Phi-Fic Chapter 537 Who will pay off the debt?
Chapter 537 Who will pay off the debt?
Except for Gu Youtian and Gu Ruinian, the whole family looked at Grandpa Gu with anticipation.
Houses and land are the foundation of life in Qinghe Bay and cannot be replaced.
What will the whole family eat, drink and live in?
Old Master Gu raised his head and didn't say what to use, but said to Wei: "Wife Fengnian, can you take Xiaoxue to cook?"
Wei's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that she guessed right?
"Master, Xiaoxue is old enough to listen too." Wei sat still and pulled Xiaoxue who was about to stand up.
Old Master Gu has always valued his granddaughter-in-law. When he heard Wei's request, he let Gu Xiaoxue stay.
Never mind, she'll have to know it eventually.
Mr. Gu said, "The Xu family has taken a fancy to Xiaoxue and wants to marry her to Xu Dabao. If we agree, we don't need the five hundred taels of silver, and we will just be relatives from now on."
As soon as Mr. Gu finished speaking, the room became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Gu Xiaoxue opened her mouth, the Xu family wanted her to pay off the debt.
She understood what her aunt-in-law meant to her. She really wanted her to marry Xu Dabao to pay off his debts.
She couldn't help but look at Gu Ruinian. Seeing his calm face, she felt a little confused.
"No." Jia refused.
Jia raised her head and looked at Gu Xiaoxue.
Her daughter was good-looking, gentle, and good at housework. Many wealthy families in the south came to her house to propose marriage, but she refused.
She has her own plans. Xiaoxue's marriage cannot be arranged so casually. It must be carefully selected to maximize its value.
He wanted to wait until Gu Ruinian passed the imperial examination and then Gu Xiaoxue could marry into a better family, and his in-laws could provide support to Gu Ruinian.
Gu Ruinian failed the imperial examination this year, and she has not mentioned Xiaoxue's marriage in the past six months, wanting to wait until next year.
Letting Gu Xiaoxue marry that beast Xu Dabao now is like a snowflake falling into a cesspool.
Besides, one of her youngest son’s legs was crippled, and she was still hoping that Gu Xiaoxue would marry a good family and raise Gu Ruinian.
Gu Xiaoxue looked at Jia with a touched expression.
Mother still has her in her heart.
Old Master Gu sighed and said, "In the final analysis, it's because the eldest daughter-in-law is too vindictive. If she is willing to lend 500 taels of silver, she doesn't have to use Xiaoxue to pay off the debt."
Although he values his grandson, Gu Xiaoxue grew up by his side and has a good appearance and personality. If there was any way, he would not agree to Xu Jin's request.
Old Man Gu blamed Tong Huaqiong for not lending them money to help them through this difficult time.
Old Mrs. Gu echoed with tears in her eyes: "That vicious woman, she wishes Xu Jin would beat Ruinian to death."
Jia choked up and said, "You've seen what kind of families proposed marriage to Xiaoxue in the south. Even the county magistrate's wife wanted to marry Xiaoxue to her nephew who was within the fifth degree of mourning. What kind of family is the Xu family? Marrying to them will not benefit our family at all. Ruinian's leg will not be healed for a while, and I don't know if he can catch up with the provincial examination next year. Xiaoxue is now the hope of our whole family."
According to Jia's opinion, since the Xu family wants to pay off the debt, it would be better to use Gu Honglian to pay off the debt.
Gu Honglian is not pretty and has a bad temper, so she can't marry into a good family. She has been in Qinghewan for so long but no one has come to propose marriage to her. If she delays any longer, she will become an old maid. It is just right for her to marry Xu Dabao.
But she couldn't say this, for she was afraid that if she did, Old Lady Gu would kill her.
Gu Youtian, who had been silent, agreed with Jia's idea and said, "Xiaoxue cannot marry Xu Dabao. She should stay and marry a better family."
Before, Gu Youtian had always ignored Gu Xiaoxue. This time, when he heard Grandpa Gu say that the Xu family wanted to use Gu Xiaoxue to pay off their debts, this daughter really came into his sight for the first time.
He was secretly surprised at this sight; the more he looked at his daughter, the more outstanding she became.
Given the current situation at home, it would be wishful thinking for her to marry a young man from a wealthy family as his principal wife. If she married a wealthy family as a concubine, or married a wealthy old widower as his second wife, it would be more reliable than hoping for her youngest son to pass the imperial examination.
Why didn't he think of it before, and still placed all his hopes on Ruinian?
Didn’t Xu Zaohua marry into the Zheng family so that Xu Jin could live with his head held high in the village?
Of course, his daughter Xiaoxue has a good personality and a sense of shame, and she would definitely not bring shame to her parents' family like Xu Zaohua did.
Gu Xiaoxue raised her head, her eyes swept across Jia and Gu Youtian, and she felt lost for a moment.
She thought her parents were protecting her, but their words disappointed her.
She is just silent usually, not stupid. Her parents just want to use her as a stepping stone.
When Gu Youtian and his wife objected, Old Man Gu became silent.
As the saying goes, marriage is determined by parents and matchmaker. Even if Mr. Gu forced Gu Xiaoxue to marry Xu Dabao to pay off his debts, if the second son and his wife disagreed, they could not privately marry Gu Taohua to the Xu family.
If the case ends up in court, the marriage certificate will be invalidated.
But Ruinian is the grandson and the heir of the Gu family, while Xiaoxue is just a granddaughter. Of course, it is more important to protect Ruinian.
So he had to convince the second brother and his wife.
Old Master Gu said, "Five hundred taels is not a small amount. The elders are unwilling to lend the money, and neither are Bai Shuang nor Da Han. Can we borrow money from Wu Ren, or from the second son's wife's family? In ten days, they will either want the money or Xiao Xue."
Jia and Gu Youtian looked worried.
Gu Xiaoxue suddenly raised her head and clenched her hands tightly.
"Master, Xiaoxue can't go to the Xu family to pay off the debt, otherwise we will be embarrassed in the village." Gu Fengnian said nervously.
Isn't this selling my sister?
Gu Fengnian couldn't do this.
Hearing Gu Fengnian's words, Wei was slightly relieved. She said, "If we let Xiaoxue go to the Xu family, what's the difference between that and selling our daughter? We won't be able to hold our heads up high in the future."
Although many families do sell their daughters, in Qinghewan, they only sell their daughters when they can no longer make ends meet.
Even if they sell their daughter, they will find a good family for her and receive a dowry, instead of using her to pay off debts like this.
The Gu family was unable to make ends meet, and it was too shameful for a group of strong working people to sell their daughter just because of debt.
Moreover, this debt was owed by Gu Ruinian. What does it have to do with Fengnian and her? He is bringing shame upon them all.
If things go wrong, the Yao family may not be able to hold their heads up in school anymore.
Wei's intention was to let Ruinian serve the Xu family as a son and a slave. Didn't the Xu family keep saying that they had lost a filial daughter? Then let Ruinian be filial, why use the sister-in-law to pay off the debt.
When Mr. Gu heard Fengnian's objection, he was angry. But when Wei spoke up, he was too embarrassed to lose his temper, so he changed his tone and said, "It's not that serious. We said it was a debt repayment in private, so we wouldn't say it to the public. I'll tell you the truth. Xu Dabao fell in love with Xiaoxue. If it weren't for Ruinian and Zaohua's incident, the Xu family would have come to our house to propose marriage. The Xu family promised that as long as the two families were willing to get married, they would go through three matchmakers and six betrothals to bring Xiaoxue home, and give us enough face in the eyes of outsiders."
"Putting aside the grudge between the two families, it is a good match for Xiaoxue to marry Xu Dabao. Although the Xu family has declined, Xu Jin owns a stone mine in the mountains, and the wealth he has saved is still a wealthy family in our village. Xu Dabao has experience as a manager in the Zheng family shop, and Xu Jin plans to buy a shop for Xu Dabao in the town. In the future, Xiaoxue will follow Xu Dabao as the shop owner's wife, and she will not be asked to farm at home to serve her parents-in-law."