Qian Dahua had met Mancang's wife before, but only on one of the few occasions when she returned to the village. In Qian Dahua's eyes, if that woman didn't have money, she definitely wouldn't be good enough for Mancang, since she always had a fierce look on her face and didn't have the demeanor of a gentle woman at all.
But knowing the other party was fierce, she felt even more convinced that he was capable of such a thing.
"Then, come in, let's have a good talk with my dad."
As soon as Qian Mancang entered the room, Qian Dafu immediately got out of bed and was about to throw a punch without saying a word. "Qian Mancang, who told you to bully my sister! You bastard!"
One second he was belittling Qian Dahua, the next he was a good brother standing up for his sister.
Qian Mancang had never been treated like this in the village. He reached out and blocked Qian Dafu's fist, shoving him hard backward. Then he ignored him and turned directly to Qian Daguai, saying, "I'm here to discuss something with you. This matter is very important to us. Are you sure you want your son to keep making a scene here?"
Qian Daguai looked at Qian Mancang with his yellowish eyes, took two more puffs of his pipe, and then said, "Speak!"
Qian Mancang repeated the story of how the Zhang family had come to him and the current situation.
"This is your business, what does it have to do with our family?"
Qian Daguai didn't care about his daughter, nor did he care about what would happen to Qian Mancang, and he spoke very casually.
"Are you sure this is just about me? My father-in-law and daughter-in-law are not easy people to deal with. If they find out about these things, I'm definitely finished, but your family won't have a good time either. Do you believe me?"
Qian Daguai actually believed it. Ever since Qian Mancang became a phoenix after marrying into a wealthy family, his parents had been boasting about their in-laws' conditions in the village. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been interested in Qian Mancang's conditions and let his daughter seduce him.
"These are all your guesses. You and Qian Dahua were the ones having an affair, what does it have to do with us!"
Upon hearing her father accuse her of having an affair, Qian Dahua looked incredulous. "Dad, how can you say that? Mancang and I are truly in love."
These were words that Qian Dahua had always wanted to say. In her view, the one who wasn't being pitied was the third party, the one who had been cheated on.
Mancang's wife is not gentle at all, and doesn't act like a wife. Unlike her, she always puts Mancang first. If she were the one who married Mancang, she could make him happy every day even without money, instead of him being occupied by that woman who doesn't do anything.
"Don't speak to me yet."
Qian Daguai doesn't think much of his daughter; his heart is entirely with Qian Mancang, and he doesn't care about the family at all.
This was the first time Qian Mancang had truly seen the nature of Qian Dahua's family. He regretted not having resisted their temptations before and falling into their trap, which led to his current predicament.
“Uncle Qian, you can also choose not to return the items, but the consequence will be that the Zhang family will continue to cause trouble, and my wife’s family will try to destroy me and your family.”
“But we still have a way out, which is for you to return all of the Zhang family’s belongings. This will save my current family and job, and I can then gradually make up for the losses. This is better for everyone.”
"Impossible! Those things are my dowry for getting married. If I return them now, how will I get married?"
When it comes to his own interests, Qian Dafu will never be a coward.
"Qian Dafu, Brother Mancang already said that the losses will be compensated to us later, didn't you hear him?"
Qian Dafu's lips curled into a mocking smile. "Make it up later? What day is 'later'? If he makes it up to me in ten years, does that mean I have to wait ten years to get married? Do you want our family line to end?"
Qian Dafu was unusually angry. Several boys his age in the village had already gotten married, but he was still a bachelor. He would be ridiculed whenever he went out.
And yet his sister still dares to hold him back.
"No, Brother Mancang wouldn't do that."
"No? You believe him, but I don't. You want us to return the Zhang family's things, fine, but Qian Mancang must give me the exact same items, or convert them into cash. Otherwise, this is out of the question."
Before coming, Qian Mancang had already guessed the Qian family's reaction, but he still wanted to try to pay as little as possible and pay as late as possible. Otherwise, if he was too easy to talk to, the Qian family would definitely make exorbitant demands.
"I don't have that much money."
Qian Daguai tapped his pipe. "It's your problem if you don't have money. Just do as Dafu said. We'll return the things to the Zhang family whenever you make up the money, and then we'll let Dahua and Zhang Xiaojun divorce."
In any case, the Qian family would never do anything that would put them at a disadvantage. If their son couldn't afford to get married and continue the family line, they would drag Qian Mancang down with him.
Seeing that the Qian family was very determined about this matter, Qian Mancang knew that there was no room for negotiation. He gritted his teeth and said, "I will find a way to send the money to you today. We will exchange the money for the goods. Otherwise, if we anger the Zhang family, none of us will have a good ending."
"OK!"
In fact, the Qian family wanted to profit from both sides, but they also knew that neither side was particularly lucrative.
Having received an affirmative answer, Qian Mancang hurriedly left. He needed to go back to get the money, and before leaving, he found Zhang Xiaojun and told him about the matter.
"The matter will be resolved this afternoon."
"Okay, we'll wait for you here. If things aren't resolved by the afternoon, we'll head to the county town immediately."
Qian Dafu had no choice but to rush to the county town.
"I never expected things to be resolved this way..."
Thinking that they had been cursing at the Qian family's door for days without getting anything done, while Gu An'an had come up with a solution as soon as she arrived, both the village chief and his wife, as well as the Zhang family, felt ashamed.
“Everyone has their weaknesses, especially those who are morally deficient. As long as we grasp this point, we don’t need to worry about not being able to handle things.”
"That's right! In the future, when we encounter such hooligans, we don't need to reason with them. Instead of wasting our breath, we should just seize their weakness."
Seeing this, Village Chief Qian was also very happy. If the matter could be resolved, Xiao Wang Village would not hold a grudge against their village or him because of this, and the previous cooperation could continue.
"Since we have to wait until the afternoon, why don't you come to my house for a simple lunch? When they return the things in the afternoon, we can take them back together."
Despite his warm invitation, the group declined, feeling embarrassed to have so many people eating and drinking at his place on the second day of the Lunar New Year.
"No need, Lao Qian, let's go back first. Please pass on a message to them: the Zhang family sent the things, and now the Qian family should personally return them. Since the two of them haven't gotten a marriage certificate yet, we can have Qian Dahua go to the village committee to get a certificate, and then they will be officially divorced."
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