Chapter 90: Drama 2/3

As soon as Jin Xiaoye entered, the shopkeeper Shen, greeted them with a smile. However, when he approached, he saw Zhao Sanni and the five men behind Jin Xiaoye, including Jin Xiaoshu.

The smile on shopkeeper Shen’s face disappeared instantly.

Ignoring him, Jin Xiaoye led the group inside.

The shop was a bit remote, but it was quite spacious. There were many coffins inside, and not only that, but the shop also had two floors and a backyard!

In addition to being used for business, this shop could also accommodate a family.

Jin Xiaoye said to Zhao Sanni, “Auntie Zhao, this shop is good.”

“Yes, this shop is excellent.”

“How much is the rent?” Jin Xiaoye asked.

Zhao Sanni replied, “Thirty-two taels of silver per year.”

Nowadays, renting a boat in the county would cost a tael of silver per year. Considering the size of this house, thirty-two taels of silver per year was really not expensive.

But bargaining was still necessary: “Can it be cheaper?”

Zhao Sanniang said, “How about twenty-five taels of silver per year?”

Such a good bargain? Jin Xiaoye looked at Zhao Sanni in surprise.

Zhao Sanni looked at Jin Xiaoye hopefully.

Originally, their shop could be rented for thirty taels of silver per year, but because shopkeeper Shen was her husband’s disciple, her husband hoped that shopkeeper Shen would take care of their family in the future. So, the shop was rented to shopkeeper Shen for twenty-five taels of silver per year.

Who would have thought that shopkeeper Shen would only give them twenty taels of silver per year for various reasons?

Their family had to pay a lot of money to rent a house in the county, plus living expenses… it simply wasn’t enough!

Jin Xiaoye said, “Then it’s settled, twenty-five taels per year!”

Shopkeeper Shen didn’t say anything at first, but when he heard the conversation between Jin Xiaoye and Zhao Sanni, he immediately said, “What are you talking about?”

“Nothing; the landlord rented this shop to me,” Jin Xiaoye said.

“This is my shop. Why did he rent it to you?” Shopkeeper Shen retorted.

“Your shop? Do you have a deed?” Jin Xiaoye asked.

“This shop was given to me by my master. It’s my shop!” Shopkeeper Shen said.

“When did your father give you the shop?” Zhao Sanni asked.

“My master gave me the shop in the beginning, and I paid for it. There’s a contract as proof!” Shopkeeper Shen argued.

“You’re talking nonsense. That contract only gave you the wooden materials in the shop!” Zhao Sanni countered.

The two sides argued like this, and Jin Xiaoye roughly understood the situation.

When Zhao Sanni’s father gave the shop to shopkeeper Shen, he wrote a contract stating that the things in the shop were worth one hundred and twenty taels of silver, which he gave to shopkeeper Shen.

At that time, Shopkeeper Shen had no money, and Zhao Sanni’s father-in-law asked him to pay later when he earned money.

As a result, not to mention the money, shopkeeper Shen didn’t even want to pay the rent!

Even

Forget it; now Shopkeeper Shen says that the original contract was for him to sell the shopfront for one hundred and twenty taels of silver, and he even produced some receipts signed by the Yang family when he paid the rent, saying that the one hundred and twenty taels of silver had already been given, so now the shop was his.

Zhao Sanni’s face changed drastically.

She had hoped to reclaim the one hundred and twenty taels of silver after Jin Xiaoye rented the shop, but who would have thought that this person in front of her would be so shameless…

“My father treated you so well…” Zhao Sanni struggled to speak after a long time.

Shopkeeper Shen sneered, showing a disdainful look.

Jin Xiaoye said, “Shopkeeper Shen, your master treated you with great kindness, yet you scheme to take away his family’s business. Aren’t you afraid of retribution?”

“What kindness? He just treated me like a little worker to boss around? And he expects me to support his stupid son and grandson for a lifetime!” Shopkeeper Shen chuckled coldly.

Everyone says his master treated him well, owed him gratitude, and urged him to repay his master… He had been working hard with his master since he was a teenager, but after twenty years of hard work, he was still constantly scolded.

And now they say they’ll give him the shop, but in the end, he has to pay for the things inside the shop, and he has to pay rent for the shop too.

Does he have to support that family for a lifetime?

Zhao Sanni said, “You… you…”

Jin Xiaoye looked at Zhao Sanni. “Aunt Zhao, this person is crooked from the core. Since he’s like this, why not report him to the authorities?”

“Report to the authorities? You go ahead and report! Even if it’s the county magistrate, he can’t take away my shop with a clear contract.” Innkeeper Shen looked confident.

The original contract was written by him with a little manipulation.

His master intended to sell him the unsold coffins and wood in the shop for one hundred and twenty taels, but he changed it to selling the shop to him.

With the contract, even the county magistrate couldn’t do anything to him!

Moreover, this matter might not even escalate to the county magistrate’s attention. With a little money, he could settle it with the lower-ranking officials and yamen runners.

Of course, shopkeeper Shen didn’t want it to escalate. He softened his tone and said to Zhao Sanni, “Sister-in-law, it’s better for you not to make a fuss about this matter. As long as you don’t make trouble, I will still support Master’s retirement. Rent in the city is expensive. You can move to the countryside. I will give you ten taels of silver a year. How about it?”

Zhao Sanni was already at a loss. At this moment, Li Qingzhi walked in from outside the door and said, “You only said you would support your master in his old age… but after your master passes away, will you still give them those ten taels of silver?”

Upon hearing these words, shopkeeper Shen felt a bit embarrassed and angry. He was about to explode, but he saw that the person who came this time was even more formidable than Jin Xiaoye.

Jin Xiaoye was only accompanied by a few men, but this person had a government official behind him!

Seeing those government officials, Shopkeeper Shen couldn’t muster his anger anymore.

After Jin Xiaoye and the others entered the house just now, Li Qingzhi inquired about Shopkeeper Shen’s situation with the neighbors.

This Shopkeeper Shen… was probably a case of “malice from the one who received help.”

This was a common situation where most people, after helping others, expected gratitude in return, but sometimes the recipients didn’t respond with gratitude but with strong malice.

In fact, if it weren’t for Shopkeeper Yang, Shopkeeper Shen would probably have starved to death on the streets long ago. Shopkeeper Yang picked him up, raised him, and even taught him a craft.

According to people around, Shopkeeper Yang treated Innkeeper Shen like his own son, wholeheartedly caring for him and even arranged a marriage for him.

Unfortunately, the more Shopkeeper Yang helped Shopkeeper Shen, the more malicious Shopkeeper Shen became towards him.

Five years ago, after obtaining the shop, Shopkeeper Shen, who used to be very courteous to Shopkeeper Yang, no longer paid any attention to him. Not only that, he divorced his wife, who had borne children for him, and was planning to marry another woman.

Actually, the people nearby looked down on Shopkeeper Shen, but since it didn’t concern them, most people wouldn’t confront Shopkeeper Shen for the sake of Shopkeeper Yang.

At most, they would just ignore Shopkeeper Shen and his family.

When Li Qingzhi learned about this situation and was silently lamenting Shopkeeper Shen’s shamelessness, the person who had been following him all along came out. Surprisingly, it was several government officials.

Those government officials had a “coincidental” appearance, as if they had casually encountered him and were asking if he needed help…

Of course, he would ask for help. Li Qingzhi then led them into the shop.

After looking at Zhao Sanni and then at Shopkeeper Shen, Li Qingzhi said, “I think it’s better to report this matter to the authorities.”

He had originally thought that this matter with Shopkeeper Yang was just a case of a disrespectful apprentice owing rent. He had thought to help Zhao Sanni drive away this apprentice and recover the shop, but he hadn’t expected this apprentice to also owe Shopkeeper Yang one hundred and twenty taels of silver and even intend to usurp the shop.