Chapter 9 Breaking Ties with the Cheng Family
"Dashan, go and untie the rope."
Cheng Wanwan spoke coldly.
Old Mrs. Cheng immediately said, "Don't let these two bastards go! We have to teach them a lesson so they won't dare to steal from our Cheng family again!"
Zhao Dashan stood there, unsure of whose advice to take.
Cheng Wanwan glared at him coldly: "What, do my words no longer carry any weight?"
Zhao Dashan immediately walked towards the big locust tree, quickly untied the rope, and helped his two younger brothers sit on the ground.
"Spoiling children is like harming them. If you keep spoiling them like this, these two bastards will cause big trouble sooner or later!" Old Mrs. Cheng said with the air of someone who had been through it all. "If you ask me, you should tie them to a tree and starve them for a few days and nights. They'll naturally behave themselves..."
Cheng Wanwan said coldly, "It's my own son, and I'll raise him myself. It's none of the business of outsiders interfering."
Upon hearing this, Old Mrs. Cheng frowned, sensing that something was off about her second daughter...
Sister-in-law Cheng stood at the door of the main room: "Second Aunt, Mother is your own mother, how could she be an outsider? You're really hurting her feelings by saying that."
"From the moment my elder brother smashed my head yesterday, I was no longer a member of the Cheng family." Cheng Wanwan's lips curled into a chilling smile. "It's just a big hen, and they want two taels of silver in compensation? I've never seen a family cheat their married-out daughter like this!"
Old Mrs. Cheng said with a stern face, "This big hen isn't worth two taels of silver, but it can lay eggs. How come eggs laid over ten years can't even sell for two taels of silver?"
“Alright, let’s say it’s worth two taels of silver.” Cheng Wanwan smiled and said, “Let’s not dwell on the old scores. Just last year, the compensation for Da Shan’s father’s death in battle was twenty taels, all of which was borrowed by my eldest brother. After deducting the two taels of silver that Da Mu Ji had to pay, there were still eighteen taels left. When is your Cheng family going to pay me back this money?”
Upon hearing this, Sister-in-law Cheng immediately flew into a rage: "These twenty taels of silver were given to our Cheng family by you. When did you ever say you were going to pay them back?"
Cheng Wanwan laughed: "Paying back debts is a matter of course. I don't mind going to the county magistrate to seek justice. I just don't know if Cheng Zhao will agree to let the Cheng family lose face in court for a mere twenty taels of silver?"
Cheng Zhao is a scholar from the Cheng family and the best student in Chengjia Village. He seems to have already passed the preliminary examination and has a good chance of becoming a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examination).
The original owner firmly believed that this nephew would definitely pass the imperial examination and become a high-ranking official, so she spared no effort to subsidize her maternal family, hoping to benefit from her nephew's success. However, she did not benefit from his success and was instead killed by the Cheng family, who broke her head.
Because Cheng Zhao was a scholar, the Cheng family was particularly concerned about their reputation.
Taking Cheng Zhao to court over twenty taels of silver would cause him to lose all face at school in town, and Old Madam Cheng would never allow such a thing to happen.
"Second Aunt, are you crazy?" Sister-in-law Cheng exclaimed in disbelief. "If you dare to go to court, Cheng Zhao will never acknowledge you as her second aunt again!"
Cheng Wanwan sneered: "Whether he admits it or not, I don't care. I only have one question: when are you going to return the eighteen taels of silver?!"
"You shameless good-for-nothing, how dare you come to the Cheng family to ask for money? Who gave you the nerve?" Old Mrs. Cheng instantly flew into a rage, grabbing a piece of firewood and lashing out. "I'll beat you to death, you shameless wretch! You think you're all grown up now and dare to go against me..."
Zhao Dashan rushed over angrily and stood in front of Cheng Wanwan.
Cheng Wanwan dodged the firewood and said coldly, "Since the old lady insists on making a scene, let's see her in court. Dashan, Ergou, Sanniu, let's go to town and sue the officials!"
She turned and walked out of the courtyard with an air of authority.
Grandma Cheng was so angry she almost fell backward.
Raising a daughter is truly a money-losing proposition; she's actually going to sue her own family in court. Is there no justice left?
Sister-in-law Cheng hurriedly came out. Cheng Zhao was her son, her pride and joy, and she couldn't let that bitch Cheng Wanwan ruin her reputation.
She gritted her teeth and said, "Second Aunt, wait, don't go!"
She turned to the old lady and whispered, "Mother, I think it was yesterday's incident that caused a rift between my second sister-in-law and our family. She's still angry right now, and she might really go to town to complain to the authorities. It's just eighteen taels of silver. Let's agree to it for now, and once she calms down, this matter will naturally be over. Even if she keeps pressing the issue, after Cheng Zhao passes the imperial examination, are we worried about not being able to come up with this amount of silver?"
When her son becomes a high-ranking official in the future, she will never let Cheng Wanwan benefit from his position!
Old Mrs. Cheng understood the key point and said angrily, "After Cheng Zhao passes the imperial examination, the Cheng family will not shortchange you a single penny of this money!"
Cheng Wanwan's smile widened as she looked at Cheng Ersao, who had been watching the commotion from the sidelines, and called out to her.
Cheng Ersao watched the commotion for a long time and felt very pleased. She didn't have a son who could study and was always being bullied by her eldest sister-in-law. Today, her second sister-in-law had made her eldest sister-in-law suffer in silence, and she couldn't wait for things to escalate.
"Second sister-in-law, when your eldest sister-in-law has money, come to Dahe Village and let me know." Cheng Wanwan said with a smile, "Just send a message, and I'll give half of these eighteen taels of silver to you."
Sister-in-law Cheng looked on incredulously: "Really or not?"
"Of course it's true. If I don't give it to you, Second Sister-in-law can go to the town and report me to the county magistrate."
Cheng Wanwan's smile widened.
Sister-in-law Cheng, relying on her son who was good at studying, acted arrogantly and domineeringly in the Cheng family. Sister-in-law Cheng was no pushover either, and the two often clashed openly and secretly. With her words, the conflict between Sister-in-law Cheng and Sister-in-law Cheng would be further intensified. The Cheng family members would fight amongst themselves, so naturally they wouldn't have time to cause her any trouble.
As Cheng Wanwan was about to leave after finishing her sentence, she caught a whiff of the aroma of chicken soup.
She strode into the inner room, exuding an aura that was completely different from the Cheng Wanwan of the past. The Cheng family members just stared blankly as she rushed in.
She came out with a bowl of chicken soup in her hand and handed it directly to her two sons: "Drink it."
Sister-in-law Cheng was furious: "What are you doing? This is chicken soup meant for Zhao'er!"
"This chicken cost two taels of silver, didn't I already lose money?" Cheng Wanwan said innocently. "Since I've already lost the money, this chicken soup belongs to the Zhao family."
Zhao Ergou and Zhao Sanniu were both hungry and thirsty. Ignoring the heat, they drank most of the chicken soup in one gulp. Each of them ate a chicken leg and swallowed it. They even tore off a chicken wing for Zhao Dashan. Zhao Dashan tore off the other half of the hen and quickly hid it in his sleeve. He believed that the hen was good for health and he would take it back to Huiniang to help her recover...
Seeing this, Grandma Cheng was so angry she almost fainted.
He originally intended to extort two taels of silver, but not only did he not get the silver, he also ended up owing eighteen taels, and the chicken soup he made for his eldest grandson ended up in the dog's stomach...
"You good-for-nothing! Don't ever come back!" Old Mrs. Cheng cursed angrily. "You separated from the Zhao family and have never spoken to your maternal family again. If you're ever bullied, don't expect the Cheng family to stand up for you..."
Cheng Wanwan didn't care at all. Just as she was about to leave, she saw a silver hairpin on the old lady's head.
She walked over abruptly and yanked the silver hairpin out of her hand: "I remember, this was a gift from Da Shan's father. I thought I had lost it, but it turns out the Cheng family stole it. Now it should be returned to its rightful owner..."
The word "steal" enraged Old Mrs. Cheng to the point that she couldn't catch her breath, closed her eyes, and fainted.
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