Not to mention that they had developed a bond with the cattle, the spring plowing could not be delayed. The cattle had disappeared for no reason, and no matter how generous the Yang family was, they could not let the Qin family drag their feet.
Thinking of this, Qin's father regretted it.
If I had known, I shouldn't have gone to another village to rent a cow on my own whim. If it had been the village chief's cow, things would have been much easier.
Even if it drags on for a few days, there's nothing he can do about the villagers in the village.
Qin's father guessed one thing wrong: the Yang family arrived much faster than she had imagined.
It was the busy farming season, and the Yang family originally did not want to rent out their ox. However, the Qin family offered a higher price, twenty coins a day, which was almost the wages of two strong laborers, so they agreed.
They promised to deliver it before dark, but it was already dark by the time we finished eating and no one had come.
Spring plowing couldn't be delayed, so the Yang family couldn't sit still any longer. Old Man Yang directly sent his son to Qin Family Village to ask for cattle.
Originally, it was just Yang Laoda alone, but the others who wanted to go out for a stroll came along too.
So all seven brothers, all together and without missing a single one, came to Qin Family Village.
Qin's father was still worrying about how to explain things to the Yang family when he heard a knock on the door. When he opened it, he saw a row of burly men standing at his door.
Instantly, I subconsciously closed the door again.
"Old Qin," Old Yang asked angrily, "what do you mean?"
The door was already open, but they immediately closed it upon seeing them. Did they not want to see the brothers?
"Brother, why bother arguing with him? We're here to get the cow. It doesn't matter whether we get in or not," said Yang Lao Er.
In fact, you get used to being turned away.
Having too many brothers means that even if they don't bully others, people still feel that their family is not to be trifled with. As a result, their brothers are not well received wherever they go, and people always maliciously assume that their family is looking for trouble.
“That’s true,” Old Yang nodded, then shouted into the yard, “Old Qin, just bring my cow out, we won’t go in.”
Behind the door, Qin's father paced anxiously in circles.
Seeing this, Qin the eldest, who had rushed over, lowered his voice and said, "Dad, hiding like this isn't a solution. Why don't we talk to them first?"
“What do you know?” Qin Han said with a stern face. “If they find out that we lost their cow and didn’t even pay enough compensation, these people will tear the Qin family’s house down.”
Neither of them, father and son, would escape a beating.
The seven Yang brothers are just that domineering!
"What should we do then?" Old Qin panicked. "They've all arrived; we can't hold out for long."
“I know,” Qin’s father sighed, “Wait a minute, let me think of another way.”
The Qin family neither opened the door nor delivered any cattle, leaving the Yang brothers utterly perplexed.
"Brother, what's going on?" Yang Lao Er asked in confusion. "Why is there still no movement?"
"I don't know either," Old Yang also sensed something was wrong. "Let's wait another cup of tea. If it's still like this, we'll just kick the door down."
He suspected that the Qin family wanted to seize his cattle.
Thinking of this, Boss Yang smiled maliciously.
Since the brothers grew up, they haven't encountered anyone who would try to take advantage of them. If Old Qin thinks the Yang family is easy to fool, he's wrong.
Time passed second by second. After a short while, Old Yang, no longer waiting, kicked the door open.
However, the Qin family father and son had placed many heavy objects behind the door, making it impossible to kick.
"The doors are all blocked," Yang Laoda's doubts deepened. "What is the Qin family trying to do?"
"Brother, let's go in from the west wall, it's easier to climb over there."
When the Yang brothers climbed over the wall and entered, the Qin family gathered in the hall to discuss what to do. Under the stern rebuke of Qin's father, Qin's mother reluctantly took out ten taels of silver.
"Is there anything else?" Qin's father asked in a deep voice. "The Yang family has already sent people. We can't renege on this debt. Pay more now and less later."
“That’s all,” Qin’s mother said matter-of-factly. “Not a single copper coin left. You can search for me if you don’t believe me.”
Qin's father did not believe this.
Having been husband and wife for a lifetime, he knew his wife's character very well. "Hurry up and give it to me, or don't blame me for being impolite."
Upon hearing this, Qin's mother knew that Qin's father was really angry, so she didn't dare to act arrogantly and quickly went back to her room to take out three taels of loose silver.
"Mother, you actually hid some silver!" Qin Lao Er exclaimed in surprise.
"What are you yelling for?" Qin's mother rolled her eyes. "If you attract those people here, you'll be crying."
Is it easy for her to painstakingly hide some money?
They all only care about money, without considering that she also wants to leave a way out for her whole family.
Qin's father knew that Qin's mother still had some, but the family's silver was limited, and even if they kept some, there wouldn't be many copper coins left. So he simply stopped talking and took the silver to find the Yang brothers.
As soon as I stepped into the courtyard, I saw the Yang brothers climbing over the wall, and I was immediately startled.
As soon as Yang entered the yard, he immediately noticed a problem: he couldn't hear the cows mooing.
His family's cow had been raised for five years and was well-trained. When the brothers entered the yard, they didn't hear a single moo from the cow, which was unusual.
"Old Qin," Old Yang asked coldly, "where's our cow?"
Seeing the cold look in Yang Laoda's eyes, Qin's father suddenly dared not tell the truth and stammered, unable to say a word for a long time.
When Qin Laoda arrived, he thought Yang Laoda was bullying his father and immediately got angry, "What are you doing, bullying people? We didn't say we wouldn't compensate for the lost cow."
Upon hearing this, Qin's father felt a chill run down his spine, realizing that something bad had happened.
Sure enough, when he looked up, he saw the Yang brothers' faces, which were grim and dripping with gloom. "Old Qin, what happened to the cow?"
It absolutely must not be the kind of thing he imagines, otherwise, he's afraid he won't be able to control his temper and explode.
"That's right, that's what I mean," Qin's father said guiltily. "Today we encountered robbers. They stole our silver and took our cow with them."
"Nonsense," Yang Lao Er sneered, questioning, "Our place is very peaceful. We haven't heard of anyone encountering robbers in over ten years. How come you're the ones who happened to run into them?"
As he spoke, he carefully examined the two of them, then asked, "If you really encountered robbers, would you have come back alive and kicking? Do you think robbers would be so easily moved to kindness?"
“That’s right,” Yang Laosan chimed in, “Tell me, where did you sell our cow?”
He could only think of this one possibility.
It's currently the busy farming season, and cattle prices are 20% higher than usual, so it's understandable that the Qin family, driven by greed, would sell them for profit.
"No one's selling your cow," Old Qin said indignantly. "It was clearly killed by robbers. There's blood on the road. If you don't believe me, come with me and see for yourselves."
Upon hearing this, the Yang brothers were stunned.
After a moment of silence, Boss Yang tentatively asked, "Did you really encounter robbers?"
“How could this be faked? My son and I were knocked unconscious and robbed of our silver. They even killed our cow and dragged it away to eat.”
Upon learning that their cow had been killed, the Yang brothers were saddened for a moment, but then realized that the most important thing now was to make up for the loss.
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