Chapter 49: Someone’s Here to Smash and Rob

Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Someone’s Here to Smash and Rob

Zhen Jili saw his chance and decided to strike while the iron was hot.

"In any case, you have to take these fifty taels. If you don’t, it means you have ill intentions and just want to see me suffer!"

Ji Huan shot him a speechless glance but didn’t say anything more.

Zhen Jili let out a long sigh of relief and slumped unceremoniously onto the table. "Good heavens, anyone would think I was here to borrow money—like, eight hundred or a thousand taels—and you turned me down."

Seeing that Ji Huan had taken the silver but said nothing further, Zhen Jili glanced her way once, then again, and finally couldn’t hold back any longer.

"Hey, I came all this way. Aren’t you going to offer me some hospitality?"

"Oh, I thought you wouldn’t be able to stomach anything I served in a place this ’shabby.’"

’She’s using my own words against me. Just as they say, women and petty men are truly hard to deal with.’

Zhen Jili grumbled to himself, but he didn’t dare say his thoughts out loud. He was genuinely intimidated by Ji Huan’s sharp tongue now.

"What’s shabby about it? I think it’s great! Nestled by the mountains and water, it has a rustic charm. You shouldn’t sell yourself short!"

Ji Huan rolled her eyes and got up to leave the room.

Zhen Jili quickly added, "Just whip up something simple! Don’t make it too grand. I’m not a stranger... Hey, are you ignoring me?"

But he had rushed over here first thing in the morning, and his stomach was empty. He was also a little sleepy, so he just rested his head on the table and dozed off.

Ji Huan went into the kitchen and took a look around. Besides some winter melon, tomatoes, and a handful of small green vegetables, there were also a few blocks of tofu she had bought yesterday and half a basin of small yellow croakers that Dacheng and the others had caught in the river.

She couldn’t have made a grand meal even if she wanted to. But since Zhen Jili himself had said he wasn’t a stranger, she saw no need for false pleasantries.

She rinsed the rice and had just lit the fire when Dabao came over, carrying his little stool. He stared at Ji Huan without a word.

Ji Huan had no choice but to give him her spot.

Ever since one time when she was too busy and asked Dabao to help feed a few sticks of firewood into the stove, he had become obsessed with the task. Neither Dacheng nor Ximei could compete with him for the job.

Ji Huan wasn’t really comfortable letting a five-year-old manage the fire, but Dabao was so stubborn... She had to multitask, focusing on the cooking while also keeping an eye on the stove below. Thankfully, there hadn’t been any mishaps so far.

Ji Huan had just finished washing the vegetables and was about to clean the small fish when she heard someone calling from outside, "Is Miss Ji home?"

The voice didn’t sound familiar to Ji Huan, but when she washed her hands and went out to look, she immediately recognized them.

It was the manager and the clerk from Jishi Hall, along with Steward Gu, who had just been here recently.

’The two groups are here together, but they look like they want nothing to do with each other. What kind of drama is this?’

’Whatever. It can’t be good news, that’s for sure.’

Wang De and Gu Yutian stood side by side outside the wicker gate. When they saw a horse-drawn carriage already parked not far away, they exchanged a glance, their hearts pounding. ’Could they both be too late? Did someone else get here even earlier?’

Ji Huan let them into the courtyard but had no intention of inviting them into the house.

Wang De didn’t seem to mind. He had his men bring the gifts into the courtyard and line them up.

"What is all this...?"

"Miss Ji, we wouldn’t visit without a reason. My nephew here has a reckless tongue and has offended you several times. I’ve brought him here today specifically to apologize."

Wang De turned and shot Wang Shun a vicious glare. "What are you waiting for? Get over here and apologize to Miss Ji."

Compared to his second uncle, Wang Shun’s composure was clearly lacking. He couldn’t suppress the disdain on his face as he grudgingly walked over and gave Ji Huan a half-hearted bow.

His apology was so perfunctory that even Wang De couldn’t stand it. He strode forward and kicked the back of Wang Shun’s knee, catching him off guard and forcing him to his knees before Ji Huan.

"Is that how you apologize? Did you not eat this morning, or are you mute?!"

Kneeling before the country girl he despised most, Wang Shun felt the blood rush to his head. The shame was unbearable.

But he knew his second uncle was truly furious now, so he didn’t dare argue back. Gritting his teeth, he said to Ji Huan, "Miss Ji, I was wrong before. I shouldn’t have... looked down on you. Please be the bigger person and forgive my foolishness... Even if you don’t forgive me, please don’t hold a grudge against Jishi Hall."

Ji Huan glanced at him, her mind racing to decipher Wang De’s true intentions.

"Manager Wang, this is really unnecessary. Your nephew hasn’t offended me in any way. It was my own oversight to forget my money and be unable to enter Jishi Hall; I can’t blame anyone for that. As for overestimating my abilities and approaching you to discuss business... business has always been about mutual consent. The fact that you weren’t interested simply means my product wasn’t good enough, which is certainly not your fault. Besides, I sold the recipe later, so I didn’t suffer any loss. I have no reason to hold a grudge against your establishment."

Wang De and Gu Yutian were both third-level managers for the Bai Family, and they had arrived together. Wang De’s motive was obvious without even needing to guess.

Ji Huan had taken the offensive, her words completely blocking any path forward for Wang De, leaving him no opportunity to even state his purpose.

And Wang De was, indeed, speechless.

’That’s right,’ he thought. ’She came to us to discuss a partnership, and we were the ones who were too blind to see its value and rejected her. Now that she’s sold it to someone else, we can’t very well say, ’Go back on your deal! Don’t sell it to them, sell it to Jishi Hall instead...’’ Wang De really couldn’t bring himself to be that shameless.

"So it wasn’t a matter of fate, but a matter of someone being blind to the treasure right in front of them!"

Gu Yutian was gloating, while Wang De’s face turned livid with anger.

’If this man Gu reports this to Mr. Bai, and Mr. Bai finds out that he had the chance to get the hand cream recipe first but missed it for nothing...’

Ji Huan didn’t know what schemes the two were plotting. In any case, she had said all she needed to say and had no desire to play games with them any longer.

She extended her right hand in a gesture of dismissal. "My humble home is not equipped to entertain you both. Please, see yourselves out."

"Not so fast, Miss Ji." Gu Yutian strolled forward with his hands behind his back, his feet pointing outwards in an arrogant gait.

Seeing Wang De get snubbed had put him in an excellent mood, and he decided to give Ji Huan another chance.

"I know you have some misunderstandings with our Bai Family, which is why you’re holding a grudge. But silver is innocent in all this. Why hold it against silver, am I right? The price the silk workshop is offering is enough for you to buy a large mansion in Yeyang, hire a few servants, and live a life of luxury. You’d never have to toil in the fields again, and you’d have people waiting on you... Don’t you want to move out of this poor, remote backwater?"

"I don’t." Ji Huan’s answer was decisive. "This place has mountains, water, and fresh air. Why would I want to move? Business is business, but even business has its principles. My refusal to sell you the recipe has nothing to do with that nonsense with the Bai Family. I simply don’t want to violate my own principles, nor do I wish to become a shameless, despicable, and unscrupulous person."

"You!" Seeing that she was dead set on not selling the recipe and was even insulting him with veiled accusations, Gu Yutian could no longer hold back his anger.

With a single gesture, more than ten club-wielding thugs swarmed into the courtyard.

"I gave you a chance, and you threw it away! Believe it or not, if I have my men smash this place to pieces today, you’ll just have to accept your bad luck!"

Surrounded by the men, Ji Huan remained unfazed. "You seem very confident, Steward Gu. Aren’t you afraid of the law, trespassing on private property and threatening me with violence?"

"Ha!" Gu Yutian laughed as if he’d heard the funniest joke in the world. "Forget about this backwater village! Even in Yeyang County itself, I could burn your house to the ground, and you’d just have to accept it! The law? In the face of the Bai Family’s wealth and power, the law steps aside!"

His words were outrageously arrogant, but seeing that everyone else acted as if this were completely normal, it was clear that the Bai Family in Yeyang, if not able to blot out the sky with one hand, at least ran roughshod over everyone.

"Miss Ji, a wise person adapts to the circumstances. If you bow your head, admit your mistake, and obediently hand over the recipe now, I might be in a good enough mood to reward you with a few pieces of broken silver to buy flowers for your hair."

’Flowers for my hair again,’ Ji Huan thought, the corner of her mouth twitching. ’What is it with these people? Do I really look like the type who likes to wear flowers?’

"So, the subtle approach failed, and now you’re resorting to robbery in broad daylight?"

"So what if it is! Let me give you a piece of advice: my patience is limited. It’ll be too late for regrets soon!"

But instead of showing the fear and panic Gu Yutian expected, Ji Huan simply smiled at him.

"Whether I regret it isn’t important. I’m more worried that you, Steward Gu, will be the one to regret this..."