The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

Daya thought for a moment, then whispered the situation to Liu Sanlang, asking him to take Dazhu back to her maternal home to fetch help. Her grandparents' house wasn't far from town, and it would only take a little over a quarter of an hour to get there by mule cart.

Liu Sanlang nodded without asking any more questions and led Dazhu out.

At this time, my aunt-in-law Shen was still crying and making a fuss, saying that she was going to beat someone to death and demanding compensation!

A burly bearded man next to him sneered: "Payment? The government won't care if I beat and kill your man. He seduced my wife and I caught him in bed with her. I'm not afraid of going anywhere to seek justice. Let me tell you, if you want to settle this matter privately, don't even bother talking about it if the price is less than fifty taels of silver!"

The people around them also clenched their fists. Shen was just a woman after all, and seeing this, she was also afraid in her heart. She said hesitantly, "That's what your wife wanted!"

"Haha," the big man was too lazy to waste words. Anyway, he had already informed the Xu family. It all depended on their attitude. The young wife had no say in the matter.

Not long after, Old Man Xu and Boss Xu came along. In fact, this big man had already inquired about the Xu family's background. Xu Youcai was also the fat sheep they had chosen in advance. Fifty taels was an amount based on the Xu family's situation. It would be a big loss but not so big that they couldn't afford it!

Old Man Xu has always been a kind person, but at this moment his face was as gloomy as water. He sat quietly for a while before saying, "Let's wait until the doctor bandages the wound," and then he kept silent.

Boss Xu was also an honest man. He had never dealt with such ruffians in his life. Moreover, it was obvious that the other party was not a local, which made him even more difficult to deal with. Even a fool knew that the other party would not let go until he bit off a piece of meat. So he didn't say much and sat next to him with a sullen face.

The other party had seen this kind of reaction many times, the only thing he didn't expect was that the Xu family also had a person like Liu Sanlang, who standing next to them gave people an invisible sense of oppression.

After a while, another young doctor came out from the backyard. Looking at the situation of the few people, he bandaged Xu Youcai's head without saying a word and left.

The bearded man then continued, "Alright, now that the injury has been treated, your son has been caught in adultery. We'll settle the matter privately for fifty taels of silver. What do you think we should do?"

He knew that the Xu family only had two sons and it was impossible not to save them.

After a moment of silence, Old Man Xu said, "Twenty taels, and a written guarantee that I will not pursue further responsibility."

One of the followers couldn't help but say, "Tsk, twenty taels, are you sending away a beggar?"

"Taxes are getting heavier now. Although we have a small shop, buying wood requires capital, and we also have to pay for food and clothing for the whole family. The annual surplus will not exceed five taels. These twenty taels are the limit of what I can take out," Old Man Xu replied indifferently.

The bearded man waved his hand to stop his younger brother from continuing, and said calmly: "That's not right, old man, your family still has land. If you can't make money, you can sell it. Even if I agree to twenty taels, my brothers won't agree!"

Old man Xu was silent and did not answer. Big Boss Xu was a little restless. Land was the foundation of common people. Now an acre of high-quality paddy field could be sold for about eight taels. Fifty taels would require six or seven acres of good land. The current harvest was not as good as before. There were so many people to support at home. The Xu family had only saved about thirty acres of land for generations!

Seeing that his father didn't reply, Old Xu was about to sweat!

Old Man Xu gathered himself together and let out a long sigh, as if he had made some important decision. A gleam in his eyes, and he said solemnly, "Thirty taels! No more. You know the situation better than I do. This is the trap you set for my second son. I have a whole family to support. I can't possibly sell my house and land just for this good-for-nothing. He has several children anyway, so there's someone to carry on the family line. If you think this price isn't worth it, go report it to the authorities and have him locked up for a year or two."

After saying that, he stood up and left. Before leaving, he turned his head and said, "He did something wrong and you beat him up, he deserves it. We have no objection if you report him to the police, but if you want to do something to him privately, our Xu family has lived in Shuanghe Town for so many years, and we are not pushovers. There are more than a hundred able-bodied men in our family!"

At this time, Liu Sanlang stood forward with his arms folded, staring at these people without saying a word.

When Boss Xu saw that his father had left, he had nothing to say and just followed him.

When Shen saw that everyone in the family had left, she panicked and cried out, "Dad, Dad, Big Brother, don't leave!"

The rumbling sound of the mule cart outside gradually faded away. The bearded man and several brothers looked at each other, stood up and said to Xu Youcai: "Huh, kid, you got a good deal! Go back and tell your dad that I'll get the money tomorrow morning"!

After saying that, a group of people left in a hurry!

Daya finally dared to come out and asked with concern: "Uncle, are you okay?"

Xu Youcai felt very embarrassed that his niece and her husband had seen him in such an ugly state. He thought that everyone would know about the embarrassing thing now, so he quickly forced a stiff smile and said, "It's okay, it's okay. We'll go back now. We'll talk again when we have time."

After saying that, he quickly pulled Shen away. Shen was still struggling, muttering, "Hey, why are you pulling me? Let Daya and the others see you off. It's almost dark!"

"Go away quickly," Xu Youcai felt that he was really embarrassed today.

At this time, an ox cart drove towards the door from afar, and the sound of "mooing" of cows could be heard from time to time. Daya looked closely and found that it was her uncle and aunt who came.

When the car got closer, Daya came forward and said, "Uncle, aunt, you are here!"

Mrs. Li jumped out of the car first and said with a smile, "Yes, your uncle was slow in driving and it took him a while. I'm so sorry that he delayed your dinner. Your mother had prepared quite a few dishes."

Daya said gently, "It's okay, Auntie. You can eat anytime. The patient is the most important. The doctor just gave him an acupuncture treatment. Please go and take a look!"

After saying that, he helped Li go in.

When they got in, Yingniang had already stood up. She lowered her head and said stiffly, "Mom, I'm sorry for causing you all so much trouble. Let's go back now!"

Dazhu also smiled flatteringly and said, "Mom, I've got the medicine ready. Let's go back and tell Daya and the others to go back early. We've kept them here for so long."

It would have been better if she hadn't said anything. After she finished speaking, Li noticed the two bags of medicine beside the bed. Her heart trembled when she saw them, and she asked in a trembling voice, "How much...how much?"

Dazhu raised a shaky finger, and Li asked, "One or two?"

"One tael and seven cents, haha," Dazhu laughed dryly.

"What? What a sin! You married such a prodigal son. I, your mother, only gave you two taels of silver as a betrothal gift! What kind of fate do I have? After worrying about the old ones, I now have to worry about the young ones!" After hearing this, Mrs. Li slapped her thigh and burst into tears.

After hearing this, Yingniang's tears began to fall, and she wanted to lower her head to her chest. Dazhu was helpless because he knew that his mother would be like this.

Daya helped to persuade him, "It's okay, he's still alive. The most important thing is to take care of your health. You can still make money!"

Li cried, "Daya, you don't know how expensive firewood, rice, oil, and salt are because you don't manage the household. Life is getting tough these days. Money is not easy to earn. You work hard all year round and can only earn a few dollars from the fields."

After crying, she probably felt embarrassed, so she wiped away her tears and said, "We will go back soon. You should go back too. We have been delayed for so long. Being a wife is different from being a girl. You have to be careful."

Daya looked at the sky and saw that it was indeed late. Her aunt and the others had already arrived, and there was nothing else to do, so she greeted them one by one and said, "Okay, Uncle, Aunt, Dazhu, and Sister-in-law, we're going home now!"

Liu Sanlang stayed by her side the whole time, showing no sign of impatience. Seeing that Daya was fine, he also said hello, "Let's go...let's go...let's go."

"Hey, let's go," Li waved his hand.

Watching Daya and the other man driving the mule cart away, Li turned around and said viciously, "Go home! I'll settle the score with you two when I get back!"