kvmb Chapter 244: Cheating and abduction
Chapter 244: Cheating and abduction
It wasn't a big deal, except that the woman they bought wanted to sell her again, and with their family's current situation, they couldn't afford to support a freeloader.
Another option is to sell her and get some silver. Prices in the capital are high, and buying a servant is not cheap. I spent fifteen taels of silver. It also cost me fifteen taels to buy Zhao Lanlan.
However, after buying and selling it, he was suddenly three taels of silver short. But he had to sell it. He had only used it for a few days and already was three taels of silver short. Old man Li felt like his heart was bleeding, and finally he gritted his teeth and sold it.
If a woman of this age were brought to Jiunu County, she wouldn't be able to be sold for even this much money.
The previous ten taels of silver, plus the ten taels given by Li Xiaoxiao, plus the twelve taels given by the woman who sold her, the total is thirty-two taels of silver.
With so much silver in his hands, Old Man Li finally felt confident.
Knowing that he would have no other income after returning to Qinghe Village, he spent the money he had carefully and cautiously, and even secretly took back the ten taels of silver that he had left with Old Lady Li.
It is still safest to keep the money with you. With the money in hand, you can rent a carriage. Li Chengcai took the initiative to suggest going.
Old man Li was worried: "You are young, and people will cheat you on the price. You wait at home and I will go by myself."
When we arrived at the market, it was already afternoon and there were almost no people in the market. Old man Li was looking around.
Suddenly, a middle-aged man came over. He looked honest, but his voice was shrewd: "Big brother, what are you looking for?"
"I came here to rent a carriage. Maybe I was late, so they all left." Old man Li answered casually and stated the purpose of his trip.
"You are indeed a little late. What is the purpose of renting a carriage?" the middle-aged man asked warmly, looking very familiar.
"Our whole family is going back to our hometown." When Old Man Li saw that there were no more carriages, he turned around and wanted to leave.
"Hey, big brother, don't leave yet." Hearing this, the middle-aged man rolled his eyes and took two quick steps to block in front of old man Li.
"What are you doing?" Old man Li asked with a frown.
"What a coincidence! I have two carriages at home. I see that you, big brother, look kind-hearted and you are very pleasing to my eye. Why don't you rent my carriages? I can give you a discount." The middle-aged man spoke with a cheerful voice and a smile.
When he heard that he was offering a discount, Old Man Li immediately became interested. He stopped and looked around, but he didn't see his carriage.
"My home is nearby. My wife pulled the carriage back to feed the horses, and you came just as she returned. It's really a coincidence." The middle-aged man explained to him, and his words made sense. Old Man Li had no doubts at all.
The rental of a horse carriage is calculated on a daily basis. Normally, it costs 40 cents a day for both the carriage and the horse. For a long journey like Old Man Li, the price will be doubled, and the travel expenses must also be taken into account, which makes it 80 cents a day.
Because a discount had been agreed upon previously, the middle-aged man asked him for seventy cents.
Two carriages can save twenty cents a day, and it will take them five days to travel this distance, which means a hundred cents.
Thinking of this, Old Man Li immediately decided to rent his carriage and set the time for the next morning.
Old man Li paid the rent and bought some food for the journey. Soon the middle-aged man from yesterday arrived, accompanied by a thin man with shifty eyes. He had a pair of round eyes that kept looking at the Li family.
The two men each drove a carriage and loaded the Li family's luggage one by one. Old man Li, his two sons and Li Chengcai sat in the front carriage.
Old Mrs. Li, Mrs. Liu, Mrs. Jiang, and their two children were sitting in a carriage at the back.
The carriage was packed with people and belongings. After packing up, the two of them started driving the carriage towards the city gate.
For some unknown reason, Old Man Li only felt that the carriage was extremely bumpy, swaying from side to side as if the driver didn't know how to drive.
Although I was a little confused, I didn't take it seriously, thinking that the driver might be a novice and not very skilled.
The carriage bumped along the way and soon arrived outside the city. Old Man Li could no longer bear it: "Brother, why don't we slow down a bit? My old bones are almost broken by the shaking."
"Okay," the coachman answered without even looking at Old Man Li. The carriage was indeed a little slower than before, but soon the speed was picked up again unknowingly.
This time Old Man Li didn't say anything. They walked on the road for a whole day. Near dusk, they arrived at an inn in a town.
Old man Li felt dizzy and was about to fall down while walking. He was motion sickness, and the symptoms were very severe.
Seeing this, the honest driver hurriedly reached out to help Old Man Li down from the cart. Even though it was so uncomfortable, Old Man Li held his chest with his right hand and did not let go at all.
The honest driver stared at Old Man Li's right hand, took a careful look at it, and had to go around to the other side and help Old Man Li down.
The thin coachman parked the carriage, and Liu and the others got off. Only Old Lady Li looked pale and listless, and it was obvious that she was also carsick.
Old man Li and several men shared a room, and Old lady Li and several women shared a room. As for the coachmen, they were not taken care of.
The two drivers rented a room for themselves, and when it was late at night, the honest driver whispered, "Are you asleep?"
"No, when are we going to start?" The thin driver's voice was eerie, and it sounded particularly creepy in the silent night.
"Eighty percent of the silver is probably with Old Man Li. There are only two of us. If we act rashly, I'm afraid we won't have a 100% chance of winning." The honest driver only looks honest, but he is actually very smart. He has a clear understanding of the Li family's situation in just one day.
"Then what do you think we should do?" the thin driver asked again.
"I'll buy some cakes tomorrow and put the drugs in them. We'll do it the old way." The honest driver's tone was firm, and it was obvious that this was not the first time they had done this.
In fact, they were not coachmen, but two swindlers who cheated people everywhere. It was unlucky for Old Man Li to be targeted by them.
The carriage was rented for only six days, so they didn't have much opportunity to take action.
"This method is good and it works every time." The thin driver couldn't see his face in the dark, but could hear his sinister laughter.
Sure enough, the honest driver got up early the next day, asked the waiter of the inn where there was a pastry shop nearby, and went to the pastry shop and bought two boxes of the most famous local osmanthus cakes.
When they returned to the inn, the Li family had just gotten up and were about to go downstairs to eat. They met the honest coachman and saw that he was carrying two bags in his hands.