"Just now, a lot of constables took several people to the county government office. I also went to see what was going on. I heard from the people around me that the person who gambled with them before was a swindler. He tricked them into going to an unregulated place to gamble. At first, everyone made money and couldn't stop. Later, the person said that the government was cracking down on this, and these days he tricked them into going to a hillside outside the city to gamble."
They were caught off guard and followed the man to gamble. They were very lucky; everyone else lost, but they kept winning. One of them even wanted to quit, but Chen Lizhong said that they had only won so much and they should at least win enough for a house so they could live in the city. So they continued to gamble.
However, they lost all their money in no time. They all ran home to get all their money and left the city in one trip. They continued to gamble until they had lost everything. They then borrowed money from loan sharks to gamble again, and eventually lost it all. The group wanted to cause trouble, but the loan sharks had brought thugs with them. When they saw that the group was about to fight, they took out sticks, knocked the group unconscious, and then dumped them in the next county before running away.
They had all been begging their way back over the past few days. I noticed that Chen Lizhong's clothes were all tattered, and the others were in the same boat. But those people had long since vanished without a trace; the county government could only report it, and who knew when they would be found.
Taozi shook his head, thinking about what the others had gone through, and couldn't help but feel fortunate that it wasn't them who had encountered it.
"Greed can ruin a person. It's better to earn money honestly. Look at them now, what are they going to do? I wonder if they'll learn their lesson this time." No matter how heartbroken the Chen family is now, to outsiders it's nothing more than a sigh.
However, Chen Xique felt even more distressed after learning all this, because the two ladies were wary of them taking the lead. So even though she had been working there for several months, she was at most being taken advantage of by the master. It would be a long and arduous journey for her to become a lady.
Now that her own brother has gotten into this trouble, Madam Du has come to her, wanting her to give money to help the family get through this difficult time.
Right now, it's not just that they've been swindled out of their money, but also the exorbitant interest Chen Lizhong lent them, which adds up to more than a hundred taels of silver. Because of Chen Lizhong's gambling, they've been doing business sporadically these days.
“Magpie, you’re living the good life here, but you can’t forget about us. We’re having a tough time right now, so take out all your money. Once things get better, your mother will pay you back.” Madam Du knew that she hadn’t been home much these past few months because she thought she had somewhere to stay.
"Mother, I don't have much money on me. I spent it all on jewelry. If I don't dress up nicely, how can I attract the county magistrate's attention?" Chen Xique said impatiently.
"You brat, don't you think about it? If you really want to become the county magistrate's wife, do you think you can do it without the support of your family? Your two older brothers can back you up. Those two are outsiders. Without the support of their families, they'll be under your control in the future. Besides, you're younger than them. Do you think the county magistrate would be interested in them but not in you?"
Du, with a calculating look on her face, tried to persuade her to take money from her.
“But I only have one tael of silver left. My elder brother owes more than a hundred taels. What am I going to do with the rest of the silver? I still have to save face. I can’t dress too plainly. How can I attract the attention of the county magistrate?”
"Don't worry, as long as you give us a portion first, we'll figure out the rest. Xiyue is a troublemaker here in the city. Your father and I have been thinking of marrying her off, as a way of showing our pity for her."
"Mother, have you already chosen a family? Which family can afford such a large dowry?" Although Chen Xique felt some pity for her younger sister, she also hoped that she wouldn't be the one to sacrifice herself when the family faced such a crisis.
"It's a landlord's family outside the city. They're short of someone who can give birth to a son. They say that as long as she gives birth to a son, she can become the principal wife." After saying this vaguely, Madam Du took the two taels of silver that Chen Xique gave her and left.
Chen Xique didn't say anything more. That day, she decided that she had to attract the county magistrate's attention as soon as possible, otherwise she would suffer the same fate as her sister.
Xichun and the others continued selling chili peppers, but that day the village chief brought some unusual news.
"Old Master Chen's daughter is getting married. Have you heard any news about it in the city? This is such a tragedy." The village chief sighed deeply, unaware of what had happened to their family.
"Village chief, weren't they just scammed? How come they're marrying off their daughter all of a sudden? Could it be that they want to use the dowry to pay off their debts?" Aunt Zhang and the others found it unbelievable; it had only been three days.
“We’ve been scammed. We haven’t heard a word about it. Yesterday, Chen the eldest, Du the mother, and their two sons came back to the village. I saw that they were dressed quite well, so they didn’t look like they’d been scammed. They’re going around the village saying that Xiyue is getting married and inviting everyone to the wedding banquet the day after tomorrow.”
After Taozi recounted what had happened that day to him, everyone continued to ask him why he had said "it was a sin".
"The Chen family is getting more and more outrageous. I was wondering why they would arrange a marriage with the Yang landlord's family. Do you know how old the Yang landlord is? He's fifty!"
"Fifty? Then his son must be in his twenties or thirties. I remember Chen Xiyue is only fourteen years old, two years younger than Xichun, right?" Aunt Zhang calculated that there was a difference of about ten years. Moreover, Chen Xiyue is still young. It's too much of a rush for money.
"No, she didn't marry Yang the landlord's son. He doesn't have a son now. Instead, she became Yang the landlord's tenth concubine. I heard that Yang the landlord only has one daughter. He took so many concubines, but none of them could give birth to a child. What a tragedy!"
"What?! Marry a man over thirty years her senior as a concubine?" Xi Chun was also stunned by the news. In ancient times, being over thirty years older meant you could be a grandfather. The Chen family was truly ruthless, marrying off a girl who wasn't even fifteen. She once again felt deep resentment towards the Chen family.
"This is just too inhuman! How could they treat their own daughter like this? The Chen couple has no heart whatsoever." Everyone looked incredulous.
"Who says otherwise? They even think it's something to be proud of. I can't help but think that family is inhuman. But it's their family matter, and we have no right to interfere. It's just a pity for that girl."
"Village chief, I don't think Chen Xiyue is a good person either. I've seen her and her brothers bully Sister Xichun before. When her parents were about to sell her, she even blamed Sister Xichun." Taozi's words brought everyone back to reality. It's true that birds of a feather flock together. Well, they didn't want to have anything to do with this kind of family anymore, and they were too lazy to go there.
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