CHAPTER 330: CHAPTER 322: DO YOU RECOGNIZE THESE PEOPLE? (6)

Li Yuzhu noticed Mu Yuanxiu’s calm demeanor and quietly asked, "Mu Yuanxiu, do you recognize these people?"

"Yes, they are from a nearby village, the local bullies there." he whispered.

Li Yuzhu understood, the Tian Family had offended the village bullies...

She didn’t understand the enmity between the Tian Family and the others, so she stayed silent and remained seated quietly.

However, the arriving people had noticed the three of them.

The young man leading them swept his gaze over Li Xing’an and Mu Yuanxiu, then looked at Li Yuzhu.

His eyes were lecherous.

Mu Yuanxiu, noticing the young man’s gaze, stood up, blocking Li Yuzhu from view.

Li Xing’an also noticed the vile expressions of these people and moved a chair in front of Li Yuzhu, sitting down.

With the two gatekeepers blocking the way, no one could see Li Yuzhu.

Li Yuzhu, "..." She wasn’t afraid, after all, but the two were being overly cautious.

Still, having someone to protect her was something she was happy to accept.

She saw that these people were also looking at the Tian Family’s daughter. Li Yuzhu pulled her over.

Tian Axiang shivered and glanced at her with grateful eyes.

"I say, Mrs. Tian Huang, you are unreasonable. It was agreed that if you didn’t bring two hundred taels of silver within three days, your daughter would be sent to my house. Three days have passed, where is the silver? And your daughter? I haven’t seen them. What now? Are you trying to back out?" One of the men sneered loudly.

Wanting the Tian Family to clear the debt with their daughter?

No wonder Lady Tian and her daughter were so pale with fear.

Li Yuzhu held Tian Axiang’s hand and whispered, "Come, let’s go inside."

Taking advantage of Li Xing’an and Mu Yuanxiu’s cover, she quickly pulled Tian Axiang into the house.

Once inside, Tian Axiang still looked frightened.

Li Yuzhu closed the door and said, "Alright, leave the matters outside to them to handle. You just stay here."

To calm Tian Axiang, Li Yuzhu went to the table and poured her a bowl of water. "Here, have a sip of water."

Tian Axiang, like a wooden figure, took the bowl and drank the water.

After drinking the water, her mind cleared a bit.

"Thank you." Tian Axiang put the bowl back on the table and let out a long sigh.

Li Yuzhu guided Tian Axiang to sit down.

"Ah Xiang, who exactly are these people that came? How did your family end up owing so much money to their family?" Li Yuzhu asked Tian Axiang, "Two hundred taels of silver is no small sum."

She wanted to ask Tian Dawang for help, but with trouble at the Tian Family, it’s really unfortunate timing.

Tian Axiang smiled bitterly, "It’s not my family, it’s my maternal grandfather’s family that owes the money."

Li Yuzhu was surprised, "Your maternal grandfather’s family owes the money, so why are they coming to your family?"

Tian Axiang lowered her head, twisting the hem of her skirt with her hands, "It’s because something happened at my uncle’s house. Two years ago, my uncle and eldest cousin went up the mountain to chop wood; they encountered a storm, the mountain paths were slippery, and they fell off a cliff into the river below."

"..."

"My maternal grandfather’s family searched for many days without finding them. My grandfather had no way out and had to ask the Chen Family, who had a big boat, to look for them. They agreed to search but demanded two hundred and fifty taels of silver for the salvage. My maternal grandfather’s family scraped together only fifty taels."

"Of those fifty taels, over thirty were borrowed from families in the village," Tian Axiang sighed.

Li Yuzhu was very shocked, "Two hundred and fifty taels of silver for salvage fees? That’s an exorbitant price!" Charging two hundred and fifty taels, they’re doing a perfectly despicable job!

Tian Axiang said, "Without paying so much, the Chen Family wouldn’t retrieve them. My uncle and eldest cousin... they were tied with ropes, hung at the back of the boat, and dragged through the water."

"..."

"The Chen Family said if we didn’t pay, they would throw my uncle and cousin into the wider river downstream, making it even harder to find them. My grandparents fainted on the spot."

Li Yuzhu sucked in a breath of cold air, "Isn’t this extortion with a corpse?"

Tian Axiang said, "I heard from my mother that their family does this kind of business. In the big river in front of my maternal grandfather’s village, people drown every year. The river flows fast, and it’s wide, making it hard for anyone else to retrieve bodies, only their family can, and they charge for it."

"..."

"If you pay too little, their family won’t care, and they can’t let their family soak in the water forever, so the families of the victims have to grit their teeth and agree."

"..."

Li Yuzhu raised an eyebrow, "Even if only one person drowns in the big river each year, his family can easily earn over a hundred taels annually. That’s more than the income from farming in the village. His family must be quite wealthy, right?"

Extorting money over a corpse and profiting from the dead, do they have any conscience?

Well, people who do evil deeds have no conscience, so why would they feel guilty?

Tian Axiang scoffed, "Exactly! It’s said that his family has five hundred acres of land, fifteen large brick houses, three cows, one mule, one donkey, plus a big boat bought for two hundred taels of silver, and they even hire two long-term workers."

Li Yuzhu said, "Goodness, they’re truly wealthy!" After a pause, she continued, "Ah Xiang, you still haven’t said why your maternal grandfather’s family owed money, and now it’s affecting your family? What’s going on? And why are they seeking to take you as collateral?"

Tian Axiang grimaced, "My mother only has one brother, my uncle, and cousin are gone. My aunt ran away that same day, and for three years, there’s been no news. My three younger cousins are even younger than me, and can’t earn money. My grandparents are elderly and can’t earn money either. My mother said she would repay it." She glanced outside, the argument in the front yard growing fiercer. "My father doesn’t know about this yet, he thinks my grandparents managed to repay the debt."

Li Yuzhu widened her eyes, "And your mother cannot repay, so they want to take you as collateral?"

Tian Axiang nodded, clutching her skirt tightly, her face filled with anxiety.

Li Yuzhu didn’t know what to say.

When facing such issues with their natal family, no woman can stay uninvolved.

It’s just unfortunate that Tian Axiang’s mother’s limited abilities and her boasting dragged her husband and daughter into this.

"Mrs. Tian Huang, last summer, you said your family had no money and would repay after the harvest. We’ve waited until winter without seeing a single coin. This January, I came to ask again, and you said you would repay after selling the wheat. Yesterday, I went to your parents’ house, and what do you know, all their wheat was sold, so where’s the money? Eh?" Outside, the Chen Family’s people shouted again.

"That wheat was used to pay taxes, taken by the village chief," Lady Tian sighed, "Please allow us another month."

"Bah! Month after month, Mrs. Tian Huang, are you trying to back out?"

"Dad, why bother messing with this woman? If she won’t pay up, let her give us either the house or the person, or we can dig up her brother and nephews from their graves and throw them into the big river to let her fetch them herself!"

"Brother is right, dad, let’s go unearth the graves."

"Dad, brother, second brother, what about our loss for setting out the boat? Should we just leave it at that? I think we should have her give us her daughter and house as collateral for the debt!"

"Dream on! I’ll see which one of you dares to take my daughter!" Tian Dawang shouted in rage.

Immediately, there was a commotion of fighting, but it was unclear who hit whom.

Who won, who lost.

Inside the room, Tian Axiang was terrified, not knowing what to do.

Something was thrown at the front door with a loud bang, slamming the door open.

Li Yuzhu looked outside.

She saw the Tian family’s father, son, and Lady Tian fighting with the four who came.

Those four were as robust as bears, no wonder they dared to demand such high prices.

Li Xing’an and Mu Yuanxiu stood aside, protecting the two little ones of the Tian Family, not joining the fight.

One of the men saw that the door was open and looked toward Li Yuzhu, grinning with a mouthful of yellow teeth, "Little lady, you still dare to hide? Come on, come on, your mother can’t repay the debt, so she’s using you as collateral. I happen to need a wife for the marriage rites, let’s go?"

This was the youngest among the four who came, around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, tall and brawny, but unfortunately, his entire left cheek was marked with a bluish birthmark, and his mouth was crooked, making him rather unattractive.

He looked at Li Yuzhu with eyes that gleamed.

Li Yuzhu, "..." Is this guy blind? I’m not from the Tian family, you’ve got the wrong person.

"No mistake, it’s you, hehe." The crooked-mouth man looked lecherous, "Didn’t expect Mrs. Tian Huang’s daughter to be so pretty, I’m lucky."

He rolled up his sleeves and walked over to the doorway with a grin.

Inside, Tian Axiang was trembling all over with fright.

Li Yuzhu, however, remained calm, her fingers already pinched a silver needle.

As long as this man dared to come close, she would stab him with the needle.

Let him know what it feels like.

Li Xing’an and Mu Yuanxiu noticed what was happening, their expressions changed simultaneously, and without a word, they rushed forward together, throwing punches at the man’s face.