Keys and Promissory Notes

An Ziran returned to the An Family's main residence. He had only been sitting in the study for a moment when Steward Su came looking for him.

The moment he entered, he saw Steward Su's face full of worry. "Young Master, are you really going to do this?"

He had already heard about what had happened at the grain shop that morning. He had followed An Changfu for over twenty years and understood the An Family's affairs better than anyone. The An Family's promissory notes had been piling up for more than a decade. Nearly ninety percent of the farmers in Anyuan County had borrowed grain or silver from the An Family. Added together, the debts were no small sum. If they gave them all up at once, the An Family would lose a tremendous amount of silver.

"Steward, I've already made my decision." An Ziran set down the account book in his hand.

"But... if the late master knew in the afterlife... And they're only a few rabble, Young Master, there's really no need..." Steward Su's face was filled with hesitation. He knew how much the late master valued those promissory notes. With them, the An Family had the farmers of Anyuan County firmly in its grasp, and those farmers could create even more wealth for the family.

An Ziran raised a hand to stop him. He understood what the steward meant. "Even without them, I would have decided to do this long ago. You don't need to say any more." The moment he saw the An Family's mess of accounts, he knew this had to be done.

Which would live longer: a wealthy but heartless man hated by the people, or a merchant praised by all and supported by the people?

Without a doubt, the latter!

An Ziran came from the twenty-first century. He understood this point perfectly well. Besides, there were many ways to create wealth. Now that the An Family had fallen into his hands, there was no need to keep walking An Changfu's old road, nor would he allow it.

On the contrary, he felt that An Changfu ought to be thankful he had died early. Otherwise, his eventual fate certainly would not have been pleasant. It was already clear from Da Ya's national conditions that the An Family had to change.

"Steward, bring out all of the An Family's promissory notes. I want to take stock of them. Also, call Su Zi over." An Ziran put away the account book and instructed him. The promissory notes were stored in the cellar.

Seeing how resolute he was, Steward Su knew he could not persuade him. Though he had tried to talk him out of it just now, the Young Master's decision actually made him breathe easier. Over the years, he had seen far too many farmers persecuted by the late master, and his conscience had never been at peace. He had once tried to persuade the late master, but after being warned, he had lowered his banners and silenced his drums.

Father and son quickly carried over the chest. It was large and heavy, requiring both of them to lift it.

Steward Su then said, "Young Master, the late master kept the key to this chest. Only he had it. This old servant does not know where the late master put it."

The words had barely left his mouth when he saw a key in An Ziran's hand.

The study had been An Changfu's forbidden ground. Even his several concubines had normally been forbidden from entering, which showed how important it was. Important things were generally hidden in the study. For An Ziran, finding a key in an ancient man's room was as easy as turning over his hand, so he had found it while the steward was away moving the chest of promissory notes.

An Ziran opened the chest with the key. Inside were stack after stack of promissory notes, countless in number. The An Family truly deserved its reputation as a landlord; the notes were too numerous to count. These things alone were enough to squander away for several years.

"Sort these promissory notes and put them away properly. Put the grain loans together, and make another pile for silver loans. Also, I need..." An Ziran carried a stack of black-and-white promissory notes to the desk as he instructed Steward Su and his son, who were standing blankly nearby.

Only then did father and son come back to their senses.

There were too many promissory notes, and An Changfu had not deliberately sorted them in the first place. It took them more than an hour to finish organizing them. However, aside from separating them, An Ziran also specifically examined the details of every note.

Not long afterward, Steward Feng sent someone over to report the situation.

After An Ziran left the grain shop that morning, the rabble had ultimately dispersed.

Although most of them did not believe his words, they were also afraid of ending up behind bars. Even though that short man had kept fanning the flames, they were ultimately just farmers—timid and unable to gamble with their lives.

The short man had no choice but to leave as well, unaware that he had already been marked. Steward Feng's men followed him the whole way and finally confirmed that An Changde was the one pulling the strings behind the scenes.

An Changde had intended to stir up great chaos, only for An Ziran to ruin it. Three days, was it? Then he would wait and see whether An Ziran was truly willing to give up so many promissory notes. That was all gleaming white silver—he refused to believe anyone in this world could be so generous!