Chapter 59: Hypocrite
Tang Yi smiled and said, "Aunt Li apologized, and we all heard it. But Tang Baoyu has never apologized. Moreover, I don't think my mother's request is excessive. How he bullied me, I should feel it again in the same way he bullied me, shouldn't it be right?"
Tang Dafu said from the side: "That's right. Why do you keep asking Baoyu Niang to apologize? Isn't Tang Baoyu the one who should apologize the most?"
"You love your son, and so do we. Your son is made of flesh and blood, and so is my son. Besides, who doesn't know that Xiao Ge'er is fed by tonics?" Li Taohua said, "Just now you said that you went to the village doctor for a consultation last night and spent a full five taels of silver. I seemed to hear someone next to me saying that it was a rip-off. Aunt Yang, didn't you say that?"
Li Taohua looked at the old woman in the crowd.
Yang took a few steps back, looking embarrassed: "Well, I mean five taels of silver is too much, and that doctor is such a rip-off."
"Then I have to say a few words for the doctor." Li Taohua said, "Five taels of silver is indeed a high price for ordinary people. However, the tonics he used were extremely expensive. Tang Jizu's whole family was present at the scene and they heard it clearly. My daughter, repeat what the doctor said."
Qin Huiyin said: "The doctor said that after this incident, my health has been damaged even more. Take these few doses of medicine first. Whether I can recover depends on these few months. If I can't recover, I'm afraid... Five taels of silver can make a family worry-free for two or three years, but it may not save a life. Do you still think these five taels of silver are expensive?"
"These five taels of silver are for the doctor's treatment, not for our family. You are talking about a big scam, as if we want such a thing to happen." Tang Luwu said angrily.
"Also, if anything happens to my little brother, this matter is not over yet." Tang Yichen looked at Tang Jizu sharply, "You'd better pray that these five taels of silver are not wasted, otherwise I will make you pay with your lives."
"What do you mean by paying with one's life or not? Please don't say that. Aren't you afraid of scaring Xiao Ge'er?" Tang Jizu forced a smile. "Let's put it this way. It's better to resolve a feud than to create one. The incident has already happened. It's really a bit hurtful to let Baoyu crawl into the crotch. How about I let Baoyu kowtow and apologize?"
The whole village was watching. If Tang Baoyu were allowed to crawl into Tang Yixiao's crotch, he would never be able to raise his head again.
Tang Yichen also knew it was impossible.
Li Taohua wanted to make this happen, but she also knew that if she forced Tang Baoyu to crawl through the crotch, the whole village would think that her family was bullying others. After all, it didn't happen to them, so they couldn't feel that kind of feeling. Everyone would be a good person, and if they could do someone a favor by saying a few nice words, who wouldn't want to?
What's more, this Tang Jizu seemed to have some connections. It was not easy to establish a good relationship with him normally. This time, I could make him owe me a favor by saying a few words for him. Isn't that a great bargain?
"Dafu, I think this is feasible. We are all from the same family tree. The child is immature, so give him a chance to reform. Kneeling and admitting his mistake is already very sincere, so why not let him kowtow and apologize this time, and we won't let him off if he does it again next time, what do you think?" The village chief was the first to speak up for Tang Jizu.
This was within the Tang family's expectations.
They discussed this matter during breakfast. Tang Dafu said that Tang Baoyu must pay the price, but Li Taohua poured a bucket of cold water on him, saying that he should not daydream in broad daylight. Although they were right, if they insisted on this matter, the villagers would sympathize with Tang Jizu's family, and they would be the ones who lost the support and were blamed.
They have to find the right balance.
"My brother has been taking medicine and is getting weaker and weaker. He should eat something good to replenish himself." Qin Huiyin said, "How about this, you just give me three taels of silver as compensation. If you kowtow, each head is worth one penny."
One head costs one penny, and three taels of silver means three thousand heads. If the mother and son can eat three thousand heads, the three taels of silver can also offset it.
They just wanted to make a statement that their main purpose was not for money. They also proposed a plan of not giving money, so if they wanted to save the money, they should show their sincerity.
"My daughter's idea is good. You two can discuss who will stay and kowtow." Li Taohua said.
Tang Yi smiled and said, "If Tang Baoyu kowtows, each head will be worth two cents."
The village chief looked at Tang Jizu and then at Tang Yichen.
The village chief wanted to win over both Tang Jizu and Tang Yichen. He had just spoken for Tang Jizu, which was considered a favor to Tang Jizu. Now he had better keep silent and not offend the other one.
"In my opinion, just take it. If you do something wrong, you should be punished." Mr. Tang San said.
"Eat some, there's still work to do in the fields! Don't waste time, finish eating quickly so we can get to work earlier."
"Da Zhu's family, no one forced you to stay here and watch others kowtow! I think you just want to see Bao Yu's mother suffer on purpose."
Widow Wang curled her lips and said, "It's just a trivial matter that has been going on for two days. In my opinion, the child is just ignorant and needs to be disciplined. Huiyin's mother, don't hold on to this matter."
"Our Xiao Ge'er was wronged, and now it's our fault? Next time, let him beat your son and let your son crawl through your crotch..."
"He dares!" Widow Wang glared at Tang Baoyu, "If he dares to touch my son, I will chop off his legs."
"Why are you talking so much nonsense? This is a matter between our two families. I just asked you to be witnesses. If you have something to do, leave. If you have something to say, shut up." Li Taohua put her hands on her hips and cursed, "By the way, were there any other families who bullied my son yesterday?"
Li Taohua pointed at several frightened children in the crowd.
"Did you bully our Xiao Ge'er? Let me tell you, Xiao Ge'er is the youngest child in our family. When you bullied him, did you ever think that his three older brothers and sisters would come after you? Apologize to our Xiao Ge'er immediately and make up for the harm you have done to him."
"Mother Huiyin, what do you think we should do?" Seeing that even a fierce shrew like Li Erniu couldn't get the upper hand over Li Taohua, those families didn't dare to confront her head-on, so they wanted to say a few nice words to get away with it.
Qin Huiyin said softly, "Don't worry, aunts. I know that all of you brothers have been deceived. After this incident, you should be able to distinguish between good and evil. Since you have done something wrong, you must apologize to my brother. You should support this, right?"
"Support, definitely support." Those women have never been so honest.
As long as they don't kowtow, everything else is fine. They just want to get this matter over with, otherwise it would be too painful to not sleep the whole night like last night.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
