NOVPUBChapter 249: Chapter 249: Strike a Deal
Chapter 249 -249: Strike a Deal
Hao Fang and Bai Jianguo were terrified out of their wits.
Having both sons carried back home was enough to nearly give the couple a heart attack.
Especially seeing the one drenched in blood, enough to make one’s heart and liver quiver with fear; Bai Mei was also scared out of her mind.
Xiaoshan dared to beat up his own brother; what on earth was he trying to do?
The village doctor had already set Bai Shan and Bai Zhuang’s broken bones and secured them with splints, “One with a broken arm, the other with a broken leg; injuries to muscles and bones take a hundred days to heal. Just stay home and recover well, otherwise, at your young age, you might end up with residual issues.”
Hao Fang, unable to contain her anger, had someone call for the village chief. With such an incident happening, who else could they turn to for justice if not the village chief?
The problem was, they wanted to find Bai Song, but Bai Song wouldn’t get involved.
Liu Baoguo took a look and asked for details about the event, “Since they’ve been set, you should rest well at home.” He, the village chief, couldn’t interfere in the business of usury.
Upon hearing this, Hao Fang realized the village chief wasn’t going to intervene, and she pinched Bai Jianguo hard in her urgency.
At this moment, she didn’t realize she was not well-regarded by others, all because of her mistreatment of her mother-in-law, causing her to be chastised by everyone in the village, who would want to associate with her? Young women and daughters-in-law, even the elderly, no one wanted to be involved with her. What if she corrupted their own families in the future? She could have spoken this out loud, but the village chief would certainly have retorted.
Bai Jianguo coughed, “Village chief, this incident came out of nowhere. If you don’t stand up for us, people might laugh at us and say that the people of Liupan Village are spineless; even when one of our own gets beaten up, we don’t utter a word in protest.
I’m not just saying this for my two boys but also for the sake of our villagers. Think about it, isn’t this the case?”
Liu Baoguo laughed, “Bai Jianguo, you always seemed like an honest and straightforward fellow, but I didn’t expect you to be so eloquent. The question is, how can we get involved in this matter? Does anyone even know if the usurer is from Shili Shop? Besides, it’s inappropriate for us to get involved. That’s your relative, your son-in-law, who caused this mess and brought it back home. Surely you don’t mean that we should stick up for your son-in-law, do you?
If we were to stand up for your two sons, are you saying your daughter and son-in-law are splitting up? Take a look around; no matter how we intervene, it won’t be appropriate. Everyone present, please say how we can help in this situation? In the end, no matter what we do, we end up looking bad.” He already knew that when it comes to usury, there’s simply no place to reason.
The surrounding villagers chimed in, “Yeah, Jianguo, it’s your son-in-law who has caused this trouble. You should go to him. If you ask the village chief to confront them, isn’t that openly showing disrespect to your relatives? In the end, the one who will suffer is your daughter.”
“Besides, we’re talking about usury here. If we step in, do you think they will reason with us? And if they beat up the village chief and all of us, who will be responsible for that?” When the villagers heard about the usury, they all backed down.
Who would want to get involved in such trouble, especially when there’s no relation or obligation?
Bai Jianguo felt nauseous; the situation was truly disgusting, but even if it had occurred in someone else’s home, he wouldn’t want to be the one to intervene.
“Alright then, we’re leaving. If it’s not possible, you should go talk to your relatives yourself. After all, both children are injured, and logically your son-in-law should pay for the medical bills. Sit down and have a good talk; after all, you’re still family.” Liu Baoguo led the others away.
Hao Fang was so angry she rolled her eyes. Both sons were lying on the kang bed, moaning in pain, and her heart ached for them.
“Old man, are we just going to let this go? Did our two sons get beaten for nothing?” She really couldn’t stand it.
Bai Jianguo, noticing the stench coming from Hao Fang, instinctively moved away and turned his head up to catch a breath of fresh air before speaking, “I certainly don’t want to let it go, but what else can we do? We can’t wait until I get back to discuss it; the two boys had to go themselves. Just look at them, young and hot-blooded, they got into a fight and ended up getting beaten up. It’s usury—do you think you or I can afford to provoke them?”
“It’s all because of your precious daughter,” Bai Jianguo grumbled. “So what if her husband hits her a couple of times? After losing the child, they can always have another one. In a marriage, there are bound to be bumps and bruises. It’s just such a trivial matter, she couldn’t handle it and ran back home, and look what a mess she’s made of our household.”
At this moment, his heart was filled with disdain for Bai Mei. In his mind, what did it matter if a man hit his wife a couple of times?
He often hit his own wife.
Because of this, she ran back to her parental home, making a scene and pressuring her two brothers to stand up for her. And look at them now, one with a broken arm, and the other with a lame leg. The New Year is upon us, and with two sick people lying in the house, how inauspicious is that going to be?
Hao Fang couldn’t help feeling deflated. Without the men of the family stepping in, what could she, a woman, do? Just by listening to Bai Jianguo’s tone, she could tell that he definitely wouldn’t stand up for Bai Mei or go after the other family for the sake of his sons. Bai Jianguo was simply a coward.
“So are we just supposed to let them lie there and suffer? Was getting beaten up for nothing?”
“Wait another day or two. I reckon even if we don’t go up to the Fang Family, they should come to us soon. With such a big incident occurring, it’s strange that today not a single one of them escorted our two sons home. Besides, it was their son who caused the injuries to our boys. No matter where we take this issue, our family is in the right. Both sons are at home in need of care, eating and drinking, not to mention the cost of medicines. If the Fang Family doesn’t deal with this, who will?”
Bai Jianguo had a pretty good idea of the situation. His own daughter was still at her parents’ house, he couldn’t believe that the Fang Family wouldn’t come looking. Did they no longer want their daughter-in-law?
He was also counting on getting some money out of the Fang Family. If Bai Zhuang’s marriage wasn’t arranged soon, it might really fall through.
He no longer dared to count on the old lady. The old lady, Li Chunmei, had made up her mind not to part with a single cent.
He had been laying low for so long, yet the old lady still looked at him with disdain. What mattered most was that now, the old lady was keeping a tight grip on the household finances. In the past after the autumn harvest, once the public grain tax was paid and the family’s food was set aside, he could pocket over half of the money gained from selling the rest. But this year, the old lady had directly taken all the money from selling the grain.
He didn’t dare to say a word, for every time he opened his mouth, the old lady’s response was simply, “Then move out now.”
He was so choked up it hurt his heart and lungs. When had his mother ever been so hard-hearted towards him?
Only now did Bai Jianguo realize that he truly had no bargaining power. The old lady had been good to him in the past because she depended on him to provide for her in her old age, but by getting sick, he had thoroughly offended her. He regretted it terribly; had he known that the old lady would recover, why would he have been so blind as to wrong her?
Inwardly, he blamed the incompetence of the hospital doctors in the county town. Although he complained, what could he really do? They said his mother wouldn’t recover, yet she did. Are they to be blamed for something good? Did they wish for the old lady to remain ill?
But now, under the old lady’s tight control, he couldn’t get his hands on a penny of disposable income.
It was urgent for the eldest son to find a wife. He had figured it out — they could borrow some money for the bride price and the betrothal gifts. After all, which family in the village didn’t borrow money to get a daughter-in-law? If they could get a sum from the Fang Family this time, it would just about cover the bride price for his own son. The Fang Family was wealthy, after all.
Hao Fang nodded, finally hearing something sensible.
Watching her two sons wiping their tears on one side.
Bai Mei, listening to Bai Jianguo’s words from outside the window, felt a chill in her heart.
Counting on her own father to stand up for her was utterly impossible. It seemed that relying on herself was better than depending on anyone else.
