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Chapter 100: Chapter 96 Mother-in-law Wants Grain (Part 3) (4th Update)
Shen Yunfang and Qiu Shuping started quarreling at Old Master Shen’s doorstep, attracting a crowd of villagers in no time, and of course, Old Master Shen and his wife came out too.
Qiu Shuping, with her face already tearing, had nothing left to care about, clamoring for an annulment and demanding that Shen Yunfang return the money her son had sent over the past year as well as the initial betrothal gifts, uttering nasty insults.
Old Lady Shen wasn’t one to be trifled with either; with the insults flying right at the Shen Family’s gates, she, the chief daughter-in-law of the household, would truly lose face if she held back now. So, the two old women exchanged barbs, each giving as good as they got.
After learning of the situation, Old Master Shen became furious and immediately shouted, "You Li Family surely have some nerve, bullying your way to our doorstep. Do you think the Shen Family has no one to stand up for us? If you want an annulment, we’ll have an annulment. It’s not like our daughter can’t find another husband. Yunfang, hurry home and get the IOU. Since we’re annuling the marriage, we’re not family anymore, and we don’t need to hold back. Let’s go to the Li Family to claim our money. We have an IOU; let’s see who dares to deny it."
Shen Yunfang agreed and turned to head for her home. Of course, she didn’t have an IOU, but given a minute or two, she could forge one. Li Hongjun had written her so many letters; she could certainly cobble an IOU together by eyeing the handwriting. It wasn’t like she was creating it for judicial authorities to scrutinize--it should be good enough to fool these semi-literates, she had already figured out the plan in her mind.
Li Hongxing watched Shen Yunfang leave without hesitation and felt uncertain, his mind racing with the thought that perhaps the IOU was real--otherwise, how could she be so calm?
Li Hongxing immediately sensed trouble ahead. If they really annulled the marriage and Shen Yunfang produced an IOU, since their family hadn’t yet divided their estate, he might end up saddled with the debt too. Without having gained any advantage from this incident, he could end up dragging home a mountain of debt, turning his family upside down. Without a second thought, he grabbed Shen Yunfang, apologizing profusely.
"Sister-in-law, what’s all this about, what’s all this about? My mother’s out of her mind—don’t follow in her footsteps. You and my second brother have been engaged for so many years; you can’t just call off a wedding like this. Mother, you too, why would you say something like that?"
After all, the wedding definitely could not be called off; as long as it wasn’t, the money owed would be just an issue for the younger couple to resolve on their own.
Li Hongxing spent a while apologizing, managing to pacify the Shen Family before hurriedly escorting the still disgruntled Qiu Shuping home.
"Mom, never mention annulment again, if you do and if second brother and Yunfang really do split up, and if the Shen Family comes with an IOU to claim money, what will our family have to pay with?" the thought of days being hounded for debt sent a shiver down Li Hongxing’s spine.
In those days, rural families lived together in large households; as long as the family hadn’t separated, each member was obligated to help repay any debts incurred by anyone else. That’s why Li Hongxing was so worried.
"No way, how could second brother possibly have borrowed so much money all at once? It must be that damn woman Shen Yunfang making things up," Qiu Shuping said, though she was actually quite unsure herself despite having been so vociferous earlier.
"Let’s not worry about whether it’s true or not for now. We need to hurry home and write to second brother to find out; let’s hope he hasn’t gone and done something foolish again," said Li Hongxing, his face etched with worry.
Back when Li Hongjun was still at home, he was a troublemaker that nobody wanted to mess with, always shouting and horsing around with a bunch of pals, ignoring his family’s situation, and recklessly giving whatever they had to those who needed it. Nobody at home could control him. Eventually, an opportunity arose for him to join the army, and that’s where he was sent for a fresh start. Over the years, it seemed he had changed for the better, no longer causing trouble, but there were no guarantees it would last forever.
"Right, we’ll write to him and ask. If I find out that little vixen Shen Yunfang has lied to me, I’ll tear her apart," Qiu Shuping said, quickening her pace home as if a debt of several hundred yuan was nipping at her heels.
"Did you really lend Li Family’s second son five hundred yuan?" Madam Shen watched Shen Yunfang without blinking an eye.
Shen Yunfang looked at everyone in the room with amusement, "How could that be, Madam? I’ve grown so big and I’ve never even seen five hundred yuan. Where would I get five hundred to give to him? I was just bluffing them."
Heh, now the room was really full. The big hall sister-in-law, the second hall sister-in-law, and Yunxiu had all taken their seats. Aside from the children, everyone from the elder’s house was present. The allure of money was indeed great.
"Psh, I knew it. You’re poor as can be and yet you lend money to others? Nobody believes that." Shen Yunxiu snorted derisively, turned around, and went back to her room. It was such a waste of time; better to go back and make shoes. Thinking of how pleased that person would be when they saw the shoes sped her actions up.
"It really was just to bluff them, but why did you say earlier you were going home to get the loan note?" Madam Shen was somewhat incredulous. If she wasn’t sure about it, how could she dare to do such a thing?
"Heh, didn’t I fail to get it? Madam, about this matter, you all have to keep it a secret for me. If the Li Family finds out it’s fake, I really won’t have any way out. I’m not afraid of calling off the engagement, but I’ve already spent that money and truly don’t have funds to pay them back. If they come asking for it, I can only hide at the elder’s house." Shen Yunfang said with a giggly tone, but her words were somewhat shameless.
Whether there was a loan note or not, right now only she and the elder’s family knew. As long as no one let it slip, she could at least have a peaceful month and have time to communicate with Li Hongjun. If Li Hongjun agreed, she could return the money to the Li Family, and then calling off the engagement wouldn’t matter.
After Shen Yunfang left, swaying as she went, Shen Yeqing seriously instructed everyone at home that this matter absolutely couldn’t be spread outside recklessly. If the Li Family found out, never mind anything else, Yunfang that girl would end up staying at their home day after day.
Madam Shen was still a bit skeptical and quietly asked her own husband, "Hey, do you think that story Yunfang told about lending money could be true? The way she looked today didn’t seem fake."
Shen Yeqing gave her a look, wondering why she couldn’t use her brain, "Do you think five hundred yuan is cabbage that anybody can have? You don’t even contemplate, we’ve been saving for so many years, do you have five hundred yuan in your hands? The Shen family’s financial situation isn’t even as good as ours, where could she get so much money?"
Madam Shen thought about it and he was right. Her husband was the production team leader, after all, they had some advantages, but even after many years, she only had just over three hundred in cash. The Shen family was even worse off, where could they get that much money?
"Hey, you have to say, Yunfang really has some nerve, making up things that have no basis and talking about them as if they were real." She had actually believed it earlier.
Old Master Shen sat on the bed, smoking, and pondering to himself. If Yunfang were a boy, he would definitely have a bright future.
After Shen Yunfang got home, she didn’t do anything else, just took out a notebook and a pencil from the chest and quickly wrote another letter to Li Hongjun. She didn’t exaggerate or overstate, but simply laid out the entire process of how Li Family’s mother and son came asking for grain and money that day. At the end of the letter, she wrote in big letters, "Let’s call off our engagement!" Then she folded it neatly, stuck the letter into an envelope, and finally felt a bit better.
Despite appearing calm and collected throughout the whole ordeal, Shen Yunfang was actually seething with anger, and she truly realized how detestable the Li family members were, not even as strong as her own Shen family relatives. Thinking that she might potentially become relatives with the Li family, hmph, she really needed to think it over well.
