great-warnovel Chapter 32 Su Wan took out a wild ginseng, "Is this enough to buy your lives?"
Chapter 32 Su Wan took out a wild ginseng, "Is this enough to buy your lives?"
At the courtyard gate, the atmosphere was tense, and the air was thick with the smell of gunpowder.
"take away!"
The leading officer had a fierce face. He slammed his whip into the ground with a sharp crack, sending dust flying.
"The three men of the Qin family, set off immediately! Anyone who dares to resist? They will be charged with treason and their entire family will be executed!"
"You dare—!"
A loud shout, like that of a wounded wild beast.
Qin Lie took a step forward, his towering figure blocking the entrance.
His muscles tensed instantly, and the veins on his arms bulged out menacingly like coiled dragons. Although he wasn't holding a knife, the murderous aura emanating from him, as if he had crawled out of a pile of corpses, forced the officers to take two steps back.
"Anyone who dares to touch my brother, I'll make sure they leave here straddling a chair!"
Qin Lie's eyes were bloodshot; he was truly intent on killing.
"Big...Big Brother! Don't be impulsive!"
Although the third brother, Qin Meng, and the twins also hated him to the core, they were more afraid that their eldest brother would actually kill the officials.
This is a heinous crime punishable by the extermination of an entire clan!
"Oh, you want to rebel?"
The village head, hiding behind the officials, arrogantly shouted, "Qin Dalang, how dare you be so arrogant? Do you think you can defy the laws of the imperial court? Either hand over the person, or pay the fine! One hundred taels of silver for exemption from corvée labor, not a penny less!"
One hundred taels.
In this impoverished and remote village where even in a good year a family might only spend two or three taels of silver a year, this was an astronomical figure!
Although the Qin family had just built a house, they had spent all their previous savings, so where would they get so much cash?
"No money?"
The official sneered, his greedy eyes sweeping over the Qin family's imposing brick and tile house:
"If you don't have money, use your house as collateral! Use yourself as collateral! I think this young lady is quite pretty, if we could sell her..."
"court death!"
Qin Lie was completely enraged.
His fists clenched so tightly they cracked, and he was about to rush forward and twist the head off this foul-mouthed bastard.
"Wait a minute."
A cool, languid voice, yet exuding an undeniable air of authority, suddenly rang out from behind him.
Su Wan stretched out a small, fair hand and gently pressed it against Qin Lie's hard, hot forearm.
"My lord, step back."
Her voice wasn't loud, but it seemed to have a magical quality.
Qin Lie's raging fury momentarily faltered at the touch. He turned back, his eyes filled with anxiety: "Jiaojiao, don't worry about it! Go back inside!"
Su Wan ignored him and instead took a step forward.
Wearing that moon-white jacket and skirt, she looked as clean and radiant as a fairy among the group of grimy men.
But her gaze was even colder than Qin Lie's at that moment.
"You're an official, aren't you?"
Su Wan's lips curled into a faint smile, but her eyes were full of mockery:
"One hundred taels of silver, and you're all this anxious? You've never seen anything like this before."
"What did you say?!" the officer roared in anger.
I said…
Su Wan slowly pulled out a long, rectangular object wrapped in red cloth from her wide sleeve (which was actually the system's storage).
"The Qin family doesn't have any cash. But this... should be enough to buy these worthless lives, right?"
She tossed it casually.
The red cloth bundle was thrown into the arms of the leading official as if it were trash.
"What a piece of junk..."
The official took it while cursing, and disdainfully lifted a corner of the red cloth.
next second.
Everyone's movements froze.
"hiss--!"
A unified, synchronized gasp of cold air.
Within the red cloth lay a ginseng root with intact roots, golden color, and even a faint, strange medicinal fragrance!
The ginseng's main root was thick and had taken on a human shape, complete with facial features and limbs, and every fine root seemed to be breathing!
This is……
**A top-grade wild ginseng that's at least 300 years old!**
This is no ordinary medicine! This is a life-saving miracle! It's a treasure that even the highest-ranking officials and nobles in the capital wouldn't be willing to spend a fortune to obtain!
"This...this..."
The lead officer's hands were trembling, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. "This quality...this root...this is a three-hundred-year-old ginseng king!"
The village head, who had been so arrogant just moments before, was now so frightened that his legs went weak.
This kind of treasure, let alone a hundred taels, would be sought after even by a thousand taels!
Just how much wealth does the Qin family have hidden away?!
Is that enough?
Su Wan crossed her arms, tilted her head, and asked with an innocent look:
"If that's not enough, I have a few more in my house. I thought using them to make chicken soup would be too nutritious, so I'll give them to you."
How many are left?!
Chicken soup?!
The entire room fell silent.
Everyone looked at Su Wan as if she were a monster.
That spendthrift woman! She's burning a mountain of gold for firewood!
"Enough! Enough, enough!"
The official's attitude instantly changed 180 degrees.
His chubby face beamed with a smile that resembled a chrysanthemum as he carefully wrapped the ginseng, as if afraid of knocking off even a single rootlet.
"Madam Qin... no, Lady Qin! This treasure is far too precious! It's enough to exempt not only three laborers, but the entire village's laborers could be exempted!"
He has a good eye for quality.
If this is handed over to the county magistrate, it will be a great achievement for promotion and wealth!
The way he looked at Su Wan instantly changed from looking at a fat sheep to looking at a god of wealth.
"Don't worry, Madam Qin! I'll remove the Qin family's spot right now! Anyone who dares to cause trouble for the Qin family from now on is going against me!"
After saying that, he turned around and kicked the village head in the buttocks:
"You blind fool! Aren't you going to apologize to Madam Qin right now?!"
The village head was kicked so hard he fell face-first into the dirt, lying on the ground trembling, not daring to utter a sound.
A catastrophe.
Just as Su Wan casually tossed out a "radish," it vanished without a trace.
……
The officials, who were extremely grateful, were seen off.
The door closed again.
In the courtyard, the entire room fell silent.
The seven men of the Qin family did not cheer because the crisis was over.
Instead, Qin Lie stood still, staring intently at Su Wan, his cold face displaying an extremely complex expression.
There was shock, shame, self-blame, and even more... an intense, overwhelming tenderness.
"Jiaojiao".
Qin Lie's voice was hoarse, and his Adam's apple bobbed laboredly. "That ginseng... was it part of your dowry, meant to save your life?"
He imagined it.
He felt that was Su Wan's only trump card that she brought from her family.
Now, to save these rough men, she didn't hesitate to take it out.
"I...I'm a piece of trash."
Qin Lie slammed his fist into the door frame beside him, sending splinters flying.
"I'm a man! The head of the family! And yet, when trouble comes... I have to rely on my wife selling her dowry to settle things!"
"What kind of man am I!"
It wasn't just him.
The third brother, Qin Meng, also had tears in his eyes. He squatted down and buried his head in his hands, saying, "Sister-in-law... I'm useless. I only have strength, but I can't protect you."
The twins clenched their fists so tightly that their nails dug into their flesh.
shame.
It is also a driving force.
A desire to become stronger and to snatch the best things in the world for her is growing wildly and uncontrollably in the hearts of the seven men!
Looking at this group of men who have fallen into a state of "self-loathing".
Su Wan sighed helplessly.
What dowry? That was just something that was artificially ripened in the space, and it only cost a little bit of points. It's practically worthless!
But I can't say that.
She walked up to Qin Lie.
She reached out her soft little hand and forcefully pried open his still-bleeding fist.
Then, she gently leaned into his hard, iron-like embrace.
"My husband."
Su Wan tilted her head back, her peach blossom eyes shimmering with tears, filled with adoration and dependence:
"Who said you're useless?"
"The way you stood in front of me just now... was incredibly handsome, incredibly manly."
She grasped Qin Lie's large hand and pressed it against her chest:
"Money is just an external thing; you can earn it back if you lose it."
"But if you all get arrested... who will take care of me? Who will warm my bed?"
"In my heart, a thousand ginseng roots are not worth a single strand of my husband's hair."
boom--!
This love confession is ten thousand times more potent than that ginseng root!
Qin Lie trembled violently.
He lowered his head and stared intently at the delicate little woman in his arms.
My heart was pounding wildly in my chest, and my blood was like boiling water, roaring through my veins.
She gave away all her family fortune for me.
She also said... I am more important than anything else.
"Jiaojiao..."
Qin Lie could no longer hold back.
He suddenly bent down and scooped Su Wan up in his arms!
Those iron arms were tightening around her so much that it felt like they were trying to squeeze her into her body.
"Second brother! Fourth brother!"
Qin Lie carried Su Wan and strode towards the main house, his voice filled with a fierce, clenched-teeth tone:
"From today onwards, everyone give it your all!"
"If my sister-in-law suffers even the slightest injustice again... we might as well all slit our throats!"
"yes!!!"
The brothers behind him roared in unison, shaking the snow off the roof.
[Beep! Strong "protective" feelings detected + outburst after humiliation!]
[Ambition level of everyone: MAX!]
[Heartbeat Farm receives "passionate" watering!]
[New area unlocked: Armory (Beginner)!]
[System notification: Since everyone's so excited... how about giving them something to do? Like... training troops?]
In the master bedroom.
Qin Lie placed Su Wan on the canopy bed.
He did nothing else but kneel on one knee by the bed, holding Su Wan's foot (her shoes had gotten wet from stepping in the snow), and gently warming it with his hot hands.
He raised his head, his eyes flashing with a frightening light, like a tamed wolf ready to bite at any moment:
"Jiaojiao".
"Consider this money a debt I owe you."
"In this lifetime... I'll pay with my life."
Looking at his serious expression, Su Wan felt her feet go numb from the heat, and her heart trembled.
This man...
That's damn sexy.
"No need for a next life."
Su Wan curled her toes and gently tickled his palm, her eyes filled with seductive allure:
"How about paying some interest tonight?"