The two men would be a fool to believe him, so they beat him up again and then chased him away.
"What bad luck!"
One of them spat, and the two prepared to turn back.
Jiang Jiuniang emerged from the shadows and called out, "Brothers, may I meet your manager? I'd like to discuss a business deal with you."
As he spoke, he casually stuffed a handful of copper coins into the man's hand.
These people knew how to treat people differently based on their appearance. Jiang Jiuniang was beautiful, and her clothes were definitely not those of an ordinary woman. A look of amazement flashed in the eyes of the two men, but they dared not have any evil thoughts. After looking Jiang Jiuniang up and down a few times, they said, "Wait here, we'll go in and ask."
A short while later, the man came out and led Jiang Jiuniang inside.
Dan Niang was a little scared, but she didn't back down. She wanted to go with them, but Jiang Jiu Niang was afraid that her poor acting skills would affect her performance, so she asked her to wait outside and didn't show herself in front of these people.
She watched as Jiang Jiuniang left with the two burly men and felt very anxious. Jiang Jiuniang was so beautiful; if anything happened to her, she would be held responsible and die a thousand deaths.
But she remembered Jiang Jiuniang's words and waited for her for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, so she obediently didn't move.
Jiang Jiuniang was a worldly woman, so entering a small gambling den was nothing to her. She came out in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, escorted out by the same two burly men who were noticeably more respectful than before.
Jiang Jiuniang bid farewell to the two burly men before heading towards where Danniang was.
"It's all settled, let's go back. Remember, for the next few days, just do as I told you on the way, and I guarantee you'll get a smooth divorce and a good reputation."
Dan Niang nodded, her hands gripping her sleeves tightly. This was her only chance, and she couldn't afford to mess it up.
Dan Niang followed Jiang Jiu Niang back to the inn to get her things, then said goodbye to them and prepared to go home.
Jiang Jiuniang said, "We will be staying here for the next few days. If you encounter any difficulties, please come and find me anytime."
Dan Niang nodded with tears in her eyes. She said thank you so many times, but there was nothing she could do. The words of thanks in her throat were too pale and powerless. In the end, she said nothing and quickly walked home with her basket on her back.
The man limped home and began searching through his belongings. His blind mother-in-law and three teenagers huddled in a corner, trembling with fear. He didn't care at all. After searching for a long time without finding anything, he grabbed his eldest daughter and asked fiercely, "Where did that bitch hide the things? Tell me now!"
The eldest daughter was so frightened that tears streamed down her face: "Dad, there's really nothing left in the house, not even a single grain of rice... Waaah..."
"I don't believe it! Useless trash! You're all ganging up with that bitch to guard against me like I'm a thief, you've all forgotten that I'm your father!"
The man shoved his daughter aside, then saw his mother-in-law standing silently beside him. As he tried to grab her, the small, dilapidated gate to his yard was kicked open, and several men rushed in, demanding menacingly, "Is this He Yong's house? Where is that bastard He Yong? Come out and pay your respects to your grandfather!"
He Yong was the gambling addict. When he heard someone had come looking for him with such a rude attitude, he instantly guessed who it was. The man who had just been swaggering in front of the children was so frightened that he hid under the bed. He then ordered his eldest daughter, "Go out and tell them I'm not here!"
The eldest daughter was so frightened that her eyes were brimming with tears, but she didn't dare let them fall. She was shivering all over and didn't dare to go out at all.
"Go on, what are you standing there for!"
He Yong urged him on, knowing that if those people saw him, he would be half dead today.
The old woman, Li, stepped forward to protect her granddaughter, took a deep breath, and said, "I'll go."
Just as she was about to walk out, the door was kicked open. Startled, Li instinctively pulled her eldest granddaughter into her arms. Unable to see, she could only turn towards the doorway, her voice trembling as she said, "You...you've come to the wrong place...this...this person isn't here..."
She immediately sensed something was wrong. Those people ignored her completely and went straight to the area under the bed, grabbing He Yong who was hiding there.
"Old woman, you're blind, but I'm not!"
As he was about to grab He Yong and take him out to clean up, He Yong trembled with fear: "Brother Zhang, can you give me a few more days? No, tomorrow, just tomorrow, I will definitely pay it back, is that alright?"
"Ha, if you could really pay it back, would you need to hide from me like this?"
Without saying a word, the big man grabbed the man and dragged him out.
The group started fighting in the courtyard, and they fought until they were covered in dust. No matter how much he begged for mercy, it was no use.
The neighbors all came to watch the excitement, but they never expected that watching the excitement would cause them trouble.
After beating He Yong half to death, these burly men started smashing things, throwing whatever they could find. After smashing He Yong's house, they went to smash the neighbor's house next door, and even threatened him: "As long as this bastard is still here, none of you will have a good time!"
Just as she was falling, Danniang arrived home. Seeing the situation, she didn't even bother to put down her basket and rushed to her neighbor's house to beg for mercy.
These people were waiting for Dan Niang; they only restrained themselves when they saw her kneeling down to beg for mercy.
“Your man owes us three hundred taels of silver. I’ll beat him every time I see him. We’ll come to your village every seven days to collect protection money. As long as he’s still in this village, we’ll keep coming to collect!”
Upon hearing this, the other villagers immediately became unhappy. Some complained, "That's their business, what does it have to do with us? They're smashing our things for no reason, we can take them to the authorities!"
"That's right, we can take it to the authorities!"
The burly man chuckled dismissively, "Go ahead and try. We're not afraid of you suing us if we dare to come and collect our debts! I've said it before, as long as he's in this village, we'll keep coming to collect. But, well, it's not like we're without other options..."
Everyone's eyes widened immediately: "What method!"
"As far as I know, this old fellow is from out of town. He's here to marry into our family. Since he's from out of town, that's easy to handle. As long as he and his wife get a divorce and sell his indenture to us, we won't cause trouble in your village anymore."
After saying that, without waiting for the villagers to say anything more, the big man looked at Dan Niang and said, "Think it over carefully, do you want this useless man or everyone in this village?"
He gave everyone present a meaningful look, then led his entourage away in a grand procession.
Dan Niang reacted quickly. After the person left, before the neighbors could say anything, she took out the things from her basket and distributed them to the neighbors who had just been implicated.
It was all rice, flour, and cloth, which were exactly what everyone was short of. Besides, what had just been smashed were just worthless broken jars and the like in the yard. After everyone collected their things, they stopped criticizing her and silently watched her wipe away her tears as she went to clean up her own home.
"Dan Niang, what that man said just now wasn't entirely unreasonable. Why don't you divorce him, raise your child and live your own life, and stop worrying about whether he lives or dies!"
"Yes! This debt collector has caused your family so much trouble, and you've been cleaning up his messes all this time. It's really not worth it!"
"Although divorce sounds unpleasant these days, you have no other choice. It's for the sake of all of us. After all, we still want to live a peaceful life. Think it over carefully."
...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com