Although Yang Juan was not likable, An Dafu, as the only elder in Yang Juan's family, naturally had to side with his niece. He said, "You were the ones who proposed the division of the family, and Xiao Juan was just trying to please you. I think she did the right thing."
Mr. Jin choked and was speechless.
The Jin family did not want to split up their family property, partly because of the compensation money from the Hu family, and partly because Yang Juan had a powerful maternal family. Only by not splitting up their family property could they benefit from it!
Mr. Jin sighed and said, "My son has never been easy to manage since he was a child. When I said we should separate the family, I was just saying it in anger. How could we really do it?"
Jin Duobao interrupted, "Dad, that's not what you said just now. What? Now that you see Juan'er's sister is rich, you regret it?"
When his son directly exposed his thoughts, Mr. Jin blushed deeply.
“Uncle, now that the truth is out, it’s none of our business anymore. Let’s go back.” Yang Cui didn’t want to listen to them continue arguing.
Upon hearing that Yang Cui was leaving, the Jin family stopped fighting amongst themselves. She was a highly sought-after woman, and they had to take good care of her.
"Sister Juan'er, eat before you go back. It's a rare trip for you. I'll have the chicken killed right away." Mother Jin smiled, her face full of wrinkles.
"No need."
The man with the golden hair said in a commanding tone, "They haven't paid any compensation yet! Make them pay first, then you can leave."
Yang Cui scoffed, "What does this have to do with me? I didn't order them to do it this way. How much compensation they pay, or whether they pay at all, is none of my business. You think you can order me around? Who do you think you are? Do I even know you?"
Yang Cui came for the original owner's younger sister, thinking she had encountered an insurmountable problem. She came to check on her because of the blood relationship between the original owner and her. Now that everything is alright, Yang Cui naturally won't interfere in the rest.
Upon hearing Yang Cui's words, the Jin family immediately scolded Jin Mao: "If you can't speak properly, then shut up! Get out of here!"
Mr. Jin smiled and apologized to Yang Cui: "I'm really sorry, Juan'er's sister. She doesn't know how to speak properly. Please don't take it to heart."
At this moment, Hu Binzi said, "Master Cen and Madam Cen, we will compensate Brother Duobao with five taels of silver for his medical expenses, and then hold a banquet in the village to apologize to Brother Duobao in front of everyone. What do you think? To be honest, our entire Hu family cannot raise twenty taels of silver. Even if we sell our belongings, we can only raise five taels."
Five taels of silver was actually quite a lot, and since the matter hadn't become widely known, it hadn't affected her reputation yet. Plus, the Hu family was willing to hold a banquet to apologize, so Yang Cui thought Hu Binzi's suggestion was perfectly reasonable.
However, the Jin family was not satisfied.
Mrs. Jin immediately objected: "That won't do! If you can't afford to pay, you'll go to jail!"
Mr. Jin: "Doesn't your Hu family own land? You can use the land as compensation."
In the past, the Jin family would never have dared to speak to the Hu family like this, nor would they have dared to make such a request. But now that Yang Cui is here, they have the confidence to say whatever they want!
“The land is out of the question!” Hu Binzi refused outright. “It was my brother’s fault in this matter, but if you insist on twenty taels or the land, then… you can just arrest Hu Laosan.”
The land in places like Jinshangou is very barren, so it's not worth much at all. If they were to collect twenty taels, they might have to sell all the land belonging to several families to make enough. What would happen to the elderly, wives, and children in the family? How would they survive?
Jin's mother shouted, "Don't you care about your reputation? If word gets out, the Hu family will never be able to find a spouse! Who knows, your Hu family might even be wiped out because of this!"
In this era, people value offspring and lineage very highly. The phrase "to cut off one's lineage" is the most vicious expression of anger. Old Hu was so angry that he wanted to beat up Jin's mother: "You old hag, shut your stinking mouth! It's your family that will be cut off!"
Jin's father didn't believe that the Hu family could really abandon Hu Laosan and the Hu family's reputation. He said, "Then arrest Hu Laosan and them all and put them in jail. I want to see if you still have any reputation left!"
Hu Binzi sneered: "What's the value of reputation? If you lose your land, you won't even be able to survive. Who cares about that? As long as you're alive, there's hope."
Upon hearing this, Yang Cui couldn't help but look at him with new respect. In this era, there were too many pedantic and stubborn people. Under the same circumstances, many people would not make the same choice as Hu Binzi for the sake of their family's reputation.
Hu Laosan suddenly adopted a look of resignation: "I'll take responsibility for my actions. I'll still be a hero eighteen years from now!"
After saying that, he rushed straight into the pillar. As long as he died, there would be no way to prove anything, which would both preserve the family's reputation and keep the land.
In the blink of an eye, Cen Xiao kicked him away, saying, "You're quite the man!"
Yang Cui continued, "For your courage, I'll give you a chance."
Hu Binzi's eyes suddenly lit up, and he said to Hu Laosan, "Hurry up and thank Madam Cen!"
Old Hu was stunned and didn't react for a moment.
"Look at how tall and strong you are. I need security guards there, and I need them to patrol every night. I'll give you this five taels of silver as compensation. You can work for me for a year to pay off the debt. If you are loyal to me, I can arrange more work for you after a year and even give you a raise."
For them, this was an incredibly good thing; everyone was completely stunned by this unexpected windfall.
"But if you betray me... then it won't just be you who dies."
"I'll definitely do my best! I'll definitely listen to you! Don't worry!" Hu Laosan assured him repeatedly. He knew the opportunity was fleeting and he had to seize it!
“I can do this too, sis, there’s no reason for outsiders to benefit from it!” Jin Duobao said, nudging Yang Juan with his elbow.
Mr. Jin: "The Hu family is incredibly domineering. The villagers avoid them. It's better to have our own people than to have such people."
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