Chapter 118 Paying Back Debts
After hearing Zhang Erkui's rebuttal, Ma Dahua showed no remorse: "It's only right that your mother helps her own family. She can't be eating well while her brothers and nephews are eating chaff and wild vegetables, can she?"
At this point, Ma Dahua became even more furious: "She has enjoyed the blessings of her maternal family for so many years, and she thinks she can just disown her own brothers? She can give her in-laws thirty taels of silver as a betrothal gift, so why can't she give her own family any money!"
Thirty taels of betrothal money! That's thirty taels of betrothal money! Xu Cuilian is a spendthrift who's a money-loser!
The villagers who were watching were once again surprised by the huge surprise, completely stunned by the thirty taels of betrothal money.
Goodness, the Zhang family is just a butcher and pork seller, yet they're so rich. No wonder Ma Dahua is envious; they'd be just as famous if they were in their shoes.
It's a pity that Cuilian didn't take a liking to the girl from Xujiaba; otherwise, the thirty taels of silver dowry might have ended up in their family.
"Bullshit! The older generation saw clearly what kind of life my mother lived in her parents' home before she got married. She benefited from her parents' home life!"
Zhang Daikui was so angry that he cursed loudly. If Xu Jinnian hadn't stopped him, he would have rushed up and given Ma Dahua a kick to the chest.
At this moment, Butcher Zhang, who had been silent until now, stepped forward.
He glanced at Ma Dahua, Xu Laosan, and the others, who showed no remorse whatsoever, and said to the clan chief, whose face was growing increasingly grim:
"Clan leader, my wife is not fortunate enough to enjoy the blessings of the Xu family. Today, I will sever all ties with the three Xu brothers, Xu Chengcai, Xu Chengsong, and Xu Chengbai, on behalf of my wife. I would like to ask you, the three clan elders, and everyone present to bear witness."
Old Xu and the others were taken aback by Butcher Zhang's stunt, and their expressions changed drastically as they exclaimed in unison, "No way!"
The reason these three families have been able to make ends meet over the years is because Cuilian has been helping them from time to time by providing them with money and goods.
Without her help, how will we get by?
Especially since Huaining is going to take the imperial examination next year, which is exactly when he needs money, how will he afford to travel for the examination if they are now completely cut off from his family?
Just finding a scholar to vouch for you costs five taels of silver, not to mention the prefectural and provincial examinations which require traveling to Jinling, where food, lodging, and boat travel all cost money.
It would take at least twenty or thirty taels of silver to make a living!
Ignoring the barking of the dogs, Butcher Zhang addressed the clan chief again:
“My wife originally didn’t intend to sever ties with them and even planned to resume contact during the Chinese New Year. But they couldn’t even wait a few days and came to my door, hurting my wife like that.”
My wife wouldn't dare acknowledge such relatives, and neither would I. I'd like to ask the clan elder to be our witness; otherwise, if my wife is bullied again, I don't know if she'll even be alive.
These words contained both truth and falsehood. Xu Cuilian had previously severed ties with the three Xu brothers, but it was not made public, and the villagers of Xujiaba were unaware of it.
Now that Xu Cuilian is injured and nearly killed, it's the perfect opportunity to sever all ties with the Zhang family in front of the clan elders and villagers, leaving the three Xu brothers with no reason to ever visit the Zhang family again.
The three Zhang brothers stood up together, their expressions solemn as they supported their father's decision: "Clan leader, we don't want to lose our mother so early, nor do we want to acknowledge these relatives. We ask the clan leaders and elders to be our witnesses!"
Seeing the four men, father and sons, who had made up their minds, the clan chief sighed deeply, exchanged glances with the three elders, and then looked at the three anxious Xu brothers:
“A married daughter is like water spilled from a cup. The father and son have the right to make decisions for Cuilian. Today, we four old men will be the witnesses. From now on, Cuilian will have nothing to do with you three brothers, and you are not allowed to bother her.”
As the clan head of Xujiaba, he was unwilling to see his family members and siblings fight like this.
However, the three Xu brothers were too outrageous. Not content with bullying their own sister once, they went to her door and injured her so badly that she was left with only half a life.
If this continues, they might cause a death and end up in jail, but what about Huaining's future?
He couldn't let these good-for-nothings ruin a promising kid.
The three Xu brothers, their faces ashen, glared angrily at the Zhang father and son: "You father and son acted on your own initiative, aren't you afraid of Cuilian's wrath?"
They breathed a sigh of relief when they learned that Xu Cuilian was not dead.
For such a trivial matter, the father and his sons proposed severing ties, showing no regard for the brothers at all.
Butcher Zhang still didn't look at them, and thanked the clan elders: "Cuilian is the daughter of Xujiaba. She will still come back to offer incense to her father-in-law and mother-in-law during festivals."
The clan chief nodded, letting out a long sigh in his heart.
Ma Dahua thought she was alright and a look of joy appeared on her face. Just as she was about to stand up, she was kicked hard in the back.
Ouch!
Ma Dahua fell face-first into the mud, her mouth unfortunately hitting a protruding rock, and her two blood-stained front teeth fell to the ground with a thud.
Butcher Zhang withdrew his foot and coldly looked at Ma Dahua, whose face was contorted in pain and who was covering her mouth with blood gushing out from between her fingers: "You pushed my wife, so I'll kick you back for her. That's even."
Ma Dahua was speechless, her eyes filled with both fear and hatred as she looked at Butcher Zhang.
Xu Laosan and the others witnessed this scene, but none of them stepped forward to stand up for Ma Dahua, fearing that Zhang the butcher might kick them next.
Butcher Zhang didn't let them off the hook. He reached into his clothes and pulled out a booklet, handing it to the clan chief.
“This is the money my wife has spent on the three families over the years and the money they owe. I didn’t go to collect the debts before because they were all relatives and out of respect for my wife. Now that we’ve severed ties, let’s settle the debts as well.”
Xu Cuilian was illiterate and could not write. Every time she bought something for her family, gave them something, or lent them a certain amount of money, she would have Zhang the butcher write it down.
I did this not for any other reason than to find out where the money I earned each year went.
The Zhang family also kept an account book for all their expenses, which Xu Cuilian would take out and settle at the end of each year.
The clan chief, who had some schooling, quickly opened the booklet and began to read and calculate.
As he finished calculating, his wrinkled face was filled with disbelief, and he looked at the three Xu brothers with utter disgust: "How dare you come to Cuilian's door and cause trouble?"
After hearing the clan chief's words, the villagers perked up their ears again, and one villager asked directly, "Clan chief, how much silver did Cuilian spend, and how much money do they owe the Zhang family?"
The clan chief made no attempt to cover up for the three Xu brothers, and stated the expenses and debts in full:
"The total expenses over the eighteen years amounted to 22 taels, 4 mace, and 82 cash, and the total debt was 26 taels, of which 8 taels were owed to Xu Chengcai's family, 6 taels to Xu Chengsong's family, and 12 taels to Xu Chengbai's family."
hiss--
The villagers were shocked, their eyes wide with disbelief.
She spent nearly fifty taels of silver on her family over eighteen years, and her brothers even came to her door and beat her half to death. What a sucker she was!
The villagers couldn't help but look at Butcher Zhang; some felt sympathy, some were disappointed in him, and some admired him.
How deep must one's love be to silently watch one's wife spend so much money on her family?
They used to call their wives spendthrift women, but compared to Xu Cuilian, who was a real spendthrift woman, their wives were far more capable of managing the household.
Praise me! I have to praise you when we get back!
Ignoring the strange looks from the crowd, Butcher Zhang put away the account book and said to the clan chief, "I will forgive the expenses for normal activities over the past eighteen years, but the three families must repay the debt of twenty-six taels of silver to me."
The clan chief nodded: "Paying back debts is a matter of course."
After saying that, he glared at the three Xu brothers with an unfriendly look: "Pay back the money. Pay back whatever you have at home. If you don't have money, you can use goods as collateral. I remember that your three families just sold a few pigs for the New Year."
The three Xu brothers looked extremely grim. They never expected Zhang the Butcher to be so ruthless. Not only did he sever ties with their family, but he also forced them to repay the money. Wasn't this forcing them to their deaths?
Ma Dahua screamed, opening her blood-red mouth wide as she yelled, "No, my family didn't borrow any money! If you're so capable, show me the IOU!"
The three Xu brothers exchanged glances, seeing through each other's unspoken thoughts.
Yes, they didn't sign an IOU when they borrowed the money. As long as they don't admit it, what can that Zhang guy do but rob them?
Butcher Zhang saw through their thoughts at a glance and sneered, "You'd better pay back the money, or I'll show you the consequences of not paying your debts."
Zhang Erkui revealed the same cold smile on his face and turned to ask Zhang Xiaokui next to him, "What happened to the Zhu family in the next alley who owed money and didn't pay it back?"
Zhang Xiao Kui understood immediately and picked up the thread: "The Zhu family's two sons lost their hands and feet and became crippled, and their three grandsons were kidnapped by human traffickers and their whereabouts are still unknown. In the end, Granny Zhu bought poison, and the whole family died."
Old Master Zhu was a gambling addict. He gambled from a young age until he was old, and even after losing all his family fortune, he continued to gamble. Several years ago, he owed the gambling den a large sum of money.
When the gambling den couldn't get their money back, they broke the arms and legs of Zhu's two sons and sold Zhu's three grandsons to human traffickers.
The two daughters-in-law of the Zhu family went straight back to their parents' home. Old Mrs. Zhu couldn't bear the blow and bought a packet of poison to make soup. She took herself, her two paralyzed sons, and the culprit, Old Man Zhu, with her.
Listening to the Zhang brothers' back-and-forth banter, everyone present changed their expressions, mistakenly believing that the Zhu family owed the Zhang family money and had been ruined by the Zhang family.
The three Xu brothers turned pale and shrank back in fear, not daring to meet the eyes of the Zhang father and son, completely abandoning any thought of renege on their debt.
In the end, they had to go home to get the money.
Fortunately, Old Master Xu took out his savings for his funeral and the money he had earned from the pig a few days ago, and returned every penny to Butcher Zhang.
Xu Laosan's family was the poorest. Even after digging out his savings for his coffin and the money from selling pigs, he was still short by more than one tael of silver. He had no choice but to use the chickens, ducks, and cured fish and meat in his house to pay off the debt of six taels of silver.
Xu Laosi's family was the most indebted. They managed to scrape together ten taels of silver, but they couldn't raise the remaining two taels no matter what. In the end, they wrote an IOU and promised to pay it off by the end of next year at the latest.
Now, all three families have been completely drained of their resources and severely weakened, making this year destined to be difficult.
Xu Jinnian coldly observed the three families, who looked as if they had lost their parents, without a trace of sympathy in his eyes.
Apart from stopping Zhang Daikui from making a move at the beginning, he did not interfere with Zhang the Butcher's attack on the three Xu brothers at all.
Having smashed up Xu Laosan's house, severed ties with Xu Cuilian, recovered years of debts, and even knocked out the culprit's teeth, Butcher Zhang barely achieved his goal of coming to Xujiaba and didn't stay there any longer.
The group came in a hurry and left in a hurry, leaving the villagers of Xujiaba with a lot of new topics to talk about.
The reputations of the three Xu brothers are destined to be ruined.
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