Chapter 42: Intimidation
Su Guilan and Grandma Su exchanged a glance, their eyes both showing a similar sly cunning.
“How could you owe so much money?” Su Guilan feigned shock, acting as if she knew nothing. “Eldest Sister-in-law, who did you owe it to, and how?”
Su Guilan’s acting was terrible, but Zhang Zhaodi pretended not to notice and recited the lines she had prepared in advance.
Su Guilan slapped the table and said angrily, “Those people from the Feng Family are really hateful. Their child was unlucky and didn’t survive—how can they blame it on you?”
“Exactly.” Zhang Zhaodi was equally angry. “I should report it to the authorities. Sister-in-law, you’re always bold—why don’t you help me report it?”
Su Guilan: “…Better not report it to the authorities. Didn’t you say they already buried the female infant’s corpse? If the government office people come, they might convict you as the midwife.”
“My goodness, this really leaves me no way to live. One hundred taels—I can’t pay it back! Child’s father, I’ll go with you…”
“Eldest Sister-in-law, don’t worry—there’s still a way. That man from the Feng Family happens to know my man a bit. Maybe he can help mediate, and things might turn around?”
Zhang Zhaodi stopped crying and looked at her intently: “Really? Then hurry back and find your brother-in-law to help me. Once it’s done, I’ll definitely remember his kindness.”
“My man is only worried about Mutou’s marriage right now. If you marry Yaoguang to Mutou, he’ll be so happy he’ll definitely step in to speak for you.”
Zhang Zhaodi’s face turned cold, displeased: “After talking so long, this is what you’ve been waiting for. Yaoguang won’t marry Mutou—you can give up on that!”
“How can you be like this?” Su Guilan said angrily. “What’s wrong with my Mutou? If Yaoguang marries over, I’m her mother-in-law—would I mistreat her?”
“Don’t say any more—this matter is not open for discussion. Even if I die, I won’t let Yaoguang suffer grievances.” Zhang Zhaodi said coldly. “You can leave now—I don’t have time to entertain you.”
Grandma Su pulled Su Guilan to the corner nearby and muttered a few words in a low voice.
“Talking more won’t help—she won’t agree. We’ll have to trick her. As long as she signs and seals it, her daughter will have to marry even if she doesn’t want to.”
“How to trick her?”
“We’ll agree first, say we’re willing to help mediate. Then bring up buying the farmland, have her sell it to us for twenty taels of silver, and write the deed. We’ll include her marriage contract with Mutou in the deed too. Then the farmland is ours, the marriage contract is ours, and it has her signature and seal—she’ll have to acknowledge it. If she doesn’t, we’re not afraid of her reporting to the authorities.”
“Alright, we’ll do it that way.” Su Guilan returned to her seat and sat down, saying, “Eldest Sister-in-law, just now Mother said many good things about you, that Elder Brother is gone and it’s not easy for you as a woman. Though we quarreled a bit before, we’re still family in the end. Seeing you in trouble, we definitely won’t ignore it. I’m willing to mediate and try to reduce that silver as much as possible—I guess twenty taels of silver should be enough. The Feng Family’s daughter isn’t made of gold; she died young, and twenty taels compensation evens it out. But we want to buy your land. We’ll help you mediate so you only compensate twenty taels. You sell the land to us for twenty taels too. That way you’ll have money to compensate the Feng Family without borrowing from outsiders.”
Grandma Su put on an air of benevolence beside her: “If you think it’s fine, we’ll find someone right away to write the deed and transfer the land deed to us.”
“If twenty taels can solve this, of course I’m willing. Farmland can be bought again once it’s gone, but if a person is gone, there’s nothing left.” Zhang Zhaodi said with tears in her eyes.
“Then wait here—I’ll go find someone to draft the deed right now.” Grandma Su gave Su Guilan a look.
Su Guilan said, “I’ll wait here for you.”
Not long after, Grandma Su returned with a deed in hand, the ink still wet.
Grandma Su pretended to read it aloud. The deed roughly meant they agreed to sell the family’s ten mu of good farmland and five mu of good land to Grandma Su for twenty taels.
“Do you understand? If you do, sign and seal it!”
“Mother, when did you learn to read?” Zhang Zhaodi asked.
Grandma Su said impatiently, “Read what? I memorized what he wrote. You can’t read either—if I didn’t recite it to you, how would you know what’s written here?”
“Why not find someone who can read to look at it!” Zhang Zhaodi clapped her hands. “I almost forgot—our Wangshu can read! I’ll wait for Wangshu to come back before signing.”
Hearing this, Su Guilan and Grandma Su dared not delay any longer. Su Guilan grabbed Zhang Zhaodi’s hand, used the cleaver on the wall to cut her finger, and directly pressed it onto the deed.
“Ahhh… I haven’t said I’d press it yet…” Zhang Zhaodi shouted and struggled, but the fingerprint was already pressed in the signature and seal position.
“Alright, we’ll go mediate now.” Su Guilan and Grandma Su exchanged a glance and quickly left.
As soon as Su Guilan and Grandma Su left, Su Yaoguang and Zhou Wangshu came over from the next room.
“Daughter, I signed that thing—will it be bad for you?” Zhang Zhaodi asked somewhat worriedly.
“Don’t worry, Mother—they’re committing fraud; it doesn’t count.” Su Yaoguang said. “I deliberately let the matter blow up—how else to completely break ties?”
A word of filial piety can crush a person. If they didn’t completely break ties with those people and cut off contact, even if they earned piles of gold and silver in the future, half would have to go to them—what a loss!
“What next?”
“Next, we need the Feng Family to step in.” Su Yaoguang said. “By my calculation, it should be about time.”
Su Guilan and Grandma Su had just stepped out the door when Feng Laoda appeared at Su Yaoguang’s door.
Su Guilan knew Feng Laoda, but Grandma Su did not.
“Feng Laoda, why are you here?” Su Guilan asked.
Feng Laoda said loudly, “My wife woke up and learned our newborn daughter was gone—she was heartbroken for a long time. But she said that without Zhang the midwife, she wouldn’t have survived. Zhang the midwife’s midwifery skills are top-notch. The child was a difficult labor from the start, causing my wife to hemorrhage badly. Her early death was because her fate was thin. I’m here specifically to tell Zhang the midwife that the earlier talk of her compensating one hundred taels of silver was just angry words. Zhang the midwife, Zhang the midwife—did you hear? That one hundred taels of silver—we the Feng Family never said it.”
Feng Laoda’s voice was like thunder. Not only did the people inside hear it—even people in the village heard. They rushed over on the news and curiously waited for what happened next.
“Thank heavens, Yaoguang’s father showed his spirit and spared Yaoguang’s Mother a great disaster. One hundred taels of silver—could we afford to compensate that? Now Yaoguang’s Mother doesn’t have to worry.”
