novelraw Chapter 308 I'll only settle accounts with the Zhu family!
Chapter 308 I'll only settle accounts with the Zhu family!
Chapter 308 I'll only settle accounts with the Zhu family!
Faced with Gu Mei's accusations, Gu Lianshan nodded readily: "Yes, I'm cursing you to die! If you really died, I might still have some sympathy for you. But now that you're shamelessly alive, I just feel bad for you!"
These words brought tears to Gu Mei's eyes. She glared at Gu Lianshan, her hatred undisguised: "You want me dead? I'll make sure you don't! If you dare to hold a funeral, I'll go back to the village and make a scene with drums and gongs! I've lost all face and reputation now, I have nothing left to lose!"
"Mei'er!" Old Mrs. Zhu scolded, not too harshly, "How dare you speak to your father like that? What hatred is there between father and daughter? Hurry up! Apologize to your father, and this matter will be over."
Gu Mei pursed her lips, stubbornly refusing to back down: "Other people's fathers and daughters are all affectionate, but only he has eyes for that wretched girl raised by his stepmother! In his eyes, I'm not even as good as a cat or a dog!"
Gu Lianshan laughed in anger and immediately replied, "Yes, in front of me, you are indeed not even as good as a cat or a dog. If a cat or dog is given a bite to eat, that beast will at least wag its tail at me. But you, I feed you well and raise you to be a treacherous ingrate!"
Gu Mei was furious.
Before she could even retort, Gu Lianshan turned his head and unleashed his anger on the Zhu family: "I came here today to tell you that since she's staying here, you have to keep an eye on her and prevent her from going out and talking nonsense, and also prevent her from going back to the Gu family."
"You all better spread the word to me right now: this girl isn't some cousin. As for where she came from, you can come up with any other excuse besides 'cousin'!"
The Zhu family didn't understand what they meant: "Why can't we say cousin? Mei is originally You Shou's cousin?"
"Your Zhu family only has one daughter. Saying she's your cousin is no different from telling outsiders that she's Zhu Xiuer's daughter."
"It's easy to find out which family Zhu Xiuer married into and how many children she had. Your Zhu family may be shameless and not think anything of it, but my Gu family can't afford to lose face like this!"
The Zhu family felt aggrieved by these words, but they didn't dare to refute them. They didn't nod in agreement either, but just kept their faces down and remained silent.
Gu Mei exploded, yelling at Gu Lianshan, "Why can't I address people like that?! I won't! I'll go to the village and announce that my mother is Zhu Xiuer! The more you think I'm shameful, the more I'll embarrass you!"
These words had no effect on Gu Lianshan; he didn't even give her a second glance, simply blaming her crazy behavior on the Zhu family.
"I don't care how much trouble she causes, if I hear even a single word of gossip about the Gu family, I will come and settle accounts with your Zhu family."
The Zhu family was displeased by this: "This is a matter between you and your daughter; it has nothing to do with the Zhu family! How can you attribute this to us?!"
Gu Lianshan ignored them and glanced at Ah Gou: "Do you know how to smash things and destroy the house?"
Ah Gou blinked: "Yes!"
Gu Tang had done it before, and he remembered it so he could learn from it.
"That's good."
Gu Lianshan looked at the Zhu family again: "To avoid you thinking I'm just bluffing, I'll set an example for you first!"
The Zhu family members weren't stupid. The conversation between Gu Lianshan and Agou made them wary, and when Gu Lianshan said those words, their eyes widened.
What does it mean to set an example?
The Zhu family had their suspicions, but they refused to believe it, thinking that Gu Lianshan couldn't possibly be so ruthless.
Unfortunately, they underestimated Gu Lianshan and overestimated the Zhu family.
"Smash it for me!"
Gu Lianshan roared and grabbed a stool, smashing it against the wall.
With a loud bang, the stool shattered into pieces.
The Zhu family was immediately terrified. Everyone, including Gu Mei, froze in shock and dared not utter a sound.
Smashing a stool isn't enough to vent your anger.
Next, Gu Lianshan swiftly smashed the remaining stools against the wall, creating a dent in the adobe wall.
Ah Gou wasn't idle either. He kicked down and broke a table leg, and also smashed two holes in the tabletop. The long table also had broken legs and holes.
Faced with all this, the Zhu family members were furious and kept shouting for the two to stop.
"Let's talk this out, let's talk this out..."
"Stop! Gu Lianshan! You are utterly lawless!"
"Heavens above! You're cutting off the Zhu family's path to survival!"
"Father! Have you gone mad?!"
……
Hearing the commotion, the eldest and second sons of the Zhu family also ran out. Seeing the scene before them, the eldest and second eldest sons of the Zhu family were furious and immediately stepped forward to stop Gu Lianshan.
Ah Gou noticed the two brothers and quickly kicked them to the ground.
Hearing the wails, Gu Lianshan turned to look at the two brothers and saw that they were holding broken stool legs.
It's obvious they're planning to sneak up on us!
Gu Lianshan was furious and turned to order Ah Gou to kick down all the doors and windows of the Zhu family's house!
Ah Gou was incredibly accurate; he kicked the doors and windows several times, rendering them all useless.
Soon, cold air blew into the house from outside, and the temperature inside quickly dropped, rendering the stove completely useless.
The Zhu family members were trembling all over, whether from shock or from the cold in the house. After seeing the eldest and second eldest Zhu brothers being beaten, several of the more timid ones burst into tears.
Old Mrs. Zhu plopped down on the ground, wailing and cursing.
Gu Lianshan turned a deaf ear, and Agou was completely oblivious, as the two of them continued to smash and destroy the Zhu family's main hall.
Before long, the Zhu family's main hall was in a dilapidated state, with nothing intact except for the roof beams.
After smashing and looting everything, Gu Lianshan's anger finally subsided by more than half.
Looking at the Zhu family members who were wailing and crying, Gu Lianshan once again threatened them.
"Today's meal is just an appetizer! Listen up, if you don't do as I say, and if I hear any more about cousins, then next time I'll burn the Zhu family down!"
Old Mrs. Zhu fell silent, her face turned pale, and the curses that were on the tip of her tongue instantly went back into her mouth.
Gu Lianshan spat at her, put his hands in his sleeves, and stood in the Zhu family's main room, which was without doors and windows, in a mess, and drafty, making veiled insults one after another.
In the end, he managed to scold Grandpa Zhu and Grandma Zhu until they both fainted from anger.
After making the man faint with anger, Gu Lianshan didn't stay any longer and took Ah Gou home.
Gu Lianshan left, and the Zhu family, with nowhere to vent their anger, simply took it all out on Gu Mei.
The eldest son's wife, Qin, and the second son's wife, Ding, got up from the ground and started hitting Gu Mei without saying a word.
"what!!!"
Gu Mei screamed as she clutched her head, her hair being grabbed by Qin Shi, while Ding Shi took the opportunity to slap her across the face.
With each slap, Gu Mei's face quickly swelled up, her mouth became sore, and blood smeared all over Ding's hand.
"You jinx!!! The Zhu family took you in, fed you, and treated you like family. I never expected your father to be such a scoundrel! He actually led people to smash up the Zhu family's house!"
At first, Gu Mei could still curse and shout, but as the slaps continued, she soon couldn't curse anymore, and could only scream in pain.
Old Mrs. Zhu, the only one protecting Gu Mei, had fainted and was still unconscious. Gu Mei had no choice but to try to ask her future mother-in-law, Yan, for help. Unfortunately, Yan ignored her completely and disregarded her pleas for help.
Zhu Youshou still had some feelings for Gu Mei. He tugged at Yan's clothes, hoping that Yan could help Gu Mei.
Zhu Youshou was unaware that his plea would only enrage Madam Yan further. He had originally intended to stand by and watch, but now he was about to take action.
Yan found an excuse to send Zhu Youshou back to his room, then returned to the main room and began to curse at Gu Mei.
Gu Mei was unresponsive; her swollen cheeks were broken and covered in blood.
Seeing her like this, Madam Qin let go, and Madam Ding also let go.
Feeling that verbal abuse wasn't enough, Yan rolled up her sleeves, intending to take Ding's place and hit Gu Mei a few times.
"Are you trying to kill her?" Ding stopped Yan.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Who wants to kill her?" Yan glared at her. "I just wanted to hit her a few times to vent my anger."
Ding was speechless: "Take a good look at her current state. She's unconscious right now. If you make another move, it might cause a death!"
Yan was displeased: "You two are having a good fight, so what? Can't I join in? I have nowhere to vent my anger!"
"Whatever!" Ding sneered and ignored her, then called Qin, and the two sisters-in-law carried Old Lady Zhu back into the house.
As for Old Master Zhu, Zhu the eldest and second eldest brothers also got up from the ground. While cursing Gu Lianshan, the two brothers lifted Old Master Zhu up and took him back to the house.
Zhu Laosan wanted to lend a hand, but the two brothers ignored him.
After coming out of the house, the eldest and second sons of the Zhu family began to tidy up the main room.
As for Zhu Laosan, he continued to be ignored, with neither the eldest nor the second wife willing to pay him any attention.
When Gu Lianshan was smashing things, he dodged faster than a rabbit!
After watching coldly for a while, Yan simply pulled Zhu Laosan back into the house.
Should we ignore the three families?
Alright! You can clean up the mess in this house yourselves, and the third branch of the family can finally relax!
As for Gu Mei lying on the ground, no one paid her any attention, leaving her to lie on the cold ground and be ravaged by the cold wind.
……
Gu Lianshan was in a low mood the whole way. Every time he thought about the stupid things Gu Mei had done, he felt a surge of anger.
He didn't say a word on the way back.
As we approached the village entrance, we encountered a group of people.
Two people were pulling the sled in front, while two others were lying down and sitting on the sled behind, and two more people were walking on either side of the sled.
The group of six was all wrapped up tightly, making it impossible to tell their genders or identities.
But judging from their route, it seems they wanted to enter the village.
Gu Lianshan had a sudden inspiration: Could this group be Gu Laoluo's family?
As the two drew closer, Gu Lianshan couldn't help but ask, "Are you Uncle Lao Luo?"
The group opposite them stopped, and Gu Lianshan hurriedly stopped his oxcart as well.
"Is it Lianshan?" The man sitting on the sled pulled off his scarf, revealing a weathered face; it was indeed Gu Laoluo.
Strangely, although he was exhausted, he was unusually excited. When facing Gu Lianshan, who had angered him earlier, he was not angry at all.
"Uncle, did you come back from the Wang family?" Gu Lianshan asked curiously.
Previously, Gu Laoluo had been making a fuss about going to the Wang family, saying he wanted to settle accounts with the Wang family and Gu Zhier, and make them pay him back.
I don't know if the Wang family gave them any money.
Gu Lianshan carefully examined Gu Laoluo and saw that he couldn't hide the joy in his eyes. He understood that this trip had been very fruitful.
"Uncle, judging from your smug look, you must have taken a lot of money."
Upon hearing this, Gu Laolu laughed heartily: "My Gu family is in the right! The Wang family is not in the right and should pay the money! It's just a pity that I didn't see your sister Gu Zhi'er."
"Didn't you see Gu Zhier?" Gu Lianshan's smile faded. "What? Are you implying that Gu Zhier didn't return to the Wang family?"
"I don't know about that. The Wang family insists that she hasn't returned. I spent two days pestering them at the Wang family's place, and I still didn't see your sister. I guess she's afraid of being punished by the Wang family, so she's deliberately hiding and not coming back."
At this point, Gu Laoluo looked disdainful.
Gu Lianshan's smile vanished completely.
Given Gu Zhier's personality, it's unlikely she would hide away and not return to the Wang family.
Furthermore, with the roads blocked by snow and ice, where could she possibly hide?
At this time, every family was saving firewood and food to get by, and no one would take in an unimportant person without a reason.
Gu Lianshan had some wild guesses in his mind. He suspected that Gu Zhier might have gotten lost in the heavy snow.
If you really get lost, the consequence is death!
"Nephew Lianshan, it's cold, and your aunt is injured and can't stand the cold. I'll go first, and we'll talk again later!"
After saying this, Gu Laoluo ordered his sons to hurry home.
After the man had walked away, Gu Lianshan spat in annoyance, "Look how smug he is! His whole family is lazybones. So what if they extorted money from the Wang family? In less than a year, they'll have squandered it all!"
“Uncle is right,” Ah Gou chimed in. “His family can’t hold onto their wealth. The more arrogant they are now, the more miserable they’ll be in the future. There’s no need to pay them any attention; it’s not worth it!”
Gu Lianshan was pleased to hear this and drove the oxcart home at a leisurely pace.
Even the slowest oxcart is faster than a person, and before long, Gu Lianshan overtook Gu Laoluo.
"Uncle!" Gu Lianshan called out as he turned around, "At least we managed to extort some money back. We should buy a cow as well. It'll be more respectable to have a cow at home!"
Upon hearing this, Gu Laoluo rolled his eyes in anger.
The Wang family only gave three taels of silver for the cow that sold its ass!
Where can I buy cattle?!
Old Gu's face fell, and he grew angrier the more he thought about it. He had thought three taels of silver was a lot before, but now compared to Gu Lianshan's ox, three taels of silver was nothing!
It's still too little!
We should grit our teeth and ask for more.
He glanced down at Jin Shi, who was fast asleep and hadn't been woken up by Gu Lianshan's words.
In the past two days, in order to force the Wang family to give money, the old man's wife has been howling at the Wang family's house day and night. Finally, the Wang family was so scared by her howling that they agreed to give three taels of silver to settle the matter.
Since the Wang family is so afraid of the old woman crying, why don't... he go and ask for it again in a few days?