Before Old Mrs. Xu could even cause trouble for Xu Xuewang, Xu Er arrived at their door with his men.
However, this time they came to ask for help.
They must have known that the Xu family members all left early, so they arrived at their door early in the morning, blocking the way before the adults even had a chance to leave.
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The father and son looked bruised and swollen, quite comical. Fu Man'er couldn't help but laugh and whispered to Xu Yi, "Brother, you look like two pig heads."
Xu Yi glanced at the two of them and pinched Fu Man'er's chubby cheeks. "Be careful what you say, or you'll get a beating."
Fu Man'er looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to her. "I'll only tell my brother." She knew it would be wrong to say these things to his face.
Xu Yi helped her straighten the silk flower in her hair. These days, Xu Genzhu was selling more and more trinkets, and they were becoming more and more exquisite. Just take the silk flower in Fu Man'er's hair, for example. It was unique in the village and cost more than ten coins each.
The little girl looked even more playful and adorable wearing it on her head. "Be good, when your brother gets out of school, he'll take you to Grandpa Hu's house."
He's been coming home late from school these days, and the little girl keeps pestering him, so he has no choice but to agree to bring Fu Man'er along.
"Okay, I promise to be a good girl." Fu Man'er immediately puffed out her round belly to make the promise, and Xu Yi then picked up his book box and followed his younger brothers to the school.
Seeing Xu Yi leave, Fu Man'er walked towards the main room, her small body squeezing through the door and standing next to Ma Hong, who was closest to the door. Ma Hong felt a weight on her leg and looked down to see the little girl leaning most of her body on her leg.
"Lazy girl," Ma Hong glared at her irritably, but then picked her up and let her sit on her lap.
Fu Man'er found a comfortable position and stretched her head to look ahead.
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Xu Er had never felt so embarrassed. When he came back from outside and learned that his son had gotten into such trouble, he originally didn't want to get involved. Wasn't this just blatant extortion of their family's money? What could he do even if he didn't give it to them?
But Qian Shengcai was even more ruthless than them. He beat up the father and son before he got the money, and even Xu Xuexing couldn't escape it because Yang kept screaming for him to go up and help.
Not content with just beating him up, Qian Shengcai also threatened that if Xu Er couldn't come up with the money within three days, he would go to Xu Er's workplace and cause trouble, making his life miserable.
This hit Xu Er where it hurts. His position as the accountant in town was something he always boasted about and looked down on the villagers for. What would happen if he lost him? What would become of his family?
"Brother, there's really no other way. We've scraped together everything we could, but we're still short forty taels of silver." Xu Er bowed his head to Xu Da, a rare occurrence, but even so, there was little genuine emotion on his face.
Old Xu kept his head down and didn't speak for a long time. "Forty taels is no small amount." It was unattainable when the family was poor. Now the family has some savings, but forty taels didn't come from thin air.
“I know, there’s no other way. You’re running a shop and building a house, you must have money. Xuewang is your nephew, so why don’t you spare some to help him?”
Before coming, Xu Er had already thought it through. His elder brother's family was not what they used to be, and they could definitely come up with forty taels of silver. Of course, he didn't plan to pay it back. It was just his uncle helping his nephew. Why talk about whether he would pay it back or not?
Hearing this, the Xu family felt uncomfortable. "It's easy for you to say. Our family needs money for everything right now. Where would we get extra money to lend you?"
Old Mrs. Xu was unwilling to lend the money, not even four taels, let alone forty taels. However, she didn't say it outright, still considering her husband, who used to take good care of his only brother.
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“Sister-in-law, there are priorities. You can postpone building your house for a couple of days. It’s not like you’re currently without a place to live. But Xuewang’s place can’t wait.”
Xu Er really didn't want to get beaten up again, especially since he was already so old, and he didn't want to lose his job.
Upon hearing this, the younger members of the family couldn't stand it anymore. Ma Hong, who was always quick to speak, said, "Second Uncle, that's not how it works. We paid a deposit for the bricks and tiles of our house. If we don't pay the difference on time, the bricks and tiles will be gone, and the deposit won't be refunded."
“Look at our roof, we’ve had it patched up so many times. The wind howls in the winter. If it’s not fixed soon, where will our family live?”
Ma Hong couldn't stand his attitude. What did he care about priorities? He only cared about his own family's needs, not hers. The whole family had put a lot of effort into this new house.
Whenever they had a spare moment, they would rush to the new house, working themselves to the bone without ever complaining. They were all hoping to move into the new house this year and have a warm and cozy winter. Why should they have to stop now?
"Second daughter-in-law is right." It was rare for Grandma Xu to praise her like that, and Ma Hong felt her back straighten up. Fu Man'er also whispered, "Second aunt is really great."
This is a compliment she recently learned, inspired by the old lady's praise of her a few days ago. Now, Fu Man'er generously praised Ma Hong without hesitation.
Ma Hong suppressed the corners of her mouth that were desperately trying to turn up, and gave Fu Man'er a look that said, "You little rascal."
"Big brother." Xu Er's face was very ugly after being retorted by a junior. "I didn't know that any junior in your family could make decisions these days. We're brothers, aren't you going to help me?"
This was clearly an attempt to sow discord. Just as Ma Hong was about to speak, Xu Genzhu quickly stopped her, signaling her not to say anything.
Old Xu sighed softly, "My family can't afford forty taels of silver, at most twenty." This was the result of his long deliberation, and he still felt somewhat reluctant.
"Twenty taels isn't enough, Uncle. They said they'd break my arms and legs if I didn't pay in full." Xu Xuewang was still terrified at the thought; he'd be a cripple then.
"If it's not enough, you can figure out another way. I've already done everything I can. If you agree, write an IOU and I'll give you the money." As he spoke, he gave the old woman a look, signaling her to go and get the money.
Old Mrs. Xu had a sour face; she really didn't want to lend money to this family, so she pretended not to see the old man's look.
"Brother, what did you say? We need to write an IOU?" Xu Er looked incredulous.
"That's right, you always have to write an IOU when you borrow money." His expression confused Old Man Xu. Had he said something wrong? Was that not how it was supposed to be when borrowing money?
"Brother, we're family. Why would family need to write an IOU? Are you afraid I won't return these twenty taels to you?" Xu Er was somewhat angry, furious that his elder brother would act this way.
Old Xu was taken aback. He realized he hadn't said anything wrong; he always wrote IOUs when he lent money to others.
"Even close brothers need to keep clear accounts. It's only natural for you to write an IOU when you borrow money from our family." Old Mrs. Xu was unwilling to lend the money in the first place, and now that she saw that Xu Er didn't even want to write an IOU, she was actually happy. It was just as well that she didn't lend it out.
Fu Man'er's eyes darted around, and she leaned close to Ma Hong's ear and said, "Second Aunt, does the fact that they're not writing an IOU mean they don't want to pay back the money?"
Ma Hong suddenly realized, "That's right, without a loan agreement, who knows if the money was actually lent out by them? Even a child could understand that. Does Xu Er think our whole family is stupid?"
This time, Xu Genzhu couldn't stop Ma Hong. She rattled off Xu Er's scheme, and Old Lady Xu chimed in, exposing Xu Er's despicable thoughts clearly.
Old Xu, who was originally going to lend the money, hesitated. He wanted to help his brother's family, but he couldn't just give away the money for nothing. Besides, the money in the house wasn't earned by him, so he couldn't do that.
Seeing that his expression was softening, Xu Er panicked a little and wondered if he should sign the IOU first and then renege on it later.
But before he could finish his plan, Old Mrs. Xu started chasing him away, saying, "You heartless bastard, all you think about is how to torment our family. When your eldest brother was young, he let you be his apprentice. Now that the family is finally doing a little better, you still come here to leech off your eldest brother. You're not even human."
"Big Brother." Xu Er wanted to say a few more words, but Xu Da had already turned his head away and stopped looking at him. The matter of being an apprentice was like a thorn in Xu Da's heart.
Xu Er was kicked out, and the family members went about their own business again. Fu Man'er found her grandfather sitting dejectedly under the eaves in the backyard.
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