Chapter 846: Give you what?
Old Madam Shen was annoyed greatly by Shen Li's performance, why was he acting like she tried to kill him in the past? Though there were a lot of grievances that Old Madam Shen wanted to complain about to Shen Li but she still swallowed her anger when she remembered that she was here to get money from him and could not offend him for the time being, lest Shen Li refused where was she going to get the money from?
This was the reason why despite being a tyrant at home, she curled her lips into a pleasant smile and then said, " Ah Li, I know that you are angry with Mother but you need to be sensible as well…think about the troubles of your mother as well, right? You had so many siblings, and I had to take care of them which was why I could only send you away without a dowry."
"That's right, Li, why are you holding the grudges of the past?" Shen Hanxing also chimed in as she spoke to Shen Li like a sensible sister who was trying to teach her insensible brother. " We had so many troubles and could only send you away, did we not do it because Madam Yu promised that she will give you three meals a day? Mother only wanted the best for you!"
Shen Li smiled ruefully when he heard the words of his mother and sister, truthfully he still had a bit of affection left for them and was hoping that at least his mother who loved money would be willing to lower her head in front of him and treat him nicely but instead of treating him well, she was blaming him for being insensible and unfilial. Though she did not say it directly every word of hers was directed at him not understanding the troubles of his family and getting angry at them for no reason.
Good! His family was really good!
Seeing that Shen Li was not speaking Old Madam Shen was a bit angry and her face could not turn ugly but she still spoke in a soft voice, " Ah Li, are you not going to invite us? Or is it because you think that we are dressed too poorly that we will embarrass you?"
Though Old Madam Shen was a drunkard, she was rather smart when it came to using flowery and sharp words, if not she would not have been able to sell her mer sons who looked average at best to high officials.
She deliberately mentioned her old clothes and made it sound like Shen Li was being narrow minded but she missed a very crucial point and that was —— the flu.
" Old Madam Shen has a way with her words," Ye Liu smiled as he looked at the old woman who was trying to make things difficult for them and then said in a sharp voice, " Who said that we look down on the poor? We were once poor as well, so poor that Brother Li who went to wash clothes in winter almost died because of frostbite. How dare we look down on the poor? It's just that there is a flu going on in the town and we don't know who caught it and who did not which is why, we can only stop those who are living in the town from entering our village."
When Old Madam Shen heard Ye Liu's words, she was really upset with him but she did not want to make herself look unreasonable which was why she smiled and then nodded in understanding, " No wonder... No wonder you are stopping those who are not from your village outside."
' Humph this lowly concubine, just because my son is stupid …he is climbing on my head and look at this idiotic son of mine, he is not even saying anything despite being disrespected like that,' Old Madam Shen scolded Ye Liu and Shen Li in her head but she still continued to smile and then spoke up before knocking her head with her hand,
" Aiya, I forgot why I came here," Old Madam Shen smiled sheepishly as she looked at Shen Li and then said, " Ah Li, I know this is awkward but can you lend me twenty taels? Our house was swept away by the flood and so were our savings, we cannot live in the slums right? I promise that I will return the money to you after I get a job and settle down in a village or somewhere around. "
Shen Li was aware of the fact that his mother was only blowing rainbow farts, there was no way she will be able to pay the money back and in fact, she might not even want to pay the money back because in her heart she was the one who gave birth to him and can use him as she wished wasn't this the reason why she sent him to entertain that old official for that small sum of money?
" Mother," Though Shen Li wanted to curse and kick his mother away, he could not show off his cards like that in front of everyone like that which was why he smiled politely yet awkwardly and then said, " You are making things difficult for me, I am the official husband and yet I have not fulfilled my job as the official husband…Dong Dong still does not have an heir and she blames me for that if I give you money then she will definitely be upset with me."
As he spoke he looked at Old Madam Shen and Shen Hanxing with a troubled look on his face, " My wife does not give us much money, only those who have given birth can enjoy the taste of her pampering, how can I even bring twenty taels? I don't even have then taels!"
Old Madam Shen's face twisted when she heard that Shen Li did not have money in his pockets, she was furious at him for being useless but she did not dare to say those words out loud and instead smiled in an ugly manner, " Ah Li, I am not making things difficult for you …look at the weather, it is going to snow very soon. The winds are getting chillier by the night, I and your daddies can suffer but your young siblings cannot, they are still young what if something happens to them? I am not even asking you to pay for everything just give me a start-up fund…once I have built four walls with a room, I will slowly pay you back."
" Old Madam Shen, you dream beautifully…" Ye Liu did not allow Old Madam Shen to guilt trip Shen Li instead he sharply said, " You do not even have a land deed under your name how can you build a house? Or are you expecting brother Li to give a piece of land in our village to you for free? If so you are making things difficult for him, our wife does not have enough space for freeloaders, she told us this years ago… what's more, you have sold at most seven to eight mer sons of yours, are you saying that you don't even have ten taels saved up in your pockets? With Brother Li alone, you earned ten taels then what about the rest? Did everything wash away in the flood?"
His sharp question caused Old Madam Shen's face to change, she wanted to say something to Ye Liu but then she stopped and looked at Shen Li before she said, " Ah Li, I swear I have nothing left … even if you hate me, you should not hate your little siblings, think about them …will you like it if they get buried in snow and die?"
For the sake of getting the money Old Madam Shen was willing to go all out, though, in the ears of others, those words were like the worries of a mother, Shen Li's eyes changed as he looked at his mother who was trying her bets to suppress her smirk.
Because she and Shen Li, both knew that she was not speaking those words out of worry. She was threatening him!
Shen Li looked at his mother who was looking at him and narrowed his eyes, he knew that if he did not give money to his mother then this woman will not hold back and throw his siblings outside to suffer and fall sick.
However just as he was wondering about what to do, he noticed a carriage arriving at the village entrance in full spirits with animals being towed behind and his expression changed before he said in a helpless voice, " I...I can only give you eight taels …ten at most after I borrow it from Brother Liu but not more than that."
Though Old Madam Shen was not willing, she knew that as long as she had Shen Li's siblings in her hands she will be able to borrow money from him which was why she agreed and said, " All right ten taels … just give me those for now."
" Give you what?"
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