Chapter 163: Acting According to the Contract
The day after the Yu Family Cloth Shop collected fine cloth from Hejia Village, Li Xiaonan announced she was going to Hejia Village.
A Wu had gone from anxiously stomping his feet, to being angry that Li Xiaonan wasn’t rushing or competing, and then to gloating and watching the show. Hearing Li Xiaonan say she was going to Hejia Village tomorrow, he let out a laugh.
Why go now?
Li Jinzhu frowned, looking at Li Xiaonan, and hesitated, “What are your plans? They aren’t well-off families…”
“Tomorrow, I’ll go with A Wu and Yu Ting. Eldest Sister doesn’t need to go; it’s not a big deal,” Li Xiaonan said, lowering her eyes.
Li Jinzhu’s brow furrowed. Just as she was about to speak again, Li Yuzhu tugged at her and said softly, “You shouldn’t go. Let A Nan go; it’s business, after all.”
Li Jinzhu opened her mouth, but no words came out. She just sighed.
Early the next morning, Wang Yuting drove the cart, Li Xiaonan sat beside Wang Yuting, and A Wu rode a horse, leading about ten porters and pulling a cart towards Hejia Village.
Sister-in-law Lu had been waiting for a long time. Seeing the string of carts behind Li Xiaonan’s small cart, she was stunned.
“Little Owner.” Sister-in-law Lu pointed at the long string of carts. Before she could say anything, Li Xiaonan smiled, “It’s been a month and a half, right?”
Sister-in-law Lu opened her mouth but couldn’t speak.
Lao Wu’s house was the closest to Sister-in-law Lu’s. Sister-in-law Lu walked ahead, Li Xiaonan followed Sister-in-law Lu, and A Wu, with his hands behind his back, spoke quietly with Wang Yuting as they walked to the entrance of Lao Wu’s house.
Lao Wu’s house was very lively. Two bricklayers were building a wall, and two artisans stood on a piece of wood, sawing thick planks, chatting and laughing with Lao Wu and his four sons who were doing odd jobs.
“Lao Wu,” Sister-in-law Lu called from the courtyard entrance.
“We’re here to talk to Fifth Sister-in-law,” Li Xiaonan said softly from behind Sister-in-law Lu.
“Where is Fifth Sister-in-law?” Sister-in-law Lu grunted and then asked.
“Don’t you know which room my mother is in? Why are you asking!” Lao Wu’s youngest son retorted rudely.
Being both neighbors and relatives, Sister-in-law Lu refused to help his mother with the threads, saying that even Kung Fu cost money, and she was greedy for every cent, yet she had the nerve to stand at their doorstep!
“This way.” Sister-in-law Lu turned and walked to the side, introducing softly to Li Xiaonan, “Fifth Sister-in-law borrowed the main hall of their eldest uncle’s house for two months, for fifty copper coins.”
Lao Wu’s eldest brother’s house was next door. It only had a main hall and no courtyard. Sister-in-law Lu walked directly to the main hall entrance and called out loudly, “Fifth Sister-in-law!”
The sound of the loom inside was rhythmic and distinct, drowning out Sister-in-law Lu’s call.
Sister-in-law Lu stood at the main hall entrance and called out again, “Fifth Sister-in-law!”
“What are you shouting for? I don’t have time!” Fifth Sister-in-law replied rudely.
“Fifth Sister-in-law, the Little Owner is here,” Sister-in-law Lu said calmly.
The sound of the loom stopped. Fifth Sister-in-law came out, fully on guard, looking from Sister-in-law Lu to Li Xiaonan.
“Your family hasn’t delivered any fine cloth for a month and a half. I’ve come to see what’s going on,” Li Xiaonan said with her usual smile.
“It hasn’t been woven. You can see, we’re building a new house, and we’re very busy. I really don’t have time. Little Foreman, please wait a bit longer,” Fifth Sister-in-law said with a slight smile, feeling a bit embarrassed.
“Since Fifth Sister-in-law is busy, I’ll take the loom back first. When Fifth Sister-in-law has time, tell Sister-in-law Lu, and I’ll have someone deliver the loom back.
“A loom costs ten taels of silver. We’re running a small business; we can’t afford to have it idle,” Li Xiaonan said with a smile.
“How can that be! This loom is under pawn. We have a contract. How can you just take it away? This loom belongs to us,” Fifth Sister-in-law said anxiously.
“When Fifth Sister-in-law signed the contract, I read every clause to her and explained each one. If Fifth Sister-in-law fails to deliver fine cloth for a consecutive month, or if the amount of fine cloth within three consecutive months doesn’t meet the quota, I can take the loom away,” Li Xiaonan said with a smile, but her words were very impolite.
“We’ve already given you a lot of cloth. How much can this loom be short by a few copper coins? We…” The words “give money” got stuck in Fifth Sister-in-law’s throat and couldn’t be spoken.
All the copper coins were used up. Yesterday, the foreman had told her to sleep one less hour and rush the work to weave another bolt of fine cloth to buy paint.
“Account book,” Li Xiaonan gestured to Wang Yuting, who quickly handed over the account book.
Li Xiaonan opened it and said with a smile, “Fifth Sister-in-law is a diligent person. The cost of this loom was calculated at exactly nine taels. The fine cloth collected from Fifth Sister-in-law has already offset one tael of silver and four hundred and twenty copper coins. The cloth shop values one tael of silver at seven hundred copper coins. There are still seven taels of silver and two hundred and eighty copper coins remaining.
“Either Fifth Sister-in-law gives me seven taels of silver and two hundred and eighty copper coins now, or I’ll give Fifth Sister-in-law one tael of silver and four hundred and twenty copper coins, and I’ll take the loom. This loom will be considered as given to Fifth Sister-in-law for free for these past few months.”
Outside, Lao Wu and his three sons had already run over. Carpenters, bricklayers, and neighbors had gathered in a large circle to watch the commotion.
“This loom is ours! Get lost!” Lao Wu’s youngest son, who was only eleven years old and seemed to understand things but not quite, shouted at Li Xiaonan, waving his fist.
Li Xiaonan pretended not to hear and smiled at Fifth Sister-in-law, “Sister-in-law, have you decided? Will you pay the silver, or should I take the loom away?”
“The loom is weaving cloth right now!” Fifth Sister-in-law panicked and turned to Sister-in-law Lu, “You tell her, the loom is weaving cloth right now!”
Sister-in-law Lu smiled awkwardly and averted her gaze.
“The cloth on the loom, you can either take it off, or I’ll pay you the price of a whole bolt of cloth, no matter how much you’ve woven.
“Give her the money, and you go move the loom onto the cart,” Li Xiaonan gestured to Wang Yuting and A Wu.
“You can’t move my loom!” Fifth Sister-in-law cried out, blocking the doorway with her arms.
“Beat them away! Beat them!” Lao Wu waved his wooden shovel at his three sons and rushed forward first.
Wang Yuting stepped forward, grabbed Fifth Sister-in-law, and dragged her out of the house.
A Wu first kicked away the mud-covered wooden shovel in Lao Wu’s hand, then kicked Lao Wu in the chest. With a slight push, he made Lao Wu stumble back a few steps and sit on the ground. He then hooked Lao Wu’s youngest son’s leg with his foot, grabbed the hair of Lao Wu’s two sons with both hands, pulled them back a few steps, and threw them to the ground with a slight force.
“Go carry it out,” Li Xiaonan gestured to the porters.
Two porters entered the house and carried the loom out.
“You can’t take it away! It’s ours! It’s ours! You can’t bully us like this, there’s no justice! You’re bullying us, is there any justice in this!” Fifth Sister-in-law’s body went limp, and she collapsed on the ground, wailing and crying.
“Quick, go call for help! Help! Thieves!” Lao Wu sat on the ground, staring at A Wu’s feet, not daring to stand up, and shouted loudly.
“Here is one tael of silver and four hundred and twenty coins, plus the money for one bolt of fine cloth. I’ll leave it here. Everyone, be a witness,” Wang Yuting held up a small silver coin and several strings of copper coins, turned around, and placed them in front of Fifth Sister-in-law.
Li Xiaonan watched the porters load the loom, walked past the crying Fifth Sister-in-law, and headed towards the second house.
