The aunt wanted to escape, but she was frightened by the silver needle in Su Wanti's hand just now, and now her legs were weak and she couldn't move.
Moreover, Su Wanti was staring at her with burning eyes, blocking her way, and she couldn't leave.
She pursed her lips tightly, not wanting to speak, but for some reason, the words came out like firecrackers, uncontrollably and crackling.
"It was my parents-in-law and your eldest and second uncles who came up with the idea. I just asked Matchmaker Li to come over."
"My parents-in-law said that since my younger brother-in-law is gone, his house and land cannot be given away to my third son's wife and children."
"They said they were going to sell the third son's wife and children. Then, my family and the second son's family would each have one of the three houses, and the middle one would be for my parents-in-law. My family and the second son's family would each have one mu of land on the east mountain."
Hearing this, Zhang Hehua felt bitter in her mouth and her heart ached.
"My parents-in-law want to sell our family? Is Matchmaker Li really the human trafficker you hired?" Her voice trembled.
The head of the village also looked very unhappy. It turned out that the woman kneeling on the ground was matchmaker Li.
Ordinary villagers may not know this very well, but as the village head, he often meets with other village heads, so he has heard of the name Li Matchmaker.
Matchmaker Li is from Lijiazhuang. On the surface, she is a matchmaker, but in fact, she is doing an illicit business in private.
No one in Lijiazhuang and the surrounding villages asked her to be a matchmaker. Shanyan Village was dozens of miles away from Lijiazhuang, and the villagers here would not go out of their way to look for her for matchmaking.
"Why did you call her here?" The head of the village was dissatisfied and stared at the eldest daughter-in-law of the Su family and asked coldly.
My aunt was so panicked that she tried her best to keep her mouth shut, but she could still hear her own voice.
"I heard that she would sell beautiful young women to prostitutes, so I asked my brothers from my mother's family to find her."
"She also promised me that if I could sell Ah Wan, she would give me one hundred taels of silver as a reward."
Hearing this, Zhang Hehua was so angry that she couldn't speak.
"Then how have you arranged for my three younger brothers and two younger sisters?" Su Wanti's voice was frighteningly calm.
The eldest aunt's eyes dodged. "My parents-in-law found a private mine that's hiring regardless of age. They say they'll give us ninety taels of silver if we send three boys. As for your two sisters, they want to sell them to a distant village and give them to other families as child brides. They'll be happy to get a dozen or so taels of silver."
The village head's face turned pale. "You are so cruel. Su Song's child is their own grandson. Sending him to a private mine will only allow him to be exploited to death? And you even want to sell a five-year-old child as a child bride? Only a cruel family who mistreats their daughter would sell her as a child bride, handing her life over to someone else to be abused and tortured!"
Suddenly, his eyes flashed, as if he remembered something important.
He remembered that Su Song was brought back to Shanyan Village by his parents when he was five or six years old.
When Su Song first returned to the village, he was fair and clean, and did not look like a village child. Instead, he looked like the young master of a wealthy family.
He narrowed his eyes, remembering that a few days before Su Song disappeared, she had secretly come to his house in the middle of the night to look for him.
That night, Su Song handed him a small red cloth bag and asked him to keep it for safekeeping.
He also said that if he had an accident, he should give the little red cloth bag to his eldest daughter Awan.
A while ago, a distinguished person came to the county, and the village head went to the county to help. He was so busy that he forgot what Su Song had asked him to do.
At this time, the head of the village remembered Su Song's instructions and listened to the words of the eldest son's wife of the Su family, and made a decision in his heart.
He looked at everyone present, sighed, and said, "Call Old Man Su and his two sons over here."
Su Wanti's heart moved slightly, it seemed that there was a chance of breaking off the engagement!
All the villagers heard what the eldest daughter-in-law of the Su family said.
When Old Man Su and his two sons came over, they found that the villagers were staring at them with strange eyes.
They also pointed at them and whispered to each other.
The three of them didn't know what was going on and could only make random guesses.
Old Man Su whispered, "I'm afraid it's that damn girl Ah Wan who's causing trouble again."
"It's the parents' order and the matchmaker's words. Let her make a fuss as she pleases. Just lock her up and persuade the third son's wife to marry you." Old Master Su said.
Su Laoer frowned, "Dad, I think we should not be anxious. Let's wait a little longer. The third son's wife is dying. If she dies, Awan will be without parents. She will have no choice but to listen to you. You can accept the betrothal gift and have her kidnapped. That will be legitimate."
Old Man Su glared. "I want to wait, too, but can your son and nephew wait? Your son lost a fortune in business, and your nephew is in gambling debt. They're both getting married, and we need to prepare a betrothal gift. All told, we need two hundred taels of silver. We'd have to sell all six children from the Third Brother's family to barely scrape together that."
"Once you get the money, you have to fill the hole in your sons' pockets as soon as possible. Otherwise, the interest will compound and the hole will get bigger and bigger. Where will I find six more children to sell?"
Su Laoer thought about it and felt that what his father said made sense, so he shut up.
Old Man Su added, "It's said that men should marry when they are old enough and women should marry when they are old enough. Since father is not around, grandfather and uncles can make the decision. The village head is a person who values hierarchy and order, so he won't stand on Ah Wan's side."
However, the reality was beyond Old Man Su's expectations.
As soon as he and his two sons entered the house, the head of the village said with a grim face that his eldest daughter-in-law and matchmaker Li had explained all their plans.
Old Man Su was stunned, and then he unconsciously exchanged glances with his two sons.
This tiny action did not escape the eyes of the village head. At this moment, in his mind, the credibility of the words of the eldest daughter-in-law of the Su family increased a little.
"Haha, I don't understand what the village chief said. My daughter-in-law sometimes gets confused, so don't trust everything she says..."
Old Man Su glanced at his eldest daughter-in-law with a warning in his eyes.
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