Farm Tough Girl

Chapter 34: Chapter 035 No Money_1 Chapter 34: Chapter 035 No Money_1 The people around them at last remembered to intervene, but Muniang was not the least bit sluggish. She stood up straight and said coldly, “Go invite the village chief! Let’s settle the accounts and see whether the medical expenses for the illness you caused my mother are more expensive, or if the medical expenses for the slaps on your face are more expensive!”

Her commanding presence was on full display, like that of a queen who held her head high above the rest.

The others were stunned into silence. Nanny Zhang, trembling with fear, realized that Muniang was blaming her for Mrs. Lin’s illness. Moreover, with so many witnesses around, it would be impossible to deny it later. If she were really forced to pay for Mrs. Lin’s medical bills, it would be a huge loss for her!

“Hey, hey, hey, wait a minute! Just wait!” Nanny Zhang scrambled up from the ground, smiling obsequiously, “Is such a small matter worth disturbing the village chief over?”

Muniang’s gaze was icily fierce, “Then you’d better scram right now.”

Nanny Zhang instinctively shrank her neck. She had never seen a woman emanate such an intense aura of menace. She fled, mixing rolling and crawling to get away as fast as she could.

The villagers were still around, and their eyes held a new sense of inquiry when they looked at Muniang. Ever since Qiao Muniang had fallen ill, it was as if she had become a completely different person!

Muniang said coldly, “I’ll make myself clear today right here! No matter what schemes you’re cooking up in your head, if you dare to harm my family, I will never let you off!”

The villagers were sheepish and did not dare to speak up. Muniang couldn’t be bothered to say more. She turned and went inside. They say fame brings trouble, and once you’re wealthy, trouble follows! Thinking about Mrs. Lin’s distress, Muniang was overcome with anger. She could never have imagined that the villagers would be so sharp-nosed, and had she known that this incident would occur today, she would never have left Mrs. Lin at home alone.

After the doctor had examined her and prescribed medicine, he instructed Muniang that she absolutely must not let Mrs. Lin be agitated again. Her health had already deteriorated greatly, and if she continued to be careless, it was quite possible that one day she might die suddenly.

Muniang firmly memorized this, and only then did she send the doctor away. Mrs. Lin had come around a bit, lying weakly on the bed. Er Liang went to the kitchen to prepare the medicine, and Muniang stayed by her side.

“Mother, why would you even bother with such people? The people in the village don’t believe her. Why should you torment yourself over this,” Seeing Mrs. Lin’s haggard face, Muniang ached with sympathy. After all, she was occupying the most treasured body of their daughter, and from the bottom of her heart, she knew it was her duty to take good care of Mrs. Lin.

Tears welled up in Mrs. Lin’s eyes, “It’s my fault for being useless, making you endure such grievances, and only being able to swallow them all. What I fear most is people speaking about the matter of you and Er Liang not being married.”

Muniang held Mrs. Lin’s hand, “Mother, Er Liang is a good man, and for your daughter to marry him is a blessing. Just look at how our family’s life is improving day by day, and then you’ll know. Why is a normal man considered a good catch?”

Suddenly, Mrs. Lin thought of the men from the Qiao family. Qiao Yuanshan was useless and only knew how to spend money, Qiao Laosan was foolishly filial and lacked ambition, and as for Qiao Yuanzhen, despite being a scholarly man, he was cold-blooded at heart. Compared to them, Mrs. Lin suddenly felt much more content that Muniang was marrying Er Liang, even if others thought him a fool—it eased her mind.

Muniang comforted Mrs. Lin for a long time until it was over, feeling helpless. Every day she had to coddle Mrs. Lin as if she were soothing a child.

The Qiao family had been quiet these days, even though they had learned that Muniang’s family had earned a thousand taels of silver by killing a tiger. But that was only on the surface.

“I always have to endure, endure, endure! How much longer must I endure? They were originally from the Qiao family, and now they’ve made a fortune, so what’s wrong with us asking for a little money? How is it shameful, just because Dad says it’s shameful? The state of our household is getting worse by the day, just look at what we had for lunch today—I couldn’t even see a single grain of rice!” Mrs. Ji railed at Qiao Yuanshan.

Qiao Yuanshan’s face was full of helplessness, “Do you think I don’t want to go? Now is a critical time; last month, Yuanzhen just passed the county examination, and in a few days, he will have the prefectural examination. It’s the most crucial moment for a student to pass the imperial examination. Mom and Dad are extremely anxious, and if anything were to happen, they would kill us without hesitation!”

“Hmph! In the eyes of Mom and Dad, Yuanzhen’s future is more important than our lives. People like us can do without our lives, but I can’t continue to live this pathetic existence!”

Qiao Yuanshan hurriedly covered Mrs. Ji’s mouth, looked around, and then whispered fiercely, “Could you talk less! Don’t you remember the disgrace you brought upon Yuanzhen the last time? Don’t end up dragging me down again when Dad’s temper flares up!”

Recalling the last incident, Mrs. Ji also shivered. It wasn’t the first time that Dazhi had been angry, but the intensity of his anger was unprecedented. His gaze was as if he wanted to flay her alive and pull out her sinews.

“So, we’re just supposed to keep enduring? The house is out of money now, and we need to start arranging Dazhi’s marriage. To make matters worse, we don’t even have the money to get him a wife!” Mrs. Ji spoke indignantly, “Dazhi is the eldest grandson in our family. Mom and Dad simply ignore that, and all they do is fuss over Yuanzhen all day long. When will they start caring for their own eldest grandson? Look at you and your pathetic state—do you have any say in this household at all?”

Qiao Yuanshan glared at Mrs. Ji, “How do I have no say? When have Mom and Dad ever neglected us? It’s true that Dazhi’s marriage needs to be arranged, and you need not worry about that. No matter what, he’s the eldest grandson, and they definitely won’t ignore it!”

“Ha! You speak so lightly. What are they taking care of? Yesterday, I tried to sound out Mom, mentioning that Dazhi is already sixteen and should be finding a wife. But she just said, ‘Dazhi is still young, let’s wait until next year.'” Mrs. Ji was infuriated, “Which family’s son isn’t married at sixteen? If it really comes down to it, people will laugh behind our back, saying that he can’t get married because his family doesn’t have the money!”

“Yuanzhen is now preparing for his exams, and naturally, Mom and Dad want to save the money for him. If he becomes a Scholar, then there will be the college examination, and if he becomes a Jinshi, there will be the imperial examination. The journey ahead is costly, and there’s simply no extra money to spare.”

“Yeah, if Yuanzhen needs money for his academic ambitions, it’s immediately given, but when our son needs money to get married, he has to wait. What kind of situation is this? Besides, it’s not even certain whether he’ll pass the exams or not!”

Stung by Mrs. Ji’s sharp tone, Qiao Yuanshan slammed his palm on the table and shouted harshly, “What can we do if the house has no money? Surely you don’t expect me to steal for you?······”
Before he could finish speaking, there was a knock on the door from outside. It was Old Lady Qiao, “Yuanshan, are you in the house?”

Qiao Yuanshan and Mrs. Ji exchanged glances, immediately ceased their argument, opened the door, and invited Madam Zhao in.

Madam Zhao sat on the kang bed and coughed lightly, “Dazhi and Lianhua have reached the age to discuss marriage, right? It was only after Mrs. Ji brought it up yesterday that it occurred to me.”

Qiao Yuanshan’s eyes lit up—his mother still cared about him after all. He glanced at Mrs. Ji, who also seemed much happier. Could it be that the old lady had finally come to her senses today?

“It’s just that our family doesn’t have much money right now. Last year’s harvest wasn’t good, and this year with Yuanzhen preparing for his exams, we just don’t have enough money. To talk about providing for Dazhi’s marriage, we really can’t afford it. However, we can arrange Lianhua’s marriage. With the betrothal gifts we receive from that, we can use them for Yuanzhen’s academic expenses.”

As soon as Madam Zhao said this, Mrs. Ji’s face instantly turned dark: “How come it’s Lianhua’s marriage we’re arranging? If there’s no money for Dazhi to get married, so be it, but now you’re counting on the betrothal gifts Lianhua receives from marrying off?”