The wife of two taels of silver

The village chief looked at Lin Haitang, a little puzzled: "Gu An's family, do you have anything else to say?"

Lin Haitang called the village chief because he had something important to tell her and it was a big deal: he wanted money.

"Village Chief," Lin Haitang walked up to the village chief with tears in her eyes, and tears immediately fell: "Village Chief, you must make the decision for me!"

The village chief frowned suddenly: "Gu An's family, tell me, if you have suffered any injustice, I will definitely seek justice for you."

Lin Haitang's tears fell down: "Village chief, since my husband joined the army, he has sent some money back home every month." Lin Haitang stopped shedding dry tears and started crying as if she could not bear it anymore.

The village chief's brows furrowed more and more. He really didn't understand why Lin Haitang was saying all this. Gu An would send money back every month, but that was military pay. He didn't dare to take a single cent and gave it to Lin Haitang's family honestly. What was Lin Haitang trying to do by saying this now? "That's right, Gu An's military pay first goes to me, the village chief, but your family takes it away from me every month."

Lin Haitang felt even more wronged when he said that, and burst into tears: "Village Chief, when my mother-in-law was alive, she was the one who made the decisions at home. She even went to you to get Gu An's military pay, but, but Village Chief..."

The village chief immediately followed up on Lin Haitang's words: "After your mother-in-law passed away, your mother has been taking money from me!" Before the village chief finished speaking, he suddenly realized! Lin Haitang's mother, Wu Cailing, is no pushover!

"Yes, it was my mother who went to you to get it." Lin Haitang squatted down as if she couldn't bear the blow, hugged Gu Mo and Gu Zhilan and cried, frightening the two children to cry too. Lin Haitang felt very distressed when she heard it, but there was nothing she could do. She had to act out this scene today to get the money back. "But Village Chief, my mother-in-law has been dead for ten months. Not a penny of the money my mother took from you every month is in my hands."

"My mother-in-law told me on her deathbed that Gu An would send three taels of silver home every month and asked me to ask you for it every month. But my mother heard these words and said I was stupid and asked her to ask you for the money on my behalf. But my mother never gave me the money. Village chief! You must help me, help my two children. They have nothing to eat and nothing to wear. I really have no other choice!"

The people watching the excitement around never expected such a development. They were shocked that Gu An sent three taels of silver home every month, but they also felt that Wu Cailing was too cruel. Not only did she steal the money, but she also didn't help her daughter at all, leaving her two grandchildren starving and cold. In addition, Lin Haitang cried heartbrokenly, and when they looked at Gu Mo and Gu Zhilan's thin and dry faces and the tattered clothes they wore, some soft-hearted people began to have red eyes.

The village chief looked at the tattered cotton-padded jackets Gu Mo and Gu Zhilan were wearing, and when he saw the bruises on their faces, he became furious: "Did your mother embezzle Gu An's military pay? From the time your mother-in-law passed away, excluding the month Gu An was home, it's already been ten months."

Lin Haitang tried hard to control her tears. "Yes, it's been ten months. I was originally mentally retarded, but after seeing Momo and Lanlan today, I can't be mentally retarded anymore. If I continue like this, I'll lose my child."

"My husband gave me five taels of silver before he left this year, but the next day, as soon as Gu An left, my mother took the money away. Village chief, I really have no other choice. If I had any other solution, I wouldn't come to you like this."

Veins bulged in the village chief's forehead. He was so furious. After all these years, Shang'anhe Village finally had a captain. He had never imagined someone would treat a soldier's family so harshly. And what's more, that was military pay! Military pay! Embezzling military pay was punishable by death! It was a grave crime! And if he hadn't remembered Wu Cailing's behavior, all that money wouldn't have gone into her pocket. He would have been complicit in the evil!

"Li Jing and Li Jun! Go and bring Wu Cailing and Lin Guangzong to me!" the village chief yelled.

Li Qing and Li Jun are descendants of the village chief; Li Jing is his son, and Li Jun is his nephew. Shang'anhe Village has three major surnames: Gu, Li, and Lin. The village chief rotates among these three surnames each term. A term of six years is served, and those who perform well can be re-elected for two terms. The current village chief, Li Youdao, is in his seventh term, having served two terms.

The village chief squatted down and touched Gu Mo and Gu Zhilan's heads: "Don't worry, Haitang, I will definitely seek justice for you in this matter."

The village chief held Gu Mo and stood up, then said, "Zhu Qing, go and invite the old patriarch Lin over."

Lin Haitang quickly hugged Gu Zhilan and stood up, saying to the village chief, "Village chief, there is one more thing."

"Haitang, you say, Uncle Li will help you."

Lin Haitang held Gu Zhilan's hand tightly, "Uncle Li, my family still has five acres of fertile land that we rent out. We rented it to Li Erjin. The rent should have been paid before the New Year, but he said he had no money and kicked me out and threatened me. When Gu An came back, I was stupid and didn't dare to tell him. I was afraid that Li Erjin would beat me after Gu An left, so I didn't dare to say anything. But, but my two children have suffered so much, I can't be stupid anymore." As she spoke, Lin Haitang was about to cry again.

The village chief was silent. He really didn't expect Lin Haitang to live such a life. "Zhu Qing, please invite old clan leader Li over as well."

Li Zhuqing is the youngest son of the village chief. He just turned thirteen this year. Despite his young age, he is very talented in literature. His private school teacher often talks about him. He has a bookish air and can be said to be a peerless young man in the world.

Li Zhuqing nodded slightly and said to the village chief, "Okay."

The village chief found another young man and asked him to go and find Li Erjin.

The onlookers kept chattering. No one could have imagined that Wu Cailing was so cruel, greedily taking thirty taels of silver from her own daughter and leaving her nothing. Her daughter and two grandchildren didn't even have a decent winter coat. They still remembered why they were blind and didn't let their daughter marry Gu An. Gu An was a scholar at a young age, and even with his disfigured face, he was much better than other men. How could this marriage be snatched away by a foolish girl like Lin Haitang? They didn't even think about how much they had despised Gu An in the past.

As an aside, if Gu An had only his face disfigured, he wouldn't have been unable to find a wife. It was only later that the rumor spread in the village, saying that Gu An was injured by the fire and became inhumane, which is why he couldn't find a wife.

Gu Mo was held by the village chief and was not put down; Lin Haitang had been holding her daughter. Now Erhu found that his mother's momentum was suppressed. Looking at the serious expression of the village chief, he was scared and cried. Gu Zhilan looked at him and cried for a while, then buried her face in Lin Haitang's shoulder.

When the cute little girl Gu Zhilan buried her head in his shoulder, Lin Haitang's heart melted and she kept touching the back of her head.

After a while, the two old patriarchs came. They were both quite old, with gray hair. The village chief put Gu Mo down and moved two chairs for the two old men to sit on, one on each side.

"Master Lin, Zhuqing should have told you that Lin Guangzong and Wu Cailing have gone too far! They ignored the law and embezzled military pay, thirty taels! That was Gu An's ten-month monthly salary, and it was all embezzled by Lin Guangzong and Wu Cailing! Master Lin, Lin Guangzong and Wu Cailing are in court, and they will be punished alive or dead!" The village chief became more and more angry as he spoke, and waved his hand fiercely.

"Dad, Uncle Lin and Aunt Wu are here." Li Jing shouted before she even entered the door.

Lin Guangzong and Wu Cailing's legs trembled with fear. When they arrived, they heard the saying: "You can escape the death penalty in the court, but you can't escape the punishment of life." The government, the government, what ordinary people wouldn't be afraid of.

Wu Cailing swallowed and forced herself to remain calm. Lin Haitang was her biological child, the child she'd carried for ten months. She'd just spent a few bucks on Lin Haitang, so why would she end up in the government? Wu Cailing kept repeating this to herself, supporting her husband, whose legs were shaking with fear. The moment she saw the village chief and the old patriarch, Lin, through the crowd, Wu Cailing was frightened again and swallowed her saliva.

The old patriarch Lin leaned on his cane, his face drooping. Seeing Lin Guangzong and Wu Cailing, he angrily hit them with his cane and shouted, "Asshole! Kneel down!"

Lin Guangzong and Wu Cailing were so frightened that their whole bodies trembled and they quickly knelt down.

"As citizens of the Kang Dynasty, you embezzle military funds! As parents, you rob your children of their money! You are unworthy of being human beings! Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs! You are simply going too far!" The old patriarch Lin's crutch was about to knock a hole in the ground. He was extremely heartbroken by the behavior of his descendants.

Wu Cailing shouted: "Old Patriarch, I, I just spent a little bit of my daughter's money. She is my daughter, so what if I spent a little bit of her money!" The less confident she was and the more guilty she felt, the louder she shouted.

"You!" Clan leader Lin pointed his cane at her. "You still don't repent! Return the thirty taels of silver to Haitang, not a cent less. Then, the two of you will go to the ancestral hall and kneel down! Reflect on your mistakes for a month!"

"Master Lin, I didn't embezzle the military pay. How could I have the courage to do that? I just took some money from my daughter. How could it be considered embezzling the military pay?" Lin Guangzong was dissatisfied. He felt a little scared when he saw the old patriarch Lin, but he still fought for the money.

"Bastard! If you don't return the money to Haitang, I will personally send you two to jail!" The old patriarch Lin slammed the armrest of the chair, stood up, and glared at Lin Guangzong.

Lin Guangzong finally lowered his head.

Seeing Lin Guangzong give in, the old patriarch of the Lin clan sighed deeply and said to Lin Haitang, "Haitang, I asked your parents to give you the money. Reporting this to the government...it wouldn't be good for anyone. After all, these are your parents."

Lin Haitang brushed off lightly and said, "Chief, I understand. Thank you for your hard work."

Lin Haitang took Gu Mo and Gu Zhilan to Lin Guangzong and Wu Cailing, knelt down, and kowtowed three times to Lin Guangzong and Wu Cailing with the two children.

"Dad, Mom, I only want half of the thirty taels of silver. You two elders only need to give me fifteen taels. The remaining fifteen taels plus the five taels I gave you for the New Year will make a total of twenty taels of silver." Lin Haitang looked at Lin Guangzong and Wu Cailing's angry expressions and gloated in his heart: "The twenty taels of silver can be regarded as a way to repay you two elders for raising me."

"You! You little bitch..." Wu Cailing gritted her teeth in anger and reached out to grab Lin Haitang's face.

"Lin!" The village chief shouted loudly, and Wu Cailing could only reluctantly withdraw her hand.

"Vicious woman! You must force me to have someone write a letter of severance? Severing your relationship with Lin Haitang as both father and daughter, and mother and daughter?" Old Patriarch Lin was so angry that he banged his crutch again: "Do you think I don't know how harshly you've treated Haitang since she was a child? Have you ever spent even three taels of silver on Haitang since she was a child? You're still not satisfied! I'm telling you, from now on, Haitang gives you money and gifts because she's fulfilling her filial duty. If you dare to ask Haitang for money again, you'll have to walk all over me!"

"What about my Jiafu? My son is going to get married, so what's wrong with me asking my daughter for some money?" Wu Cailing shouted directly. She believed that everything Lin Haitang had belonged to her son Lin Jiafu, and everything that belonged to Gu Mo and Gu Zhilan would belong to her future grandchildren.

"You!" Patriarch Lin walked up to Wu Cailing angrily and slapped her hard: "Shut up!"

The force was so strong that Patriarch Lin almost fell down, and the village chief quickly supported him.

Patriarch Lin patted the village chief's hand, and the village chief understood instantly.

Wu Cailing was slapped and started crying, but she didn't dare to act presumptuously again.

"Zhu Qing, please write a letter of severance. From now on, Lin Guangzong, Wu Cailing, and Lin Jiafu will have no relationship. Lin Guangzong and Wu Cailing can no longer use the excuse of being Lin Haitang's biological parents to ask for money."

Before Lin Zhuqing could agree, Lin Guangzong jumped up and said, "No! We can't sever ties! Even if we do, it won't be in vain. Lin Haitang must give me ten taels of alimony every year!"

"I'll beat you to death, you bastard!" Patriarch Lin raised his crutch and was about to hit Lin Guangzong, but was stopped by Lin Haitang.

"Chief, calm down." Lin Haitang helped the old chief to sit on the chair. "Dad, Mom, I can give you alimony every year, but ten taels is too much. I can give you five taels a year."

"No! You little bitch, just cut it in half. Ten taels is ten taels! Not a penny less! But you get three taels of silver every month. I'm lucky I didn't ask you for twenty taels." Lin Guangzong continued to yell.

His shameless behavior disgusted the people around him, and many of the young men wanted to beat him up.

"Only five taels per year! Otherwise, you will be removed from the family tree! And your son too!" The old patriarch Lin made the final decision. When Lin Guangzong and Wu Cailing heard this, they dared not say a word.

Li Zhuqing quickly drafted the document, and Lin Guangzong, Wu Cailing and Lin Haitang all put their fingerprints on it.

Lin Haitang breathed a sigh of relief, finally solving a big problem, otherwise she would have been sucked dry.

Lin Haitang was well prepared. She took out the lease deed from her sleeve and said to the old clan leader Li, "Old clan leader Li, my family's five acres of fertile land were leased to Li Erjin when my mother-in-law was alive. In the past, it was my mother-in-law who went to ask for the rent. But at the end of last year, my mother-in-law was no longer with us, so I went to ask for the rent. However, Li Erjin refused to acknowledge it and drove me out. I was a weak woman, how could I resist him? I walked out of the door and threatened to beat me if I came to ask for rent again." Lin Haitang started crying again.

Because Li Erjin was there when Lin Guangzong and Wu Cailing were being interrogated just now, he felt more and more guilty and scared. He confessed everything before the old patriarch Li could ask him, and hurriedly asked his wife to go home and get money for Lin Haitang.

Witnessed by the village chief and clan leader Li, Lin Haitang took back the land she had rented from Li Erjin, and promised to return the land to Lin Haitang as soon as the millet was harvested this summer.

Just like that, this farce ended.