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Chapter 91: Chapter 87 Unexpected Joy (5th Update)_2
Old Lady Shen snorted through her nose and said, "Go on, make up another tale. I want to see what fanciful story you can spin today. If it doesn’t hold up, I’ll take you to the Revolutionary Committee myself and have you charged with the serious crime of deceiving the hardworking masses. Then we’ll see if you dare to cheat and swindle again."
Qian Xinxue’s words got stuck in her throat; she couldn’t continue. There was no sincerity in continuing this chat anyway.
"What you’re saying isn’t fair, Old Lady. What do you mean by making up stories, and threatening to send me to the Revolutionary Committee? I didn’t grow up being scared; I’m not guilty of anything, and I’m not afraid, no matter where I go," Qian Xinxue retorted, her tone growing steely.
"You’re not guilty of anything? Then explain to me how last year on this day you tricked my niece into giving you a hundred pounds of unhusked rice? You can’t deny it even if you want to, everyone in our village can testify for Yunfang," Old Lady Shen called out, her arm raised emphatically. Her old man was the head of the production team in the village, so her words carried weight.
"What do you mean, ’tricked’? Why can’t you speak more kindly?" Qian Xinxue was displeased.
"If you want to hear kind words, then don’t do despicable things. You even cheated a lone girl out of her food supplies. Aren’t you afraid you’ll choke on that food?" Old Lady Shen accused her fiercely.
"Ah, how can you talk like that? I’m not lowering myself to your level, not because I’m afraid of you. I came here to see my niece, Yunfang. If I had known the Shen Family would treat me with such an attitude, I wouldn’t have come even if carried in a palanquin," Qian Xinxue boasted bluffing.
"Tch, look at yourself. A palanquin? Are you eyeing my old man or something? That’s hooliganism, you know. And let me tell you, I’m not dead yet, and even if I were, it wouldn’t be your turn," Old Lady Shen spat on the ground, maliciously misinterpreting Qian Xinxue’s words.
Qian Xinxue’s face turned green and red with embarrassment from the insults. "Fine, I have nothing to say to you anymore. I am not staying in this place anymore, okay? Yunfang, your aunt is leaving. I’ll come see you some other time when I get the chance."
"Hold on, you can leave if you want, but first clear up last year’s issue with the grain," Uncle Shen said sternly, hands clasped behind his back.
"What’s there to clear up? That’s a matter for my Zhang Family, and it’s got nothing to do with your Shen Family. If I take my niece’s grain and she agrees, no one else’s opinion matters," Qian Xinxue shouted. She was truly angered, not expecting this kind of treatment in Gaijiatun.
"Auntie, you said it was a loan back then. It’s been a year now, when will you return the hundred pounds of corn to me?" Yunfang added coldly from the sidelines.
"What?" Qian Xinxue didn’t hear clearly, or rather, she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. How could Yunfang not be on her side?
"Auntie, since you borrowed a hundred pounds of corn from our house last year, I haven’t had any grain left for meals. Eventually, I had to borrow from my uncle’s place. So technically, that grain you took is a debt owed to my uncle’s house," Yunfang kindly shifted the debt onto Uncle Shen’s shoulders.
It was easier to ask for grain from her uncle than from her own family. Perhaps they could really get back last year’s grain this way.
"Did you hear that? Did you hear that? Now you owe my family grain. Hurry up and pay it back, or I’ll take you to court," Old Lady Shen, seizing upon a flimsy pretext, argued with newfound conviction.
Yunfang had never seen Old Lady Shen be so fierce; she must have truly been furious. Yunfang knew it was kind of her own doing that pushed her to this point, and she secretly stuck out her tongue, feeling guilty.
"You, why do you say I owe your family grain? Do you have an IOU? Do you have any proof? I won’t bother with you shameless people anymore. Even if you begged me, I wouldn’t want to come back to this wretched place," Qian Xinxue knew she couldn’t stay any longer. If she did, she might end up losing all her remaining food supplies.
"Yunfang, did you hear what your auntie just said? This is how the Shen Family bullies me. My poor child, you’re suffering all alone here. Your auntie is heartbroken. I think I’ll have your uncle get the cart ready and pick you up when I get back. Come and stay with us for a few days," Qian Xinxue made one last attempt.
Since she couldn’t take the grain directly back with her, she had to be more roundabout. As long as Yunfang agreed to go back with her, they could just take the grain when her family’s men came to pick her up, and nobody could say anything.
All three remaining people there understood her intentions. Shen Yeqing was so angry that his hands shook.
He called out to his two sons who had followed after him, "Zhijie, Zhiwen, follow me to Pear Blossom Village. I want to have a word with that old fellow Zhang Mingfa and ask him how exactly he’s running things there. Is it normal for a member to be out of grain just after the distribution? Where did all that grain go? Surely nobody pocketed it, right? That would be a serious issue. If that’s the case, I’m taking this up with the higher-ups." Shen Yeqing was truly determined this time. He couldn’t let these people walk all over him. Last year when she came for the grain, he wasn’t pleased, but he thought, since they’re family, if he made a fuss, that would be the end of their relationship. He hadn’t expected that tolerating that behavior would lead to even bigger problems.
"Hey, hey, what are you doing? Why are you looking for our team leader? Let’s talk this out, all right?" Now Qian Xinxue was panicking. If this was taken to her production team, she definitely wouldn’t end up well.
So she didn’t wait for Yunfang any longer, she just followed Shen Yeqing.
After everyone left, Yunfang sincerely thanked Old Lady Shen. Regardless of the old lady’s reasons, she had helped her, and Yunfang was grateful for that.
That evening, Shen Zhiwen brought over a sack of unhusked rice for her, saying that the three gentlemen had gotten it back for her from Pear Blossom Village. He also said that Qian Xinxue, that woman, had cried miserably, as if her own parents had died. 𝓃𝓸𝓿𝓹𝓾𝓫.𝓬ℴ𝓶
Getting back that much grain was truly an unexpected joy for Yunfang.
