Chapter 2: Beating Him
Mrs. Qian had almost finished shedding tears and caught her breath. She then opened the box and retrieved a small container from the bottom to reveal the money to her son and daughter.
It was a string of money, quite heavy, with only two small pieces of silver, the remnants of the house.
The family only had copper coins saved, and upon seeing this money, Mrs. Qian couldn't help but wipe away her tears.
After counting the money, she realized that there were only nine coins. The two pieces of silver only added up to one and a half.
Mrs. Qian also took the money box from the bedside table. Inside was the money for daily expenses. During this time, the autumn harvest was in full swing, and the third and fourth sons went to work at the landlord's house, earning money and giving it to her. She hadn't finished counting and storing the money in the cabinet.
But this part of the money was not much either; all neatly strung together. One hundred wen per string, and ten strings made one coin.
Their luck was really bad because there were only six strings of money, and there were still two or three dozen wen of loose change at the bottom of the box.
Mrs. Qian looked at her daughter and then at her son. As the cries outside grew louder, she got up and handed all the money to her son to take outside, while she held her daughter's hand and went out.
Seeing her mother come out with the money box, Zhou Lilang breathed a sigh of relief, almost unable to hold back his tears.
Manbao saw this clearly and was very angry with her fourth brother.
In the village, there were also gamblers. The third uncle's family, who used to be the third wealthiest in the neighborhood, faced a setback when their son lost a significant amount of money in gambling six months ago. He brought the gamblers back and sold his wife and children to pay off the debt.
Their eldest niece was two years older than her and was good friends with her, so she remembered that gambling was a dangerous activity. It might not take her life, but it would definitely take the lives of loved ones.
Their father and mother had taught their brothers not to gamble, but now it was their turn.
Manbao was angry and stomped on Zhou Lilang's face, causing him to cry out, "Younger sister, younger sister, don't step on me." "I know I was wrong!"
Mrs. Qian did not stop her, but said to her husband, "We don't have enough money; we're still two and a half short."
Mr. Zhou looked worried, and Mrs. Qian glanced at the three daughters-in-law and asked, "How much do each of you have at home?" Bring it out. Consider it a loan to your fourth brother, and he will have to pay it back in the future.
Xiao Qianshi, Fengshi, and Heshi went to visit their husbands. Upon seeing their husbands' troubled expressions, each woman took her children to withdraw money.
The Zhou family had not divided their property, so all the money they earned had to be handed over. The food and drinks were all communal. Xiao Qianshi and Mr. Zhou had agreed a long time ago that they wanted to divide the property. However, they had to wait until all of their children were married before doing so.
But Mrs. Qian also understood that married sons and unmarried sons were distinct, and they needed to have some money available.
So, she had always been lenient with the harvest in the fields. However, only 60% of the money earned from other sources was hers to keep, while the remaining 40% was kept by the family.
For example, the eldest daughter-in-law, Xiao Qianshi, assisted in the kitchen at the school and earned a minimum of one hundred wen per month. Apart from the sixty wen she handed over, the rest of the money belonged to her.
Similarly, the second daughter-in-law, Lao Er, had acquired carpentry skills while working at the landlord's house and was also skilled in weaving bamboo baskets. In her spare time, she could sell these items at the market to earn money.
As for the third daughter-in-law, Lao San, she worked diligently and was favored by the steward at the landlord's residence. Whenever there was work, he would call on her so that she could also earn some money.
As for the remaining three younger sons, Lao Si was not reliable as he was lying on the ground. Lao Wu and Lao Liu were still young. If they had any money, they would either be coaxed by their mother or their sister, or they would ask their second brother to buy candy at the market. Even if their clothes were searched, they probably wouldn't find two wens.
Mrs. Qian didn't bother to search for them.
The three daughters-in-law quickly brought out their personal funds, but it was insufficient. They were still two strings short.
Mrs. Qian looked at the head of the household and her sons.
Xiao Qianshi was the first to break down, sitting on the ground and patting her legs, saying, "Mother, we really don't have any more." We've used the money we had set aside for the Mid-Autumn Festival to purchase pastries. This will ruin the family!
Mrs. Qian was angry and patted her, asking, "Why are you crying?" I'm not dead yet. "We've survived famine years, so why worry about these two hundred wen?"
Manbao thought for a moment and ran back to the main house. She found a silver locket in her treasure box and gave it to Mrs. Qian, saying, "Mother, you can use mine."
Mrs. Qian's expression changed drastically as she immediately snatched the silver lock and put it away, saying angrily, "This cannot be given away." This was... this was made by your father and me. The Taoist said, "You have a precious life and you need something to nourish it." This is for enhancing your life.
Mr. Zhou also said, "It cannot be given away."
The thug laughed, "So, a longevity lock is more important than your son's life, huh?" I say, are you going to give it or not? We're almost out of time, and we have to return to the county town. "If we can't make it back, will you be responsible for our food and lodging for the night?"
The thugs behind him immediately started to move, rummaging and stomping around the yard. "Hurry up and give us the money." "It's only right to repay debts."
People from the gambling den had never been so aggressive before. How could Zhou Dalang allow them to search his house? He quickly went to stop them.
Zhou Erlang and Zhou Sanlang stopped holding Zhou Silang and went to help their older brother.
Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang teamed up with their brothers, and the villagers of Qili Village naturally couldn't bear to see their fellow villagers being bullied, so they all stepped forward to intervene.
Surprisingly, the thugs had never seen so many siblings in a gambler's family before. Seeing the villagers surrounding them, they didn't dare to be too aggressive. They just pushed and shoved a little, but their anger couldn't be contained.
The village chief sighed and stopped everyone, saying, "Alright, it's just two hundred wen." Jin, please go and borrow it for me first. Just remember to pay me back later.
After saying that, he sent his son to fetch the money.
The money was gathered from various sources and filled the box. Apart from the two small pieces of silver, all the coins were copper. The thugs didn't mind and proceeded to count the copper coins before stuffing them into a bag.
But in the end, they tossed the silver pieces and said, "This silver can be exchanged for more copper coins." "You should know that in the money exchange, this one or two silver can now be exchanged for twelve strings of money, so…"
Zhou Dalang immediately kicked Zhou Silang and asked, "Did you gamble with copper coins or silver?"
"Copper coins, it was copper coins."
Zhou Dalang punched him directly and angrily asked, "Were they really copper coins?"
Zhou Silang, with a swollen face and a nosebleed, kept wailing, "It was copper coins, it was copper coins." "They lied to you, they lied to you."
The thugs noticed that Zhou Dalang was not holding back and that Zhou Silang had been beaten. Reluctantly, they put away the silver pieces and nodded, saying, "Alright, it's copper coins, it's copper coins."
After that, they turned to leave.
Zhou Erlang stood in front of them and asked, "What about the IOU?"
The thug sneered and handed it to him, patting his shoulder, "People like you can't afford to offend us." It's best to keep an eye on your own brothers; otherwise, your luck might not be so good next time. "In this world, many families have been destroyed by gambling."
The Zhou brothers all looked unfriendly toward Zhou Silang.
Zhou Silang crouched on the ground. Upon noticing the expressions on his brothers' faces, he buried his head and refrained from crying too loudly.
The thugs finally left.
Zhou Dalang and his eldest son bid farewell to the villagers, expressing gratitude for their assistance, particularly to the village chief. They repeatedly mentioned their desire to invite him to dinner sometime.
After seeing the people off, Zhou Dalang had Zhou Liuliu close the door. He then picked up the carrying pole to continue beating his son.
Mrs. Qian was afraid of scaring her daughter, so she took her back to their room early. However, it didn't have much effect, as the child kicked off her shoes and climbed onto her bed, eagerly watching her father scold her fourth brother.
Mrs. Qian was not feeling well. After all the commotion, she was both heartbroken and tired. Instead of stopping her daughter from watching, she asked the three daughters-in-law to prepare some food. They hadn't eaten anything since morning, and while the adults could endure it, the children couldn't.
After arranging everything, she called her daughter over and put the silver locket on her, saying, "Didn't I tell you not to take it off?" This is to suppress your life force, given to you by your father and me. "You must not take it off in the future, understand?"
Manbao reluctantly said, "It's uncomfortable to wear."
Mrs. Qian thought for a moment and said, "You can take it off at night, but you must wear it during the day."
Manbao reluctantly agreed and then asked, "Mother, what about our fourth brother?"
"Leave him be." Let your father beat him. Only after a few years of hardship will he learn not to gamble. "It's a foolish game that deserves punishment."
Manbao said, "If he dies from the beating, it would be better than dying at the hands of the gamblers." "At least we would save some money."
Mrs. Qian choked up and said, "You're just like your father, not sparing anyone."
"Really?" Is my father that clever?
Mrs. Qian didn't answer the question but said, "He must be beaten." Without a heartbeat, he won't remember. "If he repeats this in the future, how much money will he cost the family?"
"The fourth brother doesn't remember being beaten, even when he's severely injured." Unless we break his legs so he can't walk.
"That won't do." "We'll have to support him in the future," Mrs. Qian expressed concern that Old Zhou might physically harm his son to the extent of causing disability. She sighed and shouted out the window, "Alright, even if he's beaten to a pulp, we'll still have to pay for medical expenses." "We don't have a single penny left in the house."
The sound of slapping gradually faded away as Zhou Dalang glared at his son, kicked him, and then instructed his eldest and second son to drag him back into the room.
Manbao then said to her mother, "Mother, I have a good idea that will punish him without costing the family any money."
"What idea?"
"Let the fourth brother go and clear the land." "Then, allow him to plant crops on the land and use the money he earns to repay the family, his brothers, and sisters-in-law." He owes the family, his brothers, and sisters-in-law fifteen taels of silver.
Mrs. Qian was very puzzled. "Clear the land?" "How did you come up with that?"
Manbao said, "Didn't the village chief mention that the government wants us to clear the land, and the land we clear will belong to us?" "We won't have to pay taxes for the first three years."
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