Chapter 357: Chapter 185 Pointing at the Mulberry Tree and Cursing the Locust Tree_2
"Old Fourth, hurry up; we’re just waiting for you," Lian Shouyi said. As the people approached, he waved his hand again, "Only Old Fourth needs to come; the rest should go about their business."
No one paid attention to him. Lady Zhang, Lady Zhao, Lian Manman, Wu Lang, and Xiao Qi all followed Lian Shouxin toward the Upper Room. Lian Zhizhi was minding the house and came out upon hearing noises, following by Lian Manman’s side. She knew that what was coming was a moment of important decision-making.
In the Upper Room, Old Master Lian and Lady Zhou were sitting at the head of the kang, with a cloth bundle spread out between them on the kang, half-open to show several strings of silver. The old couple’s faces were grim, without a trace of a smile.
Lian Xiuxiu did not sit next to Lady Zhou as she usually would but kept a distance, absentmindedly fiddling with a piece of floral fabric in her hands.
Apart from Lian Yaya of the second house, all members of the Lian Family were present. When Lian Yeye saw Lian Manman enter, she got up and ran over.
"Sister Manman," Lian Yeye seemed to have something to say.
"I know all about it; we’ll talk later," Lian Manman whispered, squeezing Lian Yeye’s hand to reassure her.
"This is the money your eldest brother has gathered," Lady Zhou was the first to speak this time. As she spoke, she completely unfolded the cloth bundle to reveal the silver to everyone.
The bundle was laid out plainly; obviously, everyone else had already seen it. This was specifically for Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang to see. Lian Manman inwardly curled her lips—so much consideration for their son and daughter-in-law who had moved out.
Lian Shouxin brooded over his thoughts in silence, without uttering a word.
"It’s exactly four hundred taels," Lady Zhou waited a moment before speaking again, as Lian Shouxin remained silent, her expression growing even darker. "The due date is the day after tomorrow, and we’re still a large amount short."
Still, no one spoke. Everyone kept their heads down, only the eyes of Lian Shouyi and Lady He darted around restlessly.
"That good-for-nothing eldest son of ours is going to be the death of us. This will be the end of us old folks... What are we to do..." Lady Zhou started to cry.
"Mother, the eldest brother has it hard too. In order to gather the money, he hasn’t been eating well or sleeping well; he’s so sick he can’t even get out of bed," Lian Shouyi said hastily. "The eldest brother and sister-in-law said this is all they can give for now. In a couple of days, the eldest brother will send the rest of the money... Let us think of a way to make do and pay off the debt first."
Just as I thought!
From the start, Lian Manman had been paying close attention to Lian Shouyi. She could tell that although Lian Shouyi seemed anxious on the surface, he was actually calm and collected. Lian Shouyi must have struck some deal with Lian Shouren; he had purposefully arrived ahead of Lian Shouli to influence the decision of Old Master Lian and Lady Zhou.
Lian Shouren was clever enough not to show up, and Lian Shouyi was willing to take shots for the sake of benefits.
"Big uncle has collected four hundred taels, so we still need over eight hundred taels to pay off the debt, right?" Lian Manman spoke in a flat tone, "Eight hundred taels."
"Is our family some sort of tycoon?" Lian Yeye exclaimed, "Uncle Second, can you produce eight hundred taels, or can my grandpa and granny produce eight hundred taels?"
"Yeye, let’s not get worked up for nothing. Didn’t you see how Uncle Second is glowing? He’ll definitely be able to pay off the debt, and we needn’t worry about it," Lian Manman said lightly. If Lian Shouyi wanted to be the gun and take the benefits, let him be the first to suffer.
"Yes," Lian Yeye immediately understood Lian Manman’s intention. "Uncle Second can produce the money."
"We don’t have money, all our money is in the hands of Dad and Mom," Lady He hastily said.
"Money, this is all money," Si Lang slanted his eyes, gesturing with his finger, including Lian Zhizhi, Lian Manman, and Lian Yeye in his sweep.
"What did you just say?" Wu Lang was already seething with anger, and seeing Si Lang like this, he became even more furious and immediately pounced on him and started hitting him.
Lian Manman, Lian Yeye, and Xiao Qi jumped down from the kang bed and joined in thrashing Si Lang. Si Lang was older than Wu Lang, and could possibly hold his own in a fight against him alone, but with Lian Manman and the others, he stood no chance.
The children pinned Si Lang to the ground, Wu Lang swinging his fists, Xiao Qi using his legs, while Lian Manman and Lian Yeye used their nails.
"Ow, mom... " Si Lang was beaten until he could only cry and howl.
Lady He shouted in alarm and rushed over to push the children away.
"What are you trying to do, Second Aunt?" Lady Zhang stood up and pulled Lady He back.
"Old Fourth’s wife, aren’t you going to control your children, ganging up on my Si Lang like that?" Lady He started to argue.
"He deserves it," Lian Manman kicked Si Lang fiercely, "Lazy, heartless like a wolf and lungs like a dog, lower than pigs and dogs, not wanting to repay his own debts and still trying to take advantage, always scheming against his own brothers and sisters; with such filthy and rotten intentions, do we even count as family in his eyes? No, in his eyes, we are just money!"
Lian Manman’s eyes widened as she scanned the room. Living beside Lady Zhou, she had also learned how to curse.
Right now, she wasn’t just hitting Si Lang; she was cursing more than just Si Lang.
"You wretched girl, are you trying to turn the heavens upside down? Your grandpa and grandma are right here, who are you cursing, huh? Have you no respect for the law? I’ll kick you to death," Lian Shouyi felt the sting of Lian Manman’s words, and seeing his original plan being obstructed, he snapped in a mix of insult and rage.
"Lian Laoer, those words from my daughter were aimed at the heartless, if you’ve got no guilt on your conscience, what’s eating you up? And don’t try to drag Dad and Mom into this, you try to kick me to death first. My surname is Zhang; you kick me to death, no one can say you are heartless, killing your own niece," Lady Zhang turned her head, glaring furiously at Lian Shouyi.
Lian Shouxin didn’t speak, but silently watched Lian Shouyi with his reddened eyes.
Lian Shouyi shuddered, not wanting to show weakness, he stood up with an air of bravado, muttering something under his breath, yet his feet didn’t move an inch.
Sanlang was dozing off, Erlang was hanging his head low, and Liulang had shrunk back into the corner.
"Ahem, ahem," Old Master Lian suddenly coughed twice, his eyes bloodshot as he opened them.
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Twisting and pleading for pink, been updating continuously lately, so tired, seeking pink motivation. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to vote for it with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at qidian.com, your support is my greatest motivation.)
