Chen Xiaobei called Cui Hongyu and Chen Qiaoer over as well, to inspect the work together.
It was evident that Li Dong and his crew had put genuine effort into it; all the details were meticulously handled, and even the inconspicuous corners were neat and tidy.
Cui Hongyu also nodded repeatedly, completely satisfied with everything.
Chen Xiaobei surveyed the surroundings. Now that the courtyard walls were raised, the only thing that looked a bit out of place was the main gate.
"Brother Li Dong, I'd like to have this main gate dismantled and rebuilt. What do you think?"
"Certainly, that's an easy matter. We'll start today and finish it by tomorrow."
"However, you'll need to find Master Zhang the carpenter to make two new gates."
Chen Xiaobei nodded, this was no problem. He had already commissioned Zhang to build his bed and wouldn't mind adding two more gates.
After the discussion, just as Li Dong was gathering his men to start dismantling the gate, Chen Dayong sidled up to Chen Xiaobei, grinning, "Captain, can I discuss something with you?"
Seeing Chen Dayong's smile, Chen Xiaobei felt an inexplicable tightening in his chest; it was likely no good news.
As expected, before he could speak, Chen Dayong continued, "Captain, I want to grow vegetables too. Can you give me some seeds?"
Damn, that's what it was.
Chen Xiaobei hadn't expected Li Dong to leak the information. But then again, there was nothing inherently wrong with it being revealed, as he hadn't asked them to keep it a secret.
However, this time, he truly couldn't agree to Chen Dayong's request, because there were no more seeds left. Apart from those he had planted himself, all the rest had been given to Li Dong.
"Brother Dayong, it's fine if you want to grow vegetables, but the seeds are all gone. I'll buy some more for you when I go to town next time."
Chen Dayong nodded and took out five large coins from his pocket. "Is this enough?"
"It's not about whether it's enough or not. You can buy more if you have more money, less if you have less. But let's be clear from the start..." Chen Xiaobei knew that the villagers needed to understand the risks, not just see the benefits.
"Right now, the price of leafy greens is one coin per jin, but this isn't fixed. I don't know what the price will be when they're harvested, so you need to be mentally prepared."
This was clearly unexpected for Chen Dayong. He paused for a moment, then grinned, "It's alright, it's alright. More profit is good, less profit is also fine. It's just to supplement household expenses."
This made things much easier. He had clearly explained the risks.
What surprised Chen Xiaobei was that over the course of the afternoon, three or four more craftsmen found opportunities to approach him, expressing their desire to learn vegetable cultivation from him.
Of course, "learning vegetable cultivation" was merely an excuse. What they were most interested in, implicitly, was for Chen Xiaobei to help them with sales.
This wasn't a problem for Chen Xiaobei. Whether it was one sheep or two, the effort was the same. He would have to go to town to sell vegetables anyway.
As night fell, the sound of hurried horseshoes echoed. He Lao Qi had arrived, accompanied by the village head, Zhao Chunqiang.
Upon seeing Chen Xiaobei, He Lao Qi gently thumped his shoulder.
"Brother Xiaobei, your courtyard walls are quite impressive."
This was a gesture of closeness, a genuine warmth. The onlookers were envious.
Captain Xiaobei is truly remarkable, being on familiar terms with the county's constable.
Village head Zhao Chunqiang also stepped forward, cupping his fist in greeting to Chen Xiaobei. "Brother Chen, congratulations, congratulations!"
Chen Xiaobei looked at him, utterly bewildered.
Seeing that he hadn't yet recovered his senses, He Lao Qi, standing nearby, chuckled, "Brother Xiaobei, from now on, you are the Lizhang of Hetou Village. It's already been registered with the county magistrate."
Zhao Chunqiang, beside him, quickly added, "Yes, yes. If Constable He hadn't strongly recommended you, I wouldn't have known that Hetou Village had such a talented leader like Brother Chen."
That wasn't all. Zhao Chunqiang turned to the craftsmen in the courtyard and shouted loudly, "Listen up, everyone! From now on, Chen Xiaobei is the Lizhang of Hetou Village."
The crowd erupted in cheers once more.
Chen Xiaobei waved modestly to everyone, gesturing for them to continue their work, then invited He Lao Qi and Zhao Chunqiang to the west courtyard for tea.
Zhao Chunqiang took out writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone from his bundle and had Chen Xiaobei sign the relevant documents. Once all the procedures were completed, he said seriously, "Oh, right. The village's donkey cart and plow ox will be under your management from now on. I've already spoken with Chen Ping, and they'll be temporarily housed at his place. You can move them over once your courtyard is tidied up."
Chen Xiaobei finally came to his senses. Yes, the Great Cang Kingdom provided each village with a donkey cart and a plow ox.
However, when Chen Anbang was the Lizhang, Chen Xiaobei's family never got to use the donkey cart or the plow ox.
Now that they were all under his management, it was an unexpected surprise.
"Also, Brother Xiaobei, according to the laws of our Great Cang Kingdom, you cannot hold both the positions of Lizhang and Village Guard Captain."
This was unexpected for Chen Xiaobei. Since he couldn't do both, he decided to give up the Village Guard Captain position. But, to be honest, Chen Xiaobei rather liked the role of captain.
Of course, he had a suitable candidate for captain: Li Dong.
Li Dong could organize manpower for tasks and had prestige among the villagers.
In truth, Dachun would have been the most suitable captain. But thinking of Dachun, Chen Xiaobei sighed again. Perhaps he would see him again in the not-too-distant future.
He waited until Zhao Chunqiang had arranged everything before He Lao Qi slowly spoke, "Brother Xiaobei, the case of Cui Banxian has concluded. The situation is more serious than you imagined."
"He has been coveting the property of Cui Fugui from their village, yes, that's Cui Hongyu's father."
"He devised a grand scheme. First, he instigated Chen Anbang to have his grandson, Chen Ping, marry Cui Hongyu. After seizing Cui family's assets, they planned to sell Cui Hongyu to the Hundred Flower House in the city."
"And he, under the guise of helping the Chen family resolve their calamities, intended to find ways to trick the money into his own hands."
"Also, Cui Hongyu's previous few husbands were all killed by him, either openly or secretly."
"They also intended to harm you. They didn't expect you to successfully resolve the crisis, which led to an internal conflict between the two. He took drastic action and used snakes to bite Chen Anbang to death."
Listening to this, Chen Xiaobei felt a cold sweat trickle down his spine.
If those snakes had been placed at his courtyard entrance, where would he have found a way to survive?
"Was the matter of the snakes clarified? Are there any more at his home?"
He Lao Qi nodded. "I came here for that very reason. He said there's a vat behind his house, and he keeps bamboo pit vipers in it."
"He bought these snakes at a high price from a traveling monk, which means he had been planning this conspiracy for a long time."
Indeed, to achieve his goals, he didn't hesitate to disregard human life. This Cui Banxian was truly hateful.
No, not just hateful; such a person deserves a thousand cuts and it still wouldn't be enough.