Liu Yonghe fell silent after hearing this, looking at his own thin body. He had been able to do this work in the mine for so many years, and his two younger brothers were stronger than him, so why couldn't they do it?
These two sisters-in-law are trying to get something for nothing? In broad daylight, they're dreaming!
"You want to live a good life without wanting to work? There's no such logic in this world!" Liu Yonghe said angrily. "Although your sister and you two brothers have the same parents, we helped you when we were able. Now that we're not able to, you shouldn't keep coming to ask for things and money every few days."
"To put it nicely, it's taking; to put it bluntly, it's robbing! The neighbors would have thought a robber had broken into our house."
Liu Yonghe felt a pang of heartache when he thought about how the half-bag of flour and the brand-new table had been taken from his home.
He spent money specifically to buy that for his child and wife.
"Brother, what are you saying!" Madam Luo said, somewhat displeased. "What robbery nonsense? Do you think a woman like me would rob someone in broad daylight?"
Those were all given voluntarily by their family, so don't try to pin this on her.
"Since that's the case, then don't come to our house to take things anymore. When other families visit relatives, they bring gifts, but your two families always come empty-handed and leave with a full load."
Liu Shuixian strongly agreed with what her father said; to be honest, she had long been fed up with her two aunts.
As for her uncle's older brothers and sisters, she had never met any of them and did not want to meet any of them!
“My dear aunts, you’ve taken enough from my house. Let’s go our separate ways from now on. It’s quite a long way from the city to our village, so you don’t need to go through all that trouble!”
Liu Shuixian spoke without holding back at all. She remembered what Wanzi had told her earlier: when faced with oppression from evil people, one must dare to resist!
Now, in her eyes, her two aunts are villains!
Sister-in-law Yulan pulled Liu Shuixian to her side and said, "Shuixian, you must not be disrespectful to your elders."
Liu Shuixian rolled her eyes and sulked.
Just then, Hong Erniang returned with Zhao Tingzhang.
"Who's causing trouble in our village?" Chief Zhao looked somewhat displeased, with two strong young men from the village behind him.
That look was really intimidating.
Seeing this, Luo and Fu shrank back and huddled together tightly.
He Tiantian didn't know how Hong Erniang had told their Zhao Tingzhang, but in Zhao Tingzhang's mouth, it became a troublemaker.
Let them cause trouble; they need to be taught a lesson.
He Tiantian stood up and pointed to Luo Shi and Fu Shi standing together, saying, "Chief, these are the two women. They claim to be Sister-in-law Yulan's sister-in-law and have come to our house several times to beg for money."
"This is even worse! They actually asked for money directly! Village chief, can our village tolerate such people bullying our people?!"
With his head on his back and his hands firmly clasped, Zhao Tingzhang replied decisively, "Of course not!"
When the two women, Luo and Fu, saw that Zhao Tingzhang's face was as black as an iron pot, they stammered, "Tingzhang, we are Shuixian's aunts, we are in-laws."
Liu Shuixian broke free from her mother's arms, ran to Zhao Tingzhang, and shouted, "No! They are not my aunts. Our two families have long since severed ties!"
Zhao, the village head, knew exactly what was going on, but pretended not to know and shouted, "Since that's the case, Da Wu and Xiao Wu, drive these two women out of our village!"
"Remember, from now on, when you're on patrol, don't let these two pass. Otherwise, I'll dock your pay."
"Yes, Pavilion Chief!" Da Wu and Xiao Wu rolled up their sleeves and stepped forward, startling Luo Shi and Fu Shi, who hugged each other and screamed incoherently.
"Ahhh, don't hit me, don't hit me, we'll leave now."
"Let's go! Let's go quickly, sister-in-law!"
Luo and Fu covered their heads and ran out of Yulan's house like rats crossing the street.
Xiao Wu and Da Wu went out with them; they needed to make sure the two women left the village.
Zhao Tingzhang looked at Liu Yonghe and sighed.
He had heard about the matter concerning Shui Xian's family before, and the reason he did not interfere was because he considered it to be their private matter.
But now it seems he should have asked the villagers for help sooner.
These days, it's not easy for anyone to save up some food and make some money. If you're really in trouble, everyone should lend a hand.
But if you don't do any work and just think about relying on others for charity, you might as well become a beggar.
“Narcissus, if you encounter any difficulties in the future, tell the village. Don’t try to tough it out.”
Narcissus nodded, deeply moved.
"Yonghe, are you feeling any better?"
Liu Yonghe struggled to lift his injured foot and said with a smile, "Much better, much better, Pavilion Chief."
Zhao, the village head, nodded. "Alright, you can continue with your work. I still need to supervise the construction; the chicken coops in the village are still under construction."
Everyone watched Zhao Tingzhang leave, but just as he took one step out, he turned back and asked, "Um... Narcissus, we need to hire ten workers for the chicken coop after the New Year. They'll be responsible for cleaning and such, and the pay is... tentatively eighty coins a month. Would you like to do this job?"
"Huh?" Narcissus paused for a moment, then nodded happily. "Yes, I'll do it!"
Zhao, the pavilion chief, hummed in agreement, nodded, and walked away.
He Tiantian and Hong Erniang chatted for a while at Sister Yulan's house, and didn't go back until almost noon.
As the weather grew colder, by evening, before it was completely dark, few people were left out of the village.
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