amaotonovel Chapter 87 I'll break three of your legs!
Chapter 87 I'll break three of your legs!
A prophecy.
Zhu Biao's mouth was like it had been blessed; he said it was Magistrate Yang's turn to have a headache, and sure enough, Magistrate Yang did have a headache.
However, Zhu Biao's words were not fully consecrated during the consecration ceremony. He meant that Magistrate Yang would have a headache because of the slanderous remarks of the civil officials and gentry, but in reality, Magistrate Yang had a headache because of Chang Yuchun.
Xu Da's plan to have Limpy Wu keep all the canned goods, while Chang Yuchun didn't get a single can, was eventually exposed.
Then, after consulting with Emperor Zhu Chongba, Chang Yuchun personally led a group of soldiers and laborers to Ningyang County, demanding that Magistrate Yang Shaofeng hand over all the canned goods in his possession.
As for why he personally went to Ningyang County instead of having Yang Shaofeng send someone to deliver the canned goods, Chang Pingzhang's reason was that he was afraid that Magistrate Yang would intercept some of them and give them to Xu Da.
Thus, a scene unfolded where something was extremely funny, but Yang Shaofeng didn't find it funny at all.
Chang Yuchun sat imposingly in the main seat of the Ningyang County government hall, while Magistrate Yang, who had previously been all-powerful and influential in Ningyang County, sat below like a wronged wife. Lame Wu tried his best to shrink behind Magistrate Yang, attempting to become invisible.
Magistrate Yang was in a bad mood. It was Xu Da, that black-hearted and unethical man, who intercepted all the canned goods that Limpy Wu was taking. Even if you, Chang Heitan, were unhappy, you should have gone after Xu Da. Why the hell did you come here to cause trouble for me?
Besides, Xu Da had already paid a deposit to Limpy Five in advance. All the canned goods currently produced and about to be produced in Ningyang County can be considered to belong to Xu Da. You, Chang Heitan, did not pay a deposit in advance but still want to take away Xu Da's canned goods. Aren't you making me breach the contract?
But no matter how bitter Magistrate Yang felt, it was of no use, because Chang Yuchun hadn't come to reason with him at all.
“Kid,” Chang Yuchun stood up from his chair, walked behind Yang Shaofeng, patted Yang Shaofeng on the shoulder with his large palm, and said in a carefree manner, “I didn’t give you a deposit, but can you blame me for this?”
"Moreover, that Xu fellow lacks martial ethics. He was the one who attacked and intercepted my canned goods first. Now that I am intercepting his canned goods, it's not just a matter of tit for tat, but perfectly fair and reasonable, isn't it?"
Before Yang Shaofeng could speak, Chang Yuchun interjected, "How about this? I won't make things difficult for you. You give me all the canned goods you have now, and I'll have them taken to Jining Prefecture. All the canned goods you produce after that will belong to that old bastard Xu Da. How about that?"
"Oh, by the way, pack all the salted duck eggs, salted chicken eggs, and spicy pickled vegetables you made for me as well. I'm taking them all with me."
Yang Shaofeng chuckled, swung his left hand behind his back like a lame man, and first said in a low voice, "Quickly hide the things," then said with a smile, "Since Chang Pingzhang has spoken, this humble official naturally cannot remain silent."
To buy time for Limpy Five, Magistrate Yang pretended to ponder for a moment, then said, "How about this, I'll have someone take stock to see how much inventory Ningyang County has left. I'll try to pack as much as possible for you, and I'll keep some to deal with Prime Minister Xu."
However, Magistrate Yang's little tricks did not escape Chang Yuchun's notice at all.
Before Limpy Wu could even walk three feet, Chang Yuchun cursed without any politeness: "You stand right there, you bastard! If you dare to hide canned food, I'll break three of your legs!"
After scolding Limpy Five, Chang Yuchun turned his gaze to Magistrate Yang: "Kid, we just said that all the canned goods, salted duck eggs, salted chicken eggs, and spicy pickled vegetables in Ningyang County must be loaded onto carts and taken away. The meaning is that we will not leave you with a single one."
Hearing Chang Yuchun's words, which sounded like those of a bandit, Magistrate Yang Shaofeng was furious. However, considering that he was likely no match for Chang Yuchun, he had no choice but to lower his voice and say, "At least Magistrate Chang should give me an explanation, shouldn't he?"
Chang Yuchun chuckled and said, "What's so difficult about that?"
After speaking, Chang Yuchun went directly back to the desk in the main hall and wrote a note with the pen and ink on the desk.
“I, Lao Chang, will take the things. If you dare to interfere with my good deeds again, you old scoundrel, I will persuade the Fifth Prince to marry your second daughter. Also, this Yang boy is not bad, so don’t make things difficult for him.”
After letting the ink dry, Chang Yuchun picked up the note and waved it around. “If that old scoundrel gives you trouble, give him this and say it’s an explanation from Old Chang.”
After saying that, Chang Yuchun had his personal guard give the note to Yang Shaofeng, and then he once again came out from behind the table, kicked the lame Wu, and said, "Hurry up and lead the way, I'm in a hurry to get back after I finish filling the cans!"
Watching Chang Yuchun and Lame Wu's departing figures, and then looking at the note in his hand—which was more of a threat than an explanation—Magistrate Yang couldn't help but stomp his foot and silently roar in his heart, "What a tragedy!"
This note is better left unwritten!
Left with no other choice, Magistrate Yang Shaofeng could only quickly try to find a way to remedy the situation.
The only way to remedy this is to have more pigs in the farms, more workers in the canneries, and more ceramic jars for making canned goods.
The problem is that Ningyang County has all of them, but none of them are plentiful!
The number of pigs slaughtered at the farm is decreasing. Recently, because he has been busy making canned food for that black-hearted old scoundrel Xu Da, Magistrate Yang has even put aside his favorite pork ribs and started thinking about recreating braised pork offal.
The cannery was under even greater manpower shortage. To produce enough canned goods before Xu Da sent people to pick them up, the cannery needed to hire more staff.
So here's the problem: Ningyang County only has about two thousand people, most of whom are busy digging artificial lakes and harvesting soybeans in the fall. Where can Magistrate Yang find manpower to work in the cannery?
Even the ceramic jars used to make canned goods are the same, because Ningyang County itself does not produce ceramic jars, and Magistrate Yang cannot spare the manpower to set up a ceramic kiln to make ceramic jars, so he can only send people to the ceramic kiln in Yanzhou Prefecture to buy them time and time again.
Now that Chang Heitan has put on a show of what it means to take everything in one go, it basically means that Magistrate Yang will have to prepare more jars to make up for the shortfall on Xu Da's side.
After much deliberation, Magistrate Yang Shaofeng simply chased after Chang Yuchun's retreating figure, hoping to pry some canned goods from Chang Yuchun's hands as an explanation to Xu Da.
However, by the time Magistrate Yang arrived at the cannery, Chang Yuchun's personal guards and laborers had already loaded all the canned goods onto the cart.
Chang Yuchun, riding on his horse, laughed heartily and said, "Let's go, Magistrate Yang, no need to thank me, Old Chang!"
Magistrate Yang Shaofeng wore a bitter expression. Only after Chang Yuchun led his personal guards and laborers far away did Magistrate Yang let out a long sigh of relief, and a hint of smugness appeared on his face.
Even if you're as dark as charcoal and as ghostly as you are, didn't you still drink... drink my foot bath water?