```

The servants inside and outside the house had red rims around their eyes, feeling both moved and fortunate.

The masters were approachable; as long as the servants did their duties well, they would never be beaten or mistreated, which was a blessing they must have cultivated over several lifetimes.

"Servants are servants, how can they be compared with their masters?" Xiong Wang's face turned red with anger, "Ninth Sister Yang is just a naive girl who doesn't understand the rules, do you too, having lived for so many years, not understand?"

"Since you call my Jiujiu a naive girl, why did you come looking for her in the first place?" Madam Yang Zhou said, taunting Xiong Wang sarcastically.

"You..." Xiong Wang pointed at Madam Yang Zhou, mouth agape, unable to articulate a response.

Shen Chang'an tried to mediate: "Let's talk this out calmly, don't..."

Xiong Wang, already stewing with nowhere to vent, found Shen Chang'an in his sights, and so, pointed at him and said with heartfelt pain, "I have been working my heart out for the prosperity of the villagers, and it's bad enough that the village head doesn't understand, but now he's actively obstructing me, does the village head not want the villagers to lead better lives?"

Damn Shen Chang'an, you want to be the good guy, dream on!

"Lizheng, explain yourself, when have I ever not wanted the villagers to lead better lives?" Shen Chang'an demanded, his voice tinged with anxiety and annoyance.

Usually, these dozen or so young men would follow Lizheng's orders without question, and if they went back and spread rumors, how could he continue to stay in the village?

Sure enough, one of the men began shouting loudly, "No wonder the village head refuses to come here; this is the motive he has!"

"Unable to achieve anything yourself, you even prevent Lizheng from leading us to a better life, that's too much!" another man reproached Shen Chang'an.

"Today we must make Ninth Sister Yang agree to lead us in making money and gaining wealth, or else we will stay and eat here," declared a man with a sneaky look, eyeing several young maids lustfully, imagining living in such a grand house, surrounded by beautiful maids, and suddenly feeling uncontrollably excited.

Shen Chang'an was so furious that his face turned pale, and his body trembled uncontrollably; he opened his mouth several times but couldn't utter a single word.

A glint of smugness flashed in his eyes, but Xiong Wang maintained an appearance of deep sorrow.

The mother and daughter-in-law Yang Zhou looked at Shen Chang'an with concern; after all, Shen Chang'an was a good person, and if something happened to him in the Yang family's house, they would feel guilty.

Taking advantage of the moment to pass a cup of water to Shen Chang'an, Qiao Niangzi whispered something in his ear and then returned to her place at Madam Yang Zhou's left side.

As Shen Chang'an gradually calmed down, he bowed his head and spoke no further.

Yang Mengchen nodded his head.

In the living room, Xiong Wang gestured for everyone to be quiet and, looking at the mother and daughter-in-law Zhi Yang Zhou, ordered, "If you don't let someone go fetch Ninth Sister Yang, I won't bother with you two women, just send for Yang Zhipeng now, and I'll speak directly to him."

"Everyone in the household besides us women is very busy," Madam Yang Zhou replied coldly.

The implication was, speak to us if you must; otherwise, get lost!

Xiong Wang's expression instantly darkened, and he angrily glared at Shen Qiulan, who had yet to speak: "You are a girl married out from Huangsha Village, but Shen is your surname for life; you can't just ignore your own village, right?"

"Lizheng, if you have something to say, say it plainly." Shen Qiulan understood that her mother-in-law didn't want her to speak to avoid discomfort, but now that Lizheng was approaching her directly, she had to confront it, and she also wanted to see what Lizheng truly intended.

```

Seeing Shen Qiulan being cooperative, Xiong Wang felt immensely pleased with himself, "Since you are so understanding, Lizheng won't make things difficult for you. Lizheng only has a few demands:

First, whatever the cost of the fruit tree saplings from Stone Village, you pay Lizheng the exact amount, and Lizheng himself will purchase the saplings;

Second, the Shen family must share half of the pastry sales revenue with the village every month;

Third, when villagers come over to work, you must ensure that their food and lodging are well arranged, and as for their wages, three taels of silver each month;

Fourth, when the village children come to study, you must not only waive their tuition fees but also provide for their food and accommodation, and make sure to warn those teachers to instruct them diligently;

Fifth, have Ninth Sister Yang go to Huangsha Village tomorrow, leading the villagers to wealth and prosperity;

For now, that's all. If Lizheng thinks of anything else, I'll let you know."

As long as his confidants entered the factory, found a way to investigate the situation and obtained the pharmaceutical and oil refining formulas, he could secretly report to his master. If his master were pleased, he might let him enter the residence as a butler, or even promote him to the position of County Magistrate of Anping County. From then on, he would soar to great heights.

As for the factories, they would naturally become his personal possession in the end.

Both the Yang family's master and servant and Shen Chang'an's eyes widened with shock and disbelief as they looked at Xiong Wang. They had never seen someone as brazen as Xiong Wang before, an outsider Lizheng, by what authority was he commanding the Yang family?

The dozen or so young men, however, were nodding in agreement.

Outside the window, Yang Mengchen raised her eyebrows slightly. She had said that Xiong Wang, an outsider Lizheng, had no basis for such audacity to cause trouble at their doorstep, and it turned out he had strong backing, but it was a pity he had encountered her.

Long Xuanmo's eyes narrowed slightly, his expression icy and grave.

Others could not see through Xiong Wang's thoughts, but after hearing his shameless demands, they were filled with raging anger. If it weren't for Yang Mengchen's prior instructions to refrain from acting rashly, they would have rushed in and dismembered that worthless Lizheng long ago.

"What if I refuse to agree to Xiong Lizheng's demands?" Yang Mengchen walked into the living room at a leisurely pace.

Seeing Yang Mengchen and the others arrive caused both Madam Yang Zhou and Shen Qiulan to secretly breathe a sigh of relief, "Jiujiu, you're back."

"Grandma, mother, please go back and rest, I'll handle this."

After ordering Qiao Niangzi and others to escort Madam Yang Zhou and her daughter-in-law back to the inner courtyard, Yang Mengchen sat down in a chair, took the hot tea handed to her by Hai Tang, blew on it slowly and methodically, and took an elegant sip before looking at Xiong Wang with a smile that was not quite a smile, "Lizheng Xiong has not yet answered, what if I refuse to agree?"

While her expression was tranquil and her demeanor calm, Xiong Wang, nevertheless, felt an inexplicable sense of panic. Upon reflection, he arrogantly said, "Lizheng is issuing you orders on behalf of Imperial Court officials. If you don't agree, that's opposing the Imperial Court.

Lizheng will immediately arrest you and throw you into prison, and both the Yang family and the Shen family will not escape responsibility for their crimes."

"A mere, insignificant Lizheng audaciously claims to be an Imperial Court official, it's utterly ludicrous!" Hua Ziyu sneered.

Old Hai slowly stroked his grizzled beard, clearly enjoying the drama unfolding.

"Drag him out and kill him!" Long Xuanmo commanded coldly.

Mo Lei immediately stepped forward, grabbed Xiong Wang, and started dragging him out of the living room.

Xiong Wang struggled fiercely, but since Mo Lei was holding onto his arm tightly, he couldn't break free. He could only turn around and yell loudly, "Who are you? By what right do you kill Lizheng? The execution of an Imperial Court Official is a capital offense. Do you not wish to live? Release Lizheng at once!"

Yang Mengchen suddenly interjected, "Hold on!"

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