Lotus Maiden's words were like a magic pill, and Xu Dongjuan, who was originally half dead, instantly became lively again.
Her eyes widened, her voice hoarse, and she pointed at Lotus Mother, angrily shouting, "You're talking nonsense! It's clearly you who's greedy for money, it has nothing to do with me!"
Seeing this, Lotus Mother stopped crying and retorted without backing down: "Hmph, you said that once Qin Shi stopped managing things, Lotus would take charge and you would get some money."
Faced with Lotus Mother's accusations, Xu Dongjuan naturally refused to admit it easily. She retorted angrily, "I asked you to help Lotus manage the money more, I never said to split the money. You're the one who's stupid and misunderstood!"
She said she wanted Lotus Maiden to steal money for the Ding family, but she didn't say she wanted to divide the money.
The two refused to give in, their fingers almost poking each other's faces, and they began to hurl insults at each other.
For a moment, the other villagers were also dumbfounded; they really were scheming against their in-laws.
Jiang Zhi looked at the scene before her and couldn't help but sneer: What a good show! Neither of these two are good people, they're just like dogs fighting each other.
Qin stared wide-eyed at Xu Dongjuan, then at Lianhua Niang.
She couldn't utter a single coherent word, only managing to cry out "Ouch!" "Ouch!"
With her limited intelligence, she only knew that these two were working against her, and she never thought they were scheming to take her money.
"Oh dear, the silver bracelet I gave to Lotus!"
Qin suddenly remembered the bracelet she had brought back from Jincheng Prefecture and given it to Lianhua. She was afraid that Lianhua's mother might steal it.
She immediately got up and ran home, shouting as she ran, "You two wait! If I find out something's missing, I'll fight you to the death!"
After Qin left, the atmosphere in the school immediately became tense.
Some villagers followed Qin home to see if Lianhua Niang had stolen anything, while others stayed to see how it would end.
With two village chiefs present, Jiang Zhi remained silent. Disputes involving relatives like this are the easiest to offend people when trying to resolve.
He had already used the child's words to beat Xu Dongjuan yesterday, and it was justified and no one in the village dared to object.
Now, should we deal with Lianhua Niang and Xu Dongjuan, or should we let outsiders handle it? It's none of my business anyway.
Song, the village head, stroked his beard and said with a serious expression, "Little Zhou! The atmosphere in your town is really not good!"
I had only heard that when your father was in charge of the town, the people were honest and simple, and no one would pick up lost items on the road. But now the world is going downhill.
While at her parents' home, Xu only had a strained relationship with her stepmother; however, after marrying out, she conspired with outsiders to scheme against her family's property.
His words were a bit of nonsense. Xu Dongjuan had been married for over ten years, so there was no way she could be associated with the recent bad social atmosphere.
But Zhou Tingzhang was the youngest among the several towns in Pingchuan County, and he usually treated the other four Tingzhang as a junior.
These two people were indeed residents of his jurisdiction. At this moment, when Chief Song said in front of everyone that the atmosphere in his town was bad and that he was incompetent in governing, he could not refute it.
But the way he looked at Xu Dongjuan was different: "Chief Song, I will handle this matter myself."
People need to be dealt with, but they can't be here.
This is, after all, the Xu family's own clan, including Xu Dongjuan's relatives. And to further damage the relationship with Village Chief Jiang, they can't hide forever once they return to their own town. They can deal with these two families slowly.
However, mistakes must be punished, and someone always has to pay the price for them.
“Lu Daqian!” Zhou Tingzhang said to the man standing to the side, who was filled with fear and trepidation.
Lu Daqian quickly bowed and came over: "Chief Zhou, this humble one..."
Before he could finish speaking, he was kicked hard in the back of the knee, his knee slamming into the ground, causing him to cry out in pain.
Xu Dongjuan screamed, "Big money!"
She tried to help him up, but was stopped by the attendants brought by Zhou Tingzhang. Her two fifteen- or sixteen-year-old sons were also pressed to the ground and unable to move.
Zhou Tingzhang's face showed no smile as he looked at Lu Daqian and said, "You are from Panlong Town, so you should know the rules of my Zhou family. We in Panlong Town do not beat women."
Now you, woman, are stirring up trouble and causing problems everywhere. Don't pretend you know nothing about it.
Lu Daqian was sweating. Of course he knew the Zhou family rules in Panlong Town: men in the town were beaten with a cane for committing crimes, but women were not beaten, only fined. The fines were so high that they would go bankrupt, and if they couldn't afford to pay, they would be sold off.
This is also why the Zhou family has been able to hold the position of village head in Panlong Town for generations; the Zhou family is the local tyrant of Panlong Town.
Lu Daqian was so frightened that he kowtowed repeatedly: "Master Zhou, Master Zhou, I...I know, it's my fault for not teaching my family well. Please have mercy and spare their lives."
At this point, he dared not admit that he did not know, and could only beg for a lighter punishment.
Having lived in Panlong Town for over a decade, Xu Dongjuan was well aware of the Zhou family's ruthless money-grabbing tactics. She immediately struggled to kowtow repeatedly, pleading, "I admit my mistake, please have mercy, Master Zhou!"
When Lianhua's mother saw Xu Dongjuan suddenly kneel down and kowtow to admit her mistake, she was stunned. However, she lived in the village and did not know about the methods of the Zhou family, the village head, so she just assumed that she had won.
Feeling relieved, Lotus Mother wiped her face and said, "She was the one who told me to come to Xu Family Village. I didn't do anything."
As for Qin's claim of stealing... she was confident that nothing would happen.
A hint of maturity appeared on Zhou Tingzhang's young face: "I'll ask you later!" He still needed to wait for news from the Qin family.
Meanwhile, Qin rushed to her son's house in a hurry. Li Laoshi was standing by the roadside waiting for news. When he saw her return, he hurriedly asked, "Did Xu Dongjuan admit her mistake?"
Qin was running fast, and while catching her breath, she grabbed Li Laoshi and said, "Quickly ask Lianhua... is the silver bracelet I gave her still there?"
If Lianhua dares to hand over her silver bracelet to her mother, she will take back the power to manage the household.
From now on, Genqing will not give Lianhua a single penny.
At this moment, Xu Genqing and Lianhua were extremely anxious inside the house. They were about to go out to greet their mother when they heard her return.
Then Qin burst in with a gust of wind, and immediately asked, "Lotus, where are the silver bracelets I gave you?"
Lotus, not understanding, simply said, "It's been kept in the trunk all along."
She spends her time at home taking care of her children and working in the fields, so she rarely wears bracelets.
Xu Genqing had already sensed something was wrong and immediately went back into the house to search through his clothes chest.
The family is small, and someone is always home. The bedroom doors are usually unlocked, but the wardrobe is locked, and the key is hanging in the corner behind the door, known only to herself and Lianhua.
Xu Genqing took out the key to open the box, then found the wooden box in the corner of the box, and felt its weight when he squeezed it.
He quickly opened the wooden box, revealing the silver bracelet inside, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief: "Mother, the thing is still here."
As long as the silver bracelet was still there, Qin picked it up and checked it. It was indeed the one she had brought back from the Nie family.
Knowing that Lianhua hadn't stolen anything from home to take back to her parents' house, Qin Shi was relieved.
Just as he was about to tell the others what Xu Dongjuan and Lianhua's mother had said, he saw Lianhua's expression change.
Lianhua took the wooden box and rummaged through it, then asked Xu Genqing, "Did you rummage through it when you opened the box just now?"
Xu Genqing shook his head: "No!"
Lianhua's face paled even more. She could barely stand and had to support Xu Genqing: "Go and get my mother's basket!"
Lotus Mother was in a hurry to leave yesterday, and had already packed the basket she needed to take.
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