This was the very thing that puzzled Feng Jinlin the most, and he suddenly understood.
"The current Director of the Grand Canal Administration is Liang Quanbin. Mingyue isn't brain-damaged, so why would she have any further dealings with the Liang family!"
Feng Jinyao, upon hearing his words, thought of something.
Yes, Sister Banxia could accurately predict that the Liang family and the Xu family would never interact again, but how could she be so sure that she would send the ledger to her?
As in her previous life, was she intentionally protecting her?
Feng Jinyao didn't know, but what she was thinking now was that if she had the chance, she still wanted to meet this Sister Banxia.
Whether it was for the reminder from her past life or the trust in this one.
The matter of dealing with corrupt officials in Jinling City had already begun, but the Censorate officials of the other two Zhejiang provinces had not perceived the secret behind it.
They were wholeheartedly focused on the matter of collecting official grain this year.
The weather at the end of May, by rights, should have been sunny and gradually getting hot.
But this year the weather was abnormally severe, and they could still wear cloaks.
Although they didn't need to wear fur-collared clothes when going out, they couldn't wear light gauze either.
As a result, many silk shops that had stocked gauze were now in great distress.
The Zhu family was also involved in this business, so the shopkeeper was so worried that he had become somewhat gaunt.
The ledger looked worse with each passing day, and a large portion of their ready cash had been spent.
At this time in previous years, at least a thousand bolts of fabric would have already been sold, but now those stocked last year were still lying untouched in the warehouse.
And the farmers who had supplied silk and dyes according to the agreement had not received the money that should have been paid long ago, thus they were resentful.
After the Chi family incited this matter, the Zhu family's silk shop was filled with farmers who had come to demand payment, all of them ferocious, holding their tools, and blocking the shopkeeper and the clerks inside.
They threatened that if they didn't get their money today, they would go in and steal the fabric.
How could that be allowed?
What was delivered were merely raw materials, but what was to be taken away were finished fabrics, and all of them were of superior quality, meant to be sent to the Eastern Capital.
If they were truly stolen by them, what would happen?
The leader, Old Man Zheng, was one of the more eloquent ones. He first tearfully pleaded that the Zhu family's debt had caused them to have no rice to cook, and that their children and elders at home were so hungry they couldn't get up. He stirred up the emotions of the onlookers to a high pitch.
"Everyone, please judge this! Are the people of the Zhu family trying to default on their debt? It's written in black and white. The payment was due ten days ago, and there's still no movement. Are they not planning to pay? Or are they bullying us for being illiterate and stupid?"
With every word he spoke, the people behind him would chime in.
The silk shop was surrounded tightly again. The shopkeeper wanted to send someone to find the Zhu family to handle the matter, but he couldn't get out.
If he went out, he would be greeted with rotten eggs and vegetables. Who could withstand that?
He could only pace anxiously in the shop, hoping that someone nearby would see and inform the owner to come to their rescue.
However, the shopkeeper's absence further intensified the conflict.
Old Man Zheng then said,
"Since the Zhu family doesn't care about our lives, then we don't need to be polite either. The sky will rain, a wife will marry a husband, and if there's no food in the belly, people will eat each other. Since they can't come up with the money, then everyone, don't be polite, just grab it! Whatever you can grab, grab it!"
Saying this, he brandished the hoe in his hand and struck the door panel of the silk shop.
They were all farmers who relied on their strength. In a short while, the door panel was smashed to pieces.
The shopkeeper inside was terrified. Seeing Old Man Zheng and the others rush in and start looting the fabric, he was frantic.
"No, don't listen to Old Man Zheng's nonsense. How could the Zhu family be out of money? Everyone, please calm down. I'll go and invite the owner to pay you, okay?"
"Pah! How many days have we been waiting? The Zhu family says every day that they have money to pay, but where are they? Where is the money? The harvest from the fields is getting worse day by day, and the whole family relies on this little bit of money to live, yet you refuse to give it. Are you trying to kill us?"
The speaker was another silk farmer. He raised many silkworms and supplied them to the Zhu family every year, but this was the first time in his life that he hadn't been paid by this time of year.
He had initially thought it would only be delayed for a few days, but then he unexpectedly heard news.
Everyone said that the Zhu family was so wealthy, how could they not even give a small amount of money for the farmers to live on? Could it be that the Zhu family had run into trouble?
After all, the confrontation between the Zhu family and Director Liang that day could not be kept secret.
Therefore, they were worried that if the Zhu family truly collapsed, their money would be wasted, so they had rushed to demand payment.
As expected, the Zhu family was plotting something, and they didn't even dare to show their faces. They had locked the shop door tightly, which led to the scene just now.
The shopkeeper pleaded with everyone to give him some time, or he could send someone with him to get the money from the owner.
But Old Man Zheng had received benefits and was determined to disrupt the peace of the silk shop today. So he stepped forward and started to act.
"Don't listen to his nonsense. If you go with him to the Zhu family, I'm afraid you won't be able to get out once you enter. I'm going to take the fabric as payment, and you can take the money if you want."
They were not fools, and they naturally knew that the value of this fabric was much greater than the silk and cotton they had supplied.
Naturally, they wanted to take this valuable item to offset the debt, and even if they sold it at a slight discount, it would be equivalent to several years of harvest.
As soon as this was said, the crowd became enraged.
They no longer bothered to talk nonsense with the shopkeeper and rushed forward to grab as much as they could. They pulled out the cheaper fabrics, bundled the more expensive ones, and left.
They were all strong people, and each of them carried a small mountain on their backs and ran away with the fabric.
The shopkeeper tried to stop them from the left but couldn't, and was beaten down from the right.
After everyone dispersed, only a pile of wreckage remained in the silk shop, and even the abacus he usually used had been taken away.
Among them were the farmers who owed them money, but there were also many who came to take advantage.
"Quick, quick, report this matter to my master!"
The shopkeeper was helped up by the clerks and staggered out.
Who knew that when he reached the gate of the Zhu family, he discovered that the silk shop being robbed was only one of them, and many shopkeepers had come to seek help.
The cannons of Director Liang on the day of the Zhu family's son's wedding were witnessed by all.
Moreover, the situation on that day when Zhu Hong was so angry that he wanted to drag everyone down with him made those who had had dealings with the Zhu family in the past to kick them while they were down.
Then, a rumor that had been prepared long ago began to spread everywhere.
It was said that the Zhu family was going to collapse because they had offended the Director of the Grand Canal Administration, so merchants who had dealings with the Zhu family began to distance themselves.
The shopkeepers gathered at the gate demanding that the Zhu family uphold justice for them, but at this moment, Zhu Hong, the head of the Zhu family, had fallen ill.