"I waited all day, but I didn't even see a shadow of your older brother!"
“Baogen had an accident. I begged your nephew to take me to the health center on his motorcycle to see Baogen, but your sister-in-law wouldn’t let me.”
Qiao Guilan excitedly grabbed Song Erzhuang's clothes and pushed him out.
“Go to your older brother’s house right now and ask for the money back. If you don’t get it back, I’ll divorce you, and you’ll live with your older brother’s family!”
"Let go! This is a health center. I don't want to fight you!" Song Erzhuang said irritably.
Are you going to hit me again?
Qiao Guilan grabbed Song Erzhuang's clothes, looking like they were about to fight again.
She deliberately complained about Song Erzhuang in front of everyone, listing his many crimes.
"My son and two daughters are here, and there are other patients here. You'd better kill me!"
“Give all the money in the house to your eldest brother. A lot of that money is the girls’ wages, which are saved to help Baogen get married. It’s our family’s lifeline!”
“I took the money back to my parents’ home, and you almost beat me to death. What about you?”
"You all should be my judges! He gave all the family's money to his relatives, couldn't afford the bride price for his son's wedding, and now his son has had an accident and will be disabled if he doesn't have surgery, yet he still refuses to get the money back...!"
"Stop talking! Stop talking!" Song Erzhuang shouted irritably.
“I’m going to say it, I’m going to say it anyway. How has your older brother treated our family? You treat your nephew better than your own son, but look how your nephew’s family treats you! They’ve ruined your daughter’s reputation behind your back, and your nephew even slapped you in public…”
"I told you to stop talking, are you asking for a beating again?" Song Erzhuang raised his fist, ready to strike.
The patients' family members in the ward quickly came up to stop them.
The nurse on rounds came in and sternly rebuked, "This is a health center. If you want to make a scene, go home!"
Song Erzhuang took out the steamed buns he had been hiding in his clothes. He had seen a steamed bun vendor on his way here and, thinking that his wife and children hadn't eaten dinner, he bought a few and put them in his pocket so they wouldn't taste cold.
He put down the steamed bun, turned around and left, saying, "I'm going back to get the money."
-
Song Dazhuang has gone missing.
Tang Suxiang spoke coldly, and her nephew Song Hanwen also gave her a cold shoulder, chasing Song Erzhuang out.
The mother and son firmly denied borrowing money from Song Erzhuang.
Song Erzhuang went home, grabbed a kerosene can, lit a torch, and rushed to his elder brother's house.
They threatened to burn down the house if the money wasn't returned.
If they won't let him have an easy time, then nobody else will either.
As Song Erzhuang spoke, he began pouring kerosene, intending to set the house on fire.
He now has only one thought in his mind: to get the money back for his son's surgery, so that his son won't become disabled.
This suicidal approach was the only method he could think of.
Tang Suxiang screamed in terror, "Murder! Murder! Song Erzhuang has murdered someone!"
The two children in the family were so frightened that they cried loudly.
The whole village rushed over to see what was going on. Tang Suxiang asked the onlookers to pull Song Erzhuang away, but no one dared to take the risk.
If they were to burn themselves, given the character of Tang Suxiang and her son, would they really be willing to pay for their treatment?
The villagers all chimed in, urging Tang Suxiang and her son to return the money to Song Erzhuang, saying that if Baogen didn't have surgery and became disabled, his life would be ruined.
Some relatives from the same village advised Song Hanwen to think back to how good his second uncle was to him when he was a child.
Song Hanwen began to waver.
Tang Suxiang firmly denied borrowing money from her uncle's family.
Enraged, Song Erzhuang poured kerosene on Tang Suxiang and her son, which splashed onto Song Hanwen's wife and daughter. Song Hanwen went up to fight Song Erzhuang, but was held back by his relatives in the village.
Everyone knows that Song Erzhuang is simple-minded and straightforward. When he was a child, the villagers called him Song Ersha (meaning "Song the Fool"). If he gets angry, he doesn't care who you are, he can kill you with one blow.
His act of pouring kerosene to burn down the house really provoked him, and he actually burned the house down.
The village chief was summoned at this time.
After understanding the situation on both sides, seeing that Tang Suxiang and her son resolutely refused to acknowledge the debt and return the money, he pressed Tang Suxiang for information about Song Dazhuang's whereabouts.
Tang Suxiang resolutely refused to say.
Song Hanwen was determined to side with his mother.
The daughter-in-law, Ding Xiaofen, stood to the side holding her daughter, refusing to reveal Song Dazhuang's whereabouts.
Song Erzhuang stood by the wall, which had been splashed with kerosene, holding a torch, threatening to set the house on fire if the money wasn't returned.
Some villagers knew where Song Dazhuang worked, so the village chief immediately sent someone to the town to find Song Dazhuang, while also calming Song Erzhuang down.
Among the villagers watching the commotion, some whispered, "That Erzhuang is such a coward! He just grabbed Hanwen's daughter, poured kerosene on the child, and held a torch to the child. Let's see if the child's grandmother and father will pay back the money!"
"This Dazhuang family is really something, they can't just bully people like this!"
"What? I think it's Tang Suxiang's family pulling the strings behind the scenes. Her nephew was arrested and hasn't been released yet. I heard he might go to jail. The swindler he hired has cheated a lot of people and slept with many young girls. He's confessed to it, but the girls who were cheated are now denying it."
“I heard that several of Grandma Zhou’s granddaughters were scammed by swindlers, and that Grandma Zhou paid them to do it, saying it would bring them good fortune and longevity. Her eldest granddaughter Baozhu’s in-laws also found out about this and have already broken off the engagement.”
"Is that so? I've never heard of it."
"Grandma Zhou is keeping it a secret. When she scolds Erzhuang's daughter, she's all high-pitched and sarcastic. But now that it's her own granddaughter's turn, have you seen Grandma Zhou utter a single word? She's usually so fierce when she scolds Erzhuang's daughter, but have you seen Grandma Zhou come out and start cursing in the streets lately?"
"Grandma Zhou always picks on Er Zhuang's family to bully them, because they're poor! I heard that Grandma Zhou called Er Zhuang's son Xiao Si a slut, so Er Zhuang and his wife caught all their old hens and sent them to Grandma Zhou's house, begging her not to scold Xiao Si anymore. They even explained to Grandma Zhou that Xiao Si hadn't been defiled by a swindler."
"Erzhuang is such a fool! Anyone can see that Grandma Zhou is deliberately causing trouble for his family. It's been like this for years, and he still sends them old hens. He's really stupid!"
“Grandma Zhou’s family had a high status in the village. She had ten sons, and her husband used to be the militia captain. When she was young, she looked down on everyone.”
"Grandma Zhou has looked down on everyone since she was young, except for the richest families in the village. But no matter what, she never treated Erzhuang's family like that. It's only because Erzhuang's third daughter did well in high school that Grandma Zhou toned it down a bit. Otherwise, who knows how badly she would have been bullied."
"It's fortunate that Erzhuang had a promising third daughter. Speaking of this third daughter, I suddenly remembered something. About two months ago, I saw Tang Suxiang secretly slipping money to Erzhuang's third daughter."
"Is that so?"
"You mean Tang Suxiang? She reneges on the money her family borrowed from Erzhuang, and she even secretly gives money to Erzhuang's third daughter?"
"That makes sense, but I did see Tang Suxiang secretly slipping money to Erzhuang's third daughter."
"I think Tang Suxiang is trying to please Erzhuang's third daughter. The youngest girl is the only one in our village who got into a university in the provincial capital. She'll marry a city man and have a bright future."
"If what you say is true, shouldn't Tang Suxiang be on good terms with Erzhuang? Why is she treating Erzhuang like this?"
Several villagers stood at the back of the other onlookers, discussing amongst themselves, while others nearby also pricked up their ears to listen to the commotion.
As the group was discussing, they heard someone outside the courtyard shout, "Dazhuang is back! Sanhongyan and her husband are also here. They've invited the old patriarch of the Song family and several of the older elders of the Song family."
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