Chapter 411: Killing the Chicken to Warn the Monkeys

"Ha, what did you say? Did old mother hit you? I clearly hit a few shameless dogs!" Mrs. Chen didn’t care what Mrs. He Liu said, she kept hitting them relentlessly.

He Cui’er got hit the most and the hardest, getting struck in the face with two sticks, swelling her corners of the eyes and forehead.

He Cui’er cried out in pain.

Third Grandma saw that Mrs. Chen had almost finished and spoke out, "Da Gui’s wife, stop hitting now. Here, take this rope and tie up the three of them, let Village Chief He take them away. We can’t let a few dogs make a mess at Daya’s place, they’ll dirty the ground."

"Eh." Mrs. Chen responded, summoning Ms. Wang Ma and Old Zhu’s wife, and the three of them quickly tied up He Cui’er and her mother and presented them to Village Chief He: "Village chief, here are the people for you."

Village Chief He nodded and said to Third Grandpa: "Brother Gu, we’re leaving first."

Then, turning to He Dacang, he said: "Dacang, go ring the gong and let the He Family people know, everyone to the ancestral hall, have your wife carry your mother too."

He Dacang was shocked, even his mobility-impaired mother had to be carried, showing his father meant serious business this time.

"Eh, I’m on it." He Dacang didn’t dare to delay and hurriedly went off to notify the people of the He family.

Village Chief He then led the present members of the He family away, heading directly to the ancestral hall.

After Village Chief He left, Third Grandpa thanked Lu Gen Sheng and Lu He Fu, "Thank you two for helping to provide testimony today, here is a token of thanks, please accept it."

Third Grandpa did not want to owe the Lu family, and he took out two taels of broken silver, handing them to Lu Gen Sheng and Lu He Fu.

Lu Gen Sheng quickly waved his hands and said, "Brother Gu, you’re being too formal. We just spoke a few truths, it’s not at the stage to accept silver. We can’t take this."

If they accepted, the relationship between the Lu family and the families of Qin, Gu, and Luotian would become even harder to mend.

Lu Zhudan was finished, and these days the Lu family had been keeping their heads down in the village, needing to foster good relations with the families of Qin, Gu, and Luotian, not just take silver for a small favor.

Third Grandpa said, "One thing is one thing, you helped, and you should be compensated."

"We can’t accept, can’t accept." Lu Gen Sheng adamantly refused.

However, Lu He Fu took the two taels of silver, cupped his hands and said, "Old Master Gu is right, one thing is one thing. We’ll accept this silver, thank you."

The families of Qin, Gu, and Luotian were different from Old Master Lu’s house; they wouldn’t bear a grudge because of his family, nor would they drop their guard just because they helped. It’s better to take the silver now and deal with things slowly later.

It was already getting dark, and after receiving the silver, Lu He Fu smartly took his leave.

Lu Gen Sheng and several other young men from the Lu family could only follow suit.

Mo Qinzi hurriedly looked at her father, Mo Kui said, "Old Master Gu, Young Master, it’s getting late, we’re heading back first."

Due to what He Cui’er’s mother said, if their family stayed alone, it really would’ve been hard to explain.

Third Grandpa knew it was awkward for them, so he quickly said, "Ah, you all go back first, have a good rest, and come to work early tomorrow."

This situation is too awkward; he fears that Mo Kui’s family wouldn’t come to work because of their daughter’s dignity.

Mo Kui nodded his head and left Gu Daya’s house with his wife and daughter. On the way back, he kept thinking if he should quit the job of killing ducks for Gu Daya’s house?

Although the payment for killing ducks was good, enough to earn several hundred cents a day for the family, what He Cui’er’s mother said today was really unbearable. His daughter, Sister Qin, would be fourteen after the New Year and was already of marriageable age. Being Sister Qin’s father, after hearing those words from He Cui’er’s mother, it wouldn’t look good to continue working at Gu Daya’s house.

Sister Qin, knowing her father’s dilemma, said to Mo Kui, "Dad, our family needs this job of killing ducks, you can’t just quit because of a few words from others. We’re a family who fled famine, what harsh words haven’t we heard? I don’t care at all...If you are upright, you need not fear a crooked shadow!"

Mo Kui replied, "You are still young, you think too simply and don’t understand all the complexities involved."

Sister Qin said, "What complexities? You work for the Qi Family, and the Qi Family pays you, it’s as simple as that. Anyway, you cannot quit this job. If you do, the gossiping women in the village will certainly say that our family has a guilty conscience."

She simply didn’t care about others’ opinions.

"Alright, stop talking about it, let’s hurry home. What if someone overhears us discussing this on the road?" Ms. Zhang also worried and did not want to give up the lucrative duck killing job, but was afraid that continuing this work would make the relationship between the two families even more complicated.

...

Gu Daya was also thinking about this matter.

She originally liked Sister Qin’s straightforwardness and thought she was perfect for Kangping, but hesitated because of Sister Qin’s young age, and hadn’t spoken up. However, after today’s incident, Sister Qin’s reputation could be further damaged, and she thought it might be better to seize the opportunity to propose marriage to Sister Qin’s family, which would be good for both children.

But there were too many people around right now; Gu Daya didn’t express her thoughts and instead brought up another worrying matter, "Do we really have to pressure Village Chief He to expel He Cui’er’s family and drive them out of the village?"

Gu Jinli responded, "Since our shop opened, how many families have come to us for marriage proposals? Many from the He Family have the same idea, and a few instigators like He Cui’er’s family plan to resort to sneaky tricks. Village Chief He can’t control them. We must drive out He Cui’er’s family to make it clear to all He Family people that we are not to be bullied, and that they shouldn’t try to play tricks on us; they can’t handle the consequences!"

That’s why she let He Cui’er’s family escalate the issue.

Old Master Lu’s family is done for, but there are still plenty of people in the village ready to make their move on their families; she needs to make it clear to the villagers that they shouldn’t try to plot against them, otherwise the consequences would be their responsibility.

Once He Cui’er’s family is expelled, other villagers with ulterior motives would stop their scheming, withdraw their calculations, and their families could truly be safe in the village.

"Xiao Yu is right; recently there have been women in the village taking their daughters to the outskirts of our village daily, barely able to hide their intentions. If we don’t suppress their intentions, trouble will surely arise later."

Third Grandma sighed, "People are like this, always eager to take advantage; seeing others prosper is like a leech seeing blood, they immediately rush to suck it. And how do these unrelated people plan to suck our blood? Naturally, by trying to get married into our families."

Third Grandpa nodded and said, "He Cui’er’s family must be driven out. If we don’t take harsh measures this time, people in the village will think this trick works and will surely emulate it. That would be endless trouble; any family could use this tactic to attach to our young lads."

Elder Qin, who was also present today, heard this and said to people from several families, "It’s not just the lads at risk; the girls are in even more danger... There have always been those who see a nice girl and maliciously spread lewd comments, defame her reputation, and then propose marriage like an evil man."