EBE Chapter 176 Planned rescue
Chapter 176 Planned rescue
This matter was not deliberately concealed from the villagers, so when Ma Da notified the two families, many villagers knew about the arrest of Ma Kui and Zheng Guoqu.
Word of this matter spread quickly throughout the village.
Many people gathered outside the Xia family's door with worried feelings. Knowing that something was being discussed inside, they did not dare to go in and disturb them.
After Xia Shengsheng and the people she was looking for gathered together, she had a suggestion.
Just follow what the note says, and bring the food and silver over according to the time and address.
Only a few people may be responsible for the escort, but someone is needed to provide support secretly.
If those bandits keep their promise and release the people, then we can stop worrying about it for now. The most important thing is to rescue the people.
As for the lost grain and silver, we can discuss it later.
But if they break their promise and keep the person in captivity, we will have to implement the second plan.
No one had any objection to Xia Shengsheng's proposal, and the most important thing was that no one could think of a better way.
"I brought all the silver from my family. I originally had quite a bit of money saved, but I bought a lot of food in the spring, and I paid another ten taels of silver a while ago. Now I only have eleven taels left.
There is a lot of food at home, but most of it is black flour and corn flour. There are only more than 50 kilograms of rice. It is not enough no matter how you count it, right?" Ma Kui's family said with a worried look on their faces.
Almost all the people in charge of the Zheng family came, except Zheng Laosan and his wife, who were too embarrassed to come. However, the money was in the hands of Zheng Laotai, so no one else knew the exact amount.
"My family has more silver, so we can collect 19 taels and cents. But it's still far from enough!
The grain is the same as Ma Kui's. The black flour is the most stored. The refined grains such as rice and white flour add up to more than 180 kilograms. Even half of it is not enough. What should we do? "Mrs. Zheng also has a worried look on her face!
Zheng Guoqu's family suddenly burst into tears when they heard this. They were extremely worried. First, they couldn't raise so much silver and food, and second, they were afraid that something might happen to their head of the family.
"Alright, alright, stop crying. Aren't we discussing something right now? If you cry like this, won't it affect everyone?"
Village Chief Ma scolded Zheng Guoqu's family, then turned around and looked at Tao Siyuan expectantly.
In fact, Tao Siyuan wanted to say that they didn't need to collect the money, and he would pay for it himself. It was only one hundred taels, which was a drop in the bucket for him.
But Xia Shengsheng told him not to speak, so he has held on until now.
Seeing Village Chief Ma looking at him, he had to turn around and question Xia Shengsheng with his eyes.
Xia Shengsheng didn't let him speak just now, not because he didn't want him to pay the money, but because he wanted the money he paid to be valuable.
The Ma Kui family and the Zheng family still have to pay what they owe, otherwise Tao Siyuan would have to pay it all himself.
Wouldn't it make them feel that money comes easily, and would they want to rely on others for everything in the future?
That's why I stopped Tao Siyuan from speaking just now.
Now, today the two families have reported the amount of silver and grain they have, so Tao Siyuan only needs to make up the remaining silver, and she will make up the grain.
Moreover, this silver and grain were not given to the two families for free.
Xia Shengsheng could allow the two families to keep the debt and wait until the years get better and they have enough money and food to pay her back.
But don't allow them to take it for granted.
"Master Tao said that he can help everyone to advance the remaining money, and everyone can pay it back later when they have money.
As for food, my family does have more food stored than everyone else, and we can barely make up for the rest, so you don’t have to worry.”
After Xia Shengsheng spoke, the people from the Ma Kui family and the Zheng family all had expressions of surprise and joy on their faces.
I was surprised that Xia Shengsheng and Tao Siyuan could help at this time.
Good news, their family can finally be saved.
"Then write an IOU. When your two families have more money in the future, you must pay it back. Otherwise, who would steal this silver and food for nothing!"
Village chief Ma is relatively fair. For loans of silver and grain, an IOU is still required as a guarantee. If it is said verbally, it cannot be counted in the future. If there are unclear points in the future, it will not be good for anyone.
"Okay, let's write an IOU. Master Tao, Sister Xia, don't worry. No matter whether the head of our family can be rescued or not, our family will remember your kindness. No matter what, we will find a way to repay the borrowed food and silver."
Ma Kui's family also knew that most bandits were not trustworthy. Even if the ransom was paid, they would still kill the person, so she had no way of being sure whether she could rescue the head of the family.
But no matter whether she can be rescued or not, the money her family owes must be repaid by her and her child. Her only daughter will definitely suffer in the future, but there is nothing that can be done about it.
The Zheng family did the same and agreed to sign the IOU, also saying that no matter what, their family would definitely pay back the owed silver and grain.
So under the witness of Village Chief Ma, Yiyi helped to write the IOU, and Village Chief Ma's eldest grandson read it to the Ma Kui family and the Zheng family. After confirming that it was correct, the two families signed the IOU.
Tao Siyuan paid the remaining silver, and Xia Shengsheng asked Wang Si and Xia Wu to pull out the grain.
Then put it together with the food from the Zheng family and the Ma Kui family.
All tied to the cart.
It was still early for the appointment, so Xia Shengsheng called together a few people who were going to go with him later.
Carefully planning the plan for the next moment.
500 kilograms of food is a lot to push up the mountain, and it would require at least four people to escort it.
Xia Shengsheng asked the Zheng brothers to participate, after all, this was their Zheng family's business.
When Zheng Laosan was called over, his face turned red because he had not paid, and he was embarrassed to face everyone.
But when he found out that he was asked to walk in the front and work hard, he did not say no, and was secretly happy in his heart. This way he could finally do justice to his elder brother and made him feel better!
Apart from Ma Kui, there are only his wife and daughter in Ma Kui's family, and there is no other man who can stand up to them.
So, Ma Da and Li Er stepped forward and prepared to escort the food up the mountain with the Zheng brothers.
After all, when Ma Kui and Zheng Guoqu went out, the two of them not only did not stop them, but also did not ask them a few more questions. Therefore, the two men felt that they were also responsible for what happened to Ma Kui and Zheng Guoqu.
Now is naturally the time to help, so try your best and hope to rescue them both as soon as possible.
There are many people with good martial arts in Xia Shengsheng's family, so Tao Siyuan and Xia Liu were left at home to watch.
Other people who knew martial arts, including Xia Shengsheng, all followed him up the mountain and hid in the dark, so they could help if anything happened.
Not only the people from the Xia family, but also some in the village who have high talent and good skills in learning martial arts from Xia Yi and others.
Xia Shengsheng asked for their opinions again, and after getting a positive response, they followed him up the mountain.