Chapter 151 Writing IOUs
He Shijie glanced at her coldly, his icy gaze startling Lu Xiaohui into instantly shutting her mouth and trembling all over.
He Shijie withdrew his gaze and looked down at Lu Huaiyuan at his feet: "Write me an IOU! Even if you can't come up with the money now, the debt will be on your head! Don't expect Xiaoman and me to clean up your mess! Do you understand?"
Lu Huaiyuan was already terrified and dared not utter a single word of dissent, nodding frantically.
He Shijie had someone write an IOU and threw it in front of Lu Huaiyuan. Lu Huaiyuan signed it with trembling hands, and only then did He Shijie put the IOU away with satisfaction.
He stood up, straightened his suit, and looked at Gu Mansheng with a slight frown: "Xiaoman, I have something to do today, so I'll go back first. You should also reflect on how you discipline men."
Gu Mansheng was also terrified. She nodded repeatedly, barely daring to breathe, and respectfully watched He Shijie leave.
Only after the sound of the car engine faded into the distance did the Lu family members dare to breathe heavily.
Lu Xiaohui looked at Gu Mansheng with a complicated expression. She never expected that the refined and gentle "uncle" would be such a ruthless character, even scheming against his own relatives!
Gu Mansheng's expression was equally unpleasant.
Lu Huaiyuan owes a huge debt. If he can't pay it back, will she be held responsible?
Before her family fell on hard times, her elders had told her to stay away from this uncle. When they reunited in the small town, she thought it was a family reunion, but now it seems her elders were right.
She glanced at Lu Huaiyuan, who was sprawled on the ground, with disgust.
If it weren't for this good-for-nothing idiot, her uncle would have treated her quite well!
Gu Mansheng said coldly, "Don't think this is over! You'll have to explain things to the village yourself! Don't expect me to clean up your mess!"
After saying that, she flicked her sleeve and went into the bedroom without looking back.
Once everyone left, Lu Huaiyuan wiped away his cold sweat and looked at Lu Xiaohui with a tearful voice: "Sister, what should I do?"
Lu Xiaohui panicked: "How should I know? It's several hundred yuan! If Dad finds out, he'll kill you! We couldn't raise that much even if we sold our whole family!"
Lu Huaiyuan suddenly broke down in tears, crawling over to Lu Xiaohui on his knees and clinging tightly to her leg, his voice trembling uncontrollably: "Sister... those two men who were holding me up just now... they seemed to have... had guns in their pockets! If I can't pay back this money, they really will kill me!"
"What?! A gun?!"
Lu Xiaohui's heart skipped a beat, and she was so frightened that her soul almost left her body.
She stammered, "No way! You're his nephew-in-law, after all..."
"What if Xiaoman doesn't want me anymore?" Lu Huaiyuan cried, tears streaming down his face. "Then we're no longer family. They can kill me like they're crushing an ant!"
That's absolutely true.
Without Gu Mansheng as a protective shield, the Lu family would be nothing more than lambs to the slaughter in He Shijie's eyes.
Lu Xiaohui swallowed nervously, forcing herself to remain calm: "I...I'll go find Mother right away! With Father gone, the family needs someone to hold the fort!"
After saying that, she forcefully pried Lu Huaiyuan's hand off and rushed out as if her life depended on it.
Lu Huaiyuan stared longingly at her retreating figure, then cried out in despair, "Sister! Come back soon!"
Liu Xiangyang and Zhang Xiuying were busy all day before they finally got home.
Liu Zhixia came out carrying the two babies and asked, "How did it go?"
Zhang Xiuying sighed: "The injured ones are stable for now, and the doctor said they are recovering well. The village is now preparing to hold funerals for those two families. The neighboring brigade helped a lot this time, and the brigade is discussing holding a big celebration and inviting them to a meal as a way of thanking them."
Liu Xiangyang looked towards the village entrance with a complicated expression: "The families who participated in the herb gathering also contributed some money, and my mother and I also plan to add some, just as a token of our appreciation. The date is set for tomorrow."
“Then I’ll help out in the kitchen tomorrow, and I’ll donate the money too.” Liu Zhixia said without hesitation.
Now that her elder brother and mother have both become village officials, if she goes to join the army, the family will have to rely on the villagers for help. At this critical juncture, the Liu family must handle things properly and avoid giving anyone cause for gossip.
Especially now that the Liu family is doing well, they have to be even more wary of those who are envious.
Liu Xiangyang pointed in the direction of the Lu family: "When I came back, I saw Lu Xiaohui running out of the village in a hurry. She's probably going to get reinforcements. The Lu family is probably in big trouble this time."
Liu Zhixia's eyes darkened: "Several lives have been lost. Even if we pay compensation, the relationship is over. Lu Huaiyuan can't stay in the village anymore. The Lu family is leaderless now, and Lu Xiaohui is probably going to call her mother back to take charge."
Zhang Xiuying slammed her fist on the table in anger: "That bastard! He bought rotten ropes for a little dirty money, causing so many people to die! What a terrible sin!"
Liu Xiangyang snorted coldly: "How could a lazy young master like him distinguish between good and bad? The Lu family's misfortune is retribution!"
Liu Shouren sighed and interrupted, "You can't say that. After all, they were people from our village who died. Although they were greedy, they didn't deserve to suffer like this. Let's respect the dead and be mindful of our words."
Realizing he had spoken out of turn, Liu Xiangyang quickly shut up.
"Alright, get some rest. We still have funeral arrangements to attend to tomorrow. I'll go visit those two families again to see if I can be of any help."
Liu Shouren put on his clothes and went out alone.
Looking at her father's long shadow in the setting sun, Liu Zhixia was filled with emotion.
A storm is brewing; this village is unlikely to be quiet for a while.
Before dawn, a series of urgent bangings on the door shattered the tranquility of the night.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Open the door!"
That sound was unsettling.
The Liu family rushed out, still wrapped in their clothes. Zhang Xiuying shouted irritably, "What kind of funeral announcement is this in the middle of the night? Whose family has had an accident?"
In the village, this kind of knocking is considered very taboo.
The person outside the door was stamping their feet anxiously: "Aunt Zhang! Something terrible has happened! That boy from the Yang family has been missing all afternoon! We just found out from the family that he secretly went to pick dendrobium orchids by himself! Old Master Yang was so worried that he fainted on the spot, and we just had someone carry him to the hospital!"
"What?!" Zhang Xiuying was so shocked she was wide awake. "Where is he? We still haven't found him?"
"I don't know! A group of people have already gone into the mountains, and they sent me to call for help to check the woods. Aunt Zhang, I'm so sorry to have to trouble you again!"
Zhang Xiuying slapped her thigh in anger: "That Yang family! I already said it was dangerous, but they still went to their deaths! They'd risk their lives for a few bucks! Alright, enough talk, let's grab the flashlights and go look right now!"
The messenger responded and hurried off to knock on the next door.
Zhang Xiuying turned around and saw that Liu Zhixia was already dressed. She frowned slightly and said, "It's not safe in the mountains at night. You stay home and look after Dabao and Erbao."
“It’s alright, let Lao Si keep an eye on him. He has to go to school tomorrow and can’t stay up late.” Liu Zhixia’s eyes were firm. “The more people there are, the more help we can get. I’ll go with you.”
"That's true. Let's go then, mother and daughter together!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com