With the impartiality of the clan members, Chen Xiaomi and the Chen family officially signed a letter severing ties.
The letter severing ties stipulated that Chen Xiaomi would pay thirty taels of silver to sever his relationship with the Chen family, and that the Chen family would not be allowed to contact Chen Xiaomi and his two brothers for any future matters.
The old lady had a sour face and kept cursing about bad luck.
This kind of thing hasn't happened in this clan for a long time, and many onlookers are watching with great interest.
Having obtained the letter severing ties, Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi left Dashi Village.
Lu Lin glanced at the letter severing ties and said, "With this, it won't matter if the old woman really hangs herself at our doorstep in the future."
Chen Xiaomi said sullenly, "About fifty taels of silver."
Chen Xiaomi felt that the price she paid for this letter severing ties with her family was too high.
Since the house in the countryside couldn't be dealt with in a short time, Chen Xiaomi handed it over to the clan chief to handle.
Lu Lin glanced at Chen Xiaomi and said, "Sometimes, certain investments are necessary."
Chen Xiaomi nodded and said, "A few days ago, those hooligans in town who lent money came to Chen Jing and said it was one hundred taels, but a few days have passed, so it's probably more than one hundred taels now."
Lu Lin nodded and said, "Yes!" Getting involved with loan sharks could easily lead to the destruction of one's family. However, once they have the letter of severance, the other party's affairs are no longer their concern.
The Lu family.
Wang said with a sense of frustration, "Chen Xiaomi actually sold the house in the countryside and even paid thirty taels of silver. This Li is truly shameless."
Wang was cursing and swearing, but she wasn't really speaking up for Chen Xiaomi; she was just distressed about the money.
Thirty taels! The Lu family has been struggling financially lately. Even a tael of silver is very precious to Wang Shi. Before, Wang Shi even wanted her son to do manual labor for a tael of silver, which made Lu An very resentful.
To pay off Chen Jing's debts, Chen Xiaomi actually gave out thirty taels of silver, which truly broke Wang's heart. In Wang's eyes, Chen Xiaomi's silver was Lu Lin's silver, and Lu Lin's silver should be used to show her respect, how could it be given away to the Chen family for nothing?
Feeling aggrieved, Wang left the village and cursed Chen Jing as a scoundrel who wanted a young girl named Shuang'er, who had left home, to pay back the money he owed for buying exam questions.
Chen Jing owed one hundred taels of silver, a sum that was an astronomical figure in the eyes of the villagers.
The villagers were also curious about why Chen Jing had incurred the debt. The Chen family was vague in their explanation, which only fueled their curiosity. Suddenly, Wang revealed the "insider information," causing a great deal of discussion among the villagers.
In fact, Tang had secretly revealed the "insider information" before, but because it was done privately, many people were still unaware of it.
The effect of Wang's high-profile publicity was quite astonishing.
Being caught engaging in favoritism and cheating will not only result in a lifetime ban from taking exams, but may also lead to imprisonment.
Old Mrs. Chen originally wanted to keep it a secret, but when the truth was revealed, she was so angry that she was furious.
However, the Chen family was too busy cleaning up Chen Jing's mess to bother the Lu family.
Chen Xiaomi's house was eventually sold for seventeen taels of silver by the clan chief, Chen Ding. Because the sale was rushed, the villagers did not offer a high price.
Chen Xiaomi also gave an additional thirty taels, making it forty-seven taels.
Old Mrs. Chen took out more than twenty taels of silver from the bottom of her chest. There was still a shortfall of thirty taels. The Chen family sold three acres of land for these thirty taels.
"How come Chen Xiaomi's house only sold for seventeen taels?" Old Mrs. Chen said unhappily.
“That house is a bit old, isn’t it? That’s why it’s a little cheaper,” said Grandpa Chen.
"I think the clan head sold this house to his nephew. He took a kickback," Old Mrs. Chen said sullenly.
Grandpa Chen sighed and said, "Alright, these are extraordinary times, so this is the only way!"
Old Mrs. Chen said angrily, "Yes, yes, the whole village is laughing at me now. Before, the Lu family's inferior land sold for nine taels of silver per mu, but when it comes to me, those people are only willing to offer six taels. Isn't this just bullying people for no reason?"
Old Master Chen took a deep breath. This loan sharking couldn't wait any longer; dragging it out like this wasn't a solution. The land had to be sold at a lower price.
The old man didn't earn so much land easily, and he must feel very sorry for it.
Old Mrs. Chen estimated that she could ask her daughter for the remaining ten taels of silver.
Chen Chun'er was tricked into returning to the Chen family last time. She knew that the old man was fine, but Chen Jing had caused trouble, so she went back.
In Chen Chun'er's view, if Chen Jing could cause such a big trouble, then the Chen family was a bottomless pit that could never be filled. The two elders of the Chen family originally asked their daughter to bring money, but in the end, they never showed up.
"My dear husband, it seems Chun'er isn't coming back," Old Mrs. Chen said sullenly.
When Chen Chun'er came back last time, the old lady originally wanted to get some money from Chen Chun'er, but Chen Chun'er only brought two hundred coins, which greatly disappointed the old lady. "I think this girl doesn't care about the family's life or death. It's impossible to expect her to bring money. Let's go to her door and ask for it."
Old Master Chen said with some difficulty, "The man Chun'er married is a butcher."
The old lady said dismissively, "So what if he's a butcher? Chun'er is my child. She's been married for so many years, and he doesn't even come over to pay his respects during holidays."
Grandpa Chen thought about how difficult things were at home and said, "Then I'll find a few people to go with me."
When the Chen family arrived, Chen Chun'er, the butcher, was slaughtering a pig.
A large pig was gutted, and a large amount of blood gushed out, covering Zhang the butcher in blood.
Zhang the butcher was already rugged-looking, and now, covered in blood, he looked menacing, startling the villagers who had come to watch the commotion.
The butcher slammed his three-foot-long pig-slaughtering knife, still dripping with blood, onto the chopping board. The two old people, who had originally intended to swindle money from him, had no choice but to slink away.
The villagers who went with the two elders of the Chen family also felt it was bad luck.
The story of the Chen family elders going to their son-in-law's house to ask for money, only to return in disgrace, spread throughout the village, giving the villagers another laugh.
This old man Chen is such a bully who picks on the weak and fears the strong. I heard that when his son-in-law brandished his butcher knife, he was so scared that his legs went weak.
"I heard that Chun'er's husband told the old lady that he had no money, but if she wanted meat, he could cut two catties and leave. What kind of person is this old lady Chen? She was so scared that she didn't dare to take it."
When Chun'er went out, she didn't take much money with her. So many years have passed, it's not reasonable for her to trouble her daughter who is away from home for the sake of her grandson!
"If you ask me, this whole thing was caused by Chen Jing, but he hasn't shown up at all. He's such a liar."
"That's right. He seems like a very promising person on a normal day, but he always reveals his true colors when it comes to the crucial moment."
"I don't know what the two elders of the Chen family were thinking, they just kept praising such an irresponsible grandson to the skies."
The Chen family sold another acre of land, finally resolving the problem. Because it had dragged on for a few more days, the price had risen to 105 taels. When the old lady heard these people say that the price had increased again, she cursed loudly. These people who lend money at exorbitant interest rates were not to be trifled with.
When the burly men appeared, they frightened Old Mrs. Chen. Helpless, she had to borrow some money from several relatives, going door to door, to tide her over.
The Chen family has taken out all their savings this time, sold five acres of land, and incurred some debts, which can be described as a major blow.
Because of this incident, the first wife and the third wife have completely fallen out.
Although the old man saved Chen Jing's life, he was completely disappointed in Chen Jing and had no intention of sending him to school again.
"The Chen family is really wealthy!"
"Yes, but after selling five acres of land, we'll have to tighten our belts from now on."
"This old lady has so much silver in her hands, and she was always complaining about being poor. When Chen Xiaomi and the others first left the Chen family, they were sleeping in a cave!"
"The old lady has so much money, and before that, she even wanted to sell her grandson to be a servant. She's too heartless."
"The Chen family originally planned to ask their daughter to contribute, but Chen Chun'er's husband is a butcher, and he's quite fierce."
"He was very fierce. I heard that on the day the Chen family went there, the butcher slaughtered a pig weighing over 200 jin (100 kg), leaving blood all over the ground. The two elders of the Chen family were so frightened that they didn't dare to say a word."
"Chen Xiaomi has sold all her houses in the countryside. Does she plan to never go back to the village?"
The villagers were initially quite sympathetic to the Chen family for this unexpected misfortune, but seeing that the Chen family seemed to have resolved the matter without much damage, they became envious.
The Chen family.
"Dad, Chen Xiaomi sold the house!" Chen He asked.
Chen Shouren nodded and said, "Yes, it has been handed over to the clan chief to handle."
Chen He said excitedly, "Dad, Grandma promised me she would get the house back for me."
Chen Shouren was also somewhat indignant, "It's all because of your eldest cousin's incident, there's nothing we can do about it."
Chen He said angrily, "It's so unfair! Grandpa and Grandma are so biased. My older cousin caused the trouble himself, why doesn't he solve it himself?"
Chen He had taken a liking to a girl from a neighboring village, and the two families had recently been discussing marriage. The matter was almost settled, but after Chen Jing's affair came to light, the girl's family said they would consider it further. In fact, even if the girl's family agreed to continue the marriage, the Chen family could not afford the betrothal gifts.
Originally, Old Master Chen had agreed to give Chen He eight taels of silver as a betrothal gift, but after Chen Jing's incident, the family spent all the silver in order to solve Chen Jing's problem.
Chen Shouren looked at his son with some remorse, but all the money in the house had been spent and there was no way to make any more.
Chen Shouren was also somewhat anxious about his son's marriage. Under normal circumstances, many women would be willing to marry into the family. However, the family had just gone through the Chen Jing incident and was severely weakened. Everyone in the village knew each other well, so it was unlikely that anyone would be willing to marry into the family now.
If we wait a few more years, it will be difficult to find a son who is that old.
Chen Shouren was worried about his son's marriage and hated Chen Jing with a passion.
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