With her son gone, she had no one to protect her and could only live cautiously with her tail between her legs.
"Forget it, I'm not eating!"
Furious, Qin's father was too lazy to eat. He waved his hand, signaling Qin's mother to take away the food, and then irritably smoked his pipe.
There are only two people in the family now, so there's no point in making any plans, and I can't sell my wife!
Qin's father thought his son would be hiding for a while before returning, so he was particularly hesitant.
On the contrary, upon hearing that their father had sold the land, the two brothers immediately rushed back from their mother-in-law's house.
After all, married people know that meals at the mother-in-law's house aren't always easy to come by.
If you bring gifts, they will treat you politely; if you arrive empty-handed, you should be grateful for a drink of water.
There are also families that treat their sons-in-law well, but they are not so fortunate. The two old ladies of the Qin family are stingy and reluctant to let their daughters-in-law bring anything, so the two brothers are often disliked.
When they returned, the two brothers were extra cautious and made a special inquiry to find out that the family had already paid off the Yang family's debts before they dared to bring their wives and children home.
Just in time for lunch!
Qin's mother, scolded by Qin's father, lowered her head meekly and dared not raise her head. Just as she was about to pack her things, she heard someone knocking on the door. She immediately lost her temper, "That bastard is so inconsiderate, coming over during mealtime? Is he trying to freeload!"
She racked her brains but couldn't think of anyone. She glanced cautiously at Qin's indifferent father, wiped her hands, and went out cursing, "What are you knocking for? Are you in a hurry to be reincarnated?"
Upon hearing this, the noise outside the door immediately ceased.
Qin's mother's expression softened slightly, but her words were still sharp: "You stinking beggar, let me make this clear first, my family has nothing to give you to eat. At most, I'll give you a sip of water."
After saying that, she opened the door and saw her son and daughter-in-law. She was stunned.
After realizing what was happening, her face turned extremely cold. "What are you doing back here?"
When there was trouble at home, they ran away faster than anyone else with their families. They had just paid off their debts when these debt collectors came back.
Qin's mother didn't believe that they didn't have any informants in the village.
"Mother," Qin Lao Er smiled ingratiatingly, "I haven't had a drop of water all day, please let me in first, okay?"
That's obviously false.
Because their departure was premeditated, the two were extremely well-prepared, having swept away all the dry food in the house.
Qin's mother assumed that the Yang family had taken those things and was unaware of this.
"What does this have to do with your mother?" In front of her son, Qin's mother was particularly confident, and she scolded with her hands on her hips, "A bunch of heartless ingrates! Your parents raised you with great difficulty, and when something happens at home, you run away faster than anyone else. What are you doing back here? Fighting for food? Why didn't you just die out there?"
Qin's mother was furious, frustrated, and resentful all day. She unleashed all the anger she had been suppressing on this group of people.
His words were quick, steady, and ruthless, each one striking right at the heart.
However, the two Qin brothers felt guilty and didn't get angry no matter how harshly their mother scolded them.
"Mother, calm down," Qin Lao Er said with a smile. "It's not worth getting angry over us debt collectors. Let's talk things out slowly and go back first, so we don't make a fool of ourselves in front of outsiders."
The following sentence struck a nerve with Qin's mother.
Both Qin's father and mother were extremely concerned about their image. No matter how angry they were with their two good-for-nothing sons, they didn't want outsiders to laugh at them.
Moreover, she was merely venting her anger; deep down, she actually harbored more resentment towards her daughter-in-law.
Hearing her son say that, she reluctantly agreed, "Come in, it's embarrassing to stand outside like this."
At this time, Qin's mother did not realize that the Qin family had long become the subject of ridicule in Qin Family Village.
Whether it was being robbed of their debts or their son running away with his family, both incidents shattered the worldview of the people of Qin Family Village.
"Hey," upon hearing this, Qin Lao Er immediately realized that his mother had softened her heart, and immediately seized the opportunity, clutching his stomach and saying aggrievedly, "Mom, I'm so hungry, is there any food at home?"
"Eat, eat, all you ever do is eat! You're such a troublemaker!" Qin's mother said through gritted teeth. "I really owe you all something."
After saying those harsh words, she pointed to the hall and said, "The food hasn't been cleared away yet, so you two can have a few bites first."
Both brothers understood what this meant.
In the past, when they cooked special meals for their sons, Qin's mother would only let her two sons eat, and even her grandsons didn't get this treatment.
"Mother," Qin the eldest asked, pursing his lips, "Where is Father?"
He was somewhat worried that his own father would hold a grudge against him!
No matter how harsh her words were, she would never hold a grudge against them; at most, she would vent her resentment on her daughter-in-law.
But Dad is different.
He's a really ruthless and hard-hearted person. If you really offend him, he'll dare to take revenge on even your own parents.
He was genuinely worried because he had gone so far this time...
“Your father is smoking in the living room,” Qin’s mother said with a bitter expression. “With such a terrible disaster befalling the family, how can we survive if we don’t come up with a solution?”
Unlike her father, Qin's mother didn't dwell on the matter once it was resolved. Although she felt resentful, she never considered selling her daughter-in-law.
In her view, this matter is in the past.
Even though he was dissatisfied with his daughter-in-law, he could only find ways to vent his anger by tormenting her.
These words puzzled Qin the eldest. "Mother, even if we sell the land, we can buy it back in a month or two. Why is Father worried?"
"Don't even mention it," Qin's mother said gloomily. "That brat found out that we had plundered Huangshan's silver, and she retaliated fiercely by having the estate cut off our silver for ten days."
Ten taels of silver, gone in an instant, made Qin's mother's face turn pale with heartache.
But there was nothing they could do.
The more she learned about Qingfeng Temple, the more frightened she became; they were truly a group of murderers and arsonists.
Because of this, even without money, she didn't dare to cause trouble.
"What?"
Upon hearing this, Qin Lao Er's face turned pale.
He immediately realized something was wrong.
The two brothers' departure was pre-arranged; they wanted to force Qin's father to sell the land to pay off his debts.
Only in this way can we avoid worrying that the two elders will try to take advantage of their daughter-in-law again.
No matter how nice their parents' words were, neither of the brothers wanted to be cuckolds and have their heads turned on.
Their thinking was that Qin's father was definitely unhappy about selling the land, but he could bear it for a few days. It wasn't that the family had no income; they just couldn't raise that much money for the time being.
"Mother, when did this happen?"
"Just today," Qin's mother said with some regret, "if I had known, I wouldn't have mentioned Huangshan."
If it weren't for that one extra word, that hard-earned money wouldn't have just disappeared like that.
Now, whether or not we'll get the money in the future is uncertain; it all depends on that brat's attitude.
Qin's mother was already quite clever. When she learned that Qin could cut off the money at any time, she immediately realized that the future of the Qin family would depend on her daughter's word.
In the past, she wouldn't have been afraid of this at all, but now that she had offended someone so badly, even she belatedly realized that Qin Shi could no longer be easily fooled by a few words like before.
"What? You actually brought it up?" Qin Lao Er exclaimed, his face contorted with grief. "Mother, you've been so foolish!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com