Chapter 251

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Protagonist:

Chai Mi

Every family has its hardships.

Chai Mi's family had them, and so did her Aunt Su Jin.

Chai Mi knew full well it was because of the child issue...

Of course, even if they had children, there would probably still be other issues.

Harmonious mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships might exist, but they were extremely rare.

Anyone living together was bound to have trouble.

But Su Jin had only this one son, and dividing the household wasn't very realistic. Rural life in this era was just like this—family conditions were all limited, making it hard to buy a house in the city for a son, and there wasn't that custom either. Parents living with their son and daughter-in-law naturally led to many conflicts, and mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflicts were unavoidable.

"Aunt, come inside first. Who could be as capable as you..." Chai Mi said perfunctorily.

Actually, Su Jin's health was worse, and she didn't do much work either.

"I'm a useless person too. If I could work, would I need those two?" Su Jin muttered, not sparing even herself.

Chai Mi shook her head helplessly: Look at my aunt, when she gets fierce, she even curses herself.

Su Wan had a timid nature and didn't know what to say, so she just smiled and accompanied her, ushering Su Jin into the room.

Chai Mi entered the room and prepared to brew tea.

Su Jin said she didn't drink tea and had switched to plain boiled water, which was nourishing.

So Chai Mi poured a cup of plain boiled water for Su Jin and brewed tea for herself.

She glanced at the time—it was only ten-thirty, so she could cook later and wasn't in a rush.

But soon, Su Jin saw Chai Youqing lying at the other end of the kang and immediately frowned, asking Su Wan in a low voice: "What's wrong? What happened to Chai Youqing?"

Since returning in the morning, Chai Youqing had been lying down.

Chai Mi didn't know if he was asleep or what, but anyway, it was almost midday and he hadn't moved from his spot.

Even now that Su Jin had arrived, Chai Youqing still hadn't moved.

Chai Mi was a bit dissatisfied, went over and pushed Chai Youqing: "Dad, my aunt is here. Get up for a moment."

Chai Youqing didn't move at all.

Chai Mi frowned and said: "Hey hey hey, get up. You're almost forty or fifty, what are you doing? Can't you live anymore or what? Are you shamming here? Who are you putting on a show for? For me, or for my mother?"

Chai Youqing sat up, said nothing, found a cigarette with his hand, lit it, and then tears welled up from the smoke.

"Sigh... you go wait in the west room for a while." Chai Mi pushed him, getting Chai Youqing to leave.

Chai Youqing muttered: "Chai Mi, your grandfather..."

"Fine fine fine, I already know. Go wait in the west room for a while." Chai Mi pushed Chai Youqing into the west room.

As for whether Chai Youqing was sad or upset, or for some other reason.

Chai Mi couldn't be bothered to ask, nor to listen.

In the morning, Chai Mi had clearly said: Chai Youqing going to the old family home would definitely bring no good.

The old family home hadn't had any good in over twenty years.

Even if there were good things, they would be Chai You De's good things, and it wouldn't be anyone else's turn—at most it might fall to Chai Chunwei, but the other brothers and sisters wouldn't get a share at all.

Back then, Chai Zhongxiao's days were good, and no good things fell to Chai Mi's family. Now Chai Zhongxiao and his wife were nearly ruined, so where was the good? Even if there was a tiny bit of good, it would be even less likely to fall to Chai Mi's family.

Chai Youqing didn't believe it, so let him hit a wall.

Chai Youqing was pushed into the west room by Chai Mi, and Chai Mi didn't have a good expression either, saying in a low voice: "Dad, this isn't the first or second time. I can't be bothered to scold you anymore. You're making yourself uncomfortable for no reason. If you're unhappy, go be unhappy outside, don't bother us here at home."

Afterwards Chai Mi returned to the east room.

Su Jin was a bit worried and asked in a low voice: "Chai Mi, what's wrong with your father?"

"Nothing much, just full and bored. Early this morning, my Second Uncle came and insisted on dragging my father to see my Chai You De. I advised them both, I said you two going there is just asking for trouble. As a result..." Chai Mi spread her hands.

The result was they went, and after coming back, he wasn't in good shape.

"Then..."

"Ignore him. He won't die."

Su Wan was also a bit dissatisfied, feeling Chai Youqing had embarrassed her a bit just now, so she also said: "He's just like that. Chai Mi even said not to let him go, but he insisted on going. Making himself uncomfortable. Eldest Sister, have you seen the newspaper?"

"I'm illiterate."

"I'm illiterate too," Su Wan said a bit embarrassedly.

Su Wan and Chai Mi's aunt Su Jin were both completely illiterate, their families were even poorer and had never attended school, so reading a newspaper was truly too difficult.

"I heard it from someone reading the newspaper when I came back from the market. They said our old family home is now all famine. Famine piled up everywhere. Famine everywhere, I really don't know how those few are living." Su Wan said somewhat incredulously: "I was thinking, those people at the old family home have money. Their daily life, they don't even make their own clothes, they buy ready-made ones. They eat rice and white flour, and they have sewing machines, bicycles, radios, large wall mirrors. And their house is so big, several times bigger than ours... As a result, it's all famine."

Su Jin, being completely illiterate, didn't know much about this either. She frowned: "Building a house while having famine is normal enough."

After all, after Su Jin's family finished building their house, they also had famine. Only in recent years did they finish paying it off.

"The problem is, having famine and still eating and drinking so much?" Su Jin didn't understand: "This... how much do they owe?"

"Several tens of thousands, maybe."

"Ah..." Su Jin was completely stunned, feeling a bit terrified: "Owing several tens of thousands of famine... oh my..."

Su Jin was hearing for the first time that someone owed this much famine. You have to know, in this era purchasing power was quite strong, which showed money was very hard to earn.

Especially in the countryside, income was generally not high.

This several tens of thousands was almost a lifetime of savings.

"Fortunately... Che Lianyun can earn, his annual salary is over ten thousand yuan, but even that would take several years."

Chai Mi laughed and shook her head: "Auntie, you don't understand. Is there really such a good thing under heaven? Even if she can earn money, does she not eat or drink? Besides, last time Chai Chunfang died at their doorstep, it happened because it was summer vacation, and nothing came of it. Now school is starting, and whether Che Lianyun is involved is still unclear. Even if the school leaders don't care about this impact issue, Che Lianyun squatting by the fence for half a month can't be faked. This follows her file, so it's probably hard for her to get promoted or a raise for the rest of her life. Besides, this is probably just the tip of the iceberg. Exactly how much money, no one knows. And the money was pulled out by Chai Zhongxiao during the famine; with Che Lianyun's character, she definitely won't repay Chai Zhongxiao. Just wait a few days and watch the excitement."

"Then... can they just not repay?" Su Jin asked tentatively: "Chai Zhongxiao probably can't repay anyway. He has no money, but you can't drive him to death."

The reasoning was indeed like this.

If Chai Zhongxiao really had no money, there really was no way to drive him to death.

Chai Mi also shook her head: "I don't know."

That's what was said, but Chai Mi had already made up her mind in her heart.

Chai Zhongxiao definitely had no money left, whether it was debts owed in the village or debts owed to the Credit Union; in the end, there was probably nothing to be done.

Chai Zhongxiao's single word "poor" stumped everyone.

But this kind of poverty was the kind from which one could never recover.

Chai Zhongxiao could only remain poor until death for the rest of his life; then the matter would be settled. But if he had money, someone would surely come to demand the famine debt.

However, no matter what they did, Chai Mi planned to expose Chai Zhongxiao at that time: Chai Zhongxiao and his son Chai You De had not separated households. Although there was no such thing as a father's debt being repaid by the son, exactly who this old house belonged to would have to be argued out at that time.

Chai Zhongxiao still had five mouths to feed on that land, and crops were still growing on that land. At that time, leave enough grain to keep them from starving to death, and the rest should be used to repay the famine debt...

"I don't know either. But I know that repaying debts is only right and proper. Who is so heartless as to owe money and not pay it back?" Su Wan became unhappy just thinking about it: "Back then, Chai Zhongxiao borrowed eight thousand yuan from us to build a house, and then acted as if nothing had happened. As a result, we didn't build our own house, but he moved into a new house. Chai Mi got angry with him over this and asked for it several times. The first time it seemed like four thousand yuan or something... the rest was not trusted. Asked again, he still didn't pay. Finally, a few days ago, they took that corner place by the Ci Tang as payment. More than four thousand yuan was wasted..."

Su Wan sighed as she spoke.

Just thinking about it, more than four thousand yuan still not recovered, made her angry.

"What's there at that corner of their old Chai family Ci Tang? Is it worth four thousand yuan?"

"Mom, it's two thousand. The first time I was given more than four thousand, I counted it as five thousand for him. After that, more than two thousand yuan is still owed."

"That two thousand... isn't even worth two hundred."

"There's no way." Chai Mi shook her head helplessly: "However much money, he doesn't have it, so I can only take back whatever I can get. It's better than nothing."

"That's right. At least four thousand yuan was pried back. If you asked him for it now, he has a pile of famine debts, and you wouldn't get a single cent back." Su Jin comforted her younger sister: "Chai Mi is far-sighted, getting some of the money back first. Getting back a little is better than nothing. Otherwise, this money would be wasted."

Su Wan also understood this reasoning.

Given Chai Zhongxiao's current financial situation and current predicament, if you wanted money, he and Wang Huirong truly didn't have a single cent.

No money to repay, can you drive them to death?

Obviously impossible.

By then, you'd just have to accept the loss.

Being able to get back several thousand would be pretty good.

"It's just that I feel unbalanced in my heart. That was money our family saved to build a house. He's so heartless; after borrowing for over ten years, he hasn't paid it back. When Chai Mi went to ask for it, he actually wanted to use some other junk as payment. He's truly shameless." Su Wan said, feeling uncomfortable in her heart.

Su Jin then comforted Su Wan.

Originally, Su Wan was comforting her, but it turned around.

"No wonder Chai Chunfang hanged herself at their doorstep. Those few are really too lacking in virtue." Su Wan said hatefully.

"Mom, don't mention this anymore." Chai Mi smiled and comforted Su Wan: "Look at you, once you mention this you're unhappy, and the more you say, the more uncomfortable you feel. Let's not mention this anymore."

"You child." Su Wan was still angry in her heart: "You suffered a loss. You shouldn't have listened to Chai Zhongxiao back then. Weren't you pretending to repay Wang Huirong two hundred and fifty yuan to make things difficult for her? You really are... In my opinion, don't give her a single cent. Giving it to her is worse than feeding it to dogs."

Chai Mi slapped her forehead.

Back then, she indeed wanted to vent her anger.

She just confusedly gave Wang Huirong two hundred and fifty, taking the opportunity to humiliate Wang Huirong once.

But now thinking about it: Was Wang Huirong afraid of humiliation? She had no face at all.

However, this bit of debt in our own family? Anyway, it's not much different. And afterward, not a single cent was given to the old house, so it's already not bad.

If it weren't for Chai Mi taking a kitchen knife back then, Chai Zhongxiao probably wouldn't have paid back a single cent.

That bit of money was still fought out hard.

Already, it's not easy.

Sometimes Chai Mi thought: if Chai Zhongxiao hadn't given money back then, given Chai Mi's situation at the time: mother hospitalized, home bare...

Chai Mi was very likely to have given them a knife.

The grudge might have been repaid back then.

But afterward, it couldn't be seen anymore.

Nor could she wait until now when her mother's body was healthy, sitting on the Kang Tou chatting about family matters.

Everything has two sides, right?

"Sigh, now I'm just thinking, those few at the old house, just don't cling to our family. You see my dad's situation, I guess it's the old man and old woman who latched onto him." Chai Mi smiled and said: "Now, the old house has a pile of famine debts. I just beg them to never come to our house. Otherwise, we'd inevitably have to fight them."

Su Wan also sighed: "You're thinking well. After all, your father is their son, and you can't just watch them starve to death. This matter is hard to handle."

"Hmph. Maybe my father could bring himself to do that." Chai Mi sighed and said: "If he can't bring himself to do it, that's no good either. That's a bottomless pit. Whoever goes can't fill it."

Su Jin also said: "A son is a son, but you've been separated and living apart for over ten years. The money Chai Zhongxiao and Wang Huirong owe can't be pinned on you. Isn't there Chai You De? If they come looking for you, I'll go argue with them, what kind of thing. Back when the household was divided and no money was given, when you came to the back courtyard, the firewood was brought by me. Eating without even a bowl, how could they have the face to cling to you? What's his is his debt, what's owed is owed. Whoever has the ability to pull out famine debts, let them repay. If they can't repay, let them die. Who's afraid of them dying? Bury them after they die."

Chai Mi laughed hearing this: "Fine, fine, fine. When the time comes, if Chai Zhongxiao dies, I'll definitely be magnanimous. That piece of land is farmed by our family. I'll definitely let him be buried there. I definitely won't say I'm unwilling to give up that place, leaving him no place to be buried."

Chai Mi's words made everyone laugh.

Even Chai Xiu at the side said: "Sister, after burying him, plant some corn on the grave mound. It can be considered making use of waste."

Chai Mi smiled and pinched Chai Xiu: "Adults are speaking, children shouldn't interrupt. You talk too much... Is that something you should say? What you should say is: these grandparents are really not easy. Even after death, they still want to bless their descendants. Plant more corn, grow more grain, afraid that future generations won't have enough to eat."

Chai Xiu pursed her lips and smiled.

Su Wan also had a smile on her face, not as unhappy as at the beginning.

Thinking in her heart, Chai Mi had it hard.

Su Wan had a weak personality. These bad words were said by the daughter, and these bad deeds were done by the daughter. She felt that as a mother, she was somewhat qing County Town.