Pampered By All In Different Planes-Chapter 83 - After raising a child and getting rich in that era, the delicate beauty was pampered beyond measure 3
Chapter 83: Chapter 83 After raising a child and getting rich in that era, the delicate beauty was pampered beyond measure 3
“Dream on!”
Li Meihua had always been a weak woman, often yielding to her husband and mother-in-law. But now, when she heard some people setting their sights on her daughter, she who had been weak all her life, still stood up to refute them.
Su Zhiruan, on the other side of the wall, stood up and strode out when she heard this part of the conversation.
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Two aunts originally wanted to stop her, but Su Zhiruan moved too quickly, stepping firmly out of the house.
“We will pay back the debts we owe,” Su Zhiruan stood outside the courtyard door. When the people inside heard her voice, they all looked over, unable to hide their amazement at the sight of her. Su Zhiruan, while speaking, walked in, helped Li Meihua up from the ground, and said with a determined tone, “Grant us one more month, and we’ll repay everything with interest, to the last cent.”
“It seems you must be the eldest daughter of this house, you really are pretty!” The man who had just suggested giving Su Zhiruan to their boss was surprised and then sneered after hearing her words, “Fine, principal and interest, thirty dollars. Make sure to pay it back. If you can’t, you’ll have to come and settle the debt personally!”
...
“Thirty, thirty dollars?!” Li Meihua knew they were inflating the price on the spot, and she nearly fainted again. Su Zhiruan quickly steadied her.
“Alright,” she nodded in agreement.
The three men seemed to mock her for overestimating her abilities. Thirty dollars, they doubted she could pay it back, and they were curious to see what she would do then.
“Okay, you have one month, thirty dollars, principal with interest. We won’t ask for more, considering the debt’s been overdue for a year. Everyone needs to celebrate the New Year, so we’ll grant you one month. In a month, we’ll come here on time.”
“Right, and don’t even think about running away. We have eyes everywhere, plenty of manpower.”
After dropping these harsh words, the three men left.
As the troublemakers walked away, the onlookers at the door, and the two aunts protecting Su Zhao Di and Su Erzhu, all came out. The villagers were all gathered in the Su Family’s courtyard, each with a different expression on their faces.
“Thirty dollars!” The thought of this sum almost made Li Meihua faint.
Their home was very poor, with very few food coupons. The already scarce meat and cloth tickets had all been traded for things to scrape by.
A farmer might earn sixty dollars after a whole year’s toil, let alone a smallholder widow and orphan suddenly coming up with thirty dollars. Not to mention such a large sum, it would be difficult even to come up with thirty cents right now.
“Zhao Di, Zhao Di, how can we come up with so much money…” Li Meihua collapsed to the ground, about to cry again.
She had been crying day and night since her husband ran off. Later, she hurt her eyes sewing by kerosene lamp light late into the night, and now her tears fell like broken pearls.
The surrounding villagers and aunts chattered with suggestions.
“Zhao Di, we can only help so much given your situation. Here’s five cents, what I’ve got for tomorrow’s meal. You take it. You can’t really be taken off to settle the debt.”
“My man at the steel factory hasn’t been paid, and all we have is thirty cents. If you don’t mind, take it for now, and we’ll talk again when things are better.”
“Zhao Di, I’m a bit worried,” said the aunt who had been holding Su Zhiruan earlier, her brow furrowed. She was still thinking about the look in the eyes of those men, which was unsettling, “These folks are no good people; I’m afraid they’ve got their eyes on you now. What if after you pay the money, they still want to bother you?”
This was indeed a problem.
It was a concern for everyone.
Su Family’s eldest daughter was famously beautiful, and although she lived in the countryside, she looked every bit as gorgeous as the pretty actresses on the village head’s only television set.
Just then, a few coughs came from the crowd. When the villagers looked over, they realized it was the village head, so they hurriedly made way, “The village head is here!”
“Zhiruan is someone we’ve all watched grow up, and we couldn’t let bad people harm her,” the village head said, looking at Su Zhiruan with a kind gaze.
Su Zhiruan found this village head in the original host’s memories. He had a son who worked in the town, a 22-year-old who was still unmarried. However, since the original host had a fierce and bold personality, the village head worried that she would bring unrest to his family, so he dismissed the thought.
But now, having seen Su Zhiruan, he felt she seemed different, calmer and braver. This change wasn’t only noticed by the village head; a few women in the crowd with sons of their own were also beginning to consider the possibilities that arose.
“You know Daqiang, my son, he works in the town. Both of you grew up together. If you’re willing, why not join him? I’ll pay off this debt and add seventy more as a dowry, making it a hundred. If you marry into our family, we will treat you as our own daughter, and no one will bully your family again,” the village head looked at Su Zhiruan more and more approvingly. His son was already of age, and in the village, boys and girls in their teens already had several children, yet his son was 22 and still without a partner.
Zhiruan was beautiful and someone they had seen grow up—a person whose background was completely known to them.
Li Meihua was somewhat tempted.
There were only a few families in the Su village, and the village head’s family was naturally the wealthiest. His son Daqiang was also considered one of the most talented young men around, with good grades and a handsome appearance. If marrying into this family could solve the current crisis, it would indeed be a good option.
In the eyes of the expectant crowd, Su Zhiruan gently shook her head, “Thank you for your kindness, village head, but I’ve always seen Daqiang as a brother. I’ll have to decline. As for the debt, naturally, the person who borrowed it should pay it back. Every debt has a debtor, and though you can run from your debts at the beginning of the month, you can’t escape by the middle.”
In the crowd, a gaudily dressed widow quietly fell back, ready to leave at any moment.
Su Zhiruan watched coldly, and following her gaze, the villagers looked over and indeed spotted the widow.
“Isn’t that the widow there! What’s she doing coming out to watch the fun?” Someone commented with a mix of mockery and censure.
Though the village was liberal about many things, a man who abandoned his wife and child, leaving behind a pile of debts for the mother and orphan to pay while running off with a widow, was despised by everyone, as was the widow herself.
“I was just passing by, just passing by,” the widow said in a hurried attempt to leave.
Her eyes dodged and fluttered with panic, but when she saw a man approaching from afar, her eyes suddenly brightened.
“Su elder brother, come help me!” the widow shouted.
Su Zhiruan, along with everyone else, turned to look in that direction and saw this good-for-nothing father.
When Su Erzhu saw a crowd surrounding his former home, and his new love interest, the widow, being blocked by the villagers, he panicked for a moment, even thinking about running away.
“Su Erzhu, what you’ve done is very wrong,” the village head said, frowning and looking seriously at Su Erzhu.
Su Zhiruan raised an eyebrow among the crowd.
Now that everyone was assembled, it was a good opportunity to ask for more money. A man who abandons his family should naturally be milked for his last bit of value.
Next, it was her turn to start the show.
Even if a miser came, she would still peel off his skin before letting him leave—
