Chapter 481: Chapter 250: Raising Money_1
At the second watch, request for pink powder.
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"Stop talking, sell, sell the house!" Old Master Lian suddenly burst out, followed by a bout of violent coughing.
Lian Shouren and Lian Manman both fell silent.
Lian Shouren’s face turned beet red, and only when he saw the gaze of the government officer and Xu Family’s employees did he realize that he had lost his composure just now. However, he would never look for the problem in himself; he glared at Lian Shouxin with resentment. As an elder and a scholar, Lian Shouxin had just let a little girl like Manman argue with him; it was a clear sign that he had no respect for him.
Manman too was all puffed up with anger. She had purposely argued with Lian Shouren. Why should they always be the ones to listen, to understand, to think of the bigger picture, only to be asked to be even more compliant, understanding, and mindful of the overall situation? When she argued with Lian Shouren, it was Lian Shouren who lost face. If Lian Shouren wasn’t afraid of losing face, then what was there for her to fear?
In many families with several children, there’s often such a strange phenomenon. When a wilful child and a compliant, sensible child quarrel. At first, the elders reprimand them equally, demanding silence.
But the wilful child typically doesn’t listen while the sensible child usually does. Over time, the elders shift from scolding both to, when facing issues, only asking the sensible child to give in. If both children are disobedient, the outcome is often a severe punishment for both, since not many elders have the patience or the time to discern who is right and who is wrong. They have the livelihood of the entire family to worry about.
They are all flesh and blood of the same family; it might not be quite right to say they pick on the soft ones, but rather, it’s human nature to choose the path of least resistance.
This way, the wilful child becomes even more reckless, and the sensible child becomes more submissive and accommodating.
The parents achieve their goal of family harmony, but often overlook how their methods drive the two children further towards two extremes.
For Lian Shouren, like now, if Manman had yielded, then Old Master Lian would have been happy to be left in peace. But Manman had refused to give in and instead argued with Lian Shouren, forcing Old Master Lian to step in and act justly.
Now that Manman and her branch of the Lian Family had separated, Old Master Lian’s severe punishment could no longer reach them.
"Father, sell, which house?" Lian Shouren hurriedly asked.
"Which one else, the one in town," Old Master Lian said, catching his breath.
Manman and Lian Shouxin exchanged glances. The Lian Family had to come up with more than one hundred taels of silver, and their only option was to sell the house in town. Everyone was clear about this, but Manman held back several times from saying it out loud.
Because such words should rightly be said by Old Master Lian or Lian Shouren.
"Go, call your mother, get the deed for the house," Old Master Lian told Lian Shouli.
"...There is a big house in town, two courtyards, plus a small alley, and another small courtyard, fully furnished, it can fetch at least one hundred taels. Let’s just make it worth one hundred taels," Old Master Lian.
At that moment, Lady Zhou came trembling over from the west room, leaning on Lian Shouli’s arm.
"Old man..." Lady Zhou clutched Lian Shouli’s sleeve tightly, her face as pale as death. Although she dominated the household, she was actually very timid, ignorant of the world outside, afraid of strangers, and most of all, she dreaded seeing anyone from official circles.
"Find the house deed," Old Master Lian said to Lady Zhou again.
Only then did Lady Zhou shakily open the cupboard with the support of Lian Shouli, took out a small wooden box, and handed over the box along with the keys to Old Master Lian. Immediately afterward, she collapsed onto the edge of the kang bed, her eyes reddened, and tears began to fall drop by drop.
The Lian Family was nearly destitute by now, except for the house in town which was worth some money. Old Master Lian and Lady Zhou had been counting on selling that house to get the money to build a new house, buy land, and to marry off their grandson.
If the house went to pay off the debt, their future would be unimaginably difficult!
It wasn’t easy for Old Master Lian either, but he was more composed than Lady Zhou. He opened the wooden box with the key, took out the deed for the house in town, and handed it over to the Xu Family’s steward.
"This house isn’t worth one hundred taels," the steward said discontentedly after looking at the deed, "How much can the furnishings inside be worth?"
It took some coaxing from a government officer on the side before the steward agreed to accept the house deed as security for one hundred taels of silver.
"And the remaining sixty-two taels?"
"Our family pays one hundred taels, and the remaining sixty-two should rightly be paid by He Laoliu," Old Master Lian said.
