“Wretched woman…”

“Two taels and thirty wen!”

“You think that just because you keep talking, we’ll actually give it to you…”

“Two taels and forty wen!”

“Pah…”

“Two taels and fifty wen!”

Every time Old Madam Liu opened her mouth to speak, Jian Xiu interrupted her and raised the price by ten wen.

“Wret—”

“Enough!” Old Man Zhang shouted.

“Two taels and sixty wen!”

Old Man Zhang: “…”

Old Madam Liu: “…” At this moment, she finally realized that Jian Xiu had been serious all along.

Looking at Old Man Zhang’s darkened face, Old Madam Liu suddenly felt pain all over her body.

Even her internal organs seemed to ache.

Hearing Jian Xiu’s words, Old Man Zhang wanted to bargain a little more, but the way Jian Xiu kept raising the price every time someone spoke made him hesitate.

His mouth opened and closed, but he dared not utter another word.

If he said anything else, the price might go up by another ten copper coins.

“You’re still not leaving? Or do you plan to stay the night? That’s fine too—you can sleep right here in the courtyard. I’ll just charge each of you another ten copper coins.”

Hearing this, Old Man Zhang thought Jian Xiu had been bluffing earlier about taking the money.

So without thinking, he quickly replied, “We’ll leave now! We’re going back right now!”

“Good, go home early and get some sleep. Take tonight to think about what you’ll say at the yamen tomorrow!” Jian Xiu said casually.

Old Man Zhang: “…”

“Oh, right. I forgot to mention—if the silver isn’t delivered tonight, it’ll be too late to bring it tomorrow, because I won’t accept it anymore. My ultimate goal is to ensure you receive the punishment you deserve.”

“You should know what kind of punishment I mean, right? And I’m not just talking about losing money—it’s the kind of punishment that affects both your body and your spirit. Of course, it might also ruin Datou’s future prospects.”

Hearing this, Old Man Zhang immediately glared at Old Madam Liu and snapped angrily, “Go get the silver!”

“But… but this… this wretched woman…”

“Two taels and seventy wen!” Jian Xiu interrupted again.

Old Madam Liu: “…”

Old Man Zhang: “…”

Seeing the situation unfold, Zhang Zhirong wasted no time and turned to Old Madam Liu, pleading, “Mother, I beg you, please go get the silver!”

Old Madam Liu: “…”

At this point, what other choice did she have?

No matter how unwilling she was, she had no other way out.

If she had just handed over the two taels at the beginning, none of this would have happened.

But now?

Just a few extra words from her mouth had cost them an additional seventy wen.

That seventy wen could have sustained their family for months!

Most of their food came from their own land, and if nothing unusual happened, they could go months without spending even a single copper coin.

Now, losing over two taels of silver all at once—how could she possibly accept it?

But what else could she do?

She couldn’t beat Jian Xiu, she couldn’t outmaneuver her, and she certainly couldn’t outtalk her…

At this moment, Old Madam Liu was filled with regret.

If only she hadn’t listened to the nonsense from the villagers and come here to stir up trouble, none of this would have happened.

And now, not only had she lost money, but she was also covered in bruises and would have to see a doctor for medicine.

That kick from that damned Jian Xiu had really hurt!

Thinking about it now, it truly wasn’t worth it.

Once Old Madam Liu left to fetch the silver, Old Man Zhang didn’t leave right away.

Now that he had witnessed Jian Xiu’s tactics firsthand, he wanted to personally see the silver handed over before he felt at ease.

“What? You’re not planning to put everything back where it was?”

Seeing that they hadn’t left, Jian Xiu spoke up again.

This time, she didn’t have to repeat herself. The group obediently put everything back where they had found it.

Jian Xiu stood with her arms crossed, watching them slowly clean up the mess in her courtyard.

“There’s no need to touch that. Just clean up here and inside the house.”

When Fang Miaojun started to move toward the pile of plantain and bamboo shoots they had gathered earlier, Jian Xiu quickly stopped her.

“Oh, okay, I won’t touch it!”

Fang Miaojun didn’t think too much about it. If Jian Xiu didn’t want her to clean it, that just made things easier for her.

When Old Madam Liu finally returned with the silver, Jian Xiu personally counted it and then smiled in satisfaction.

“Very good, not a single coin missing. I must say, I’m surprised—you actually know how to count?”

After collecting the money, she didn’t forget to mock them one last time.

As if remembering something, she addressed the group again.

“Consider today a lesson. Let it be clear to all of you—we, the fourth branch of the family, have nothing to do with you anymore. And I, Jian Xiu, am not someone you can mess with. Do you understand?”

The crowd: “…”

We already gave you the money.

Whatever you say, we’ll just go along with it.

Seeing that no one answered her, Jian Xiu didn’t mind.

She had already achieved her goal.

Once the people from the main family had left, Zhang Zhiyong and Zhang Haifei’s families also went home.

With all the commotion, it was already Hai Hour (9–11 PM).

Only then did Jian Xiu have time to look at Zhang Zixuan’s wheelchair.

“Get up for a moment. Let me fix it and see if I can repair it.”

However, Zhang Zixuan acted as if he hadn’t heard her and remained seated, unmoving.

Noticing this, Jian Xiu raised her head to look at him, only to see him staring at her bamboo basket, motionless.