novelraw Chapter 240 You schemed against me, I schemed against you
Chapter 240 You schemed against me, I schemed against you
Chapter 240 You schemed against me, I schemed against you
Hearing Zhang's words, Li Shunzi felt heartbroken and couldn't help but complain to Gu Lianshan: "Lianshan is a fool! After listening to Tang'er's few words of provocation, he cruelly divorced you from the family!"
When Gu Lianshan was mentioned, Zhang felt a mix of emotions, but mostly hatred!
Seeing that Li Shunzi was on her side, she deliberately tried to smear Gu Lianshan: "Lang Ge'er and Yue Ya'er are about to get married, and he's afraid I'll ask him for betrothal gifts and dowries..."
Upon hearing this, Li Shunzi shuddered, and his feverish mind instantly calmed down.
Indeed, the Lin siblings are about to get married, and one of them will definitely ask for a betrothal gift, while the other will ask for a dowry.
If these siblings are Gu Lianshan's children, then he should be responsible for the betrothal gifts and dowry!
But these siblings are from the Lin family!
Raising them is already an immense favor, and you still want Gu Lianshan to provide betrothal gifts and dowries?
Even the most foolish person shouldn't do this!
Li Shunzi pursed her lips, and suddenly she understood Gu Lianshan a little.
Zhang had been secretly observing Li Shunzi's expression and reaction. When she saw him change his expression and stop talking, she understood what was going on.
Although this man had fallen for her, he wasn't a generous person. Unlike Gu Lianshan, he was willing to spend money to support himself, but if asked to spend money to support his son's education, he probably wouldn't agree.
Zhang paused for a moment, then continued, "Although the Lin family failed back then, as the saying goes, 'Even a broken boat has three pounds of nails!' The Lin family still had some savings."
And that courtyard in Linjia Village, it's entirely built of bricks and tiles. It cost twenty taels of silver to build! If you sell it now, even at the very least you'll get fifteen taels of silver!
Fifteen taels of silver!!!
Li Shunzi was shocked and his eyes widened immediately: "The Lin family's courtyard is actually worth this much?"
“That’s right, it’s worth that much!” Zhang nodded, then sighed.
"My original plan was to stop Lang Ge from studying and have him find a job as an accountant. I also planned to sell that courtyard and have him move with me to Shanghe Village with the money. We would spend two or three taels of silver to build a small courtyard next to the Gu family's house."
The remaining silver is enough for him to marry and support a large family. With the Gu family protecting him, no one should dare to bully him. I, as his mother, am incompetent; this is all I can do to help him achieve this."
Li Shunzi's eyes nearly welled up with tears: "That's good enough! Building three brick houses will cost three or four taels of silver. The remaining eleven or twelve taels won't be enough to marry off even three or four wives!"
"Yes, that's what I told Ping An's father too, but he just wouldn't believe me! Plus, he listened to Tang's instigation and divorced me without any regard for our relationship."
As she finished speaking, Zhang's eyes reddened, and she lowered her head to wipe away her tears with a handkerchief. Then she threw out another bait: "Ping An's father is a fool! After we sell the Lin family's courtyard, I can't give all the money to Lang Ge'er. I'll give him some of it to help with household expenses so that we can have a better life."
"Yes, yes, yes! You're a virtuous woman, so you certainly can't give all that money to Lang Ge'er. Besides, you've given birth to two children for the Gu family. Putting everything else aside, just for the sake of the children, you should leave some money for the family!"
Li Shunzi was completely swayed by Zhang's words, his mind filled with the fifteen taels of silver, and he felt that Gu Lianshan had indeed made a foolish mistake this time.
You tell me, you are Zhang's man, Lang'er is inexperienced, and Zhang is just a woman. If you really want to sell the courtyard, the man in the family should be the one to take the lead and make arrangements!
Once the courtyard is sold and the money is in hand, whether or not to give Lang Ge'er money, and how much to give, isn't it all up to you?
As the head of the household, as long as you have money in your hands, who would dare to cause trouble for you?
Seeing that Li Shunzi was interested, Zhang said with a smile, "Once the weather warms up after the New Year, I will arrange to sell the courtyard. First, I will find a wife for Lang Ge'er, then I will marry Yue Ya off. I will use the remaining money for my own safety and retirement."
Anyone with a keen eye would have noticed by now that Zhang's words were strange.
The previous statement implied that she would give the remaining silver to her son, but now she says she will keep the remaining silver for her own retirement.
He never tells the truth.
Unfortunately, Li Shunzi was completely captivated by the non-existent "fifteen taels of silver" at this moment. When he heard Zhang say that she wanted to keep some silver for herself to protect herself and for her old age, his eyes lit up with an astonishing brightness.
"You're still young, why would you need someone to support you in your old age? Besides, a woman still needs a man to rely on, so why don't you... why don't you find someone else..."
Upon hearing this, Zhang immediately lowered her head, feigning embarrassment.
Li Shunzi blushed and kept rubbing her hands together, feeling both expectant and uneasy.
Zhang was turned away from him, her head lowered so that no one could see the expression on her face. She lifted her foot and walked out, saying, "You haven't eaten yet, have you? I'll go cook you something to eat."
Li Shunzi stood up and stopped her: "Don't bother, I ate this morning. I can't stay any longer, my mother has gone to buy some things, I should go too, if I linger any longer, people might get suspicious."
Finally, fearing that Zhang might misunderstand his words, Li Shunzi added, "Don't overthink it, I didn't mean anything by it..."
“I know what you mean,” Zhang interrupted him, her cheeks flushed. “You’re doing this for my own good, and I understand that perfectly well.”
Li Shunzi's heart was burning with passion, and she felt even more that Zhang was a kind and understanding person. Gu Lianshan was truly blind to have abandoned her!
The two talked for a while at the door. Although they didn't explicitly confess their feelings, the atmosphere between them reached a new level.
Only when there was no more time to waste did Li Shunzi turn around and leave, heading towards the side gate.
Like a young wife, Zhang followed closely beside him, personally opening the side gate and seeing him outside.
Li Shunzi looked at her with reluctance: "Don't worry about the firewood and food at home, I'll send you a cartload tomorrow!"
Zhang feigned reluctance, saying, "I feel so guilty that you always have to spend so much money on me..."
"What's there to feel guilty about? You are a widow and her children, and you are currently suffering. It is only right that I take care of you more."
Li Shunzi didn't think much of it; you can't catch a wolf without risking your cub. He was now planning to marry Zhang, so he naturally had to appease her first.
Li Shunzi waved to Zhang Shi and went back the way he came.
Instead of immediately closing the door and returning to the courtyard, Zhang stood outside the door watching him go, her eyes filled with reluctance, like a wife seeing her husband off on a long journey.
Li Shunzi would glance back every now and then, repeatedly calling out to her to go back.
When Li Shunzi turned back for the third time to tell her to go back, Zhang returned to her courtyard.
He closed the door, hurriedly entered the house, picked up the brazier from the ground, and carried it back to the south room.
The south room was no longer warm, and Lin Yue, sitting on the bed, looked unwell, suppressing her anger.
Seeing her mother bring the brazier back, she knew that the man surnamed Li had left.
Unable to contain his disgust any longer, he coldly questioned Zhang: "You know how to embroider, too! Go to an embroidery shop and take some work. Even if it's tiring and hard, at least it'll be clean and honest! Why do you have to take this shady path?!"
These words struck a nerve with Zhang. Who was she insulting? What did she mean by "clean and innocent"?
Is she no longer clean? No longer innocent?
Zhang was so angry that her face turned pale, and she reached out to hit Lin Yue!
"Go ahead and hit me!" Lin Yue didn't back down this time, bracing herself for the chance to hit her. "No secrets stay hidden forever! That Li guy will find out you're lying to him sooner or later, and the people from Linjia Village will find us sooner or later too!"
Zhang raised her hand, looking at her daughter's stubborn face, but couldn't bring herself to slap her.
She and her husband have only two children, a boy and a girl, and she cherishes them both dearly.
Now that the girl is grown up, her face is the most precious thing, so she can't be hit casually.
After a brief standoff, Zhang withdrew her hand, plopped down on the edge of the bed, and tears streamed down her face.
"I know you're proud and look down on your mother's ways! I don't want to do this either, but the three of us need money for everything these days!"
Zhang wiped away her tears and carefully explained to Lin Yue where the money would be needed.
"The rent is two hundred copper coins a month. What about our food, drink, and daily necessities? We need money for everything."
In addition, your brother needs money for his studies, money for his marriage, and money for your wedding. These three things alone can overwhelm your mother!
"Even if my mother and I took on embroidery work together, let alone just one person doing it, we still couldn't cover these expenses!"
"You got pregnant just by hooking up with that guy surnamed Li?" Lin Yue didn't believe it. The Li family wasn't exactly wealthy.
"You know what kind of situation that guy surnamed Li is in. No matter how much you coax him, he can't come up with any money! If he had money, he wouldn't be so old and still not married!"
"The Li family isn't wealthy, but they're not so poor that they can't afford to get married." Lin Yue had hardly ever been to Shanghe Village, so there were some things she didn't know.
Zhang said, "That man surnamed Li had been engaged to three women in his early years, but one of the girls he was engaged to died and the other was injured. People outside said that he was a jinx to his wives, and he has not been able to find a wife all these years."
If the Li family squeezed a little, they could still manage to scrape together a few taels of silver, especially their cow. Although it wasn't of the best quality, it was still a female cow and not very old; they could sell it for a dozen or so taels of silver.
Hearing this, Lin Yue thought her mother had gone mad: "That ox is probably the most valuable thing in their family. Would they be willing to sell it? Even if they did, would the money end up in your hands?!"
"Don't worry about that!" Zhang said with certainty. "I won't marry him. I just want to get some money out of him, especially that cow!"
If we really sell it, the money we get can send your brother to a better school, and we won't have to worry about money for a year."
After saying that, she got up and left, her expression resolute.
Lin Yue fell silent. Even her grandmother admired her mother's methods; she rarely failed in her schemes.
This time, he looked so confident; he must have already come up with a plan.
After leaving the south room, Zhang stood outside the door of the north room, hesitating whether or not she should knock and go in.
After hesitating for a while, remembering that the two hundred copper coins Li Shunzi had given him were still in his son's room, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and knock on the door.
"Lang'er, has your mother come in?"
"Come in," Lin Lang actually replied, surprising and delighting Zhang.
I pushed open the door and went in, and found my son still sitting at his desk reading.
Zhang felt a pang of sympathy: "Take a break. You've been reading for so long, you must be exhausted."
As she spoke, she stepped forward to help him tidy up his desk.
Zhang paused, her gaze falling on a corner of the desk. The string of copper coins she had brought in earlier was on there. Why was it gone now?
Zhang glanced at her son and tentatively asked, "Lang'er, what about the copper coins on this desk..."
"I put it away." Lin Lang readily admitted that he had taken it himself, then asked with a puzzled look, "What? Wasn't that copper coin meant for me to buy ink sticks?"
I thought you remembered my wish to buy ink sticks, which is why you sent two hundred copper coins to my room. Turns out, that wasn't the case? It seems I misunderstood. I'll take the copper coins out right now…”
"I didn't misunderstand, I didn't misunderstand!" Zhang waved her hands repeatedly, stopping her son who was about to get up, with a smile on her face.
“Those copper coins are for you to buy ink sticks. Your father told me years ago that only good ink sticks can produce good calligraphy! Take those two hundred copper coins and buy them first. If it’s not enough, I’ll get you more later.”
These words pleased Lin Lang greatly, and his anger subsided somewhat.
He knew his mother well; as long as he said it, she would immediately agree without hesitation.
Thinking of this, he smiled at Zhang again: "I know you are worried about my studies. After the New Year, I want to take the exam. If I can pass, then our family's life will be better."
This promise was exactly what Zhang wanted to hear, and she exclaimed with delight, "My son will definitely pass the imperial examination!"
Lin Lang smiled smugly: "My son thinks so too, he'll definitely pass the exam!"
He believes himself to be exceptionally talented and has been studying diligently for the past two years. He is certain that he will pass the provincial examination next year!
Zhang had great faith in her son's confidence and pointed outside: "There's half a chicken in that big vat outside. I'll go and stew it for you. You stay inside and study. You can eat it this afternoon."
Half a chicken?
Lin Lang's mouth watered, and he nodded reservedly: "Alright, winter nights are long and days are short, so eating dinner earlier will allow us to rest earlier and continue studying early tomorrow."
Zhang was all smiles at her son's diligence. She quietly left the north room and closed the door behind her.
Once outside, the wind picked up, and the cold wind made it hard to open one's eyes, but Zhang didn't complain at all.
She first lit the stove and boiled a small pot of water, then put the half-frozen chicken, which was as hard as a rock, into it to thaw.
Once the chicken has thawed, remove it and chop it into small pieces.
Next, put the chopped chicken into the pot after changing the water, then cover it, add firewood, and simmer.
Zhang's cooking skills were not very good; in the past, the Lin siblings might have even found fault with her.
Now that the brother and sister have suffered so much, they no longer have the heart to complain. They only ask for two meals a day, to be full at each meal, and to have meat every few days.
Like the half chicken in the pot, the other half was eaten three days ago, and the remaining half was saved to eat today.