Fan Erzhu got angry and pointed at Bai Ziqian, yelling, "Do you even know whose food you're eating?! Be careful, I'll beat you to death when we get home!"
"Hey, come here. You're a servant of my household, so you should stand in my house." Fan Dazhu shouted at Bai Ziqian, who was standing next to Hu Shuiqing, with his hands behind his back and his brows furrowed.
Sun Jinhua stared at the white jade in Shui Qing's hand. Good heavens, how much silver must this cost?
It must be quite a few ounces, right?
She swallowed hard, then her face darkened as she questioned Shui Qing, "Second son's wife, is this jade pendant Hei Zi's?"
"Then you should return it to him! How can an adult take a child's things! Besides, Hei Zi eats and drinks at my house; we support him. All his belongings should be under my care!"
Shui Qing had no liking for this sister-in-law. She was surprised by the young man's help and the information revealed in his words. After hearing Sun Jinhua's words, she smiled and asked, "Oh? Your family signed a contract of servitude with Hei Zi?"
How much silver was given as payment for selling oneself into servitude?
Sun Jinhua was stunned. She wanted to sign a contract of servitude? And pay her for it?
Her brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly, and she said awkwardly, "These days, it's already a blessing to be provided with food and drink, let alone pay for prostitution! That's a trick the rich use to rip people off!"
Shui Qing was amused.
Selling oneself isn't cheating people, but paying them is? This sister-in-law of hers is really willing to say anything shameless for her own benefit.
“Jin Hua, when you were about to sell your two nieces, you didn’t say that it was a trick used by wealthy families to cheat people.”
"No indenture was signed, just food is enough, isn't that just being a hired hand? And you still beat people? Killed someone? What a big shot you are."
"Even the old village chief's family can't afford to support servants in our village, let alone hers. She should focus on feeding herself first!"
"What's this about being a servant? We're already being nice by not having to be servants ourselves."
As soon as the last sentence was uttered, everyone present except for Sun Jinhua's family laughed.
Yes, Shanshui Village is located in a remote area with little fertile land; most of it is barren mountains and wasteland. There are few ways to find odd jobs outside the village, and in the past, when people were poor, many sold their children to work as servants for wealthy families.
Fan's mother sold her fields and land, and now her family has even fallen to the point of eating black flour like them. They can't even afford to eat cornmeal. They've only been able to eat their fill for a few years, and they still have to support servants.
"Jinhua, although things have been good in recent years and the grain harvest is good, you should still store more grain. How can you expect to have a good harvest every year if you rely on the weather?"
It's always good to store up more food; if a famine strikes, you won't starve without having to sell your children.
"You have four grown sons, and with your ten-odd acres of land, plus the three of you, you can cultivate it all. Don't need to support servants," Grandma Xu earnestly advised.
Sun Jinhua, whose face was already flushed from everyone's laughter, retorted after hearing Granny Xu's words: "Oh, don't give people advice just because you're old."
My family has eighteen acres of fertile land, and plenty of wasteland. A year of famine? Even if you all starve to death in a year of famine, my family will be fine!
With his mother backing him up, Fan Dazhu immediately perked up, saying, "Whether we support servants or not is none of your business!"
"So what if it's a year of famine? Even if it's a year of famine, God should still give us some harvest. At worst, we can just stop selling grain and live a less prosperous life."
"Besides, aren't there government offices? The officials still need us people to contribute to their political achievements, how could they let us starve to death!" Fan Erzhu snorted.
The elderly people around him, who had experienced the famine years, fell silent.
It's alright if these young lads are inexperienced, but it's unacceptable that they don't respect God.
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