Chapter 5: Settlement of Accounts and Repayment of Debts

Qian Changcai heard that his wife was beaten up by the Gu family’s wives and daughters-in-law, and he ran over with Gu Changshun and his son, only to hear the brigade leader shout loudly: “Sun Honghua and Qian Changcai, you two are really something! When Qian Xiaolan was arranged to live in your house, she brought her own food, she also earned work points, and there was also the five hundred yuan that the brigade compensated her parents for their sacrifice while escorting grain, this money is enough for a girl like her to eat for another ten years in your house.

 You took so much benefit from her parents, couldn’t you be a little nicer to her? You made her do all the work in your house, it seems like Xiaolan not only gave you money to spend, but also had to be your maid, letting you beat and scold her? What’s the difference between your behavior and that of landlords and wealthy merchants? Haven’t you seen what happened to those people in recent years? Or are you also going to experience the taste of being thrown rotten vegetables and stinky eggs?” Qian Changcai thought of the fate of those people, shivered all over, and quickly distanced himself.

“Brigade leader, you’re wrong! I didn’t touch Xiaolan with a finger, how many men in our brigade go home to do housework? Isn’t my behavior the same as everyone else? How can it be considered the behavior of a capitalist?” The brigade leader was immediately so angry that he blew his beard and glared at him.

 He pointed at Qian Changcai, turned to Qian Xiaolan, and said softly, “Xiaolan, what are your plans next? Are you going to continue living in their house and wait a few months to get married, or are you going to move out and squeeze into the educated youth point?” Good, this girl is finally tough. For the brigade leader’s question, Qian Xiaolan didn’t choose either: “Brigade leader, I want to move back to my own house.” Her house was at the foot of the mountain at the end of the village, it was very quiet and suitable for her now that she had a secret. Hu Guifen immediately objected: “No, no, your house hasn’t been lived in for five or six years, it must be desolate. Besides, there are no other villagers nearby, it’s not safe for a girl to live there alone.

” Qian Xiaolan thanked Hu Guifen for her kindness and said firmly: “I have been cleaning that house whenever I have time these years, it doesn’t need much cleaning to live in. I’m not afraid of being alone, ever since my parents died while escorting grain, I’ve been secretly practicing the martial arts my father taught me these years, I can definitely beat three or five strong men now! Besides, there are other people living nearby, isn’t there someone in the mule shed?” Everyone was shocked by her claim of being able to beat three or five strong men, they were stunned for a long time before they came to their senses.

 The eldest sister-in-law of the Gu family looked at her thin frame and couldn’t help but say: “Xiaolan, don’t brag, you’re so weak that a gust of wind could blow you down, how could you beat three or five men?” Everyone nodded. Qian Xiaolan knew they didn’t believe her, so she couldn’t help but look around, hoping to find an opportunity to prove herself.

The brigade leader was silent for a while and suggested: “Why don’t you continue living at Qian Changcai’s house, if they dare to bully you again, just come to me, I’ll deal with them.” Hu Guifen nodded in agreement: “Yeah, yeah, continue living there, if they dare to bully you again, tell me, I’ll bring Lao Ba’s brothers and sisters-in-law to teach them a lesson.

” As they were talking, they saw Qian Xiaolan suddenly run to the side, where someone was carrying two buckets towards them. Qian Xiaolan was eager to prove herself, when she saw the two buckets, she ran over quickly, but when she got closer, she realized that it was two buckets of manure! Instantly, she frowned, but thinking that as long as she could lift these two buckets of manure, she would be free, she held her breath and went over to take the two buckets of manure, lifting one in each hand and carrying them to their destination.

When she was done, she washed her hands in the water basin and walked towards the stunned crowd. “Brigade leader, Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, I can lift a bucket of manure with one hand and walk so far without even panting, that shows how strong I am, right? If you’re still not convinced, let the Gu brothers fight me.”

The three Gu brothers immediately stepped back. This was a female warrior, and she was also their future sister-in-law, they wouldn’t fight her. Finally, the brigade leader sighed and said: “Oh, well, then you can move back.” Qian Xiaolan happily thanked him. Sun Honghua’s face was ugly, all the housework in the house these years had been done by Qian Xiaolan, now that she wasn’t living in their house anymore, who would do the work? However, there was something that made her face even uglier.

 She saw Qian Xiaolan Walk up to her and reach out to her: “I’m moving out, shouldn’t my aunt return my parents’ money to me?” Hearing this, Sun Honghua and Qian Changcai said in unison: “No money, the money is all spent!” Hu Guifen and her daughters-in-law: “Shameless!” Qian Xiaolan curled her lips, took a branch, squatted down in front of Sun Honghua and her husband, and drew on the ground. “I’ve been putting up with you all these years just because of my father, you really think I’m stupid, that you can bully me, right? I’ve lived in your house for less than six years, every day I’ve had two meals of sweet potato porridge without any rice, the food I brought from home was enough for me to eat for two years.

 Then when I was thirteen, I ate your family’s food for a year, that’s more than seventy yuan. From the age of fourteen, I earned seven work points a day, the vegetables I ate were either wild vegetables I dug myself or vegetables I planted myself, how much money could I spend a day? Not a penny! Although I live in your house, I do your laundry, cook, serve tea, clean inside and out, and also grow vegetables, that’s enough to cover my rent. And the furniture you moved from my house, those are fine, after all, I’ve been living a hard life these years, but at least I’m safe, consider it compensation for you.

” Sun Honghua and her husband were so angry that they couldn’t speak, they could only stare at Qian Xiaolan with green faces. Qian Xiaolan ignored them, after finishing her calculations, she looked up at the brigade leader, whose mouth was twitching: “Brigade leader, my parents’ five hundred yuan, let them return four hundred yuan to me. My work points for half of this year have already been recorded in their house, so I don’t want them. And the vegetables in the vegetable garden, the three chickens I raised, and the pile of firewood in the backyard, I don’t want them either, consider it repayment for their kindness in taking me in.

” Hu Guifen secretly praised her, Qian Xiaolan calculated well, fearing that the brigade leader wouldn’t agree, she quickly said: “Xiaolan is such a good child, you’re being too kind to them. I heard that people used to pay fifteen or twenty yuan a month for a nanny, and they also provided food and accommodation, and didn’t earn work points.” After Hu Guifen said this, the brigade leader thought about it and agreed. He asked Sun Honghua to go home and get the money and give it to Qian Xiaolan.

Of course Sun Honghua didn’t agree, she rolled around and said that the money was all spent, there was no money, only her life. Qian Changcai also said that there was no money, the money was all used by Sun Honghua to subsidize her younger brother’s wife. Qian Xiaolan “hehe” smiled and said directly to the brigade leader: “Since they don’t have the money to return to me, I won’t make things difficult for them, I’ll use their things to offset it? If it’s not enough, deduct my work points.”