You are unlucky and I am tough

"We haven't agreed yet."

Amid the villagers' discussions, Hu Chunhua jumped out again.

She pointed at Cheng Shuang and said, "You little bitch, their last name is Cheng, and we are the Cheng family. It's your turn to take them away whenever you say so."

Although these little brats are annoying to look at, Cheng Pan is already thirteen years old. She can help with housework on weekdays, and if she raises them for another two years, she can get them married and receive a betrothal gift.

Although the two little ones are still too young to do any work, if Stuttering raises them a little bit, they can be secretly sold for money.

"I didn't realize what Auntie said and thought you loved them so much."

Cheng Shuang said in a firm tone, "Don't you curse them every time we eat, saying they eat for free? In the past few years since my parents left, have the four of us siblings ever sat at the table to eat?

You guys eat, but we can only drink porridge, not even a single vegetable. You drink porridge, but we can only eat wild vegetable porridge. Even if we drink a sip of water, you will point your nose and scold us. If they follow me, won’t that save you food?”

The onlookers nodded frequently, thinking it made sense. They were all from the same village, and they often saw Hu Chunhua sitting in the yard and scolding the children of the fourth room when she had nothing to do.

Several children were skinny, their clothes were ragged and dirty every day, while the children of the first and second wives had good food and clothes and did not have to work much.

Especially Cheng Caijun, every time he came back from the county academy, he was dressed in silk clothes, and his style was like that of a young master from a wealthy family.

"What's the reason why my aunt is so reluctant to let go now?"

Cheng Shuang covered her mouth in feigned surprise, "Are you planning to sell Pan'er to a wealthy family as a concubine in two years, or are you planning to raise the two little ones and sell them secretly?"

"What are you talking about? When did I say I wanted to sell them?"

Hu Chunhua was shocked by what she said. "There's not enough food at home. I'm lucky enough to have something to eat for you guys. How can you still want to eat delicacies from land and sea?"

"Oh, talented lady."

A woman in the crowd shouted, "A few days ago, your family's talented man came home, cooked meat, and ate behind closed doors. I saw it all. You drove Cheng Shuang and the other children outside.

It's not like you can't make ends meet. You have so much land at home and can afford to eat meat, yet you let your children go hungry every day. If you don't want to raise them, then don't raise them."

"I saw it before. You let Cheng Xu, a five-year-old, go to the chicken coop to touch the eggs. He accidentally broke one, so you grabbed his ears and beat him with a stick."

"Cheng Shuang also works day and night. Everyone knows that you treat the children of the fourth family badly."

The villagers were talking at once. Amidst the chorus of criticism, Cheng Shuang coldly looked at Hu Chunhua and Cheng Lao Da, "You don't have to give them anything, but make sure they have enough food and clothing and don't beat or scold them without reason. You also need to hire a tutor for Chen'er and Xu'er. When Pan'er is engaged, you need to provide at least half of the betrothal gift she receives."

"You're dreaming." Boss Cheng was furious and interrupted her before she could finish. "These two little bastards are eating my rice and still want to go to school. In a few years, I'll sell them for money to compensate me for the food I've fed you these past few years."

"If you dare to sell me, I will report you to the authorities." Cheng Shuang shouted sternly.

Then he looked at Li Zheng Cheng and said, "Grandpa Li Zheng, you heard it, right? He dared to say this in front of so many people. How dare I leave my sister-in-law here?

I'm going to make a promise today: even if I get married, I'll come back every day. If I don't see my sister-in-law one day, I'll go to the county government and file a complaint, turning the whole place upside down and ruining Cheng Caijun's chances of taking the imperial examination."

The government's management of matters such as the buying and selling of children is insufficient, and it is often unable to do anything about it. As long as there are no victims making a fuss, the government will not intervene. However, if the victims come to the government to make a fuss, the government will still intervene, and the perpetrators may be sentenced to up to three years in prison.

"You, you, you dare!"

Boss Cheng said as he was about to find a stick, "Believe it or not, I will break your legs."

Cheng Lizheng's face was stern and he pounded the ground with his cane. "Cheng Deshun, do you think I, the Lizheng, don't exist?"

When Boss Cheng saw that the head of the village was angry, he dropped the stick in his hand.

Hu Chunhua also glared at Cheng Shuang fiercely, as if she wanted to pounce on her and bite her.

Cheng Shuang said coldly, "You still have one choice. I won't marry you. You just return the ten taels of silver to the Wei family. I'm not afraid of being ridiculed or not being able to get married. I will continue to stay at home, eat your food and take care of your younger siblings as an old maid. I'll watch you find a good family for Pan'er and marry Chen'er and Xiaosi."

"Once they both get married, we can split up the family business. According to the rules, my father's share should be given entirely to my two younger brothers, including the house and land. I can endure the hardship for another ten years, and I can afford to split up with my two younger brothers and move out."

"By the way, my cousin Caijun will be taking the college entrance examination next year, right?"

Cheng Shuang smiled. "He did pretty well in the prefectural exam. If he passes the academy exam, he'll be a scholar. An eighteen-year-old scholar has a bright future. It's okay if we don't split up the family. When he passes the exams and becomes an official, we can also change our family status and live a good life. After all, my father paid for his education, didn't he?"

"Who do you think you are, you little bitch? You want to take advantage of my son."

Hu Chunhua was furious. Her son was the youngest student in Chengjia Village and would be the youngest scholar next year. He would surely become a high-ranking official in the future so that she could enjoy the good life. Why should she be the only one to take advantage of him?

Thinking of this, Hu Chunhua suddenly felt that keeping the fourth child's children was pointless. They couldn't do much work and had to feed them.

Besides, when her son becomes a high-ranking official, will he still need to sell these brats for money? It would be better to get rid of them now.

After all, it’s hard to find a fool as stupid as Wei Qinglang.

"The child's father." Hu Chunhua immediately grabbed Cheng Lao Da and whispered in his ear. As Cheng Lao Da listened, a look of thought appeared on his face.

Now they want to leave on their own initiative, and we can give them nothing. If the two little guys grow up and separate from the family, a portion of the family land will have to be divided out. No matter how you look at it, it is more profitable to let them go now.

The onlookers started chattering again, saying that the couple lacked virtue and should have less contact with them in the future.

Cheng Lao Da was furious at what the villagers said. He shouted angrily, "I raised them for several years, how could I abuse them? If you ungrateful bastards want to leave, then all of you can leave. Who the hell cares? You can't do any work and just eat for free all day. Get out of here. If you starve to death after leaving the house, it won't be my fault."

The villagers looked at them with more and more contempt. Cheng Lizheng turned to look at Wei Qinglang, and saw that he still looked determined and had no intention of changing his mind, so he sighed helplessly.

Cheng Shuang secretly breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at Cheng Pan, "Pan'er, hurry up and pack your things."

Cheng Pan reacted and wiped away her tears, then immediately took her two younger brothers into the house to pack their things. They didn't have much, so they packed some clothes, and there was only one bag for the four of them.

The two younger brothers were very happy because they could live with their eldest sister from now on.

After they packed up and came out, Cheng Shuang took the youngest Xiao Si's hand, walked up to Wei Qinglang and looked up at him slightly. "Let's go. What are the procedures? Do we need to get married first?"

Wei Qinglang had just watched the fight between Cheng Shuang and the Cheng family, and began to suspect that the person in front of him was not the same Cheng Shuang as before, but now was not the time to get to the bottom of it.

He suppressed his curiosity and said calmly, "We don't have money for a wedding banquet, so let's keep it simple."

Cheng Shuang nodded, "Okay."