CHAPTER 320: CHAPTER 303: CHILI PEPPER SEEDS

It must be said, since Zheng Yuanfeng arrived, Yu Xiaolian’s income has grown exponentially.

The spicy base and peach compote from Taohua Village were cleared out by the people Zheng Yuanfeng sent, and Yu Changhe gained nearly two hundred taels of silver at once.

As for the peppers, Zheng Yuanfeng claimed he was broke and didn’t have cash on hand, so Yu Xiaolian, being soft-hearted, allowed him to buy things on credit.

Yu Xiaolian only sold half of the peppers from her ten plots of land to Zheng Yuanfeng, she kept some of the rest for herself and had to save some for Shopkeeper Zhao of Meishan Building!

After all, Shopkeeper Zhao had already reserved the peppers with her since last year.

Zheng Yuanfeng sent people to haul cartloads of peppers away, attracting villagers from Taohua Village to come and watch the spectacle. Ever since the Yu Family planted this never-before-seen variety and planted so much, people were curious about what peppers really were.

Some brave ones secretly took a handful home and tasted them, and were so spicy they stuck their tongues out. Some timid ones stole a green pepper but didn’t dare eat it, merely looked at it, fearing this thing might be poisonous, since the Yu Family claimed they were planting a medicinal herb called peppers.

The saying "A medicine has three parts poison", one cannot eat it casually!

"Is this a medicinal supplier coming to the Yu Family for medicinal herbs?" Someone watching the procession of pepper-laden ox carts asked the person beside him.

"Maybe, but I don’t know what kind of medicinal herb these peppers are supposed to be, never heard of them before!"

"Dear villagers, you’ve all been deceived by the Yu Family.

These peppers are not medicinal herbs, they are actually edible ingredients!"

Jiang Dingcai shouted loudly, "My son Haifu dined with his classmates at Meishan Building a few days ago, and the spicy dish served there was made with these peppers.

According to my son Haifu, dishes made with peppers cost several hundred more coins than other dishes!"

Jiang Dingcai’s words immediately caused an uproar.

Everyone lamented this valuable rare ingredient being merely cultivated in their village. Some among them had even been hired by the Yu Family to pick peppers, yet none had managed to keep the seeds of this rare ingredient.

An old woman sighed, "Ah, it seems the Yu Family was afraid we would steal their way of making a fortune, so they deliberately called it a medicinal herb to guard against all of us!"

"The Yu Family is too stingy, making money should be shared by everyone, truly!"

"In my opinion, we should collectively go to the Yu Family and demand the pepper seeds. If they don’t hand them over, they shouldn’t expect to plant peacefully next year.

Since they’ve chosen to stay in Taohua Village, they should share the seeds with everyone so we can all earn money together!" Jiang Dingcai started to rally the villagers.

Jiang Dingcai’s wife, Mrs. Lu, also hurriedly stirred the pot, "As the wealthiest family in the village, the Yu Family has a duty to lead our village to prosperity. Besides, Mr. Yu and Mrs. Yu are reasonable people. We shouldn’t be afraid, what’s there to fear? Let’s just go ask. If they could give us some seeds, that would be great. If they won’t, we can even offer money to buy them, can’t we?"

Some who usually didn’t get along with the Jiang couple secretly went to report to the Yu Family while they were speaking.

The rest were visibly swayed by the words of the Jiang couple, deciding to follow Jiang Dingcai to the Yu Family to inquire about the pepper seeds.

A group of people led by Jiang Dingcai grandly moved towards the Yu Family.

As they walked, Jiang Dingcai lowered his voice to his wife, "What kind of talk was that? Even if they don’t want to give us, we can pay to buy. Can he refuse? I’ll pull out all his pepper seedlings next year if he dares not give!"

Mrs. Lu secretly glared at her husband, "You dimwit, did you forget that the Yu Family is related to Prince Jin? Did you forget that their little girl has the badge given by Prince Jin? Did you forget they have an official of Ninth Grade?

Know your place; what qualifications do you have to compete with the Yu Family? Once we get there, keep your mouth shut; I’ll speak, understood?"

Jiang Dingcai, who usually listens to his wife, nodded quickly in agreement.

Despite feeling somewhat suppressed after being berated, thinking back to how Mrs. Lu could persuade his parents to separate his eldest brother’s family without giving them land, Jiang Dingcai inwardly respected his wife.

He knew his wife was quite capable.

This year there was good rainfall, so the grains were not lacking. After the autumn harvest and paying the tax grains, his family still has quite a bit left over. If there wasn’t a scholar in the family, life would be quite nice.

But there’s a scholar, his own son Jiang Haifu, so much of the Jiang family’s land revenue is spent on his education.

A few days ago, his son returned during a break, and mentioned the matter of the red peppers. Jiang Dingcai and Mrs. Lu became interested, waiting for a suitable opportunity.

Today, the Yu Family is selling cartloads of peppers, isn’t that exactly the opportunity delivered to their doorstep? So, when Mrs. Lu gave Jiang Dingcai a signal, he immediately burst forth, loudly exposing the Yu Family’s deception.

According to his son, these peppers are incredibly expensive, planting one plot of peppers is possibly worth more than planting five plots of corn.

Thus, the Jiang couple is resolute today, determined to get their hands on the pepper seeds, not only the seeds but also how Yu Changhe cultivated and planted them.

After all, they’ve never seen these things before, so they wouldn’t know how to plant them.

Jiang Dingcai had thought things through, but his progress was suddenly blocked on the street.

He raised his head to look, and it was none other than his dimwitted brother, Jiang Mangzi.

Jiang Mangzi held a water-carrying shoulder pole horizontally in front of the group, shouting loudly, "Don’t go, don’t go causing trouble at the Yu Family!"

"Who says we’re going to cause trouble at the Yu Family? Which big-mouthed rumor spread around, huh? If you dare, come forward! If you don’t, you’re not the child your mother raised!" Mrs. Lu shouted loudly.

"Big brother, we’re not going to cause trouble, just want to ask Mr. Yu about how to plant peppers. After all, this thing is a novelty, and our lands aren’t far apart, not sure if the Yu Family’s peppers will affect our surrounding crops in any way.

This year, when I ate my own corn, it tasted wrong, felt spicy, probably cross-bred with the Yu Family’s peppers. We must get an explanation, right?" A few months ago, Jiang Dingcai definitely wouldn’t have spoken so politely to Jiang Mangzi.

Now, the reason he’s calling his big brother and explaining so much is that he’s eyeing the money Jiang Mangzi made from selling peaches this year!

Just recently, when he sent his parents over to ask for money, his big brother only gave them five hundred coins and sent them away.

Five hundred coins, how could Jiang Dingcai be satisfied with that?

But his parents had said, last year’s separation was highly unfair, hurt his big brother’s feelings, so his big brother vowed to give only five hundred coins of respect money annually, not a penny more.

His parents told the younger son, that if he wanted to extract money from his big brother, he must first mend their brotherly relationship, otherwise they couldn’t help.

So Jiang Dingcai thought of being diplomatic before using force with Jiang Mangzi.