Chapter 6

When Ma Jinmei saw Wang Xiaocao asking for help from a younger generation, wasn’t this just adding fuel to the fire?

Xu Leshu looked at her and said, “For the sake of our relationship as neighbors and in the past, I’m giving you two choices.”

“The second is to compensate me for my medical expenses, food expenses, mental damages, 500 yuan and 50 kilograms of food coupons. In addition, Chen Meihong must leave here. I don’t want to see her in Jiangyuan City.”

Xu Leshu met Wang Xiaocao’s shocked eyes and said, “Aunt, my request is not too much, right?”

“Five hundred? You also need fifty kilograms of food coupons. If you don’t have them, just call the police. This is robbery.”

When Mrs. Chen heard that it wanted five hundred yuan, she refused outright.

Wang Xiaocao wanted to open her mouth to say something, but Old Lady Xu just said “Pooh”.

“We are still not happy about it. If it weren’t for my daughter’s kindness, she would have let your family pay for the medical expenses and food expenses because we are all neighbors and will see each other every day.”

“If my short-sighted daughter-in-law hadn’t let my granddaughter come back from the hospital yesterday, she would have had to stay in the hospital for more than half a month given her injuries.”

As he said this he glared at Ma Jinmei, who avoided his gaze.

“As for the food expenses, my granddaughter has lost so much blood. If she doesn’t take good care of it, she will suffer from a serious illness in the future. Your family won’t even pay for 500 yuan.”

“Then don’t say anything, just call the police. Your Chen Erya committed murder, let her go to jail for decades.”

“Mom, please save Arya. She can’t be arrested. If she is arrested, her life will be ruined.”

“She is also your granddaughter. How will people look at Arya in the future?”

Mrs. Chen pushed her away and scolded her harshly, “I don’t have a granddaughter like her. It’s all your fault. Look at what you taught her. It’s her fault if she’s ruined.”

“Since she dared to push someone down the stairs, she should be brave enough to bear the consequences herself. She should also be allowed to go in and be properly disciplined to correct her bad temper.”

Chen Meihong’s face was full of sarcasm. Look, this is her grandmother.

Wang Xiaocao cried and shook her head, kneeling in front of Mrs. Chen and pulling her trouser legs.

“No, mom. We can’t let Erya get arrested. If Erya is arrested, how will Daya get married in the future? How will her future in-laws view her?”

“And Sanbao is about to graduate. When he goes to college and works, he will be implicated. The same goes for Xiaobao. This is recorded in our family files.”

“If Erya is arrested, Sanbao, Xiaobao and the others will be implicated.”

When Xu Leshu heard Wang Xiaocao’s words, there was a hint of surprise in her eyes. She thought Wang Xiaocao was really pleading for Chen Meihong, but she didn’t expect it was for her two sons.

There was no surprise in Chen Meihong’s eyes. When her mother begged for mercy, she knew it was for her precious son.

Some people in the crowd agreed with Wang Xiaocao, and some looked at Chen Meihong with pity.

Mrs. Chen also thought about these situations and kicked Chen Meihong angrily.

“You bastard, I’ll beat you to death. I shouldn’t have let your mother give birth to you. It’s fine if you’re just a money-loser, but now you’re asking me to pay so much money.”

Chen Meihong curled up her body, protected her head, and endured the punches and kicks from Mrs. Chen without saying a word.

He Meifen quickly grabbed her and said, “Aunt Chen, what are you doing? I’m still here. Are you provoking me?”

He Meifen shouted in a serious tone, “Everyone is equal. Look at what you are saying. As a fellow lesbian, look at what you are saying. Are these words correct?”

Mrs. Chen’s chest was gasping for breath, and then she cried out at her.

“Director He, look at what she has done. Isn’t this stabbing me in the heart? How can our family have so much money?”

“That’s 500 yuan. My whole family depends on my son and daughter-in-law’s salary to support our family of seven.”

“The children are all in school, and their food, clothing, and other necessities are all free. How can our family afford 500 yuan?”

As she spoke, she began to wipe away her tears, and when she lowered her head, she glanced at Wang Xiaocao who was kneeling on the ground.

Wang Xiaocao immediately came towards Xu Leshu and wanted to kneel down in front of her before saying anything.

But Xu Leshu quickly pulled him back: “Aunt, what are you doing? Even though Chen Meihong pushed me down the stairs, you shouldn’t be the one to apologize. Even if you apologize, you don’t have to kneel down.”

“Aren’t you shortening my life? If a junior like me were to kneel down before an elder like you, not to mention my grandma, even my dad would beat me to death.”

She saw through Wang Xiaocao’s thoughts, and a hint of embarrassment flashed in her eyes.

Old Lady Xu pulled Wang Xiaocao a little further away and said, “What do you want to do, daughter-in-law of the Chen family? I told you that if your family doesn’t want to call the police, then you have to pay 500 yuan and 50 kilograms of food coupons, and send your Chen Erya back to her hometown.”

“What are you doing now?”

Wang Xiaocao wanted to kneel down to Old Lady Xu, but Ma Jinmei held his arm.

“Aunt, we really don’t have that much money. Even if we don’t eat or drink, we have to save 500 yuan for half a year, not to mention that we have to support the whole family. We really can’t come up with 500 yuan.”

“Can you please reduce it a bit since we all live together?”

“Don’t worry, I will send Erya back to her hometown tomorrow. She will never show up here again.”

“No, who are you trying to fool? Your family is so stingy, and your wife Chen gets a pension of more than 20 yuan a month. And you’re crying poor.”

“Since you don’t want to pay 500 yuan, then call the police. We have nothing to say.”

“Isn’t Xiaoshu okay? Besides, 500 yuan can buy a job.”

When Old Lady Xu heard this, she got angry: “Bah, you have a lot of snot in your eyes. You can’t see the gauze wrapped around my granddaughter’s head.”

“There’s still blood at the bottom of the stairs, and look at how pale my granddaughter’s face has become.”

“Just before I came up, my granddaughter was lying on the bed, holding her head and screaming in pain. These are not the problems.”

“So what you said is fine, but it would be a problem only if my granddaughter died. If that’s the case, see if your family can still bargain here today.”

“It’s okay. I think your head is full of shit. Otherwise, why would you say such a thing without thinking?”

Wang Xiaocao was scolded so badly that she couldn’t say anything back and could only look up at Mrs. Chen.

Xu Leshu stayed quietly aside. With the old lady around, she didn’t need to step forward.

What’s more, both of them are elders, and if she speaks, she will be morally blackmailed by them. But the old lady is just a country lady, and it’s good enough that she doesn’t morally blackmail others.

“Yes, I saw Chen Erya buy a big piece of meat yesterday, and this morning you saw Aunt Chen buy a chicken. I can still smell the stewed chicken now.”