Instant Regret

For a moment, the group hesitated. After some discussion, a man said, "That Tang woman is unreliable, full of nonsense. She talks about how easy it is to grow vegetables in greenhouses. Just think about it—other villages have tried to imitate Ali's greenhouse, but no one's vegetables survive except Ali's. With Tang's limited skills, what kind of vegetables could she possibly grow?"

"Yeah, what should we do now?" Others began to feel uneasy. Someone suggested, "Why don't we quickly go back and apologize to Su Li, say we won't ask for compensation, and won't cancel the contract anymore."

"Alright, let's go!" So, before even reaching home, several families immediately turned around and headed back to Su Li's house.

When they arrived at Su Li's doorstep, they happened to see Bailu escorting Sun Shi and a few others out.

Sun Shi and the other villagers wore joyous expressions, especially Sun Shi, who was pleased with her inside information. Upon hearing that someone was giving up land, she hurried over and managed to grab three particularly good plots! When the time comes, she plans to hire a few laborers to sell the vegetables, expecting to earn several hundred wen a day!

The other villagers each snatched a plot as well, all beaming with happiness.

Bailu saw those ungrateful people who had come back and wore a displeased expression. "Why have you returned again?"

Those people, upon seeing Bailu, completely changed their attitude, turning from loud demands for compensation to bowing and nodding: "Miss Bailu, we... we regret it. Let's just forget about canceling the contract."

The others chimed in, "Yes, yes, let's forget it. Pretend it never happened!"

Bailu raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You were so stubborn just now, and now you regret it so quickly?"

The families nodded and forced smiles apologetically: "We were impulsive earlier and had a bad attitude. We apologize to Miss Bailu! We actually never wanted to cancel the contract; it was Tang Shi stirring up trouble, causing us to make a big mistake in the heat of the moment."

Bailu chuckled, "Regret it? Too late! The land you gave up has already been reassigned to others."

The families were dumbfounded upon hearing this. The land had already been reassigned!?

So fast!

Sun Shi and the others saw the situation clearly. Sun Shi placed her hands on her hips and said, "Who do you think Su Li's family is? A place where you can do whatever you want? Want to quit, then quit; don't want to, then don't? Does your family indulge you like this?"

The villagers who had secured land immediately stood on Su Li and Sun Shi's side, speaking up for Bailu.

"Exactly, a few ungrateful people. As soon as things go wrong, they stab others in the back, and now they want compensation? Bah! No shame at all! I think it's best to kick these families out. We won't prosper with them!"

"Now this land is ours. The meat we've eaten, you want us to spit it out? No way!"

"There’s no place to buy regret medicine; if you regret it, it’s too late!"

The villagers who had gained land surrounded those few families, pointing fingers and making them blush with embarrassment, while they begged Bailu to nullify the contract cancellation.

Bailu was clever; she didn’t need to confront those families directly because those who benefited naturally stood up for her.

So Bailu said, "The land you gave up has already been signed over to other villagers. If you want to regret it and take the land back, I can’t decide that. You’ll have to talk to those villagers. If they’re willing to return the land to you, I have no objection; but if they refuse, I can’t force them either, since the contract is signed in black and white."

After saying this, Bailu turned and left. The families who had just received the new land immediately clashed with those ungrateful families, who were forced to slink away with their tails between their legs.