Chapter 23 Jinjiang First Release Chapter 23 The old father kicked...
Ye Meihua, with her thin eyebrows and narrow, long eyes, looked like a tough person. But she was a smiling tiger, especially after her son passed the imperial examination and became a student, and she never said a harsh word to anyone in public.
Unless she hears someone say something bad about her son.
The woman's eyebrows immediately stood up: "What did you say?"
Yu Qinglong said, "I'm afraid my brother Qingxi won't be able to finish his studies. If you don't believe me, Second Aunt, just come to my house and you'll see for yourself."
Ye Meihua dropped her work, patted her sleeves, and looked at Yu Qinglong: "I wonder who dares! Tell me, what's going on?"
Yu Qinglong said, "Have you heard about my uncle's gambling?"
Ye Meihua had heard about it, of course. Every time the Third House took money from the old lady, she either gambled it away or spent it on drinking, drinking, and whoring. She'd heard it hundreds of times, even just by eavesdropping. But she didn't respond immediately. Instead, she asked, "So what?"
Yu Qinglong said, "He owes a lot of money and needs to fill the hole. So where's the money going to come from? Of course, it's from the old lady. But right now, my brother Qingxi is the one who needs the money the most. The old lady is holding it, and my uncle can't get it. So, guess what he'll do?"
"What's going on?"
"Of course, I want to make Qingxi unable to continue reading. Only then will the old lady let go and give him the money."
"How dare he, Yu Dagui!"
"Why wouldn't he dare? He and Yu Qingfa hired someone to beat up my second brother! They threatened him that if he didn't go to Wende School and cause trouble, they wouldn't let him concentrate on learning carpentry. Now he's lying on the kang in my house. If you don't believe me, go and see."
"really?"
"What good would it do me to lie to you? Brother Qingxi is going to the provincial capital to take the imperial examination next year, and the expenses are substantial. But Second Aunt, you know, that's not even the big expense. Once you're there, you'll need to make all the necessary arrangements, and that's the real cost. I heard that if you don't make the arrangements, you might not understand some of the rules, and even if you pass the exam, you'll suffer a huge loss. Some students didn't make it because they didn't have the money for these arrangements. With my Third Uncle and the others making such a fuss, what if Old Madam relents and gives the money to the Third House? What will happen to Brother Qingxi's exam money? Aren't you worried at all?"
"Where did you hear this?"
"I learn from my master every day. Since there are so many patients coming to see me, I always hear some news."
Recently, someone from the Fang family has been visiting Doctor Mo's house for treatment. This is nothing new in the village. Since there's a scholar in their family, he must know what's going on. Could it be that someone from the Fang family told them?
Ye Meihua thought for a moment: "The old lady wouldn't just give all the money to the third wife."
Yu Qinglong said, "That's true. But the problem is that the Third House doesn't want the old lady to pay Brother Qingxi. They hired someone to beat up my second brother and forced him to go to Wende School to make trouble for Brother Qingxi. I was scared last time and had no choice but to go to Brother Qingxi. But my second brother felt that we were brothers after all and shouldn't do that, so he came back first. I came to see Second Aunt just to hear your thoughts. We don't want to hurt the relationship with Brother Qingxi, but Third Uncle and Yu Qingfa really don't want to let us off easily. What do you think we should do about this?"
"Can you swear that what you said is true?"
"Telling even half a lie will keep me from getting married for the rest of my life!"
He actually swore such a vicious oath!
Ye Meihua believed it immediately and gritted her teeth, "Yu Qingfa, is he really that brave? Just wait and see how I'll deal with him when I get back! Hurry up and leave, I'm going to go see Qingye!"
Ye Meihua was a nimble person, tall and thin, and walked briskly. The two of them soon arrived at Yu Qinglong's house.
Looking at Yu Qingye, he was indeed beaten with bruises all over his face. Ye Meihua asked, "Qingye, was this really done by someone Qingfa hired?"
Yu Qingye had difficulty sitting up. He leaned against the earthen wall, his eyes red as he said with difficulty, "Second Aunt, if he hadn't hired someone to do this, I'd be struck by lightning. But I really didn't want to affect my younger brother Qingxi. He studied hard, and it's not easy for him to stay in town alone. Besides, we grew up together when we were young, and he is only two months younger than me. I don't want to ruin his future. But the people hired by Yu Qingfa asked me to do this, both openly and secretly. If I don't do it, they will go to my apprenticeship place every day to make trouble and force me to go."
Seeing Yu Qingye being beaten like this, Ye Meihua half believed it and gritted her teeth, "Yu Qingfa, that little bastard, doesn't learn from the good and instead learns from the bad! I warned them last time not to cause trouble, and now they still dare to come!"
Yu Qinglong said, "Brother Qingxi is the elder, and he has the responsibility to advise the younger ones. Qingfa is dealing with gangsters, and Brother Qingxi will definitely be implicated by him."
Ye Meihua frowned in anger: "Do you think I don't know this? But Yu Qingfa is not my son after all, and the old lady is protecting him, what can I do?"
Yu Qinglong said, "We know Second Aunt is in a dilemma. But we are in a dilemma too. And Second Aunt, have you ever thought about this: whether my brother Qingxi passes the exam or not, the Third House will be a big problem in the future. If he fails, the Third House will be jealous of him for spending the old lady's money. If he does, it will be even more troublesome. Won't they still suck blood from my brother Qingxi? Not to mention anything else, just the fact that it will affect my brother Qingxi's reputation is enough to make him lose face in front of his teachers and classmates."
"But the question is, what can I do?" Ye Meihua said, "I really hope Yu Qingfa doesn't give birth to a bastard, but is that possible?"
"Then please talk to my Third Aunt and ask her to control Yu Qingfa and stop giving him money. If Yu Qingfa has no money, will he still go to town to cause trouble? Of course not. He will go only when he has money. Isn't it better to cut off his money?"
"Impossible, he has no money." Ye Meihua said, "Your Third Aunt can't control your Third Uncle, but she keeps a tight rein on Yu Qingfa. Normally, she doesn't give him a penny. Could it be that the old lady gave it secretly? No way! I'll go back and ask!"
Ye Meihua angrily swung her sleeves and was about to leave. Yu Qinglong quickly followed her: "Second Aunt, I'll see you off!"
Yu Qinglong followed him out and came back after a long time.
Yu Qingye asked, "Brother, will this work?"
Yu Qinglong said, "It works. But it's not enough. Big brother has to go out with me soon, and we have to go find a few people separately. When you see them, remember to say this..."
Yu Qinglong told them who to look for and what to say to them when they met. Because it was not difficult to remember, Yu Qingjia memorized it quickly.
At this time, Yu Dayou and Zhou Yuehua returned from working in the fields. Seeing their child bruised and battered, the couple wanted to go to Yu Qingfa to settle the score, but Yu Qinglong stopped them: "Father, Dad, there's no evidence for you to go now. Yu Qingfa didn't beat the child; he got someone else to do it. If he refuses to admit we beat him, we're in the wrong."
Yu Dayou said with a sullen face, "Then I can't let your second brother get beaten up in vain!"
Yu Qinglong said, "Of course I can't take it for nothing. If Yu Qingfa dares to hire someone to beat up my second brother, I'll make sure to skin him alive today. So, my eldest brother and I will be out soon. Father, you have to go out too. You have to go get someone. Just tell them... And Dad and sister-in-law, please help me prepare something."
Yu Qinglong muttered to his family.
That night, before the meal was even finished at the Yu family's old house, bowls were smashed all over the floor. Ye Meihua pointed angrily at Yu Qingfa and said, "I'm telling you from the third house, if anyone dares to go and cause trouble for the first house and cause trouble for Qingxi, don't blame me, Ye Meihua, for turning my back on you!"
Yu Qingfa said, "When did I ever go to the first wife's house to cause trouble for Yu Qingxi? I was just trying to make trouble for the first wife! Besides, going to the first wife's house to find Yu Qingxi is the first wife's business, what does it have to do with me?"
Yu Dafu said, "Why is it okay? If you hadn't always been causing trouble for the eldest wife, would they have gone to Qingxi for help? You are the root of the trouble! Your second aunt is right, no one should go to the eldest wife in the future! Otherwise, no one will have a good life!"
Ye Meihua said to Guo, "Mother-in-law, you must not give Qingfa any more money from now on. He's a bad boy to begin with, and he'll squander the money just like my third brother did, never using it for anything good. Qingxi is going to the provincial capital to take the imperial examination next year, and that's the most important thing. If you give all the money to my third brother and Qingfa to spend on those shabby things, what will happen to Qingxi then? Do you want to ruin Qingxi's future?"
"Who are you calling despicable?!" Yu Qingfa now felt that he had accomplished something great, and he became even more arrogant. He stood up and said, "Mind your own business in the Second House! Don't try to interfere with our Third House!"
"I didn't give him any money," the old lady said. "I haven't given him any money for quite some time."
"Sister-in-law, don't talk about Qingfa all the time. Where does he get the money to go to town?" Zhang Baodan said, "He doesn't have a penny in his pocket."
"No? How could there be no!" Ye Meihua said, "If he hadn't, why would he go to town and hire people to beat Qingye? He even threatened Qingye to go to Wende School and cause trouble! Could he have stolen the money from somewhere?!"
"You stole the money!" Yu Qingfa suddenly became agitated as if he had been stabbed. "People from the second house, stop spitting blood at me! When did I threaten Yu Qingye to go to Wende School? Aren't you just trying to stop my grandma from giving money to our third house? Then you can't just accuse people so casually!"
"We're accusing someone? You've been to town these past two days, right? You paid someone to beat up Qingye, forcing him to stop being an apprentice in the carpentry shop. That's not wrong, right? And you still have the nerve to say it wasn't you?! People saw you hanging out with a bunch of hooligans!"
"Ye Meihua, don't talk nonsense! My Qingfa would never do such a thing!" Zhang Baodan said, "He has no money in his pocket!"
"I have no money. I think you should check your wallet to see if there is any money missing."
Zhang Baodan didn't believe her son would do such a thing. But thinking of her husband's dishonest ways, she went to her room to check where she kept her money. She wanted to produce evidence, to prevent anyone from accusing her son again. It wouldn't have mattered if she hadn't looked, but once she did, she nearly fainted. She opened her pockets, and there was not a cent left. She had saved nearly a guan (a banknote) for her daily expenses, and not a cent was left!
The money was taken away by her son! Yu Dagui was not at home these two days!
Zhang Baodan came out and grabbed Yu Qingfa's collar. "You bastard! Did you really steal it? How dare you steal my money? What did you do with all that money? You bastard, tell me now!"
Yu Qingfa said with an annoyed look, "How do you call it stealing? That's our family's money, can't I use it for myself?"
Seeing that he actually admitted it, Zhang Baodan slapped him hard on the back: "You bastard! You said you were good, but why don't you learn from your father? You're going to piss me off to death! You still dare to hide? Give me the money! Do you hear me?"
Smack! Zhang Baodan hit him hard. "Mom, mom, please stop hitting my brother!" Yu Qingcai pulled his mother. "My brother is just angry that Yu Qinglong doesn't take us seriously. He didn't mean it. Please forgive him this time."
"He didn't do it on purpose? Did I force him to steal the money?" Zhang Baodan spoils her child, but she can't stand her child learning from his father!
"You're such a coward! I'll see if you dare to do it again next time! I'll beat you to death!"
"Enough!" Yu Qingfa violently pushed Zhang Baodan away and shouted, "So what if I took it? I didn't go whoring or gambling! Who told you not to avenge me?! And you guys from the second house, you've made me angry. From now on, there's no need for the first house to go after Yu Qingxi! I'll go to Wende School and make a scene myself! You want Yu Qingxi to continue studying? Fine! You have to beg me on your knees! Otherwise, he can forget about continuing his studies!"
"Bang!" Yu Dafu smashed the tea bowl in his hand. "You bastard! You really can't stand your brother Qingxi getting along well, right? Tell me, did you hire someone to beat up Qingye? You black-hearted bastard! You asked Qingye to go and cause trouble for Qingxi, hoping to stop him from continuing his studies. If Qingye refused to go, you wouldn't let him continue his apprenticeship. What are you thinking?"
"I didn't!" Yu Qingfa said angrily, "I did ask someone to beat Yu Qingye! But that was because Yu Qinglong beat me first! I can't let go of the hatred in my heart unless I beat them to death! I must make Yu Qinglong marry that old beast Zhao Laosi! If Yu Qingye doesn't hand Yu Qinglong over to Zhao Laosi, this matter will never be over!"
"You idiot! You, you spent all my money just for this?!" Zhang Baodan was so angry that he felt dizzy. "You wasteful thing! Today I am with--Ah!!!"
Zhang Baodan was cursing when the door was suddenly kicked open and Yu Dayou came in with his two sons, the village head and others.
Yu Dayou kicked Yu Qingfa to the bottom of the kang and grabbed him by the collar: "You little bastard, I'm going to teach you a lesson today on behalf of your father!"
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Author's words: Qinglong: I was terrified and anxious on this day. I was really worried that my old father would kick Yu Qingfa into the underworld [laughing and crying]
Fang Shu: Today is the day I didn’t see my fiancé [burst into tears]
Thank you for your support. There will be another chapter soon. [Let me check it out]
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