Jin Shanyao, gesturing for Zhou Xiaosi to open the door.
The gate opened, and a man with his hands in his pockets, his eyebrows and eyes covered with frost, appeared. He looked through the crack in the door and immediately spotted Monkey Treasure's tail.
" Monkey Treasure, you've sneaked out to play again! Get out here..."
The Monkey Treasure was so frightened that it shrank behind the Jin Shanyao, its body trembling uncontrollably, and it didn't even have the courage to look at the man.
Jin Shanyao said calmly, "How much is this monkey? I'll buy it."
The man recognized Meng Anci standing beside him and suddenly smiled, "Miss, you don't know, this Monkey Treasure has been with me for many years, I can't bear to part with it..."
Fifty taels.
The man's heart skipped a beat, and he suppressed his joy, "It's not about the money... Monkey Treasure is like my child, how could I sell him!"
Jin Shanyao glanced at him indifferently, "Forty taels."
The man choked, thinking, "This girl probably can't understand human language." "I mean, Monkey Treasure is very important to me, I need more money! I can't sell it for fifty taels..."
Thirty taels.
"Oh, you..." The man scratched his head anxiously, wanting to take the Monkey Treasure but reluctant to part with the money, which was fifty taels! If it were exchanged for copper coins, it could cover the entire kang (heated brick bed).
"Miss, fifty taels really won't do..."
Twenty taels.
Twenty taels? The man's vision blurred, and he angrily shouted, "Are you kidding me? I'm not selling it anymore... Give me back my Monkey Treasure!"
"Oh." Jin Shanyao her head, stepping aside to let Monkey Treasure pass. "Then you can take him with you."
The man stood frozen in place, glancing at the Monkey Treasure, then at the unyielding Jin Shanyao, and finally at his own hands, which were covered in chilblains.
With a steely resolve, he forced out through gritted teeth, "Fine... twenty taels."
Jin Shanyao to Meng Anci and said, "Go and write a contract. It should state: 'This is a voluntary sale; the seller is responsible for any injuries or illnesses; payment is made upon delivery; there is no possibility of reneging.'"
The man chuckled awkwardly, "Only twenty taels? It can't be that bad..."
The Jin Shanyao, "If you don't want to sign, that's fine. But if it runs away and hurts someone, I'll have the other party come after you for compensation."
The man thought to himself, "I'm always traveling, where are you going to find me? This girl really knows how to scare people."
He still smiled and said, "Look at what you're saying, I'll sign it, okay?" He pressed his thumb into the inkpad, then pressed his fingerprint on the paper, and wrote his name in a crooked hand.
After the matter was settled, Jin Shanyao handed him a twenty-tael silver note, "You can go now."
"Hey, hey, hey..." The man, holding the silver notes, bowed and scraped as he left the courtyard. Only after the gate closed did he suddenly realize, "Wait a minute, he was doing legal business, why should he be bowing and scraping?"
The man straightened his back and walked towards the inn with an extremely cheerful mood.
He planned to pack his valuables, first buy three catties of meat for his mother, then buy a piece of red cloth for his wife, and then use the twenty taels to buy some land in the spring.
He didn't go anywhere; he just stayed home with his wife and children, tending the fields. As he thought about it, he chuckled to himself... He never imagined a monkey would be worth twenty taels of silver, almost as expensive as an ox.
He couldn't help but envy Jin Shanyao. It's so good to be rich; you can buy whatever you want. He wanted to cultivate more land and earn more money...
Anzhi Hall and her group surrounded the Monkey Treasure, examining it closely. "Auntie... shouldn't we take off the chains?"
Jin Shanyao his head and straightened the iron ring around Monkey Treasure's neck with his bare hands... Monkey Treasure stared wide-eyed in shock, realizing that the gods were so strong.
Jin Shanyao tossed the iron chain aside, pointed at Meng Anzhi, and said to Monkey Treasure, "Remember, I'll only say this once... If you dare touch her, you're dead."
Then, pointing at Meng Anci, "Bump... die..."
Pointing at Qing Yang, "Bang... die..."
Pointing at Qing He, "Bang... die..."
Pointing at Zhou Xiaosi, "Bang... die..."
Monkey Treasure's mind was filled with thoughts of "touch... die... touch... die... touch... die..." until she pointed at the cats and dogs and laughed, "You can touch them."
Monkey Treasure swallowed hard. It knew... No matter who it touched, it was doomed... Understandable, after all, it had come here to escape.
Meng Anzhi smiled and said, "Auntie, how about I apply some medicine to it first?"
"You can go, right..."
With their approval, Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci led the Monkey Treasure to the pharmacy with great curiosity. They gave it a full-body examination and found that it only had superficial injuries before they began to apply medicine.
"Good Monkey Treasure, raise your arms," Meng Anzhi said. The Monkey Treasure jumped in fright and instinctively raised both arms.
Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci exclaimed in surprise, "It can really understand human speech! That's amazing!"
Monkey Treasure watched the two warily, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Meng Anzhi sprinkling medicine on his wound. So she was going to apply medicine.
Seeing its tense body, Meng Anzhi smiled and said, "Don't be nervous, we won't hurt you... Once you're healed, I'll take you to the mountains and let you leave, okay?"
Monkey Treasure's eyes lit up instantly as he stared at Meng Anzhi in disbelief. She was going to let him go... Could she really make that decision? Would any deity really let him leave?
Meng Anci stared at its paw. "It's covered in blood; it must have scratched itself while running."
Meng Anzhi handed him a bottle of medicine. "This is to stop the bleeding. Sprinkle it on."
Monkey Treasure watched the two children applying medicine to it... and felt a strange pang of sadness in his heart. Humans aren't all bad guys.
After the siblings finished applying the medicine to the Monkey Treasure, they put it in a separate room.
As they came out of the house, they saw Qing He waiting outside. "Miss, Young Master, the master wants to see you in the study."
Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci exchanged a glance, washed their hands, and headed towards the study.
"Auntie, did you call us?"
Jin Shanyao for the two to sit down and briefly recounted the events at the First Manor. Meng Anzhi's face darkened. "How despicable... I had no idea our manor had produced such a traitor."
Meng Anci frowned slightly, " Feng Shun... this man cannot be allowed to live."
Jin Shanyao said calmly, " Feng Shun will naturally be sold, but before that... let's make an example of him, so everyone on the estate knows that although we're not here, we're fully aware of what's going on here."
Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci answered simultaneously, "To uphold justice and enforce the law."
Jin Shanyao. "Handle this matter according to your plan, and write a letter to Tao Yunshan. I'll have Qing Yang deliver it."
Upon hearing this, the two returned to their desks, picked up their pens, and wrote down their solutions. A moment later, they submitted them to Jin Shanyao, Jin Shanyao and stuffed them into an envelope.
He summoned Qing Yang and handed her the letter. "Go to the First Manor in person and do two things. First, deliver a letter to Tao Yunshan. There are two methods; let him choose one. Tell him not to be afraid, that I'll take care of everything."
Second, find the indentures of Feng Shun and the other servants and keep them with you. After Tao Yunshan divides the group, you should step forward and sell those people according to the law.
For the rest, just tell them that Anzhi Hall has just bought four mountains and is in need of manpower. Tell them to work hard and strive to become the manager of the family business. They will not be shortchanged in terms of money.
If they save enough money, they can redeem themselves at any time... Anzhi Hall will never raise the price arbitrarily; those who bought them for a certain amount will be redeemed for the same amount.
Qing Yang: "Okay... I'll take care of it right away."
Jin Shanyao called out to her, "Once you've finished your business, stay home for the New Year."
"Rest assured, Master... With such a serious matter occurring at the estate, I will handle it properly and return to report as soon as possible."