Chapter 9: Family Ties Are No Match for Money
Xiao Yi Mo silently accepted it, thinking that getting used to something was a terrible thing. It had only been a day and he was already almost used to her way of addressing him, or perhaps he was just too lazy to refute her.
Li walked a few steps forward and glanced at the basket before saying: "Who's this going to steal chickens from?"
"You stole my sister, and now you're stealing chickens? Open your eyes wide and take a good look, that's just a wild chicken!" Su Xiaofan couldn't help but curse out loud, the thing she hated most in her life was being framed.
"What's wrong with the way you're speaking, I'm just asking a question." Li scolded with a dark face, this usually docile maid who never made a sound no matter how much she was ridiculed, had she really changed or was she driven mad by excessive stimulation?
"Does Second Aunt not know that while food can be eaten casually, words cannot be spoken casually?" Su Xiaofan looked at Xiao Yiming entering the kitchen and then swept a glance over the crowd in the courtyard before saying: "Our family borrowed money from all of you, we will return it as soon as possible, everyone doesn't need to worry."
Li sneered and said, "You yourself said that this kind of talk is not allowed, what are you going to use to repay everyone's money? Didn't you sell her to the village head as a child bride?"
Su Xiaofan frowned, indeed in the local concept, since they accepted the silver, it's considered sold to the village chief's house: "Second Aunt, you may not know, I agreed with the village chief that I would stay at home until my mother gives birth and can take care of herself and grandma before going over there. In these few months, I will think of a way to repay everyone's silver."
"A few months? You can earn enough money to pay back the silver? What will you use to make money?" Li's relentless questioning, although this girl's temper had changed, but she who couldn't recognize a few big characters, now became someone's concubine, even if she wanted to go to a wealthy family as a maid, probably no one would take her in.
"Don't worry about this, Auntie. In short, I, Su Xiaofan, will definitely keep my promise and return everyone's money. Neighbors won't refuse to wait for a few months, right?" Su Xiaofan smiled and glanced around at the crowd.
"Uh, no rush, but about the previous issue, why did you go shopping after getting the money instead of returning it to everyone first? Please give us an explanation so that everyone can be at ease."
Su Xiaofan looked up and saw that the speaker was Sanpo Wang Shi - Wang Yin, whose hair had turned completely white, with a slightly hunched back, and at just over sixty years old, nearly all of her teeth were gone. Although no one explicitly said it, everyone understood that this might have been caused by San Gong's violence. San Gong had a severe tendency towards violence when he was young, but fortunately, as he grew older, his temperament became much more gentle.
"Why does our family always rush to buy things as soon as we have some silver? Those of you present may not know, but they can't possibly not know. That's why I mentioned Second Aunt and Third Aunt earlier - those two esteemed ladies are quite forgetful."
"Wait..." Madam Ji tugged at Su Xiaofan's sleeve, wanting her to stop talking, but at the same time, she also knew that if they didn't give everyone a clear explanation, it would be difficult to disperse the crowd today.
"Mother, don't worry." Su Xiaofan gave her a smile to reassure her. Mother was a kind person and they had all reached that point, but she still wanted to find a way to protect their reputation. Su Xiaofan wasn't someone who spoke nicely, if they didn't care about the feelings of their relatives, then why should she treat them like family?
Sometimes, in the face of money, so-called kinship is worthless, she was very clear about this.
"Say it to my face." Meng's voice was sharp and full of confidence as she shouted, not believing that this debt collector would dare say she was in the wrong. Paying back debts is a matter of course.
"The situation at my home, I suppose everyone is very clear about it. My grandmother is advanced in age, and my mother is about to give birth soon. Our family has been struggling to make ends meet for a long time. Recently, I was jilted by the Zhang family and fell ill. The Zhangs sent over some silver coins, which, after deducting the cost of medicine and medical care, still left some loose change. My grandmother used it to buy something called corn flour."
Su Xiaofan said, pausing for a moment before continuing: "Yesterday, my two uncles and their families came to our house to demand debt repayment, but they didn't succeed. They took away all the things Grandma bought yesterday, so now we don't even have anything to eat at home. The silver sent by the village head's family is not much either. We must prepare some food first. As the saying goes, 'people are made of iron and rice is steel', if we don't eat for a day, we'll be starving. If our family members all starve to death, who will you find to repay the debt?"
The three women walked into the kitchen after listening, took a look around and then came out to tell everyone: "Little Fang said it's true, there is indeed nothing to eat in this house."
The crowd whispered to each other in twos and threes after hearing this.
Yu Xiao Xi angrily pointed at Meng Shi and said: "You are also considered relatives, how can you push people to this point? Your family is not lacking in food..."
"Sister, that's enough." Yu Xiaohe spoke up to stop her. Su Er Fu and Su San Fu were not good people, and the villagers knew it more or less. Her sister was still young, if she offended them, she would inevitably be bullied by them in the future.
"What's wrong with this? Has it become wrong for me to borrow money from others?" Meng glared at Yu Xiaoxi fiercely, then looked straight and confidently at Yu Xiaohua.
Yu Xiaohuo furrowed her brow and didn't respond.
"No one said that you two, Second Aunt and Third Aunt, did anything wrong. Everyone is clear about our family's situation, we really don't have the money, it's not that we have the money but intentionally didn't return it to everyone. Since I promised to pay back everyone's money within a few months, I will definitely do it. I also hope that Second Aunt and Third Aunt can go back and tell Second Uncle and Third Uncle again, and give us a few more months of extension, we won't run away." Su Xiaofan calmly looked at Meng Shi.
Meng's eyes narrowed slightly as he stared silently at Su Xiaofan.
"Alright, since Xiao Fan has said so, let's all wait a bit longer. And we shouldn't make things too difficult for the villagers either. Besides, Dajie is really about to give birth, and at home, there can't be no food at all." Su Hu smiled and looked around at everyone, seeking their opinions.
"Good."
"Good."
When Su Hu said so, everyone nodded in agreement. These widows and orphans were originally having a hard time, and everyone knew that. If it weren't for Meng Shi and Li Shi coming to stir up trouble today, saying they had money but refused to pay back, how would everyone have come together to make things difficult for them?
"So everyone dispersed then." Su Huo led the crowd away, and before leaving, he said to Yu Xiaohe: "You two stay here and accompany them for a while."
"Good." Yu Xiaohe smiled softly and saw the crowd off with her eyes.
Everyone has dispersed, and Li and Meng also stopped talking, angrily turning around to take their own children away.