Shu Yu said this, then turned her head to Ying Xi and added, "In a bit, you drive the carriage to the Manor first and ask Brother Daniu to come over to have a look at the land here. Bring the seeds and the contract along too. If we can settle everything in one go, it’ll save me another trip."

"Yes." Ying Xi nodded in agreement.

The others all let out a long breath. Since the seeds and the contract were being brought over, if everything looked suitable, they’d definitely be able to start planting.

Ruan Hai’s heart, however, clenched even tighter.偏偏 at this moment Shu Yu looked over at him and said, "Village Chief Ruan, what do you think? When the time comes, I’ll have to trouble you to look over the contract and help the villagers keep an eye on things."

Facing the other villagers’ gazes, there was no way Ruan Hai could say he was unwilling. He hurriedly gave a dry laugh and said, "But of course, of course."

Then, surrounded by the villagers, Shu Yu left Ruan Hai’s house.

As soon as she left, Ruan Hai’s face darkened. His wife whispered, "What on earth is this county magistrate trying to do?"

"What is she trying to do? Heh, she’s warning me. She’s probably already figured out that I had a hand in the idea of letting Madam Ruan come over, so now she wants to stick her hand into the village’s affairs too."

His wife frowned. "If more than half the people in the village end up planting sunflower, will they still listen to you in the future?"

"Don’t worry about that. Didn’t you notice she only agreed to a few households just now? And they all have a good relationship with Ruan Chengchun’s family."

"That was only in the short time this morning. There’s still the afternoon, isn’t there? Those who hear about it will probably rush over too."

Ruan Hai nodded. "You’re right. Go call Boss over, have him bring Second Cousin and the others. While the county magistrate is eating lunch at noon, go visit those villagers who are interested. Give them a reminder: Ruan Family Village is still under my say. Once the county magistrate leaves, they still have to go on living here in the village, so they’d better keep a clear head. They’re not like Ruan Dali, they don’t have a way out."

"Got it." Ruan Hai’s wife turned and went straight to Boss’s room.

Ruan Hai stood in the living room, his face getting uglier by the moment. "That damn girl, really likes to stick her hand where it doesn’t belong."

By this time Shu Yu was already standing at Ruan Chengchun’s doorway. The villagers were very warm and only turned back after escorting her this far. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

The three of them entered the house, and after the courtyard gate was closed, she asked Ruan Chengqian, "How did it go?"

"We found the body. It really is Cao Jiang."

Ruan Chengqian’s expression was extremely grave. Before, it had only been his and the county magistrate’s speculation. Now that they’d seen the corpse, it meant Ruan Kewei really was vicious enough to take a life.

A person like that in the village was far too dangerous.

"Have you dug him out?"

Ruan Chengqian shook his head. "We dug halfway. After we saw his face, we covered the soil back up."

"Alright." Shu Yu nodded, then said to Ying Xi, "You eat first. Once you’re done, go to the county town and find Lord Xie. Have Constable Jiang bring about twenty men over. We’ll use this chance to arrest Ruan Hai and his son."

"Understood."

In fact, Shu Yu could have dug the body out right now. A homicide in Ruan Family Village and reporting it to the authorities would be a perfectly normal procedure.

But the murderers just so happened to be Ruan Hai and his son. As the Clan Leader, he had people under his thumb. If he incited the villagers to obstruct them, it was entirely possible that before the body was even dug out, they’d destroy the evidence first.

Ruan Chengchun was a bit worried. "We did find the corpse, and the hoe is buried in the pit along with it, but we still have no proof that it was Ruan Kewei who killed him. Shouldn’t we look for other evidence as well?"