CHAPTER 47: CHAPTER 47: THE ZHAO FAMILY

"My dear, this time it’s different!" Zhao Ergou rushed forward to stop her, seeing the situation. Those collecting debts before were just thugs from the gambling den, but today it’s different!

Zhao Shi didn’t listen to him at all and pushed him aside directly: "You have the audacity to come back? I’m telling you, if you want to gamble, go ahead, but if you don’t have money, go dig coal with those from the casino! Everything in this house is the old woman’s dowry; even if the government comes, they can’t touch a thing!"

Chen Muxue found it amusing: "All your dowry? Take out the property deeds, let me see whose name is on them."

Staring intently, Zhao Shi finally realized the one who came today wasn’t some three-five roughneck from the casino but rather a delicate-looking pretty girl. She paused for a moment, then chuckled disdainfully.

"A young girl like you coming here, could it be that you’re looking to become a concubine in my house?" She eyed Chen Muxue up and down.

The villagers behind them, having seen Zhao Ergou’s reaction earlier, now heard Zhao Shi’s words and couldn’t help but chuckle quietly, none speaking up.

"You—" Chen Changgui was the first to lose his temper. This Zhao Shi must be blind, spouting nonsense about their own Sect Leader?

Chen Muxue held him back and sighed: "I came today for nothing more than to collect the eighty taels Zhao Ergou owes our Changfu."

"Eighty taels?!" Zhao Ergou exclaimed out loud, and every villager behind him couldn’t help but shout out in amazement.

Usually, Zhao Ergou’s gambling debts, just one or two taels, would be astonishing enough, but today it’s eighty taels!

Even if you sold Big Fu, at most you might get eight taels?

In the village, one or two taels of silver were enough to cover a family’s expenses for a year.

Chen Muxue carefully counted on her fingers: "Indeed, you borrowed money from Changfu’s aunt and never repaid it. Factoring in the interest, plus the default penalties, and the interest on the penalties, it sums up to eighty taels—I even knocked off six taels for you."

What kind of default penalty and interest could be so high as to roll up to eighty taels?!

The villagers couldn’t help but marvel at Zhao Ergou’s audacity to borrow, seeing his gambling as slightly measured before, but unexpectedly borrowing from high-interest loans directly!

And he didn’t even choose a lenient lender, borrowing straight from a cultivation person. Let’s see how he plans to squirm out of this!

"Sect Leader, master! Even if you kill and flay me, I won’t have eighty taels!" Zhao Ergou knelt down with a thud again.

Zhao Shi ignored him, shouting loudly, "Murder! Robbery!"

Her voice was more grating than a pig being slaughtered.

Chen Muxue just found it amusing; does she rely on this tactic to shirk casino debt collectors?

Seeing Chen Muxue unmoved, Zhao Shi directly placed a kitchen knife against her own neck: "If you want money today, you’ll have to step over the old woman’s corpse!"

Chen Muxue narrowed her eyes and saw clearly the overlapping, crisscrossed scars on Zhao Shi’s neck; it turns out this kitchen knife isn’t for blocking but specifically for threatening suicide?

However, this village woman has quite the skill at controlling strength, having cut herself so many times yet never having caused any trouble.

"You have no shame! Selling your own nephew, you must cough up what’s been eaten!" Chen Changgui grabbed Changfu’s hand with one hand while pointing at Zhao Shi with the other in reproach.

Only then did Zhao Shi realize the dark-faced boy was her own nephew: "Big Fu? Oh heavens, nephew wants to kill his aunt! Blood nephew commits murder!"

She thought, who’s not protective of some face around these parts? No matter how people see it today, later when it circulates, after shedding a few more tears, she’ll appear the victim. As long as she’s a victim, some fool will defend her. If the opponent cares about their own face, they wouldn’t dare complications, especially with a male child, who’ll someday take a wife?