Chapter 255

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Protagonist:

Chai Mi

Of course, no matter what, Chai Mi's family didn't get a single cent.

Chai Mi's parents, Chai Youqing and Su Wan, were not favored by Chai Zhongxiao at all, except when they worked.

In the Chai family, Chai Youqing and Su Wan were like second-class citizens, getting no benefits at all. But it's fine now; the loan matter has nothing to do with Chai Mi's family anyway.

The anxious ones were Chai You Fu and Chai You De.

Theoretically, that's how it was.

But actually, only Chai You Fu and Song Qiuping were anxious.

Chai Zhongxiao and Wang Huirong didn't have the guts to force Che Lianyun to pay up like fish dying and nets breaking...

If they had that guts, they wouldn't have taken out so many loans in the first place.

"Second Aunt, whether you spent this money or not, you know in your own heart." Chai Mi said coldly: "That day I heard my dad say, your family spent at most three thousand or two thousand, not much. My grandfather has so much land; this bit of money isn't enough for a year's crop harvest. So, my grandfather's big hole doesn't have much to do with your family. You don't need to think too much; if pushed, just give it to him."

Song Qiuping neither admitted nor denied, just said coldly: "Not a single cent will be given to him."

"My attitude is very clear; the money is impossible to pay. Anyway, my family didn't get a single cent, and besides, the money my grandfather owes me hasn't been settled properly. Him wanting to bear money so unclearly, it's definitely not happening. Also, I don't think this matter can be avoided; we might as well just lay all cards on the table." Chai Mi said slowly, as if thinking: "Now my grandfather and grandmother are making such a scene; we can avoid the first day of the lunar month, but not the fifteenth. Today she goes to a crowded place to hang herself; tomorrow maybe she'll pretend to drink a whole bottle of pesticide; the day after tomorrow maybe she'll lie at your doorstep pretending to be dead. No one can avoid it."

Chai Mi's words weren't heavy, but Chai You Fu and Song Qiuping listened with trembling fear.

In their impression, Wang Huirong, who had no moral bottom line, was capable of doing such things.

"She can roll around shamelessly, but I can't; I still care about face. If she hangs herself and dies today, I'll sincerely buy some paper money and send her off. If she doesn't die, I won't let it go either. I have no taboos. Last time Second Aunt, you hit Wang Huirong; that day I didn't lift a hand, I even cheered you on. Today I planned to give her a good beating, but you also know I don't hold back when I strike, so hold me back later."

Chai Mi said it lightly, and Chai You Fu immediately advised: "Chai Mi, that's not good. You're still young. If you hit your grandmother, it'll definitely be bad if it gets out."

Song Qiuping, however, became interested: "Count me in. This old hag, today I won't beat her to death. Cheating people and cheating me on top of that; she really thinks our Old Song family has no one."

Sure enough, Song Qiuping was still that Song Qiuping.

Fortunately, Chai Mi wasn't here to deceive Song Qiuping this time; otherwise, with Song Qiuping's IQ, she'd be fooled every time.

"I'm not trying to beat my grandmother..." Chai Mi said word by word: "I want to send her on her way. She wants to die; I'll help her... Second Uncle, do you think what I'm doing makes me a good person?"

Chai You Fu: "......"

And Che Lianyun, at the old house, naturally knew Wang Huirong had gone to hang herself under the big willow tree at the east end of the village, but she didn't understand what was going on either.

Face, Che Lianyun could do without.

But money absolutely could not be paid.

Che Lianyun wasn't sure what Chai Zhongxiao meant, so she held the child and went to question Chai Zhongxiao.

Chai Erwei was only four years old; these past two years Wang Huirong had helped coax the child, so the child wasn't close to Che Lianyun at all. As soon as Che Lianyun picked up Chai Erwei, Chai Erwei screamed at the top of his lungs.

Yes, not crying, but screaming.

Chai Erwei mostly lived in Chai Zhongxiao's room, always held by Wang Huirong; over time, the child was closer to his grandparents and had no feelings for Che Lianyun.

Though the child didn't understand, he knew people.

Suddenly a short, stout "monster" like a golden warrior appeared; of course Chai Erwei was afraid.

"Grandpa, I want Grandma... I don't want the monster..." Chai Erwei was scared to death.

Che Lianyun was furious and gave her "good eldest son" a heavy slap: "What are you screaming about? I'm your mother."

Chai Erwei stopped crying, but not because Che Lianyun was his mother; rather, because that slap hurt too much, and Chai Erwei was too scared to speak.

Chai Zhongxiao felt the pain terribly, looking at his good eldest grandson with indulgence and heartache, while scolding Che Lianyun: "What did this child do to you? Why hit the child for no reason?"

"I just want to know: what does that dead old hag mean by running off to hang herself? Is she upset that no one saw her disgrace? Is she trying to ruin all three brothers' reputations?" Che Lianyun questioned one after another, with no respect at all: "Your son is like that, and you want me to pay? I can pay, but then these two grandsons of yours will starve; you figure it out."

Chai Zhongxiao hurried to comfort: "How could I let you two pay? I was forcing Chai Mi's family and Chai You Fu to pay."

"Heh." Che Lianyun laughed: "They won't go; what's the point of your play?"

"They won't go? You go in a while and say you'll pay. By then, who knows if they'll pay? As long as you say you will, their families will lose face immediately, and even if they don't want to pay, they'll have to." Chai Zhongxiao no longer cared about face; he just wanted money: "Once we have money, my grandson can have good food..."

Che Lianyun thought for a moment and felt Chai Zhongxiao's plan, though simple, seemed practical, but then she said: "But what if they don't pay?"

Chai Zhongxiao looked confident: "Don't pay? They dare not! Can they watch your mother-in-law hang herself? The villagers would laugh their teeth off."

"That's easy to say. But Chai Mi is definitely not easy to deal with. The first two times she made a scene and caused trouble; if she just doesn't pay, Chai Youqing's word doesn't count either." Che Lianyun was still worried about Chai Mi: "And it's been over a month now; I see no reaction in the back courtyard, Chai Mi made no move, Chai Youqing hasn't been seen. Won't they pull some big trick? This dead girl is ruthless..."

Che Lianyun was still fearful of Chai Mi's methods.

In Che Lianyun's eyes, Chai Mi was someone who would pick up a kitchen knife and really cut people; if she got angry, it wouldn't end well.

Chai Zhongxiao remained silent.

Actually, Chai Zhongxiao had no confidence either.

The first two nights, Chai Zhongxiao went to borrow money, but Chai Mi said: "You're coming to cheat people..."

Then it broke Chai Zhongxiao's defenses.

Chai Zhongxiao still remembered his embarrassment then.

But now he was at the end of his rope and had to do it. If Chai Mi's family and Chai You Fu's family didn't pay, then he, Chai Zhongxiao, would be in big trouble and go straight to jail.

Going to jail was a disgrace, losing face for eighteen generations of ancestors. Chai Zhongxiao really didn't want to be so disgraced, so he came up with this desperate plan.

If they could cheat some money, that would be best.

Even if they couldn't cheat much, the one disgraced wouldn't be himself...

"You were scared by Chai Mi. She's just a girl; can she eat people? And no matter how you say it, children have the obligation to support their parents from any angle. I'm in an invincible position; she definitely can't do anything. Even if she goes to the township to file a false accusation, I'm in the right."

Although Chai Zhongxiao didn't know where his courage came from, he was now very tough.

"I don't believe it. Your mother-in-law has gone to hang herself; what else can she do? Even if she can fight and kill, facing this, she'll have to surrender."

Che Lianyun glanced at Chai Zhongxiao and saw that Chai Zhongxiao was actually very nervous.

Che Lianyun himself didn't dare provoke Chai Mi; even if these two old codgers had three heads and six arms, they probably weren't a match for Chai Mi. But what Chai Zhongxiao said was indeed correct—as long as they seized on the matter of supporting the elderly, Chai Zhongxiao and Wang Huirong would be in an invincible position.

Moral kidnapping?

It doesn't exist.

This isn't just about ethics; even the law supports supporting the elderly.

"The problem is, what if Chai Mi and Chai You Fu don't go? Both families are hiding, and we can't find them—am I supposed to let my mother-in-law really hang herself there? And even if you set a trap for Chai Mi this time, who knows if she won't set one for me in a few days? Going back and forth like this, I'm afraid I'll be dragged into it too." Che Lianyun said somewhat worriedly.

"She won't go? Impossible. I told your mother-in-law already—if no one goes after a while, she'll really hang herself... Chai Mi isn't afraid, aren't the villagers afraid? Isn't that dog Liu Zhanggui afraid? By then, they'll definitely tell Chai Mi to go; you can rest assured on that." Chai Zhongxiao seemed confident: "Last time Chai Chunfang hanged herself at our doorstep, that village chief of his stayed home for nearly a month before he was restored as village chief. If your mother-in-law has even a bit of misfortune, he'll just go home to water his fields and never work again."

After Chai Zhongxiao finished speaking to Che Lianyun, he turned back to look at Chai You De again.

Chai You De was still lying on the ground snoring loudly...

Chai Zhongxiao angrily cursed: "Good-for-nothing, the house is like this and you can still sleep?"

But Chai You De had no reaction at all.

Chai Zhongxiao angrily kicked Chai You De, and Chai You De groggily woke up a little. Seeing his father glaring at him furiously, Chai You De grew annoyed: "Dad, I'm already like this—living is just eating and drinking anyway? I've got fractures in four or five places on my body; what can I do? That Sun Yuguang has no money to compensate us, and the village says this needs a lawsuit. I think it's infuriating. Just let me sleep a bit; a person's life is just like this—open your eyes, close your eyes, a lifetime."

Chai Zhongxiao patiently said: "Third son, you're still young; you need to pull yourself together, think about the future, think about how you still have two sons."

Chai You De then became a bit spirited.

Right, he still had two sons.

He could continue the family line.

"But I'm fractured, and my head hurts..."

"But your legs are almost fine; you're in a sorry state right now..."

Chai You De was indeed in a sorry state—fractures in two places on his skull, a fractured nose bridge, a fractured collarbone, a fractured left pinky, a fractured wrist... anyway, his upper body was a gruesome sight. But the only good news was that Chai You De's legs were almost healed...

"You're in such a sorry state now; after a while, go to the village east side and say that even if you don't get treated, you still want to support your mother. That way, you'll become a filial son. Then have your wife get two thousand yuan for your mother, and say you're being filial to her... You're already like this, yet you still spend money and effort; if those two brothers don't spend money, others will definitely look down on those two brothers."

Chai You De and his wife heard this and agreed it was indeed the case.

And anyway, it was just putting on a show.

"If only we two spend money, they're still real brothers, so they'll have to spend money too." Chai You De said confidently: "Parents gave birth to three sons—what for? For raising sons for old age. Now that parents can't 【do it】, are we supposed to let them starve to death?"

Afterward, Chai You De and Che Lianyun also went to the village east side.

Chai Zhongxiao relaxed a bit, which was rare; recent events had exhausted him. He lit a cigarette and puffed away.

Then, looking at his great-grandson, his mood improved too. He took out a crumpled one-yuan red bill from his pocket and stuffed it to his great-grandson: "Buy something delicious for my great-grandson."

But Chai Zhongxiao's great-grandson wasn't that happy. Chai Erwei was only four, but he knew the purchasing power of this one-yuan red bill was very small—apparently only enough for a bag of instant noodles and two pieces of candy. He took out the banknote Chai Zhongxiao had stuffed in his pocket and threw it at Chai Zhongxiao's face: "Don't want... poor bastard..."

Chai Zhongxiao's face turned iron-green, but in the end, he couldn't bear to hit his grandson.

Chai Zhongxiao puffed on his cigarette, then rummaged through his pocket again, but the pocket was empty.

There was no other money or valuables left at home. Fortunately, it was the countryside, and there was still some corn left from last year that hadn't been eaten up, so the old couple wouldn't go without food. But now Chai Zhongxiao didn't even have money to buy salt and oil.

Going to the market was popular locally, but Chai Zhongxiao hadn't been to a market in several rounds.

No other reason—he really had no money.

Chai Zhongxiao kept his head down and said nothing, thinking to himself: When will this kind of life ever end?

After a while, as Chai Zhongxiao was daydreaming by himself, he heard a commotion outside that shook the earth and mountains.

Then, amidst flying dust, Xiao Doubao Che Lianyun came running back in a hurry, cursing as she ran: "Dad, Dad, hurry out. Chai Mi went... Chai You Fu also went."

Chai Zhongxiao immediately perked up: "Hehe. What did you say? Those two families can't hide forever; aren't they going to go?!"

"Not only did they go, the elders of our Chai family all went too. Even old Principal Chai Zhongliang came back from the county seat; I'm afraid this isn't good..." Che Lianyun said hurriedly.

"What's there to fear? Whoever comes, isn't it still that Chai Youqing and Chai You Fu and those brothers aren't supporting their mother?" Chai Zhongxiao said unhurriedly: "Even if the Heavenly King himself came, our Old Chai family still governs the family through filial piety..."