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As soon as it was the hour of Shen, Xie Youshun and the others were preparing to go home. It was too far, and it was still not dark enough to return.
Just as they were saying their goodbyes, they heard shouting from outside the door, and then several people walked in, all looking fierce and unfriendly.
Xiao Lihua noticed that these people were dressed alike, resembling servants from some household. What could they want here? Had her elder brother gotten into trouble? How could her honest elder brother possibly cause trouble? She looked at Xiao Dashu and saw his confused expression; it was clear he had no idea why these people were here.
"Which one is Xiao Dashu? Step forward!" The man in front was a burly fellow, shouting loudly, his eyes darting between Xiao Dashu and Xie Youshun. When Xiao Dashu took a step forward, the man glared at him. "You are Xiao Dashu? Did you set those traps on the mountain?!"
Xiao Dashu's face turned pale. He sometimes set a couple of traps on the mountain for fun; could it be that his traps had caused trouble?
"Brother, I don't know what happened," he said.
"What happened? Your traps caught our steward! He's seriously injured now! Our steward is a good-hearted man; we won't make you go to the county office for this. Just pay for the medical expenses! It's not much—just one hundred taels!"
The burly man spoke quickly, glancing around the courtyard and then at the family's clothing with some disdain, wondering if they could even scrape together a hundred taels. But he hoped they couldn't. His gaze landed on Meihua, standing at the back; he thought she was quite pretty, no wonder the steward had taken a liking to her.
"What? One hundred taels?" Xiao Dashu's face turned even paler. One hundred taels of silver was far too much; his family barely had any money left for their mother's treatment.
At that moment, Wang Shi spoke up: "Brother, what kind of injury requires one hundred taels of silver? Besides, we set our traps on our own mountain and marked them clearly; if someone got caught, it's not our fault. If you say ten or eight taels for medical expenses, we would accept that, but one hundred is too much." Wang Shi noticed their attire and heard them refer to their steward but didn't want to offend them too much. However, she also didn't want to pay one hundred taels of silver and mustered her courage to say this.
Xiao Lihua thought her sister-in-law was quite brave; her elder brother was honest, and having such a sister-in-law supporting the family was good. In the future, any profitable business could be entrusted to them; with such a sister-in-law, they would surely succeed. However, this wasn't the time to think about that. She looked at these people and frowned as she noticed how they were sizing her and Meihua up.
"That mountain is yours; if someone gets hurt there, you have to pay! Otherwise, we'll take you to court! We are from Xiao Family Village! If you think you can avoid paying, think about the consequences!"
Hearing "Xiao Family Village," Xiao Dashu and Wang Shi were all somewhat frightened. Xiao Family Village was not just any village but a large estate belonging to a prominent family. The Xiao Family owned hundreds of acres of fertile land and several shops. It was said that someone in their family held an official position in the court, and even the county magistrate treated them with great respect. They certainly couldn't afford to offend anyone from Xiao Family Village.
Xiao Dashu said, "One hundred taels is really too much; can we settle for less?"
"Less? Our manager almost had their ankle crushed! The Physician said that if it doesn't heal properly, they might end up limping! How can one hundred taels be considered too much? It's only because our manager is kind-hearted that we're asking for this amount. Don't think you can take advantage of us! One hundred taels, not a single tael less! And this is under the condition that our manager isn't limping. If they end up limping, even a thousand taels would be useless!"
The strong man said, noticing that Xiao Dashu was sweating, and even Wang, who had dared to retort earlier, was now frightened. Meihua was anxiously biting her lip, and the man and woman beside them were frowning, thinking that this was exactly what they wanted. One hundred taels wouldn't break them; soon enough, they'd demand a thousand!
Those people told them to prepare the Silver, saying they would come every day to urge them, and then they left.
"What are we going to do?! How are we supposed to live from now on?!"
Wang was trembling with anxiety; this was simply a case of trouble coming from nowhere! Just as Aunt's condition had improved, how could such a thing happen again?
Xiao Dashu was also panicking, squatting on the ground and pulling at his hair. He thought about how he had gone up the mountain to set traps; he hadn't earned even one hundred taels of Silver since he started setting those traps, let alone a thousand. This was simply life-threatening!
"Mother! Are you okay? Mother! Don't scare me!" Meihua suddenly shouted and turned to run. It turned out that Xiao Pozi had collapsed by the door, probably having heard everything.
The family quickly forgot their anxiety and fear as they rushed to care for Xiao Pozi, bringing her back inside. They pressed on her acupoints and rubbed her chest until she finally regained consciousness.
When Xiao Pozi woke up, she started crying. Although she was a woman, she was older and understood that those people were demanding one hundred taels of Silver right away and even mentioned a thousand taels. This situation clearly had no good outcome. Which injury could be treated with just one hundred taels of Silver? They were clearly trying to bully their family. She knew this well; it wasn't just her imagination. Seeing Meihua beside her looking worried made her hold Meihua's hand and cry even harder.
The family comforted and coaxed her until she finally stopped crying. She asked Meihua to fetch some hot water for her to drink, trying to send Meihua away. But Meihua refused to leave.
"Mother, this time I caused trouble for you all; it's my fault. If it comes to it, just marry me off; I accept my fate."
As Meihua spoke, she covered her face and cried, tears streaming down her hands.
Xiao Dashu asked, "Mother, what exactly is going on? How did it involve Meihua? I don't understand!"
Xiao Lihua also asked nearby, but she had already guessed what was going on. It was likely that someone had taken a liking to Meihua. No wonder the leader had been looking at her. The most probable candidate was that steward or his family, and since the Xiao Family disagreed, this incident occurred today. They were forcing the Xiao Family to marry off their daughter! Such unfairness has existed since ancient times, and now it had fallen upon her family. She realized that this feeling was truly heartbreaking.
Wang spoke and recounted the situation.
The Xiao Family had a steward who lived about five miles away in a farmstead. His surname was Liu, and he had set his sights on Meihua, wanting to marry her. However, he wasn't particularly good-looking, was around thirty-five or thirty-six years old, and had lost his wife. He already had two sons who were older than Xiao Lihua. The Xiao Family could never agree to marry Meihua to him, so they refused, which led to this incident.
Xiao Dashu didn't know what to do since he wasn't home at the time. To avoid worrying him, they hadn't told him about it. They thought that by rejecting the marriage proposal, everything would be settled, but they never expected that trouble would come knocking at their door in this manner.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Dashu was at a loss for what to do and said, "Let's go to Xiao Family Village and find Mr. Xiao. Let's ask him to help us. I've heard Mr. Xiao is a good person."
Wang replied, "I heard Mr. Xiao has left home; now his wife is in charge. It seems Liu the Steward is quite favored by Madam Xiao and is some kind of relative of hers..."
"Even so, we have to try. They are definitely not after Silver; they are after our Meihua. We can't let Meihua suffer!"
Xiao Dashu said he couldn't allow his sister to marry such a person.
While the family was talking, they heard someone calling for Xiao Dashu outside. When they went out, they saw quite a few people standing in the yard.
Xiao Lihua wondered if the people from Caotou Village were so fond of gossip that they came right after the Xiao Family's trouble? Or were they genuinely here to help? As she pondered this, a man in his forties approached Xiao Dashu. He was the village chief of Caotou Village. He first asked about what had just happened and then told Xiao Dashu to handle the matter carefully and not offend Liu the Steward because many families in Caotou Village rented land from the Xiao Family. If they angered Liu the Steward, there would be no way for them to make a living. Others who followed echoed similar sentiments.
Xiao Lihua thought these people were not here to help; they were here to apply pressure!
Some women even suggested that since Meihua had caught Liu the Steward's eye, perhaps it would be better for her to marry him after all. This way, not only would there be no need for compensation, but they would also gain a good son-in-law, which could benefit Caotou Village as well. Many people agreed with this idea.
Xiao Dashu shouted loudly, "My sister will not marry that Liu the Steward!"
The villagers were startled by the shout and then said that Xiao Dashu could do whatever he wanted, as long as it didn't implicate Village. Then they left.
"Big brother, how about I marry over there? Those people will definitely not stop at one hundred taels; they will want more. Our family doesn't have that much money..." Meihua stepped out at this moment, no longer crying, her face pale, resigned to her fate.
Xiao Dashu insisted that he wouldn't let her marry over, but he didn't know what to do. He had to borrow even one hundred taels of Silver. However, now everyone in Village knew this matter was related to Liu the Steward, who had his eyes on his sister, so it was unlikely he would lend him money. Wang also didn't know what to do and could only pull Meihua back into the house.
Xiao Dashu said, "I won't let Meihua marry Liu the Steward. He is older, has lost a wife, and has two sons older than Meihua. He is ugly and shorter than Meihua! I will not allow such a man to marry Meihua! Even if I have to kneel at the door of Xiao Family, I will plead with Madam Xiao!"
"Big brother, don't rush. Let me think of a way."
Xiao Lihua suddenly spoke up. Hearing Xiao Dashu say this made her feel quite touched; having such a big brother was wonderful. When she heard his words, an idea suddenly flashed in her mind—perhaps this method could work.
Xiao Dashu asked, "What method do you have?"
Xiao Lihua inquired, "Doesn't Xiao Family have a young lady named Xiao Ziyi?"
"Yes, she is the eldest daughter of Xiao Family, with an excellent reputation. Why are you asking about her? Are you planning to plead with her?" Xiao Dashu's eyes lit up. He thought that perhaps if he asked Madam Xiao, she might protect her relatives, while Miss Xiao, being a young woman, would likely sympathize with Meihua. "Let's go ask Miss Xiao!"
"Brother, let me go. Don't worry; maybe I can find a way to get Miss Xiao to help."
Xiao Lihua said to Xiao Dashu, determined to see Xiao Ziyi for the sake of their family and for Meihua. She wanted to make sure that Liu the Steward would suffer for nothing this time.
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