Don’t Owe Us

However, Li Da and several other young men who participated in collecting the bodies did not shake their heads. They knew about the silver notes and had found several from the bandit leader. The loose change that was seized had already been divided up, and only these few silver notes were still with Li Da and Li Youzhi, waiting to be exchanged at the money shop in the city and then distributed to everyone. As for how he recognized the silver note, it was all thanks to the village chief's son Li Youzhi. This guy went to school for a year or two and could read.

"Isn't it a silver note? Uncle village chief, please stop keeping us in suspense, it's really annoying." Li Da glanced at his father who had already recognized the silver note and shouted. Of course, he couldn't hide the matter of the banknote from his father.

Village Chief Li pointed at Li Da, and then smiled at everyone again, "Li Da is right, these are indeed silver bills, and they are worth one hundred taels, and they were also left to us by Chief Guo, but they were rewarded by the noble lady. He said that everyone has worked hard on the road, and also want to thank you for defeating the bandits together that day. I believe you all understand why I took this out. I will exchange this silver for small change when we get to the city and distribute it to everyone."

This is really good news!

Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but show their joy. Two hundred taels of silver. There are fifty-seven households in Lijia Village, and each household can get about four taels, which is not a small amount. You have to know that they worked very hard in the past. Even if they did odd jobs or hard labor in towns and cities, they could not earn more than two taels of silver in a year. This was enough for them to save for a few years.

"Village chief, is what you said true?" Someone couldn't help but ask excitedly.

"The banknotes are all in my hands now. They may be fake, but I can't divide them now. I will keep them for now. When I arrive in Jiaocheng, I will directly exchange them for small change. When you get the silver, you will believe it." The village chief looked at Meng Qing with a smile.

Although Lijia Village is called Lijia Village, there are still people with other surnames. Although not as many as those with the surname Li, there are still more than a dozen households. Although they have a different surname, they have been passed down in Lijia Village for several or even more than ten generations, and have become authentic people of Lijia Village. The village chief never showed favoritism to anyone because of their different surnames and treated everyone equally. It was because of this that the people in the village were so united.

Meng Qing was so happy that he couldn't help but ask. After hearing what the village chief said, he chuckled and felt a little embarrassed. The Meng family has few descendants, with only one son. He has earned some money these days, but it is indeed much less than that of others. Now that he has unexpectedly received such a sum of money, he is really happy.

Everyone smiled good-naturedly, but what he said was what everyone wanted to ask. Now that they knew it was true, everyone was very excited and couldn't wait to get to Jiaocheng so that they could divide the two sums of money.

The other sum of course went into the hands of Li Da and Li Youzhi. Every household in Lijia Village had someone participating in the war, and some had more than one son, so they could get a lot. Now they have money and horses, and these horses can help carry their luggage. So going to Yunzhou City is not as difficult as they thought, and perhaps it won't take long.

Good mood will be affected. Seeing everyone's excitement, Gulan is also in a good mood. Glancing at the dozen or so horses in the forest, she had an idea in her mind at this moment, which was to repay the trust of the people in Lijia Village in her. The most important thing was that this would shorten the time to Yunzhou City. Gulan stood up immediately, facing everyone's curious eyes, and spoke,

"Everyone is so happy, so let me tell you one more happy thing. When we get to Jiaocheng, I will pay for these horses to be equipped with carriages. Not only can we put our luggage there, but we can also take turns to rest. This is a reward for your trust in me."

Gulan's words reminded Li Da of the number of horses. Sixteen horses! That was not a small amount, and he immediately felt sorry for Gulan.

"Gulan..." He was interrupted by Gulan just as he opened his mouth.

Glan glanced at Brother Li and continued, "I may seem a little indifferent and don't like to talk much, but I have one advantage: I am loyal. I will treat anyone who treats me well, so you don't have to feel bad about spending money on my behalf."

The village chief was also surprised and said quickly, "Gulan, a dozen carriages are a lot of money. In fact, having these horses can make everyone much more relaxed. There is really no need to do this."

To be honest, everyone was quite tempted by Gulan's proposal, but when they thought about the price of more than a dozen carriages, they felt bad, even though they were not the ones to pay for it. But when I think about the benefits of a horse-drawn carriage and the elderly, women and children at home, I really can't refuse it. Who would want to walk when you have a horse-drawn carriage? Although they all agreed with the village chief, deep down they really hoped for a carriage.

"Village head, I understand what you mean, but don't worry about me. I have already made up my mind. Going to Yunzhou City is because of me. I may not be able to afford so many horses, but I can still afford to buy carts. Besides, the temperature is getting colder now. With these carts, everyone can take turns to rest. We can also reach Yunzhou City earlier and settle down earlier. Winter is not easy to endure."

Seeing Gulan's determination, the village chief stopped persuading him, mainly because he felt that Gulan was right. Winter was almost coming and they really needed to get to Yunzhou City as soon as possible. With a carriage, they could shorten the journey by nearly half.

Yunzhou City appears to be heading west, but in fact it is somewhat northward. Although it is not the real north, it is also bordering the country. The winter there is much colder than Linzhou. If you don't prepare in advance, it will be very difficult to endure the winter. The village chief remained silent, and the others followed suit.

"Even so, I can't ask you to pay for all the sixteen carriages. Although my family has carriages, I am still willing to pay the money." Old man Li, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke.

"Besides, Gu boy, you don't owe any of us anything, and you don't need to repay us. On the contrary, you have saved our entire village time and time again, and you are our great benefactor. Moreover, going to Yunzhou City was a joint decision made by all of us. We are all in our forties. Since we have decided to go, we have naturally thought about the worst outcome. How can it be your responsibility? You can go to Yunzhou City by yourself, but you are kind-hearted and are willing to take us with you because you have been with us all the way. That's why you told the village chief about the opportunity to settle down in Yunzhou. What is Yunzhou? That's where the King of Yunzhou lives. It's the richest and safest place in the entire Yunzhou. Even if it is a small town, the victims will be dispersed for various reasons. How can the whole village be allowed to settle here? You can imagine your contribution. So our whole village owes you. You don't owe us, I will never agree to you paying for this carts alone."

Old Man Li's words made Gulan look up at him in surprise, and made everyone, including the village chief, lower their heads. These words were cruel, but they also woke them up, and a little shame rose in their hearts.

Just now when Gulan mentioned giving back, they also felt that it was their duty. After all, they really trusted Gulan, and they went to Yunzhou because of Gulan. But they forgot that Gulan didn't have to bring them along. Without them, things would be even faster and he would definitely be able to survive better with his abilities.

Yes! Why do he need to bring along these burdens?