Chapter 23, Yao Guoping’s history of success
In order to get to Yaozhuang as soon as possible, Xi Xingchen trotted all the way, even swallowing dry food as he walked. Now he was indeed thirsty and hungry.
After learning from Wang Dabao that the Yao family had colluded with the bandits, Xi Xingchen vaguely felt that it would not be that easy to come to Yaozhuang to rescue Yang Xuelian this time.
With the war approaching, Xi Xingchen urgently needed to replenish water and food to adjust his body to optimal condition.
This is why he knocked on the door of his white-haired mother-in-law regardless of his identity being exposed.
The white-haired mother-in-law hesitated for a moment, then went back to the house and scooped out a ladle of water and handed it to Xi Xingchen, and said, "Young man, it's getting dark. After you drink the water, hurry up and leave."
"Oh! Old lady, why is this? I still want to stay in this village for one night?" Xi Xingchen saw that the old lady was trying to drive her away, and there seemed to be a hint of anxiety in her eyes. Showing a puzzled expression.
"No, just finish your drink and leave!" Before the old woman could answer, another old man walked out of the room and waved to Xi Xingchen impatiently.
"You don't have to live in vain, you have to pay for it!" Xi Xingchen took out two big coins from his arms and handed them to the white-haired mother-in-law.
"Get out! Don't blame me for being rude if you keep pestering me!" Upon seeing this, the old man became furious. He grabbed a wooden stick from the side and forced himself towards Xi Xingchen.
"Let's go, young man, my old man has a bad temper..." The white-haired mother-in-law quickly grabbed the old man, very embarrassed.
"Sorry to bother you!"
Just as Xi Xingchen was about to leave, the sound of horse hooves roared in. The white-haired mother-in-law's expression changed drastically, and she quickly pulled Xi Xingchen into the house.
As soon as the door was closed, four fast horses galloped past the house. A villager who had returned from work avoided a little later. The rider on the horse raised his hand with a whip, whipping the villager to stagger, and then laughed loudly. And go.
The villager was whipped out of thin air. Although his face showed anger, he did not dare to say anything and left in a hurry thinking that he was unlucky.
Strangely enough, after seeing these four fast horses, the old man who just wanted to drive Xi Xingchen as far as he could, fell silent when he saw the white-haired mother-in-law pulling Xi Xingchen into the house.
"Mother-in-law, who are they that are so rampant in the village?" Xi Xingchen asked curiously.
"They are bandits from Huangfeng Village." The old man said with a straight face and angrily.
"Young man, don't blame my old man. Bandits often come and go in our village. He doesn't let you stay overnight for your own good." The white-haired mother-in-law said apologetically.
"Huangfeng Village is hundreds of miles away from Zhouzhuang. How come they are here?" Upon hearing about the bandits in Huangfeng Village, Xi Xingchen immediately perked up and said with a surprised expression.
"Oh, that's too much to say." The old man sighed and waved his head to signal Xi Xingchen to enter the room.
After entering the house, the old man took the initiative to pour a glass of water for Xi Xingchen and apologized: "Little brother, I'm sorry, I just drove you away on purpose because..."
Xi Xingchen waved his hands repeatedly: "Don't... don't..., uncle, you are doing this for my own good. It's not too late for me to be grateful."
At this time, the white-haired mother-in-law took out a few sweet potatoes from the pot, put them on the table, and said: "Young man, there are bandits in the village. You may not be able to leave tonight. Our family doesn't have anything to entertain these days. Eat." A few sweet potatoes to fill my stomach.”
"Thank you so much." Xi Xingchen quickly took out the two large coins from his arms and handed them to the white-haired mother-in-law.
"No need!" The old man pushed Xi Xingchen's hand back, "Who hasn't encountered some difficulties when going out?"
After pushing it a few times, Xi Xingchen saw that the old man refused to accept it, so he took off a wine gourd from his waist, shook it and said: "I have a pot of oil here. Uncle, if you don't mind, our uncle and nephew will join us tonight." How about a couple of drinks?"
"Hit!" The old man was obviously also curious. His eyes suddenly lit up when he heard this, and he turned around and shouted to the white-haired mother-in-law, "Old lady, come stir-fry the peanuts, me and..."
"My nephew's surname is Xi!" Xi Xingchen now had some affection for this cold-faced and warm-hearted old man and said quickly.
"Yes, let's have a drink with Brother Xi." The old man laughed loudly, took the wine gourd from Xi Xingchen's hand, took off the lid, smelled it, and said, "Good wine!"
Men are actually very strange animals. Regardless of whether they know each other or not, as long as they can sit at the same table and drink a few glasses of wine, they can immediately become brothers.
The same was true for Xi Xingchen and the old man. After a few drinks together, the two seemed to be very familiar with each other. Because he was interested in inquiring, Xi Xingchen quickly found out the old man's details.
This old man's name is Yao Jianping. His ancestral home is Yaozhuang. He has a son who is in his thirties and has not yet married. He wanders around outside all day long and cannot return home more than once a year.
In recent years, Yao Jianping's family has also been hit by disasters. Fortunately, the family still has some savings, and the son who is working outside sends some money and food to the family from time to time. Although life is a bit hard, it can still survive.
After drinking another glass of wine with each other, Xi Xingchen filled another glass of wine for Yao Jianping and said, "Uncle Yao, I would like to ask, what's going on when the bandits from Huangfeng Village appeared in Yao Village?"
Yao Jianping burped and said, "Do you know Yao Guoping, the owner of Dafa Rice Store?"
"Know!"
"It was this wolf cub who brought it. If I had known he was a white-eyed wolf, I would have let him starve to death."
Yao Jianping was already a bit drunk at this time, and while scolding, he began to talk about the history of Yao Guoping's fortune.
Yao Guoping's parents died young, and he was an orphan who grew up eating the food of hundreds of families. After growing up, Yao Guoping worked outside for more than ten years. When he returned to Yaozhuang again, he not only accumulated some wealth, but also brought back a beautiful woman.
After Yao Guoping returned to Yaozhuang, he rebuilt his house and opened a rice store in Zhuma Town. That rice store was Dafa Rice Store.
In the first few years since he opened the store, Yao Guoping did business in a very orderly manner. He basically managed to be a good person, and he even helped needy households in the village, which earned him a lot of reputation.
This situation lasted until the government failed to encircle and suppress Huangfeng Village. The bandits in Huangfeng Village expanded their scope of activities and began to appear in various villages in Wan County, running rampant in the township and causing trouble for everyone.
At this time, the people of Yao Village discovered that the woman Yao Guoping brought back was actually the sister of the head of Huang Feng Village. It was at this time that Yao Guoping began to show his fangs.
Especially in the past few years during the great disaster, Yao Guoping deliberately raised the price of rice and frantically plundered the villagers' money; secretly, he killed people and set fires, coerced and lured them, and forced the villagers to sell their fields and soil. After plundering the villagers' money, property and land, they forced the villagers to sell their sons and daughters.
Because Yao Guoping bribed the government and was backed by the bandits of Huangfeng Village, Yao Guoping's family ran rampant in the village, bullying men and women, and the villagers dared not speak out in anger.
