Chapter 77: Ye Yuxi Returned

  Wang Chengdong saw that they had finished speaking, and only then did he say calmly: "Miss Ye, Master Luo, it's not that I don't understand you, but I really have no choice. If you don't take out the money, how can I have the money to buy jade again? So, sorry, I really can't agree to your request."

  Wang Chengdong had such an answer, and Ye Zhuo was not surprised at all. She didn't want to waste any more words either, so she continued: "As for our family's situation, I think Mr. Wang also knows a bit about it. Apart from this workshop, we also have a small courtyard at home. These two items together are worth around 600-700 taels of silver; if we deduct half the value of the jade that was damaged by Master Luo, I think it should be enough to compensate you, Mr. Wang? So, I don't know whether you want us to hand over our property deeds and jade immediately, or if you can give us some time to sell these things and get the cash to pay you back?"

  Wang Chengdong was somewhat displeased upon hearing this, and with a stern face said: "Miss Ye, what do you mean by these words? Are you trying to be unreasonable? And what about your grandfather? Why did he send such a young girl like you to take charge? Can your words be trusted?"

  "How could I be so unreasonable? Did I say I wouldn't pay you back? It's just that I couldn't get the money right away, so I asked you to wait a few days. If we take this to court, I'm sure the county magistrate would handle it the same way. Can't just execute someone for not having the money on hand, can they? Even if I were to offer my head as payment, what use would that be to you? Besides, that's just how things are, even if my ancestors came back from the dead, they'd say the same thing - because they couldn't conjure up silver coins for you either." Ye Zhuo remained calm and unruffled.

  "Isn't that right? Young Master Wang, you wouldn't want to force someone to their death over this matter, would you? You bought that jade for the old lady's birthday. If your friend found out that you forced someone to ruin their family and harm the old lady's fortune because of a piece of jade, they might blame you instead. Why not just give them a few more days, and let the Ye family and Master Luo gather money to repay you?" The elderly Mr. Yun also stepped forward to help Ye Zhuo plead his case.

  "This old man, it's not that I don't understand reason. You should know, this matter may not be a lot of money, but it's also not a small amount. What if the Ye family and Master Luo run away overnight? Who would I look for? Now that we've talked about this, I remembered that this workshop belongs to the Ye family, and my jade material was ruined at the Jade Carving Workshop. This matter only concerns the owner of the Jade Carving Workshop. As for how the Ye family and Master Luo split their shares, I don't care. My three thousand taels of silver will only fall on the Ye family's head."

  As soon as he heard this, Luo Jing Sheng was overjoyed and looked at Ye Zhuo with pleading eyes, saying: "Miss Ye, since Master Wang also said so, won't you agree? Maybe in a few days I can gather the money together, not affecting your compensation to him."

  Ye Zhuo gave him a cold glance, but didn't respond to him. Instead, she turned to Wang Chengdong and said, "If you want to say it that way, then I have nothing more to say. You can just stand there and watch. Don't worry, I won't run away." After finishing speaking, she stood there silently. Originally, at this time, finding a stool to sit down would be even more calm and composed. However, among the surrounding crowd of onlookers, there were many elderly people who were of the same generation as Ye Yuqi. They all stood up, so Ye Zhuo didn't dare to sit down either.

  "Master Wang, Ye Lao has been a friend of ours for many years. We know his character best. He is a man who values loyalty and justice, and would rather be taken advantage of than to take advantage of others. So you can rest assured that if Ye's daughter acknowledges the debt, Ye will definitely pay back what he owes you, no matter what. Keeping her here won't make the money fall from the sky either. Why not give them a few more days to gather the funds?"

  "Aren't you having someone under you? Sending someone to follow Old Ye wouldn't work?" Someone else chimed in.

  Wang Chengdong seemed to be somewhat moved, looked at Luo Jing and then at Ye Zhuo, saying: "If the Ye family can acknowledge this debt of Master Luo together, I might consider giving you two more days. After all, looking at a whole family is better than looking at one person."

  Luo Jing Sheng heard this and begged Ye Zhuo: "Miss Ye, since Master Wang has said so, would you please take care of this for me first? I'll definitely sell the house as soon as possible and return the money to you."

  Yun Lao Yezi heard this and didn't dare to advise him again. Nobody knew much about Luo Jing Sheng, nor did they know what kind of person he was. If he ran away after leaving the house, the Ye family would have to bear his debts, which would be adding insult to injury.

  Ye Zhuo looked at Luo Jing Sheng and said: "If you can bring the house deed over, and make up for the difference in price, then we'll consider our accounts settled."

  Luo Jing Sheng had spoiled the piece of jade, but Ye Zhuo already had a wonderful design in mind. She believed that as long as she carved it according to her design, selling this piece of jade for over 2,000 taels of silver would be no problem. Apart from this piece of jade, there was another one on the desk, which was leftover material after carving the "Fairy Presents Peaches" jade. Except for the middle concave part, the quality of the jade was not as good as that of "Fairy Presents Peaches", and it had a yellowish-red skin on the outside, making it worthless. However, Ye Zhuo thought that if she cleverly designed it, she could still sell it for a good price. If these two pieces of jade were carved well, they might be able to earn back 3,000 taels of silver.

  So, the part of the jade material that belongs to Luo Jing Sheng, even if he doesn't ask for it, Ye Zhuo wants to buy it. The reason she hasn't agreed with Luo Jing Sheng all along is because she doesn't want to let off easily this person who has brought a big disaster to the Ye family for no reason.

  "This..." Luo Jing Sheng hesitated.

  The person next to him couldn't help but say, "Luo Shifu, you've brought such a great disaster to the Ye family. The Ye family doesn't even blame you for your mistakes and is willing to help you pay off your debts. You must have burned high incense in your previous life to have met such a good master. Now, don't you think that without putting up any collateral, the Ye family will still help you pay off your debts?"

  "Is it not the house you said you wanted to sell, is it not yours?" Someone else chimed in.

  Luo Jing Sheng was just about to ask Ye Zhuo again, when he suddenly heard someone outside exclaiming: "Old Master Ye is back!" Immediately following that, the crowd became restless. He hastily said: "Alright, Miss Ye, I promise you, it's a deal. But my house is a small courtyard with two entrances, and selling it would be worth four hundred taels of silver, which can completely offset the part of the debt I owe, so there's no need to make up for the difference, right?"

  Ye Zhuo knew that Luo Jing Sheng was trying to deceive her, inexperienced in worldly affairs, and with a soft heart. She coaxed her into agreeing to take on the debt, making it more difficult for the Ye family to come up with the money, and thus more likely to reach an agreement before Ye Yu's arrival. So she didn't mince words either: "That won't do. Whose name is written on that deed? Can you make a decision to sell it or not? What's its value? I'll have to send someone to the yamen to verify it before we can come to an agreement. In short, you need to add enough to reach 500 taels of silver; otherwise, everything is off."

  "Alright, I'll agree to it. Don't worry, the house is indeed in my name." Luo Jing Sheng said. After finishing speaking, he took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over to Ye Zhuo. Ye Zhuo took a look and saw that it was indeed a deed, with Luo Jing Sheng's name written on it. The address of the house was exactly where Ye Yu Qi had mentioned Luo Jing Sheng's home was located. As for the area of land occupied by the house, it wasn't small either, roughly equivalent to twice the size of the Ye family's large courtyard. As for the house itself, they would have to go see it in person to know more.

  "This is one hundred and twenty taels of silver." Luo Jing Sheng handed over two more silver notes.

  Ye Zhuo didn't accept it, and instead handed the deed back: "You go with my grandfather to the government office to transfer the house ownership first, then I can take over your debt. Otherwise, forget about it."

  Luo Jing Sheng handed over the house deed to Ye Zhuo so readily because he had made up his mind to coax her into publicly acknowledging that she would help him pay off his debts, and then let him leave. As long as he was allowed to leave, it would be impossible for them to find him again. And this house, because it couldn't be found to go through the formalities at the yamen, the Ye family wanted to sell it, but that was impossible, it could only be deadlocked in the Ye family's hands. The house couldn't be cashed out, and Wang Cheng Dong's debt couldn't be repaid, so...

  At this time, Ye Yuqi had already walked in, listened to everyone's words and repeated the situation just now. He bowed deeply to everyone and said: "Ye Yuqi is grateful for everyone's help." Then he turned around and said to Wang Chengdong, "Wang Gongzi, what my granddaughter said is what I, Ye Yuqi, said, it counts completely, you can rest assured. However, the two-day time limit is too tight, please allow me to repay the debt five days later."

  Wang Chengdong had met his uncle before. Wang Chengdong very politely bowed deeply to Ye Yiqi.

  "I dare not." Ye Yuxi turned sideways, refusing Wang Chengdong's courtesy. "Did you agree to what I just said, Mr. Wang?"

  Wang Chengdong stood up straight and said, "Although I really want to agree with Uncle, the time is too tight. I need to take the money to buy jade materials, so please forgive me, Uncle, for not being able to fulfill your request."

  "You..." Ye Yuqi was slightly out of breath.

  "Grandfather, just two days will be fine." Ye Zhuo stepped forward and supported Ye Yuqi.

  Ye Yiqi turned his head, looked at Ye Zhuo, and saw that his own granddaughter had nodded to him with a confident expression. He couldn't help but feel a little relieved, and said to Wang Chengdong: "Alright, two days it is. At this time two days later, come to the Jade Carving Workshop to collect the silver."

  "Also, Uncle, please write a note for me to owe you money." Wang Chengdong said again.

  Ye Zhuo spoke up, "Wang Gongzi, please wait a moment. Let my grandfather and Luo Shifu go to the yamen to confirm the deed in his hand, before writing off this debt."

  "Alright." Although Wang Chengdong was anxious, Ye Yuxi didn't write, and he couldn't do anything about it. He had no choice but to wait.

  Then Ye Yuqi followed Luo Jingsheng out again. Ye Zhuo was worried that Luo Jingsheng would run away, so he specially invited two strong men from the crowd to help and follow them together. The procedure was not complicated, and after a meal, Ye Yuqi returned, saying that the house deed had been transferred to his name. He picked up his pen and wrote an IOU, which he handed over to Wang Chengdong. After Wang Chengdong checked the note without error, he was about to leave with his servant when he heard Ye Zhuo say to the onlookers: "Our Yu Zhuo Fang has a piece of jade carving, if any uncle or elder is interested, you can take a look."

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