Seeing the woman smiling happily, her previous fierceness seemed to have disappeared. Fatty was astonished and couldn't help but exchange a glance with Hao'er, who also looked surprised and uncertain. Then the woman spoke again.
"Oh dear, this little rascal is quite a good boy. If you really like him, I won't stop you. Our Chen family has always been very easy to talk to. But you should at least give him five or six taels of silver, right? Even buying a vagrant would cost more than that, wouldn't it?"
Fatty then realized that this wicked woman in front of her had such a plan.
Seeing the chubby girl's bewildered expression, the woman thought to herself, "Is this chubby girl not very bright? Did her family not give her any money?"
However, there must be some small things in the basket on the back, right? Taking advantage of the moment when Fatty wasn't paying attention, he suddenly reached out and lifted the burlap cloth on top. To his surprise, there was brown rice and eggs inside!
Brown rice is still rice, and it's a top-quality staple food for the villagers!
"What are you doing?" Fatty quickly put the basket down. The eggs inside were raw, and if they were cracked, wouldn't they all be wasted?
The woman quickly calculated in her mind that a pound of coarse rice now sells for eighteen to twenty coins. This bag of rice probably weighs twenty or thirty pounds, which is six hundred coins. An egg costs two coins, and there must be more than a dozen eggs in it. It's worth quite a bit of money!
The couple exchanged a glance; this girl must be rich!
"Girl, if you want to take Hao'er away, you have to pay up! Otherwise, how could a member of the Chen family be left to wander outside?" Hao'er's second uncle, Chen Erjun, said, implying that he wouldn't let her go without money.
Hearing him say that, Fatty Girl retorted, "I never said I was going to take Hao'er with me. Besides, why should you decide where Hao'er goes?"
"You don't intend to use force, do you?" Chen Erjun spat and said viciously, "You'll have to see if I agree!"
Before he could even finish pausing, he heard an angry yet familiar voice coming from the inner room.
"You wretched child!"
Upon seeing his younger brother's face, Chen Laohan couldn't help but shout angrily, "Chen Erjun, I truly never imagined you could be such a beast! I've scrimped and saved my whole life to raise you, build you a house, and help you get married. In what way have I wronged you! Even though my family is all dead, I've never had the heart to ask you for anything. I was even thinking of entrusting Hao'er to you after I died, but I never expected you to be such a pig and a dog! I was completely blind!"
Old Chen's accusations were filled with sobs and tears, leaving Chen Erjun stunned for a long time! It took him a while to realize that this was his elder brother, and he was still alive!
Although somewhat surprised, Chen Erjun had listened to Chen Laohan his whole life. His parents had died early, and his eldest brother was like a father to him, so he was somewhat afraid of Chen Laohan deep down.
Hearing his elder brother's cursing, Chen Erjun couldn't help but shrink back.
"Big brother, big brother, don't be angry. I was just joking. How could I be so irresponsible? I'm just worried that Hao'er will be kidnapped by this unknown girl! Please don't take it seriously!"
Old Chen coughed twice and said indifferently, "Whether you're a scoundrel or not, I know it in my heart! My thatched hut can't contain such a big Buddha like you. From now on, neither of you should come here again. Our friendship ends here!"
Hearing what he said and seeing her husband's cowardly appearance, the woman next to him was furious and stretched her neck to speak.
"Brother, it's not that your sister-in-law is cursing you, but with your health, the doctor said you don't have much time left to live! If you die, what will happen to Hao'er? And you still treat us like this, aren't you afraid that Hao'er will become an orphan?"
"Hmph, you woman, the biggest regret of my life is agreeing to let Erjun marry you. Ever since you entered the family, there has been no peace in the household! Fine, you don't need to worry about these things after your death. You can leave now!"
When Chen Erjun heard him say this, he knew there was no room for negotiation. No one knew his older brother's personality better than him. He was indeed soft-hearted, but once he made up his mind, not even ten oxen could pull him back!
The woman broke free from the man's hand, leaned forward, and said, "Brother, I only call you 'brother' out of respect. Don't regret it later! Also, if you want to sever ties with us, you have to promise that the money my family owes you will be wiped clean, and that we'll be completely cut off!"
"A clean break?! Zhao, you filthy woman! Not only do you spew filth all day long, but you also drag your son and husband down with you! Aren't you afraid of going to the eighteenth level of hell after you die? Reincarnating into the animal realm?" Everyone looked back and saw that it was actually the old woman of Shiligou, Granny Qiu!
As luck would have it, Grandma Qiu happened to be here with her grandson to visit Old Man Chen and his grandson today. She knew Old Man Chen's mother and had been coming to visit often since the incident at Old Man Chen's house. Although her own family was not well-off, they could at least have some coarse rice cakes. Grandma Qiu was old and didn't eat much, so she would either give the food she saved to Suo Tou's family or help the grandfather and grandson.
When Zhao saw that the person who came was Granny Qiu, she shut her mouth and cursed inwardly that this old woman was such a busybody, why was she always involved everywhere! However, Granny Qiu had a very high seniority in the clan, and even the clan elders had to give her face.
Grandma Qiu didn't care about Zhao Shi and Chen Erjun's expressions. She began to recount all the dirty things the two of them had done over the years with great vigor. In addition, because she was old, she also remembered every single thing that Chen Erjun had done when he was a child.
More and more villagers gathered around to watch, and even the village head's wife, Wang, had somehow joined them on the sidelines.
As everyone listened to Granny Qiu's rant about the couple, even though they knew they weren't exactly good people, after hearing it in detail again, they all felt that the couple was truly despicable!
Seeing that public opinion had prevailed, Granny Qiu nodded in satisfaction, thinking that there was still hope for the younger generation in Shiligou; they weren't all people who would abandon morality for personal gain! So, leaning on her cane, she quickly walked to Old Man Chen's bedside and said earnestly.
"You fool, you really are a fool! I told you years ago to be more careful and not spoil your good-for-nothing brother so much, but you wouldn't listen. Now you finally see his true colors?!"
Seeing Chen Laohan's ashamed face, Qiu Apo felt bad. She had watched this child grow up. He was a kind and honest person. Now that he was heartbroken, he should understand that if he were to die, she should never entrust Hao'er to those two ungrateful wretches!
Although Shiligou is poor, it's not impossible to find a kind family if you want to. At the very least, you can look in the neighboring villages; there will always be someone willing to adopt a mouse.
"Thank you, Aunt Qiu. I've never understood before, but now I really do! However, I'd like to ask Chen Erjun, do you really want to sever ties with your brother?" Old Chen raised his head, revealing a lot of white hair, and his bloodshot eyes stared directly in Chen Erjun's direction.
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