Chapter 547: She’s In Charge of the Second Branch
Xu Hai spoke, as he swung the carrying pole and smashed the nearby pottery jar.
"My jar!!!" Old Lady Qian’s voice echoed like a slaughtered pig, as if breaking a pottery jar was tearing out her heart.
"Pay up, or return the things you took from the Old Xu Family, otherwise, I’ll keep smashing." Xu Hai said enthusiastically, holding the pole. In the provincial city, he’s civilized, but out in the countryside it’s different, especially with the Qian Family, who are thick-skinned; reasoning with them is useless, you have to be tough.
"Hurry up, or are you really going to let them smash everything?" Old Lady Qian looked angrily at her sons, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren. The Qian Family had quite a number of people, how could they be so intimidated?
Xu Hai gave a signal to his brothers, Xu He and Xu Po also came equipped with poles, ready to cause damage.
Only Xu Jiang shrank back, never expecting the confrontation to escalate so quickly.
The fight quickly broke out, the Xu Family was doing well, even though they had split up, each household was far better off than the Qian Family; the Qian brothers were just cowardly bullies within their own home, soon falling behind in the struggle. Xu Hai led the charge, wreaking havoc on the Qian Family.
Xu Xue looked on coldly from the sidelines, feeling immensely satisfied. Seeing the Qian Family fear-stricken, she realized they were finally scared, but it wasn’t enough.
"The Captain is here, stop fighting!" the spectators shouted out loudly, as Xu He and Xu Po subdued the Qian Family members, leaving the task of demolishing the house to Xu Hai.
The small courtyard was filled with cries and chaos, mainly from Old Lady Qian and her daughters-in-law wailing, as the smashed items were owned by the Qian Family; the destruction left them heartbroken.
"Stop it, everyone stop it!" shouted the captain of the Three-star Team, with a deep, resonant voice; he’d already gotten a good grasp of the situation on his way here.
The captain of the Three-star Team was also surnamed Qian; he shared an ancestral lineage with the Old Qian Family, though it was hard to say how many generations back it was.
On ordinary days, the Qian Family here often made a fuss within the team; as long as it wasn’t too much, he’d turn a blind eye. Only when they caused real trouble, he’d step in to mediate.
This incident wasn’t small, as it had escalated into a fight; usually, the Qian Family members caused him quite a bit of trouble. He secretly hoped the Xu Family would teach them a lesson, ideally enough to make them honest.
Qian Baocang approached, and the spectators hurriedly cleared a path for him.
Surveying the people in the courtyard, among the Qian brothers, the eldest had a swollen face, the third was crouched on the ground clutching his leg, while his wife tended to him. The others were unscathed, yet all feared the Xu Family.
"Captain, you’ve finally come! You have to stand up for our family, the Xu Family went too far, they’ve smashed our home, what should we do?" Old Lady Qian lamented on the ground, wiping her nose and crying as she accused the Xu Family of wrongdoing.
"It’s not all smashed yet, there’s still one room left, this must be the granary; you took so many things from us, it’s better to use your grain to pay off the debt." Xu Hai jabbed the granary door key with his pole, smiling at the Qian Family.
"That’s enough, you’ve wreaked enough havoc. It’s high time you stop." Qian Baocang frowned slightly at Xu Hai; though he’d heard how reckless he was, he hadn’t expected him to outdo even the Qian Family.
"Captain Qian, this is just the beginning. Niece, tell them what things the Qian Family has taken from your home, everything they took must be returned; even if our stuff is destined for the trash, it won’t be given for the Qian Family’s use." Xu Hai stood firm against Qian Baocang.
Xu Xue took out a small notebook she’d prepared, listing item by item the things the Qian Family took from the Xu home.
The thorough preparation by Xu Xue made Xu Hai’s eyes brighten; he found himself admiring his niece more.
As Xu Xue listed one by one the items taken by the Qian Family from the Xu home, the onlookers fell silent.
The Qian Family had taken quite a bit from the Xu home—money borrowed, grain lent, none ever returned, plus nutritional supplements taken from the second house in the Xu Family, many were meant for Kangkang. Even things belonging to Xu Xue and her sisters were snatched by them.
These aren’t relatives, they’re robbers! No wonder the Qian Family had been doing well these past years, turns out they were leeching off the second house of the Xu Family.
"Captain, she’s fabricating nonsense, all these were willingly given by my daughter to me out of filial piety. Xu Jiang, isn’t that right? What’s wrong with being filial to one’s maternal family? It’s not illegal, once given, why do we have to return it?" Old Lady Qian retorted angrily, showing her fierce prowess.
"Grandma, I saw with my own eyes when you took my sister’s clothes, and my brother’s formula. If you refuse to return them, we’ll simply report it to the police, claiming robbery and intentional harm. You broke my mother’s leg, she’s still in the hospital, this matter won’t end here." Xu Xue said coldly.
"You wicked girl, spewing falsehoods. Your mother gave them to us willingly." Old Lady Qian complained bitterly, glaring at Xu Xue as if she were about to cut her flesh and drink her blood.
Qian Baocang fell silent, those numerous items couldn’t possibly have been freely given, right? Sure, life in the countryside had improved over the years, the Xu Family had some money, but surely they couldn’t be so generous; it aligned indeed with Old Lady Qian’s behavior—Qian Baocang was utterly headache-ridden. He really didn’t want to deal with Old Lady Qian’s debacle.
Every time he tried, it was a cycle of crime and correction, correction without change; he was long sick of dealing with the Qian Family.
Moreover, the Qian Family often exploited their distant kinship with him, causing trouble within the team. Now, he felt tempted to side with the Xu Family.
"Alright, since Grandma says so, all those things can be considered filial offerings from my parents, they’ll be the Qian Family’s now. From now on, my family won’t give any more to the Qian Family, the second house is under my control." Xu Xue sneered, her lips curling into a mocking smile.
She thought her parents shouldn’t hold onto any money, and should collect household belongings; she was disgusted with her maternal family’s part, and exhausted with her own parents—very exhausted.
Every day she was busy with her studies, managing the restaurant business, constantly occupied with tasks; though her parents didn’t offer any help, she simply hoped they wouldn’t drag her down.
Once matters were settled here, she reckoned it better for her parents to retire comfortably at home; the second house’s affairs were hers to manage, the Qian Family couldn’t dream of gaining any advantage from her.
This time, smashing those items would leave the Qian Family in pain for a long while; the effect she desired had already been achieved.
