CHAPTER 331: CHAPTER 323: YOU’VE GOT THE WRONG PERSON. (7)

"You little bastard, are you blind? Is that someone you can covet?" Li Xing’an shouted angrily.

Mu Yuanxiu said nothing more and directly kicked him, displaying his own anger.

Unwilling to be outdone, Li Xing’an also followed with another kick, "Go and dream your spring and autumn dreams, that’s your great-aunt you idiot!"

Although the man with the crooked mouth was big, he couldn’t fight against the extremely enraged Li Xing’an and Mu Yuanxiu.

The man with the crooked mouth was knocked to the ground by the two of them.

Li Xing’an and Mu Yuanxiu raised their fists, almost beating him to death.

"That’s my younger sister, I’ll let you look, let you look! Even the Emperor can’t take a second glance, who do you think you are?" Li Xing’an cursed as he beat him.

Mu Yuanxiu, though silent, was even more fierce with his blows.

Beating the man with the crooked mouth until he had no ability to fight back, only able to scream in pain.

Two against one, a complete victory.

The man with the crooked mouth was completely bewildered, wondering why he, a big guy, couldn’t beat these two skinny youths?

"Alright Mrs. Tian Huang, not repaying money, and even getting people to beat my son? Eldest, Second, quickly go help the third! If we don’t collect the debt from Mrs. Tian Huang today, does the Old Chen Family even have a face left? How can we continue living in the village?" The oldest of the four, a man in his fifties, as big as a bull and with a voice like thunder, shouted angrily.

At his shout, the other two young men rushed towards Li Xing’an and Mu Yuanxiu.

Now it became three against two.

Three strong men against two frail youths.

Uncle Tian said anxiously, "Oh no, those are guests, Landlord Chen, you’ve got the wrong people."

Old Chen didn’t listen, since his son had suffered, he had to get revenge.

Tian Dawang pushed Old Chen away, trying to run and help Li Xing’an and Mu Yuanxiu.

But he had just lifted his hand when Old Chen slapped him aside.

Uncle Tian was even less able to help.

Tian Dawang’s two young sons were so scared they cried out.

Lady Tian looked worried, not knowing what to do.

Li Yuzhu was also worried about Li Xing’an and Mu Yuanxiu; they shouldn’t have gotten involved in this mess.

She had a bright idea, took out a handful of silver needles from the cloth bag she carried with her.

These needles could even take down ten big men.

She opened the door and walked over in large strides.

The people were tangled in a chaotic fight, while Li Yuzhu looked for an opportunity.

Mu Yuanxiu saw her first and shouted, "Yu Zhu, stand aside."

"I’ll help you guys," she said with a cunning smile, holding a needle.

"No need." Suddenly, Mu Yuanxiu swung a punch, knocking Chen the First to the ground. Right after, with a quick leg maneuver, Chen the Second was also struck down.

Li Xing’an laughed heartily, "Wow, kid, I didn’t know you were this tough?"

Mu Yuanxiu glanced at him, the corners of his mouth slightly curved.

The remaining Chen the Third, had already been defeated by Li Xing’an and Mu Yuanxiu before, and now was completely dumbfounded.

Chen the First noticed all three of his sons were defeated and sneered coldly, "Alright, Mrs. Tian Huang, not only do you not repay your debt, you even call for help? I’m giving you an ultimatum, if you don’t repay the debt, I’m going to the government office to sue! Let’s see if you can beat the officials then!"

Lady Tian became even more flustered, shaking her hands in fear, "No, no, no, Landlord Chen, I didn’t hire any help. I didn’t hire help; these are guests at my home."

"Whether they’re guests or help, in any case, if you dare hit people without repaying money, just wait for the lawsuit! Hmph!" finished Old Chen, then told his sons, "Let’s go, we’re going to the government office to sue them!"

Going to the government office would mean getting flogged and still having to repay the money. As written clearly in black and white, if unable to pay, they would have to mortgage the house, land, and even their daughter as collateral for the debt.

Mrs. Tian Huang never expected the harvests to get worse year by year, and for three years, she had not saved even an ounce of silver.

She ran over and grabbed Old Chen in a plea, "Landlord Chen, please be kind, don’t go to the government office, I will repay the debt."

Old Chen sneered, "Where’s the money?"

Mrs. Tian Huang was stunned.

The fighting ceased, and Tian Dawang finally had a chance to speak. He grabbed Lady Tian and demanded, "You wretched woman, quickly tell us how you ended up owing the Chen Family money?"

Uncle Tian also said in urgency, "Daughter-in-law, quickly tell us, don’t just cry. How did you come to owe two hundred taels of silver? We never saw you bring any money back."

Lady Tian, overcome with anxiety, only cried.

Crying so much that Tian Dawang couldn’t help but hit her again twice with his fists.

Old Chen blocked him, "Tian Dawang, don’t beat her to death. I’m still waiting for her to pay me back."

"What money does this woman owe you?" Tian Dawang shouted angrily.

Old Chen said, "Three years ago, her brother and nephew fell into the river. Her family couldn’t recover them and came to my house for help. We provided the boat and the manpower to fish them out. As per the prior agreement, it was two hundred sixty taels for the two of them. She kept crying and bargaining, and we finally settled for two hundred fifty taels. But when we returned the people to her, she only gave us fifty taels.

At that time, she wrote a note stating that if she didn’t pay the remaining two hundred taels in three years, she would use her house, property, and daughter as collateral. Look, here’s the note, written clearly and plainly. Her fingerprint is on it, along with the village chief’s signature and fingerprints as witnesses."

Old Chen fished a paper note out from his chest and shook it out for everyone to see.

The note indeed detailed what Old Chen had just said.

Clearly written in black and white, with the signature of Lady Tian: Mrs. Tian Huang, Tian Huangliu. The signature of the village chief from her village was also on it.

"Our family has always been fair in business; three years have passed, and we haven’t even collected any interest. It’s unreasonable for them to renege on the debt, isn’t it?" Old Chen snorted coldly.

Two hundred taels!

Tian Dawang’s head buzzed.

In anger, he started punching Lady Tian, "You damned woman, you actually went and borrowed money behind my back? Then you should pay it back yourself! Bringing them to our house, what’s the point of that? I’ll beat you to death!"

Tian Dawang punched Lady Tian twice.

Lady Tian screamed miserably from the beating.

Uncle Tian, too, stopped persuading and stomped his foot in frustration.

"You weren’t home at the time, who was I supposed to talk to? I had no choice." Lady Tian cried out, "My parents are old, my sister-in-law ran away, and there are only three young nephews. If I didn’t handle it, who would? We couldn’t just leave my younger brother and eldest nephew soaking in the water forever."

"..."

"These three years, I haven’t asked you for money at all. I’ve been saving up myself. They came here on their own; I didn’t call them."

Lady Tian cried in grievance.

Tian Dawang was both angry and resentful, almost hitting her again.

Li Yuzhu stepped out of the house and said, "Brother Tian, even if you beat her to death, the money won’t be settled. We should discuss what to do."

Chen Laosan, with his crooked mouth, kept staring at Li Yuzhu, almost drooling.

"Discuss what? If they can’t pay back the money, they can use the house, property, and people as collateral. Isn’t it written clearly? Either her family’s house or her husband’s house, plus some land, take any one as collateral, and add the person... Father, let them give me this girl, and the debt will be cleared, right?"

He squinted and pointed at Li Yuzhu.

Li Xing’an and Mu Yuanxiu both pushed him away.

"Dream on, she’s my sister! She’s not from the Tian family!" Li Xing’an shouted angrily.

"How... how is she not from the Tian family?" Chen Laosan seemed incredulous.

"Are you still not clear? Do you need a couple more punches to wake up?" Li Xing’an sneered coldly.

"Mrs. Tian Huang, where is your daughter?" Old Chen sneered, "I remember your daughter is almost thirteen, about the same age as this girl, right?" He pointed at Li Yuzhu.

Mrs. Tian Huang trembled with fear.

Inside, Tian Axiang was even more scared, not daring to even let out a big breath, fearing the Chen Family would rush in and drag her out.

Although the Chen Family was wealthy, one of the wealthiest in the village.

But the crooked-mouthed Chen Laosan was almost thirty, and his temper was bad. She didn’t want to marry someone like him and be beaten to death in the future.

Besides, she wasn’t even thirteen yet; she didn’t want to marry so young!

Uncle Tian and Tian Dawang stomped their feet in anger, wishing they could beat Lady Tian to death.

Lady Tian said nothing, only continued to cry.

"Hey, why is everyone so quiet now? Enough, let’s talk in the government office." Old Chen said impatiently.

As the quarrel continued chaotically.

Someone ran from outside the courtyard, crying out loudly, "Grandpa, Dad, Second Uncle, Third Uncle, something happened, something happened! Mom is in trouble, hurry and go take a look!"

An eleven or twelve-year-old girl, gasping for breath, rushed into the courtyard.

The four Chen Family members immediately headed toward the courtyard gate.

Eldest Chen, ignoring the pain from the beating, grabbed the girl’s arm, his face pale, and asked, "Da Nuan, what... what happened? What’s wrong with your mother?"

The girl cried, "Mom fell, she’s bleeding a lot, Dad, hurry and go take a look!"

She cried frantically, shocking the Chen family members into changing their expressions. They no longer cared about the Tian Family, all clamoring to ask the girl.

"What exactly happened, hurry and tell us."