Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 645 - 332: Snatching_1
Before dawn, a plea for mercy.
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Old Master Lian’s intention was to follow the old precedent set by Lian Shouxin at the time, and divide the houses and land. As for other possessions, that meant there were none.
As soon as Lian Shouyi heard this, he became anxious. With his large household and the enormous expenses of getting wives for his several sons, this division would be a great disadvantage to him. Not enough land to cultivate, not enough houses to live in, not a single Wen Money—how would they survive? Therefore, he brought up the issue of money.
"What else do you want, when there isn’t any money left in the family?" Lady Zhou instantly pointed at Lian Shouyi and berated him, "Whatever little was left, you’ve squandered it all away, haven’t you? The houses in town, weren’t they mortgaged to you? You still have the face to ask for money. You heartless wretch!"
After all this talk, it was mostly Lian Shouyi jumping up and down. Lian Shouli was a man of few words by nature, and neither Lian Shouren nor Lian Jizu had spoken up.
Looking at it this way, Lian Shouyi’s actions seemed unwise. He had set himself up as a target, being ridiculed repeatedly by Lady Zhou. But upon careful thought, it appeared that Lian Shouyi perhaps had no other choice if he was to secure more benefits. He was no match for Lian Shouren above him—who had the fallback of Lian Huahua—or for Lian Shouli below him, who, although without a son, had minimal expenses with just his wife and a daughter.
"Mother, look at these grandsons of yours, you have to leave them a way to live." Even after being scolded by Lady Zhou, Lian Shouyi did not get angry. Instead, he put on a sorrowful face and pleaded with Lady Zhou.
"Mother, I’m not asking you and father for this money." Lian Shouyi said, glancing sideways at Lian Shouren and Lian Jizu. "Over the years, my wife and I, along with our children, have endured hardship and tightened our belts to support my elder brother into becoming a Scholar, and now Jizu is almost another Scholar."
"Elder brother, now that we’re splitting the family assets, you won’t share even a bit of gold or silver with your brothers? Are you just going to watch your nephews end up poor and unmarried?" Lian Shouyi directed this last comment at Lian Shouren.
"Younger brother, all the money is with father and mother. Where would I get any gold or silver? Have you gone mad with poverty, biting at anyone you see?" Lian Shouren, now unable to keep his composure, immediately retorted to Lian Shouyi.
Lian Shouyi directly targeted Lian Shouren. If it was money he was after, Lian Shouli, being too meager, wouldn’t yield much even if completely taken over. It was Lian Shouren who was the fattest prey.
Lian Manman leaned against the window frame, squinting her eyes. Lian Shouyi was disregarding everything in his pursuit of more wealth.
"Elder brother, who do you think you’re fooling?" Lian Shouyi turned to Lian Shouren, cocking one leg over the other. "All those years you spent in town, living on the family’s support, that’s really reaping public gains for private benefit. Are you saying all you saved was just one residence? Who would believe that? You must have enough silver to buy at least another residence like that in town!"
"Younger brother, you’re spouting nonsense!" Lian Shouren, angered, pointed at Lian Shouyi.
"Elder brother, all the things you did in town — you might have kept them from father and mother, but not from me. And that’s just in town. Later on, when you went to the county seat, you acquired another residence. Huahua that girl is quite shrewd. She must have moved quite a bit of gold and silver to your place, right?" Lian Shouyi laughed as he sized up Lian Shouren.
"Uncle, did you see something, or what makes you talk nonsense like this?" Lian Jizu also spoke up.
"There’s no need to hide it anymore. Our family spent a fortune to marry Huahua into the Song Family. Even Lian Laosi’s daughter was sacrificed, and we nearly killed ourselves with high-interest debts. Without us, could Huahua have married in? Wouldn’t she think of ways to repay us?" Lian Shouyi gesticulated and said, "Elder brother, I’m not asking much from you, just give one of your nephews one hundred taels of silver, and another hundred to me, and we’ll call it even, okay?"
When Lian Shouyi put it like that, everyone inside and outside the room was stunned.
"Younger brother, what are you doing, asking for hundreds of taels of silver like some greedy lion? You’re quite bold. On what grounds are you asking me for hundreds of taels... are you my son?... If I had that much silver, would I be here right now?"
Lian Shouren, provoked, started to neglect his usual careful speech and dropped the Scholar Master’s demeanor.
Quibbling over words, Lian Shouyi might not hold a candle to Lian Shouren. But creating chaos, spouting nonsensical arguments, and hurling village insults, Lian Shouyi was exactly Lian Shouren’s match.
The more the two argued, the tenser it became. They both rose from their seats, pointing fingers at each other’s noses. It seemed that if the argument continued for a while longer, they might come to blows.
