SLH | Chapter 18

The Qian Family Comes to Collect Debt (Slight Revision)

Song Tingzhu was telling a few little girls about some herbs he saw in a book. As they passed by the big banyan tree, Liu Xiaomei waved goodbye to her three little sisters.

“Paying back debts is only right and proper. If you don’t have money, then use something else to pay!”

Just as they turned the corner, the two of them heard a rough and domineering male voice coming from the courtyard.

Xia Ge’er was a bit scared, clutching tightly to Song Tingzhu’s clothes and hiding behind him.

Song Tingzhu held Xia Ge’er close and, along with a somewhat flustered Liu Xiaomei, entered the courtyard. They saw a group of people gathered there, at least six or seven. Among them were two women he recognized, one was Aunt Zhang from the Niu family, and the other was Aunt Meng from the Qian family, Qian Shuang’er’s parents.

The three families had a good relationship, and the two aunts often visited their home. Part of the betrothal gifts for his marriage were borrowed from these two families.

The group didn’t notice anyone entering the courtyard. Several strong men were still clamoring for the Liu family to repay the money quickly.

All the men in the family had gone out to work, leaving only Ruan Xiulian and her eldest daughter-in-law, Tang Chunxing, at home. The two were peacefully doing embroidery when a group of people suddenly barged into the courtyard, not even giving them a chance to speak, aggressively demanding Ruan Xiulian repay the debt.

Meng Yinhua, considering the relationship between the two families, pulled her husband aside and stepped forward, wiping her tears, “Sister, don’t blame me for being heartless. I really have no choice. My second child has been sick for a while and needs money to see a doctor. Shuang’er is thirteen this year, and it’s about time to arrange a marriage for her. We need to save some dowry for her so she won’t be bullied in her husband’s family. Isn’t that right?”

“Aunt Meng, we agreed to repay the money within six months, and it’s only been three months. Coming here with a group to demand repayment seems a bit unreasonable,” Tang Chunxing felt that the Qian family was being unfair. When the Qian family was in trouble a few years ago, their family helped a lot, and now they were burning bridges. Was their conscience eaten by dogs?

Meng Yinhua forced a smile, “I really have no choice. Last year’s harvest was poor, and we couldn’t save much money. You know, Sister Xiulian, my husband and I have been married for so many years and only have one son, Xiaoyang. We need to raise him carefully. Now that he’s sick, I’m really short on money, so I have to thicken my face and come to ask for the money.”

Ruan Xiulian looked troubled, “My dear sister, it’s not that I don’t want to repay you, but I really don’t have that much money on hand.”

“Dasheng’s wife, are you saying you don’t want to pay?” Zhang Dahua squinted her eyes with a malicious tone, clearly intending to break off relations, “If you don’t have money, then use items to pay, pots, pans, chickens, ducks, geese, anything that can be sold.”

The strong man standing next to Zhang Dahua received a signal and chimed in, “I heard animals making noise. Let’s all go to the backyard and catch the poultry!”

The group of people swarmed towards the backyard. Ruan Xiulian and her daughter-in-law couldn’t stop them and could only watch helplessly as the chickens and ducks were taken away.

“Xia Ge’er is crying…”

Xia Ge’er was hiding behind Song Tingzhu, quietly sobbing. The chickens and ducks at home had been raised for a whole year, and Xia Ge’er often helped feed them, even giving each one a name. The family would kill chickens behind the little guy’s back to avoid making him sad. Now, seeing a group of people take the chickens and ducks away, he was heartbroken.

Liu Xiaomei was full of anger, wanting to stop them, but the difference in strength was too great. Before she could get close, she was knocked to the ground, her basket overturned, and the herbs and wild vegetables scattered all over, trampled by the men in an instant.

Liu Xiaomei was stunned for a moment, then came to her senses and wanted to pick them up, but Song Tingzhu quickly pulled her back.

“Sister-in-law’s husband, they ruined the herbs we worked so hard to gather!” Liu Xiaomei’s voice was anxious, her eyes red.

Song Tingzhu held the little girl’s wrist, shielding her behind him, and comforted her, “Safety is most important. We can gather the herbs again another day.”

Liu Xiaomei was so angry she couldn’t speak. Xia Ge’er, seeing his little aunt wronged, puffed up his cheeks and raised his little fists, looking fiercely cute, “Bad people! Xia Ge’er hates them!”

Song Tingzhu protected the two little ones behind him. When the group had taken the valuable items from the house and left in a grand manner, he finally led them out of the corner.

The courtyard was a mess, not only were the chickens and ducks taken, but even the iron pot on the stove was gone.

Ruan Xiulian called Xia Ge’er over, wiping her grandson’s tears while sighing, “Let’s clean up the courtyard first. There’s an old pot in the storage room. Eldest daughter-in-law, go bring it out and wash it a couple of times. We’ll have to make do with it.”

Tang Chunxing responded, “Got it, mom.”

Song Tingzhu saw that his mother-in-law didn’t look well, so he asked his little sister to help her rest inside. He took a broom to clean the courtyard, but having never done this before, he didn’t know where to start after looking around for a while.

“Let me do it, sister-in-law’s husband. You take a break.” Liu Xiaomei came out from the main room and took the broom from his hand.

The Liu family’s life was already hard, and this incident made it even worse. Plus, in about a month, it would be time to pay taxes. Now, the family might not even have enough to eat, let alone money for taxes.

Song Tingzhu frowned deeply. Just as he was about to go to the storage room, he saw Xia Ge’er tugging at his clothes, his round, clean eyes red like a little rabbit.

“Uncle, can we go gather herbs again tomorrow?”

He held Xia Ge’er’s hand and asked, “Does Xia Ge’er want to gather herbs?”

The little guy nodded, “Gather herbs to sell for money, to buy grandma and mom new chickens, ducks, and a big pot.”

Song Tingzhu felt his heart soften and gently pinched Xia Ge’er’s little hand, saying softly, “This time, we’ll gather not just plantain but other herbs too.”

Plantain doesn’t sell for much. He needs to look through his book to find herbs that are worth more.

Seeing him take out his brush and ink, Xia Ge’er curiously leaned in.

Some herbs are hard to distinguish, and Song Tingzhu worried his little sister might pick the wrong ones, so he decided to sketch them. With a reference, it would be harder to make a mistake.

Xia Ge’er sat beside him, resting his chin on his hands, watching obediently. After Song Tingzhu finished one sketch, he carefully held the top corners, first pouting and blowing on it for a while, then gently laying it aside to dry.

After drawing three or four sketches, he finally put down the brush.

Liu Xiaomei called out from the courtyard for the two to come eat. Song Tingzhu took the sketches and led Xia Ge’er to the main room.

The dining table was filled with gloom, even Xia Ge’er could tell that grandma and mom were in a bad mood. The little guy quietly leaned against Song Tingzhu, nibbling on a coarse flatbread.

Tang Chunxing, being straightforward, didn’t hesitate long before speaking, “We’re running low on rice and flour. If we don’t buy more, we’ll run out of food in a few days.”

The Qian and Niu families weren’t being decent, taking even the food from the house. It’s the transition between spring and summer, the hardest time of the year. The little bit of grain left can’t possibly feed a family of eight.

Ruan Xiulian, full of worry, put down her chopsticks and said, “Tomorrow, I’ll go to my parents’ house to borrow some grain. We’ll have to be frugal this month. Once the summer harvest comes, things will get better.”

It was the first time Song Tingzhu heard his mother-in-law mention her parental home. Although he didn’t know how close the two families were, he could guess from her expression. After the meal, he learned from his little sister that the two elders weren’t close to the family, even showing signs of wanting to cut ties in recent years, which made him frown unconsciously.