Phi-Fic Chapter 536: I don't understand the meaning of debt repayment
Chapter 536: I don't understand the meaning of debt repayment
"Sister Xiaoxue, my clothes are torn. Can you lend me your needle and thread to mend them?"
After Gu Taohua pulled Gu Xiaoxue out of the warehouse, Gu Xiaoxue squatted outside washing clothes, and Gu Taohua sat beside her and chatted with her.
Xu Dabao approached Gu Xiaoxue with a smile on his face and tugged at his clothes.
Gu Xiaoxue's scalp felt tingling.
Although Xu Dabao's attitude seemed kind, she didn't like Xu Dabao.
She had met Xu Dabao several times in Qinghe Bay. Xu Dabao would whistle at her, and the look in his eyes made her feel uncomfortable all over.
Gu Xiaoxue said: "I don't have needle and thread."
Xu Dabao said, "How could there be none? Last time at Qinghe Bay, I saw you sitting at the door sewing shoe soles."
Gu Xiaoxue bit her lip and looked at Gu Taohua for help.
Gu Taohua glared at Xu Dabao and said, "Go away. If your clothes are torn, ask your mother to mend them for you. Don't come to Xiaoxue."
Xu Dabao didn't expect Gu Taohua to speak up to help Gu Xiaoxue. After all, everyone in the village knew that the first and second branches of the Gu family were at odds. Gu Ruinian was in such a state and Tong Dajiao didn't even help him. There was no reason for Gu Taohua to be nice to Gu Xiaoxue.
"Did you hear me? If you keep interrupting our sisterly chat, don't blame me for being rude." Gu Taohua showed her fist.
Gu Taohua's notoriety has always been the top in Qinghe Bay. Even a villain like Xu Dabao had been punched by Gu Taohua when he was a child. When Xu Dabao saw that Gu Taohua was about to hit someone, gusts of cold wind blew from his neck and he slipped away along the wall.
"Mom, have they reached an agreement?" Gu Taohua asked when she saw Tong Huaqiong coming out.
Tong Huaqiong said: "Your grandfather is still talking."
"Xiaoxue." Tong Huaqiong changed the subject and called Xiaoxue's name. Gu Xiaoxue, who was washing clothes, raised her head. She had a beautiful face in the sunlight.
"Auntie, is there anything I can do for you?" Gu Xiaoxue wiped her hands and came to Tong Huaqiong.
Tong Huaqiong glanced at Gu Xiaoxue's tight old clothes, sighed and said, "Auntie, I have something to say to you. Whether you want to listen or not, I hope you will listen. Your second brother's affairs have nothing to do with you, and the trouble your second brother caused has nothing to do with you. You have to think about yourself in everything. No matter who asks you to pay off a debt or uses you to pay off a debt, you must not agree. If you agree, you will ruin yourself. Do you understand?"
Gu Xiaoxue didn’t quite understand.
How come family matters have nothing to do with her?
She had never thought about her family using her to pay off a debt. She believed that her family would not do that. What debt could a girl like her pay off?
Gu Xiaoxue said: "Auntie, my family won't use me to pay off debts, and I can't do business and make money like Sister Taohua."
It seems that he is naive to the point of being stupid. He overestimated Mr. Gu Ruinian and did not understand the meaning of paying off a debt.
Tong Huaqiong lowered her voice and said, "If your grandfather can't pay back the Xu family's money, he will give you to Xu Dabao as his wife. Are you willing? You know Xu Dabao is not a good person. He will torture you to death if you marry him."
Gu Xiaoxue was startled and murmured, "I won't do that."
She has been brainwashed since she was a child. She believes that her second brother is the hope of the whole family and she has to take care of him. When she gets married in the future, the betrothal gift will be kept for her second brother's education and she will help her parents' family with her husband.
She didn't think it was abnormal, because all the girls in the village were like this.
But she didn't want to marry Xu Dabao.
Tong Huaqiong had done her job of reminding her, but whether Xiaoxue could stand up depended on herself.
If Xiaoxue has her own opinion and is unwilling to mortgage herself to Xu Dabao like an object, then Tong Huaqiong is willing to help her.
If she is willing to sacrifice herself for Gu Ruinian, there is no point in Tong Huaqiong trying to stop her, it will only make her an enemy.
Tong Huaqiong took Gu Taohua away from Wu Ji.
Gu Xiaoxue was still thinking about Tong Huaqiong's words.
The family has to pay the Xu family 500 taels of silver, but the family does not have that much money. If they cannot afford it, the Xu family will take my second brother's life. If her family asks her to marry Xu Dabao to pay off the debt, what should she do?
If I refuse, will my grandparents be disappointed, will my mother be sad, and will my second brother lose his life?
Gu Xiaoxue was feeling confused. When she looked up, she saw Xu Dabao coming out from the wall and walking towards her.
Xu Dabao stuck out his tongue at her, and Gu Xiaoxue felt as if she saw a poisonous snake spitting out its tongue at her. She felt a chill all over her body, and when she saw Wei Shi coming out, she ran up to her.
"What's the matter with you?"
Wei felt that Gu Xiaoxue was trembling all over, and looked at Xu Dabao in the distance, as if thinking about something.
Gu Xiaoxue said, "It's okay."
Wei looked at Gu Xiaoxue and seemed to be hesitant to speak. The last time her second grandfather and the village chief mentioned to Fengnian that he should take better care of his sister Xiaoxue, she felt that this reminder was strange.
Just now in the room, she saw the look in Xu Dabao's eyes sticking to her sister-in-law, and when Xu Jin wanted to talk to Mr. Gu alone, she shuddered all over.
After Xu Jin finished talking with Mr. Gu, they left the warehouse together.
"How did the talk go?" Liu Tielian asked.
Xu Jin smiled faintly and said to the Gu family, "As the saying goes, it's better to resolve a feud than to create one. After all, Uncle Gu and I live in the same village, and we'll see each other again in the future. My daughter Zaohua is a married woman, and strictly speaking, she is no longer considered a member of the Xu family. Ruinian kowtowed to me three times and the matter is over. The five hundred taels of silver is mainly to compensate for the loss of my daughter Dabao when he was the manager of the Zheng family shop. Uncle Gu can't afford it now, and I, Xu Jin, can't force anyone to death. Uncle Gu and I have agreed to use other things to pay for the silver. Give Uncle Gu ten days to consider."
Mr. Gu said without showing any emotion: "I will think about it carefully."
Xu Jin led the Xu family members to evacuate in a large group.
Liu Tiejian and Uncle Gu were worried, and after Xu Jin left, they asked Old Man Gu, "What are you going to pay off the debt with?"
Mr. Gu said, "It's the house and the land that matter, and the whole family's strength."
Uncle Gu looked directly at Old Man Gu and said, "Brother, don't be confused. Tell me the truth, do they want to use Xiaoxue as a wife for Dabao to pay off the debt?"
Mr. Gu's face changed and he said, "Am I that kind of person? Why do you think of me like that? Xiaoxue is my granddaughter after all. Am I still a human being if I use Xiaoxue to pay off my debts?"
Uncle Gu saw that Old Man Gu had a serious face and suspected that he had misunderstood him.
That’s right, brother has to have some dignity.
When Liu Tielian saw the Xu family leave, he took other people from the village and went back as well.
The village has been irrigating the corn fields recently, and has already delayed the work for two days because of Gu Ruinian’s matter, so they dare not delay any further.
After everyone went back, Mr. Gu called Gu Youtian, Jia and others into the house to discuss something.
"Old man, what did you talk about with Xu Jin? Five hundred taels of silver is not a small amount, we shouldn't have agreed to him. Even if you mortgage the house and land, it still won't be enough. Where will we live and what will we eat then?" Old Mrs. Gu said, wiping away her tears.
Mr. Gu said with a worried look on his face: "There is no need to mortgage the house and land. Xu Jin wants us to use something else as collateral."
Old Mrs. Gu's eyes lit up, and she asked expectantly, "For what? We don't have anything more valuable to pay off the debt."