside, waiting for his wife to speak.
Yi Meng said, "Brother Jin, you go with Brother Liu to the county government later, and say that our village will start publicly selling corn seeds next year, and provide free teaching on how to cultivate them."
"Huh?"
Qi Quanjin looked at his wife in confusion: "You brought our father over just to say this?"
Yi Meng looked toward her father-in-law, who helplessly shook his head and explained Yi Meng’s purpose of making such arrangements.
Qi Quanjin was even more surprised: "No, father, why would the Lord County Magistrate protect the bad people of Weston Village at this point? Brother Liu said..."
"Just do as you’re told. If you can’t understand, just listen to your wife!"
Qi Zheng didn’t want to explain much further.
He also didn’t want to believe it, but since it was his precious granddaughter who said it, he had no choice but to believe it!
Yi Meng added, "Brother Jin, tell the Lord County Magistrate that the money we earn from selling seeds, apart from normal taxes, will have two-tenths given to the county government for the development of our county."
"Wife..."
Qi Quanjin didn’t know how to refute this.
Yi Meng paid no mind to his bewilderment, continued, "This will last for three years. After three years, if people are still willing to buy seeds from our village, we’ll continue to do so. But if no one buys, then it will be over."
"Moreover, if our village has other good seeds to sell in the future, they will follow the same standard."
Having said this, Yi Meng looked towards Qi Zheng: "Father, we should send a gift!"
Qi Zheng thought for a moment, then shook his head: "No, we won’t send gifts. Fourth son, mention the imperial awarded plaque when you talk to the county magistrate. If there’s another good thing like this, just hang it in the county government, unless it specifically has our village’s name on it."
Though no gifts were given, this gesture was heavier than any gift could be.
Seeing the attitudes of both his father and wife, Qi Quanjin raised no more questions, immediately nodded, and went to find Liu Qinghe.
Liu Qinghe found it odd to meet the county magistrate at this time, but he didn’t ask much, finished his bowl of noodles, and directly took Qi Quanjin to the county government.
At this time, in the county government’s backyard, in Hu Kaicheng’s study, Hu Kaicheng finally made a difficult decision.
This matter could not be blown out of proportion and must be resolved as discreetly as possible.
Even though he knew doing so would displease the people of Yongping Village, he had no choice, the core of this matter, he really couldn’t handle.
Just as he resolved to do this, he heard a servant report that Liu Qinghe was seeking an audience.
Thinking Liu Qinghe had discovered something new about the case, Hu Kaicheng was concerned that ignoring it might affect his subsequent arrangements, so he asked the servants to bring him to the study in the backyard.
Upon seeing who came, Hu Kaicheng’s heart skipped a beat.
Why does the village chief of Yongping Village follow him?
Although he was shocked and nervous, Hu Kaicheng kept his surface calm and smiled.
Regardless, since the person was already here, he couldn’t just send him away now!
