"You beast! You forced my daughter to die, I'll fight you to the death!"
Wang Qiufen's eyes were red and swollen as she stared intently at Erlaizi, pulling her three children and desperately ramming them into him.
Cheng Yue and Chen An immediately moved aside, not wanting to stop Wang Qiufen and the others from performing well.
"Ah! You wretched woman! And you three lowly girls, you unfilial brats, how dare you lay a hand on me!"
Erlaizi had just been beaten up and was already exhausted. Now, with Wang Qiufen attacking him head-on and the three children grabbing his arms and legs, he had no way to fight back except to curse.
"You beast! If you want to die, then die! Why did you have to drag me and my three daughters into this?! I must have had the worst luck in eight lifetimes to run into a rotten person like you!"
I saved your life, that's enough to pay back what I owed you in my past life! I'll beat you to death today, and you can arrest me if you want! You can forget about harming my daughter!
Wang Qiufen cried and wailed, slapping Er Laizi's face from both sides, as if she wanted to vent all the grievances she had accumulated over the years.
Having done farm work before, she was already quite strong. Now, she used all her strength, and Er Laizi's big head was being hit so hard that it swayed left and right, his face puffed up as if it would burst open at any moment.
Everyone was stunned. In the past, Wang Qiufen could only swallow her anger whenever she was beaten and scolded by Erlaizi. Unexpectedly, she had suddenly exploded and was clearly going all out.
However, Erlaizi deserved it. It is said that a child is a piece of flesh that fell from the mother's body. If a mother has designs on her child, it would be strange if she didn't kill him!
Everyone watched coldly, even the village head shook his head and didn't want to get involved. He just watched, as long as he wasn't killed!
That bastard Er Laizi actually brought the gambling den debt collectors to the village and even tried to harm Chen An and his wife. Even if the gambling den people let him off the hook, he won't!
Seeing that no one was stopping him, Er Laizi could only shout with all his might, "Take these three wretched girls away to pay off the debt!"
The scarred men realized what was happening, and the leader waved his hand: "Take them away!"
They didn't care whether Erlaizi lived or died, as long as they could get the money back. Although these three girls looked thin and small, they could at least break even if they were sold to others as maids.
Wang Qiufen stopped, clutching her three children tightly, her eyes filled with terror: "No! Don't take my children away!"
She could beat Erlaizi, but she couldn't stop several strong men! What could she do if they forcibly took the child away?
The village head stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "You can't take it away!"
He would never agree to sell a child in front of him!
"Where did you come from, you old geezer? It's none of your business if someone sells their own child!"
Scarface picked up his knife and pointed it at the village head, his eyes bulging with anger. This trip had been truly unpleasant; a woman was blocking his path to wealth, and now an old man had jumped out and blocked his way. It was really frustrating!
Qian Yulan and Wang Chunmei gripped each other's arms tightly, while Zhang Dashan and his brother's hearts leaped into their throats. "Dad!"
The other party was carrying a knife; their dad is too brave!
Cheng Yue immediately spoke up: "Brothers, why don't we make a deal?"
These scarred men wouldn't leave empty-handed; she couldn't just stand by and watch her three children be sold.
Moreover, Wang Qiufen has a strong personality, and who knows what she might do for her child? What if someone dies...?
Now that the village head is being held at knifepoint, she can't just stand by and watch everyone be in danger.
It's true that the trouble was caused by Er Laizi, but since it has already happened, and right at her doorstep, it must be dealt with properly!
"What deal?"
Scarface put down his knife, his brows furrowed. What idea was this woman up to now?
Everyone looked at Cheng Yue nervously. If Cheng Yue couldn't come up with a solution, those three girls would surely die!
Cheng Yue said, "You've all seen these three children. They're weak and small, and they're already sick all the time. Now they've been frightened, and they might get seriously ill as soon as you take them away. It would be a huge loss if you didn't make any money and ended up with nothing!"
The scarred men thought it made sense. Looking at the three children, who were pale and thin and trembling, they realized it was hard to say whether they would die in their hands as soon as they were taken away. It would be a loss and bad luck!
But they were unwilling to give up. "Stop trying to fool us. Who says we'll definitely lose money? We'll have to take them back and sell them to find out!"
Cheng Yue heard that they were stubborn but their expressions were softening, so she had no choice but to continue, "You are all smart people, why gamble on this one-in-a-lifetime chance? Rather than betting on something uncertain, it's better to take something certain."
"Confirmed? By whom?"
Cheng Yue pointed at Er Laizi and said, "Him! A grown man is more useful than these three girls!"
Besides, it's only right to pay back debts. He owes it himself, so he should naturally pay it back. As for how to get the money back, you certainly have plenty of ways.
If children can be sold, then adults can naturally be sold as well.
Everyone's eyes lit up. Even the village head hadn't expected this. If Er Laizi owed a debt, he should have sold himself to pay it off! Why would he need to sell a child?
Cheng Yue is quick-witted; why didn't they think of that?
Moreover, Er Laizi has already become addicted to gambling. Keeping him around is just a disaster. Who knows when he might bring trouble to the whole village? It would be better to just sell him off and the whole village would be relieved of their worries!
Er Laizi was speechless; he never expected things to end like this!
"cannot……"
But before he could finish speaking, Wang Qiufen covered his mouth with her own smelly shoe, which made Erlaizi roll his eyes from the stench.
The scarred men were a little confused. They were all selling wives and children, but they had never seen anyone selling their husbands. How could this work?
"Brother, why don't we take Erlaizi with us? We can sell him as a laborer and get five taels of silver. Or we can sell him on the black market; at least we won't lose money..."
The scarred man at the head nodded without showing any emotion, but after thinking about it, he felt he had been cheated. Five taels of silver was hardly enough.
"With his worthless strait, aren't we losing money? He owes ten taels! How about this, if you can come up with another five taels, we'll take him away right away!"
Wang Qiufen's newly raised hopes were instantly shattered, and she was immediately flustered. The last copper coin in the house had been stolen by Er Laizi and gambled away. How could she possibly come up with five taels of silver?
She was too embarrassed to ask the villagers for money. The money for the doctor's visit after the accident was raised by the whole village, and the repair of the house was also helped by the whole village. She could never repay everyone!
The village head was the first to step forward, "This old man will contribute two taels!"
This was almost all the family's money, most of which was Shaowen's wages, saved for his wedding. But as the village head, he couldn't just stand by and do nothing!
Zhang Dashan and his brother, along with Qian Yulan and Wang Chunmei, had no objections. They felt that Wang Qiufen and her child were too pitiful, and they should help them if they could. They couldn't just sit idly by!
Money can be earned back when it runs out, but once a child is sold, it's hard to get them back.
As soon as the village headman made his offer, the men building houses all shouted that they would contribute money, whether it was one hundred or fifty coins, it was all a token of their goodwill.
Wang Qiufen knelt down and kowtowed to everyone. Cheng Yue quickly pulled him up and said, "I'll also contribute two taels!"
The whole village combined couldn't raise five taels, so she would contribute a little. Five taels of silver wasn't much to her, but she couldn't pay it all herself.
Firstly, she couldn't stop others from showing their love and kindness; secondly, the favor was too great, and a great favor could be like a great enmity. It was better for the villagers to contribute money together than for her to contribute alone.
Furthermore, Er Laizi deliberately lured people here; they are the victims. It's already more than enough that she tried to find a solution.
If I'm too generous and the villagers see it, what will they think?
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