novelraw Chapter 250 No refund? Then let's find someone else to take your place!
Chapter 250 No refund? Then let's find someone else to take your place!
Chapter 250 No refund? Then let's find someone else to take your place!
Wang Laosan was so enraged by these words that he lost his temper. His sinister gaze fell on Feng Shi, and he said he would fight the Gu family to the death.
"If that's the case, then let's make this public! Let your second son hear how his parents schemed against their daughter!"
Upon hearing this, not only was Madam Feng flustered, but even Old Master Gu and Gu Liansheng, who were standing nearby, felt their hearts tremble.
Gu Zhier was no exception; she also participated in this matter.
She looked at Wang Laosan with a frightened expression, and said in a slightly pleading tone, "We're all relatives, we can discuss everything. With my second brother's temperament, if he finds out about this, the Gu family won't be in a good position, and the Wang family will be able to get away with it?"
Mentioning Gu Lianshan's temperament, Wang Laosan regained some of his composure, his lips pressed tightly together, his face extremely unpleasant.
Gu Zhier continued to persuade, "If this matter really comes to light, I won't be able to explain it to my second brother, and outsiders will also criticize us behind our backs!"
What my third sister-in-law did can't be investigated. Your sons are going to school after the New Year. If they cause any trouble, which school would dare to accept them?
Wang Laosan was so focused on being angry that he hadn't thought of these things at the moment.
Hearing Gu Zhier say this, he had some reservations.
Feng glanced at him sideways, seemingly lost in thought: "So what if it causes a scene? No matter how bad I am, that scoundrel of a second son still has to call me 'mother'!"
Even if I sold his son, let alone his daughter, he would only have to endure it! Have you ever seen a son dare to beat or kill his parents?
These words truly fooled Wang Laosan, who was unaware of the true situation of the Gu family.
Upon reflection, I realized that what Mr. Feng said made sense.
Madam Feng is Gu Lao Er's mother, his biological mother! Not his stepmother!
It was extremely common for mothers to sell their granddaughters; when life became unbearable, the first thing they would do was sell their daughters.
If this matter really comes to light, Gu Lao Er really can't do anything to Feng Shi.
Madam Feng added, "If things really escalate, my second son won't be able to vent his anger on me; he'll take it out on you!"
That bastard second son has been to your Wang family before, and he alone managed to make you all submit! Now that he knows your wife hired someone to kidnap his daughter, this time he'll come to your Wang family with a knife and make sure your whole family bleeds!
These words reminded Wang Laosan of his long-buried memories, and the fear he had felt for Gu Lianshan back then resurfaced, sending chills down his spine!
The previous idea of fighting to the death has now dissipated.
But that doesn’t mean he gave up the ten taels of silver.
"If your Gu family doesn't want to return the money, then find another granddaughter to take her place! I dare not tie up your fourth daughter again, I'll just replace her!"
Substitution?
Madam Feng frowned, still unwilling to back down: "We agreed beforehand that we would only sell Siya to you, and the contract has been signed. You can go ahead and make trouble for Siya. Changing her? No way!"
If she really changed the seller, wouldn't she be at a loss? If she wanted to sell her granddaughter again, she could have found another broker. Whether it was Qing'er or Lian'er, she could have sold them for four or five taels of silver each.
If it were someone else, she would have lost four or five taels of silver!
Most importantly, there's Siya, that little harlot standing unharmed in that courtyard. Every time she thinks about it, she gets so angry that her heart aches!
For this reason alone, she had to urge Wang Laosan to take over Li's unfinished business and continue to find someone to kidnap that little prostitute!
Unfortunately, Wang Laosan was now determined not to tie up Gu Tang anymore.
Faced with Feng's refusal to back down, he directly threatened her: "You all know very well what my wife's family does! If you don't change her, I will tell the Li family about this!"
If the Li family makes a move, you'd better watch out. Don't think your children will escape unscathed; if you anger the Li family, none of you will escape unscathed!
The moment the Li family was mentioned, the room fell silent.
The Li family had been slave traders for three generations, and they had taken several lives on their hands. For their own daughter, secretly kidnapping a few people was just a piece of cake.
"Mother!" Gu Zhier suddenly spoke, her face deathly pale.
She and Li had been sisters-in-law for many years and knew a bit about the Li family. Her legs went weak and she stepped forward to grab Feng's hand.
"Mother! Please agree! We'll find someone else!"
Madam Feng felt a chill of fear creep into her heart. Her face fell, and she said irritably, "Easy for you to say. Who would it be? Right now, it's just Qing'er and Lian'er in the house!"
Gu Zhier paused, then shifted her gaze to her elder brother Gu Liansheng and asked, "Brother, these two girls are both your daughters, which one do you think should be replaced?"
Gu Liansheng, whose name was called, froze, his eyes darting away, not daring to meet Gu Zhier's gaze.
"It's all...it's all up to you. For the sake of the family, I'll do anything..."
He spoke hesitantly, clearly unwilling to speak or take responsibility.
Gu Zhier wasn't disappointed. Her older brother had always been like this. The reason she asked was to see if he was willing to part with his daughter.
In retrospect, her older brother was willing to make the sacrifice.
"Mother!" Gu Zhier called out to Madam Feng again, her face full of hope, "Since eldest brother has no objection, you may choose one."
Pick one at random...
"How should we choose?" Mrs. Feng asked in a very unpleasant tone.
In the past, she would have chosen Lian without even thinking.
Lian is of average appearance, and when it comes time to arrange a marriage, she probably won't get much in betrothal gifts.
But Qingya is different. She is pretty and has a good figure. If she finds a good family in the future, she can get a lot of betrothal gifts.
However, now that Qing'er has done something wrong, not only is her reputation ruined, but she has also been punished by the clan. In addition to kneeling in the ancestral hall every day, forty more lashes await her!
That wasn't five or ten lashes, it was forty lashes!
If someone were to receive forty lashes, they would be crippled even if they didn't die!
After much thought, it seems that only Qingya is suitable...
If Madam Feng could think of these things, so could Gu Zhier.
Seeing his mother hesitate, he quickly stepped forward and whispered to her, "How about we choose Qing'er? Her reputation is ruined now, and she still has forty lashes to endure. Let's find a way out for her!"
Although she was sold, at least she wouldn't have to suffer the forty lashes anymore, and could at least survive. That girl was shrewd; if she were sold to a wealthy family as a maid, perhaps she would have a better future..."
"Really?" Feng understood the meaning behind those words, her eyes lit up, and she looked at her daughter with hope.
"Really!" Gu Zhier said firmly, but her eyes flickered as she looked at the ground, looking somewhat uneasy.
She had worked as an assistant for the Li family before, so she knew some things vaguely.
Whether it was the Li family or the Li clan, only girls under the age of ten would be sold to wealthy families as maids.
For those over ten years old, Li used her family connections to sell them all to brothels. After two or three years, they would be ready to serve customers.
The reason for this division is that girls under the age of ten are young and lack independent thought, making them easy to train. Girls over ten, on the other hand, tend to have some maturity and are more difficult to train. If they develop other ideas, they might cause trouble for their masters.
Gu Qingfan will be sixteen after the New Year. Girls of this age are considered too old to be sold to brothels, let alone become maids in wealthy families.
That's a question of whether or not you need to think about it!
Unless you're like Si Ya, with outstanding looks and the ability to impress those gentlemen, you're guaranteed to be taken into their household as a concubine.
Since Madam Feng did not see anything unusual about her daughter, she believed what she heard and felt immediately relieved.
This isn't about selling Qingya; it's about finding her a good way to make a living!
Looking at Wang Laosan, Feng agreed to the replacement: "We can't afford to offend the Li family, so let's replace them. Let's take my Qing'er instead. Although she can't compare to that little harlot Siya in looks, she's still one of the best in the village!"
After finally getting Feng to agree, Wang Laosan's tense spirits suddenly relaxed, and he hurriedly asked, "Where is that girl? Bring her out quickly!"
"What's your hurry!" Madam Feng flared up again. "In broad daylight, how dare you openly take someone away?!"
Wang Laosan: ...Indeed, in broad daylight, if he really forced that girl into the car and caused some disturbance along the way, he would have no way to explain himself!
"If it's not possible during the day, then tonight will do. I'll leave tonight!"
As he spoke, Wang Laosan plopped back down on the stool, looking like he was waiting for someone.
Feng's eyelids twitched, and she wanted to tell him to leave!
Gu Zhier quickly stopped her and turned to discuss with Wang Laosan: "Third brother, you go back first and come back before dawn tomorrow. Qing'er did something wrong, and the clan punished her by making her kneel in the ancestral hall every day, and also punished her with forty lashes! She is now so frightened that she has lost her backbone and is afraid of dying under the whip."
"You go back first. When she returns this afternoon, I'll tell her I've found her a way to make a living, and she'll happily go with you! That way, she won't misunderstand the situation and cause any more trouble."
If people can follow along happily and obediently, that would be ideal, as it would save them a lot of trouble.
After a moment of contemplation, Wang Laosan decided to back down.
"Alright! You're my second sister-in-law, so for my second brother's sake, I'll do as you say! I'll go back now and come back before dawn tomorrow!"
After saying this, he stood up and walked outside.
Wang Lao Er, who had come along, did not immediately follow. Instead, he glared at Gu Zhi'er with extreme dissatisfaction, feeling that she was siding with outsiders!
"Why did you have to say anything about this? Now look what's happened, you're stuck at the Gu family's house again today!"
Gu Zhier didn't want to argue with him, so she explained to him gently, "One side is my family, and the other is my husband's family. They are both my flesh and blood. If we really fight, how am I supposed to face them at home? If things go wrong, I'll be disliked by both sides!"
That makes sense.
Wang Lao Er softened his expression: "You're all talk and no action! Today is the last day, you have to be back first thing tomorrow morning! Did you hear me?"
“I’ve taken it to heart. Tomorrow morning, after I’ve seen Qingya and my third brother off, I’ll go home immediately.”
Gu Zhier knew that she had indeed been quite unreasonable these past few days, abandoning her husband and children at home and staying at her parents' house for several days in a row. Her husband was already being very lenient by not beating her.
Wang Lao Er opened his mouth as if to say something, but Wang Lao San's voice came from outside, calling him twice and urging him to come out and go home quickly.
Hearing the urging voice, Wang Lao Er swallowed back the words he was about to say, turned around, lifted the curtain, and went out of the room.
Gu Zhier followed him out and saw him to the courtyard gate.
Watching the two brothers get on the oxcart and drive the yellow ox eastward, Gu Zhier watched them go for a while before returning to her house.
……
The oxcart slowly made its way home, and Wang Laosan remained silent with a furrowed brow the entire way.
When they arrived at the entrance of Wangzhai Village, he told Wang Lao Er to get out of the car and walk home.
"Second brother, we're already at the village entrance, and it's only a few steps from home. You can walk back by yourself."
Wang Lao Er was taken aback: "Aren't you going back?"
"I'm not going back for now, I have some errands to run." Wang Laosan took out a small string of copper coins, about twenty or so, from his pocket and stuffed them directly into Wang Laoer's arms.
"Take this to buy wine. If your parents ask where you've been, just say you forgot to buy oil and salt at home, and you went to Bei'an City to buy them."
"Hey!" Wang Lao Er grinned from ear to ear after getting the copper coin, patting his chest and assuring his third brother, "Don't worry! I'll make sure you keep it a secret and don't arouse any suspicion from our parents!"
As he spoke, he stuffed the copper coins into his pocket, then jumped off the oxcart, waved to Wang Laosan, and gestured for him to go ahead.
Wang Laosan nodded to him and continued driving the oxcart forward.
Judging from the route, it is indeed heading towards Beian City.
Not long after they left, Wang Laosan looked back and saw that his second brother was no longer in sight.
He flicked the reins, urging the cow to turn onto another road.
This road leads to Yong'an Town, where Li's maternal family, the Li family, lives.
He pulled a folded piece of paper from a hidden pocket at his waist. When unfolded, it turned out to be a contract of servitude.
There are several signatures at the bottom, including Li's, Gu Zhier's, and the Gu family's!
Clearly, this indenture is the same one that the Li family and the Gu family signed earlier, and the person being sold is Gu Tang.
Wang Laosan could barely recognize a few simple characters, but despite not having made any progress in other areas after being married to Li for so many years, he could still recognize the three characters "contract of sale".
This indenture was something that Li always carried with her.
But on the night before they went to the city, Li suddenly put the indenture in a box and handed it to Wang Laosan for safekeeping, saying that there would be too many people at the winter market and it would be troublesome if it were lost.
Wang Laosan, who had taken on the task of safekeeping, did not tell his family about it. It was only after Li Shi disappeared that he took out the indenture and carried it with him.
Li is definitely going to be found. If he tries to find someone on his own, it will be like looking for a needle in a haystack, and he will have a 99% chance of not finding them.
If family members are involved in the search, then the fact that Li colluded with the Gu family to sell Gu Lianshan's daughter will definitely not be kept secret.
This matter is different from others; the fewer people who know about it, the more secure it will be. If more people know about it, it will spread everywhere sooner or later.
Therefore, the Wang family cannot be relied upon when it comes to finding someone; we can only count on the Li family.
It's just that... the Li family members have bad tempers, and the old lady in the family dotes on her daughter-in-law.
If they find out that Li has disappeared, I'm afraid I'll be implicated and scolded.