But as pitiful as she was, she wasn't a merciful person. She casually spread her hands, looking helpless, and said...
"Hey, what can I say to you old man? You look like refugees who just arrived, and you don't have much money, do you? This girl cost me ten taels of silver, not counting the expenses I've spent on her recently. The rouge, powder, and good food alone have cost me a lot of money."
"Could your whole family possibly scrape together twenty taels? If you can, then I'll consider it bad luck and the child yours! Take my advice: these days, it's good enough to keep your own manhood. This girl will belong to someone else sooner or later; just consider her a married woman!"
Despair was palpable in the eyes of the Lu family members. Twenty taels?! They simply couldn't come up with that much money! Even selling themselves wouldn't be worth that much!
Lu Dingtian paused for a moment. He knew his family's savings; all he had left was six or seven taels of silver, which was the foundation for him to settle down and make a living here.
He exchanged a glance with his wife and said, "To be honest, Madam, we don't have that much money on us, but the men in our family are all capable. We can buy on credit, and we certainly won't leave here until we've paid off the debt. Please, Madam, be lenient!"
The men of the Lu family's eyes lit up. Yes, they might not have money, but they had plenty of strength! So they chimed in, "Yes, we're strong. Even if it means carrying heavy loads and doing hard labor, we'll pay off the debt. Give us back the spoons, okay?"
Tears welled up in the eyes of the eldest daughter-in-law, Zhang, and she knelt down in front of the madam with a thud, pleading, "Madam, please have mercy and give my son back to me. We will definitely pay back the money."
The nanny disgustedly shook off Zhang's hand and sighed, "Oh dear, you people, are you trying to stop us from doing business? Let me put it this way, although I sympathize with you, if we're talking about having a hard life, which girl in this neighborhood isn't living in bitter water?"
"You guys should hurry back. Like I said, you can't take my girls away without money. Do you think I'd just give them back after each of their families comes crying and pleading? What's the point of running a brothel then? I might as well open a charity!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang almost fainted, but fortunately her second sister-in-law supported her.
The third daughter-in-law rolled her eyes inwardly, thinking, "The madam has already said that, so are we really going to hand over the last bit of money? Does that mean everyone's going to have to work for the eldest son's family? Besides, who knows, maybe Shao'er will have plenty of food and drink here, and even better off than she did with them! She noticed that the girls in the brothel were dressed and used very well!"
Lu Song stared intently at his family, his heart filled with mixed emotions. Reaching them, he felt a mix of trepidation and a sense of returning home. Pushing through the crowd, he finally recognized them as the family he had longed for.
Just as the pimp stepped forward with a wooden stick to drive the Lu family away, the eldest Lu family member suddenly stood up and shouted, "Give us back our spoon! She was tricked and abducted! If you don't return it, I'll report you to the authorities! We might as well fight to the death!"
"Heh, you lad, you seemed pretty honest just now, but now you're turning on us. Don't blame us brothers for being impolite!" With that, the pimp glanced at his companions behind him, and then they all pulled out their sticks and attacked Lu's eldest son.
Lu Jia, the boss, had been through a lot. In a split second, he made up his mind and decided not to fight back, just waiting for the stick to fall!
However, after waiting for a while, the stick did not fall. Instead, two teenagers jumped out, one blocking the stick with his hand, and the other guarding his own people.
"Song'er?!" Old Mrs. Chen had been watching the commotion ahead closely and knew what her eldest son was up to. He wanted these people to injure him so he would have a reason to file a complaint with the authorities. Otherwise, the officials wouldn't care. The Great Sheng Law stipulated that if an injured person beat the drum to appeal for justice, the government would accept the case. Commoners who filed complaints had to be given twenty strokes of the cane first!
"Grandma!"
"Song'er, it really is Song'er! My son!" Old Mrs. Chen burst into tears, her lips moving incessantly, while her daughter-in-law beside her was also filled with shock.
"Mother, is that really Song'er? Sister-in-law, did you see that? Your son is back! Our Song'er is back!" The second daughter-in-law nudged her sister-in-law, who was about to faint. The latter's dull eyes started to move when she heard the familiar name.
Zhang's eyes began to focus. During this period, she had received news of accidents involving her son and daughter one after another. The originally strong woman had been completely devastated. Now, when she finally saw her long-awaited son standing in front of her, she could hardly believe it!
This emotion also filled the Lu family. Lu Dingtian couldn't help but shed tears, his voice hoarse, "Song'er, you're finally back."
"Grandpa, I'm back! Don't worry!" Lu Song nodded to his grandfather. He already knew the whole story. The reason he didn't step forward was that the scene of the struggle suddenly triggered his long-forgotten memories!
That night, those people treated him the same way, just like they were pulling at a younger sister. In his panic, he seemed to recall a pair of eyes, filled with a malicious, triumphant look...
Da Wa looked at Lu Song and said softly in a voice that the two of them could hear, "A Song, don't worry, my mother and master are here, they certainly won't sit idly by."
Lu Song nodded, feeling much more relaxed. He knew that Da Wa wouldn't abandon his family. If he could save A Mei, he would serve Da Wa like a slave to repay his kindness!
Qin San Niang and Gu Qingshan exchanged a glance, and the two tacitly refrained from stepping forward, waiting to see how Da Wa would handle the situation.
Da Wa is no longer the dull and honest farm boy he once was, but a young master who runs a thriving jam business! Compared to before, Da Wa's changes are remarkable. At least before, he wouldn't have stood so calmly and immovably in front of a crowd like he does now.
The group of pimps, their business abruptly thwarted, were already furious. But when they looked up, they saw only two young boys! Enraged, they were already annoyed that they were being harassed by a few vagrants, but these immature kids dared to defy them?
Although they were pimps, in addition to soliciting customers' business, they were also thugs in the brothel, so most of them were raised by the madam to be big and burly.
The burly man at the head of the group frowned, revealing a fierce look. "What are you two planning to do? Seeking justice? Then let me test your mettle!"
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