Farming: I dressed up as a widow and beat my parents-in-law violently

Yan Xia's nails tapped on the table, making a "dong dong dong" sound.

"Then give it. Brother Deng's shop's revenue is better than mine. It's only a thousand taels. It won't take long to make it back. It's not good to stay in jail like this all the time."

"I gave it this time, but what about next time? Their Wang family's money has been spent. Do you think there will be no second or even third time in the future?" Zhu Changji naturally understands what Yan Xia can understand.

"Then what should we do? Spend more money to bribe officials?"

"No, the official has something to do with the Wang family. How is it different from spending a thousand taels to bribe him? We still have to find a way to avoid future troubles."

Yan Xia thought.

Zhu Changji also fell silent.

After a while, Yan Xia slowly spoke. "Shopkeeper Zhu, do you know the magistrate? Can you tell me?"

"The county magistrate's name is Xu Wenyan. He is a border official. He has only one son named Xu Jiahao. He lives with his mother, wife and children in Xu Mansion on another street. He rarely goes to the county government office to live there. After all, it is small and shabby. Don't you think so? You know, I heard from the craftsmen that the Xu Mansion is more luxurious than the palace. It has more than three entrances, not to mention four. It is served by hundreds of maids, all of them as beautiful as flowers. There is also a sister in Xu Zhi County who lives far away in the border. I don’t know. Occasionally, the county magistrate mentioned to others that every year when merchants in Jiangnan County pay taxes, Xuzhi County will hold a banquet, which is comparable to the Hongmen Banquet. Everyone has to give a gift, and the gift money is almost over. Half of the tax every year....

Everyone knows that Xuzhi County is corrupt, but who dares to accuse him? There used to be a shopkeeper who opened a condiment shop. He was overwhelmed and went to the governor of Jiangnan Province to sue him. Do you know what happened to him later? "

Zhu Changji lowered his voice, with fear in his eyes.

"how's it going?"

Yan Xia asked back.

"The night he just returned to Jiangnan County, his house caught fire. No one survived. According to insiders, the cause of death of the body was not burns at all, but stab wounds! There was a blood mark on everyone's neck, including the infant child. , and the birdcage hanging on the tree, the bird inside was split into two, but the magistrate was not punished by the governor. This matter is like a grain of dust falling into water, without making any waves. "

Yan Xia was horrified. "You mean, the county magistrate is colluding with the governor?"

"Shh, you must not tell anyone about this, otherwise our lives will be in danger. Shopkeeper Yan, you also know my character. I treat you as a good friend, but you must not betray me."

Zhu Changji was a little scared. He was always warm-hearted and quick-tongued.

He doesn't want to destroy the family.

"How could I possibly sell you? We are our own people. If there is anything else, please tell me."

Yan Xia patted his arm and comforted him, saying that shopkeeper Zhu had really eaten a lot of meat, and his arms felt "duangduang" because they were so elastic.

"Tomorrow is the birthday of the magistrate's mother. If you want to gain connections with the magistrate, you can go to the banquet. However, the ceremony must be valuable and please the old lady. Although the magistrate is greedy for money, he is protective and filial. One more thing, you When attending a banquet, it is best to dress up and look ugly and older. The magistrate loves women and..."

Zhu Changji was a little embarrassed to speak.

He took a sip of tea and coughed twice. "Ahem, Xuzhi County is also very masculine... So Shopkeeper Yan, you have a good appearance, and it is very likely that you will be noticed by the magistrate. It will be difficult to escape when the time comes, and don't take Jinyu to the banquet, lest he... ..cough cough cough.”

"I came alone this time. Jinyu is in Shuangqiao Town. By the way, can I go in without an invitation?"

Yan Xia thought to herself, it's a good thing she didn't bring Jin Yu with her.

Otherwise, when he hears these words, he must go.

"Yes, as long as you bring a gift, you can get in. Who would mind having more money, right?"

Yan Xia frowned. Xuzhi County is really 'filial'. Is this a birthday party for his mother, or is he trying to make money. "By the way, I have a question. Since he is greedy, why don't you just keep a yin and yang ledger? If you pay less tax, you won't be so stressed."

"You have seen how many shops there are in the city. You know which ones have good business and which ones have bad business. If your forged account books are too exaggerated and your enemy accuses you, then Magistrate Xu will send someone to check you. No. It's okay to find out. If found out, haha, I'll peel off the skin for you. It's not like no one has imitated it in the past years. Good guy, someone reported it. After it was found out, the shop was closed down and he was imprisoned. His daughter was also arrested. The magistrate's son was crying, and the little girl couldn't think about it. A rope was hung on the tree, and it just disappeared. It can be said that the family was ruined, so since the difference is not big, there is no need to risk the Yin and Yang ledger. "

Zhu Changji explained.

"We are all in business, who is stupider than the other? Of course we have tried the method you suggested, Shopkeeper Yan, but the fact is that it doesn't work."

"No wonder... By the way, do you know what Mrs. Xu likes?" Yan Xia asked him.

"Xu Zhixian was born in an ordinary way. A few years ago, Mrs. Xu became a widow again, so Mrs. Xu also suffered a lot. She loved sweets the most. Mrs. Xu's personal maid came to me many times to buy cakes. I heard that Xuzhi County refused to give her food, saying it was bad for her health, so Mrs. Xu could only ask her maid to buy it secretly."

Favorite sweet tooth?

Yan Xia gave a sinister smile.

Isn't this delivered to your door?

Her smile made Zhu Changji tremble and get goosebumps all over his body. "Shopkeeper Yan, what evil move have you come up with?"

"You'll know when the time comes." Yan Xia didn't tell him.

Leave Zhu Changji's shop.

Yan Xia went to find Xin Bao and felt relieved when he heard that Deng Qiuzhi was fine.

Yan Xia went to buy materials again, and it was already dark when she returned to the house.

She was going to make a birthday cake for Mrs. Xu.

The cakes were originally scheduled to be sold by appointment in Jiangnan County on July 1st, but half of the cake chefs she selected were not available, so Yan Xia simply pushed the sales period to the end of the month.

In order to avoid dissatisfying customers and having a bad impact on the shop, she would rather make money later.

So Jiangnan County has not eaten the cakes she made until now.

Since the cake can help her get in touch with Lu Zhixian in Shuangqiao Town, it can also help her get in touch with Xuzhi County.

Don’t you like money?

Then she will make a beautiful, healthy and expensive cake!

That night, Yan Xia stayed up all night.

It wasn't until the morning that the birthday cake was all finished, with two layers in total.

The first layer is an ornamental cake, which is not edible. There are eight gold ingots, each worth 200 taels, which is almost taels of silver. There is a bamboo slice in the middle of the cake with congratulations written on it. If you pull it up, you will see the world below.

The second layer is a cake for eating, in the shape of a birthday peach. Yan Xia also made two cranes with sugar and inserted them on top, decorated with colors, just like living creatures. As long as they are pulled out, the remaining cake can be cut. have eaten.