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墨書 Inktalez
"This is completely unreasonable. That bridge has been in disrepair for a long time; it was bound to break. So many people have crossed it, and it's not just us from Xiaqiao Village using it. Why should we from Xiaqiao Village be the ones to repair it? Are they from Shangqiao Village planning to contribute nothing?"
Xiao Lihua said she felt that the request from Shangqiao Village was too overbearing.
Yang Cao also said, "That's right. Both villages use this bridge, and to be honest, more people from their village cross it. They have more vehicles as well, so if repairs are needed, they should be paying more. Now they are trying to pin the blame on us just because someone from our village happened to be on it when it broke. It's truly unreasonable."
Xiao Lihua asked, "What kind of people came from Shangqiao Village? Did the village chief come too?"
Yang Cao said angrily, "Yes, that shameless old man is the one who brought it up." After saying this, Yang Cao glanced at Xiao Lihua and noticed her expression didn't change before continuing, "You see, that's your sister-in-law's father-in-law. Don't take it personally when I say this."
Xiao Lihua blinked; she realized that Ruyi's in-laws were from the village chief's family in Shangqiao Village. Ruyi's in-laws were well-off, which is why her dowry was substantial.
Speaking of Ruyi's in-laws looking down on the Xie Family because they weren't wealthy, even though it's often said that marrying a daughter-in-law should be a lower match, there still needs to be some consideration for social standing. They wouldn't want to marry too far down; the village chief's family had wealth and power, so they would at least want someone who was rich but not powerful. The Xie Family was not regarded highly by them, but the village chief's son had taken a liking to Ruyi. Since he was their only son, they couldn't refuse and had to agree.
Ruyi gained a lot of face from this good match; not only did her family benefit, but the villagers also looked up to her, giving the Xie Family some prestige in the village.
Xiao Lihua had previously felt jealous of Ruyi for marrying well and had treated her coldly. However, Ruyi didn't want to argue for the sake of her reputation. Although their relationship wasn't great, it wasn't as bad as with the Li Family. But now Xiao Lihua had changed; she no longer cared about Ruyi's matters and sometimes even failed to react.
"Sister-in-law speaks the truth. If the village chief from Shangqiao Village really says this, it's indeed shameless. Being related to him brings shame upon us; you should say something," Xiao Lihua said, immediately worrying that this matter might implicate the Xie Family.
Yang Cao sighed and said, "Li Hua, I must remind you that if this gets out, it could cause trouble for your Xie Family. Repairing a bridge costs quite a bit of money. Regardless of whether our Xiaqiao Village contributes or not, people will think Shangqiao Village is bullying us. At that point, who knows if people from both villages will end up fighting again? The ones who suffer most will be those daughters-in-law married into each other's villages. If this issue isn't resolved properly, those who were engaged but haven't married yet might end up suffering."
Xiao Lihua exclaimed in surprise, "Can an engagement really be called off?"
"Why not? More than a decade ago, there was a conflict between the two villages where a family from Shangqiao Village directly sent back a daughter-in-law they had taken from our village. Although that family had shown signs of discontent before and just used it as an opportunity, you know how much both villages cling to such reasons. This time we can't let things escalate; if they do, who knows who will end up suffering? Your sister-in-law is at risk."
Yang Cao knew that the village chief of Shangqiao Village was already unhappy about the marriage alliance with the Xie Family, and perhaps he would take this opportunity to call off the engagement.
Xiao Lihua didn't know what to say. The rain wasn't heavy, yet the bridge had collapsed, and along with it, the relationship between the two villages had also fallen apart. What was going on? It was money! The recent labor service had drained everyone's savings, and some families were likely in debt. Repairing the bridge required funds, and even if each family from both villages contributed a little, no one was willing to spend that money. Money truly measures people's hearts and can lead their conscience astray.
While Yang Cao was speaking with Xiao Lihua, Zhang Lianxiang rushed over, sweating profusely, almost tripping as she reached the door.
"Lianxiang, why are you running so fast? Is it about those people from Shangqiao Village? What happened? Did a fight break out?!" Yang Cao quickly asked, her face showing anxiety. After all, it was in her home; her husband was still there, and if a fight broke out and he got hurt, it would be terrible.
Zhang Lianxiang caught her breath and said, "Someone died!"
Both Yang Cao and Xiao Lihua were startled. Someone died? That meant there had been a fight that resulted in death! Their husbands were all there, and they immediately became anxious.
Zhang Lianxiang pulled them both and said, "No one died; just a lot of blood was lost. He almost didn't make it. Don't worry; it's not your family; it's Simpleton. Oh, it's really pitiful; at his age, he still has to suffer this kind of fate. Those people from Shangqiao Village are truly despicable!"
Simpleton was an elderly man from the village who was quite decent. This time, he had an accident while crossing the bridge when it collapsed.
Speaking of Simpleton, he was indeed pitiful. His family was doing alright; they had a donkey that could work and carry people. However, due to the recent labor service, his family with three sons suddenly had to pay fifteen taels of silver. With no other choice, he had to sell the donkey. Unfortunately, right after selling it, the donkey fell ill. The buyer wanted him to refund the money; he could only say that he would return it once the donkey was treated. Just when he planned to send the donkey for treatment, another incident occurred—the donkey fell into the water and became weak.
Now he had to return the money from selling the donkey while people from Shanghe Village claimed that he caused the bridge to collapse and demanded compensation from him. The old man couldn't bear it at his age; such an honest person might consider ending it all.
Xiao Lihua listened silently. She understood what it felt like to be anxious about money; she sympathized with this old man. It wasn't his responsibility, yet it had fallen on him.
"What did the village chief say?"
Xiao Lihua actually wanted to ask whether before Simpleton considered taking drastic measures, the village chief and the villagers had stood up for him against Shangqiao Village's unfair treatment of Simpleton.
Zhang Lianxiang glanced at Yang Cao, and from that glance, she already knew the answer.
Yang Cao lowered her head; she knew her father-in-law was a shrewd person. As long as the matter did not fall on him, he would always find a way to shirk responsibility. Although he wasn't a bad person at heart, sometimes his actions could be quite disheartening, just like with her and her husband. Wasn't it just like that?
Zhang Lianxiang said, "With Simpleton in this situation, the village chief will certainly say that the cost of repairing the bridge won't be fully covered by our village; Shangqiao Village has to contribute as well. Speaking of which, Shangqiao Village really has no shame; they have pushed people to the brink of despair and still insist that they won't pay. However, they don't expect Simpleton to pay either, saying that Simpleton is one of us, so our village should cover it."
"Simpleton's family can't afford that much money anyway; they are being targeted because we are from the same village. First, they pressure Simpleton, then use the fact that Simpleton is from our village as an excuse. This way, even if Simpleton can't pay, if our village covers all the costs, we might end up being resented by the villagers," Yang Cao said, feeling quite sympathetic towards Simpleton.
Xiao Lihua and Zhang Lianxiang sighed as well; when someone is down on their luck, even Heaven seems to play tricks on them.
It was almost noon when Xie Youshun returned. Xiao Lihua had already prepared lunch—golden-brown pancakes filled with chives and eggs, about the size of a palm. Some of them oozed with chive juice and smelled delicious. The two children had already eaten one each, their little red mouths greasy. Upon seeing Xie Youshun return, Little Wood raised the remaining half in his hand and offered it to him.
"Dad, eat."
Xie Youshun squatted down and took a small bite of the pancake. "Delicious! Good son, you eat first; Dad will wash his hands and then eat."
Xiao Lihua handed him chopsticks as soon as he entered and asked, "Did the people from Shangqiao Village leave? What did they say?"
"They didn't say anything good. They insisted that our village pay for it; naturally, the village chief and the villagers disagreed, and we parted ways unhappily," Xie Youshun replied. He took a pancake with his chopsticks and bit into it, savoring the rich flavor that filled his mouth; even his nose caught whiffs of its aroma. His previously suppressed mood lightened up as he devoured three pancakes in no time.
Xiao Lihua served him a bowl of egg drop soup and handed it to him.
Xie Youshun drank half a bowl before continuing to eat pancakes but did so more elegantly this time. After finishing another one, he looked at Xiao Lihua watching him and said, "If you have any questions, just ask; I'm full now."
Xiao Lihua recounted what Yang Cao and Zhang Lianxiang had told her: "If the two villages really end up fighting over this bridge, how serious would the consequences be? Our village is downstream; will there be any impact then? Will the women in our village really suffer because of this?"
"Our village is located by the river, but it's not a big deal. As you can see, the river is wide and high; they can't stop our water. As for the other matter you mentioned, that's hard to say." Xie Youshun felt anxious inside; his sister was engaged to the village chief's family from Shangqiao Village, and if something happened, it could bring misfortune.
"How much would it cost to build a bridge? If both villages contribute half, then when it's divided among so many villagers, each family wouldn't have to pay much, right? This is a bridge everyone needs to cross," Xiao Lihua thought this was something anyone could understand. As long as there was a bit of conscience, they wouldn't let the people from the other village bear the entire cost. Right now, it was just the village chief from Shangqiao Village discussing this; she didn't know what the villagers there were thinking.
Xie Youshun said, "The river is quite deep and wide. If we want to build a wooden bridge for vehicles, it would wear out too easily; we can only build a stone bridge. Constructing a stone bridge isn't a small expense. I heard that in a neighboring county, building a stone bridge cost five hundred taels of silver."
"Five hundred taels?!"
Xiao Lihua's eyes widened at that figure. It wouldn't even cost several dozen taels of silver to build a few brick houses, yet constructing a stone bridge costs so much silver. No wonder Shangqiao Village was unwilling to contribute half of the money.
Xie Youshun nodded and said, "That river is slightly wider than ours. To build a stone bridge here would probably cost around four hundred taels. Plus hiring craftsmen, each village would need to spend at least over two hundred taels. Our village has just over eighty households, and Shangqiao Village has less than a hundred; each household would have to contribute two taels of silver. Right now, two taels of silver is quite a lot for one household."
Two taels of silver could last quite a while.
Thinking about those families forced into labor who couldn't gather five taels of silver, two taels being half of five would surely make them reluctant to part with it. Xiao Lihua thought that life for peasant families in ancient times was truly tough; they had to save on food and clothing daily, and when faced with major issues, it became even harder.
Regardless of how this situation turned out, Xiao Lihua began preparing to make soy sauce. She soaked the soybeans first. While both Xiaqiao Village and Shangqiao Village were in turmoil over silver, Xiao Lihua was more focused on making money.
The next day, people from Shangqiao Village came again to discuss this matter and hear Xiaqiao Village's response. Naturally, Xiaqiao Village still refused to agree. This time, the people from Xiaqiao Village surrounded those from Shangqiao Village, and both sides nearly got into a fight. In the end, the people from Shangqiao Village left as if fleeing for their lives, threatening that if Xiaqiao Village didn't fix the bridge, the two villages would no longer interact in the future.
That afternoon, many women who had married into Shangqiao Village returned home crying from Xiaqiao Village. Even some women who had married into other villages came back in tears; their mothers-in-law were all women who had married out from Shangqiao Village. This was also an order from their families back in Shangqiao Village. Life was better in Shangqiao Village; daughters married out remained close with their families and did whatever their families asked them to do. The women who married into Shangqiao Village didn't want to be divorced either; they all rushed back home causing a scene and demanding that their families provide silver.
Xiaqiao Village erupted in chaos all at once. The Xie family wasn't spared from this turmoil either; the village chief's daughter-in-law came demanding to break off the engagement, claiming that the Xie family's morals were poor and that the daughter-in-law was unruly while their daughter was not virtuous. The daughter-in-law naturally referred to Xiao Lihua while the daughter referred to Auspicious. They said they couldn't accept girls raised in such an environment and asked Ruyi to find another set of in-laws.
Xie Youshun and Xiao Lihua were called over, and members of the Wang Clan pointed at Xiao Lihua's nose and scolded her for ruining Ruyi's prospects.
Xiao Lihua understood the situation and said, "I have been married into the Xie Family for seven or eight years, and Ruyi has only been engaged for a few years. When my reputation was poor a few years ago, the Gao Family was already engaged to Ruyi. Now that I have changed my temperament, the Gao Family is dissatisfied? This is unreasonable. Don't blame everything on me; I'm not a fool. Mother-in-law, you have scolded me for half a day, but you haven't said anything wrong about Auspicious. If we're talking about unvirtuousness, she is the most unvirtuous one, right? At least I haven't caused any of my sisters-in-law to lose their children, nor do I come back to my family to take advantage of them every day. I certainly haven't rummaged through my sister-in-law's house to frame my nephew."
The Wang Clan couldn't refute what Xiao Lihua said and started crying loudly.
"My poor Ruyi, being harmed like this and still can't speak up. Where can we seek justice for this—"
"Enough! Mother, stop making baseless accusations. Everyone knows that the Gao Family's decision to break off the engagement has nothing to do with my wife; they never thought highly of Ruyi in the first place. They are using this bridge incident as an excuse to withdraw their proposal. What good does it do for you to make a fuss with us? Can you bring this engagement back?"
Xie Youshun said to the Wang Clan, feeling that it had nothing to do with his wife and that scolding her was truly unfair.
Wang Clan replied, "I'm not making a fuss. You go to Shangqiao Village and tell the Gao Family not to break off the engagement! Aren't you capable? You go! If you don't go, I'll die in front of you!"
"I'm not going. I said from the beginning that this engagement was not good, but you insisted on it. Now you want me to go and talk? I'm not going." Xie Youshun got angry.
At that moment, a loud noise came from the inner room, startling everyone in the Hall. They exchanged glances and hurriedly rushed into the adjacent room.
Ruyi had hanged herself. This incident terrified the entire Xie Family; fortunately, they discovered it in time and she was unharmed. However, the members of the Xie Family were driven mad by this incident, and all the men grabbed farming tools and headed towards Shangqiao Village.
The author has something to say: I can only update this much today~~
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