met free Chapter 144: The Collapse of the Aunt
Chapter 144: The Collapse of the Aunt
Seeing that the old lady wanted to perform a show of loving mother and filial piety, and Ye Xiaozheng was enjoying immersing himself in such a show, Ye Changyan stood aside and watched, with no intention of disrupting the harmonious and beautiful scene before him.
But Liu on the side became anxious, thinking that her husband and son were still in the cell and had not even eaten a bite of lunch.
Xu and Da Niu were standing on the right side of the main hall door. From time to time, they stole glances at Ye Changyan's half-open door and could vaguely see Liang Jingcheng moving around in the room.
Wu Lang, who was standing by, saw that his aunt and elder sister were always looking into his brother's room and found it strange. So, with a curious look, he quietly stood behind the eldest girl and looked over there. He vaguely saw Liang Jingcheng's figure inside.
Wulang saw Erniu holding a kettle and pouring water for everyone, so he stepped forward and took the kettle from Erniu's hand, and went to Ye Changyan's room to pour water for Liang Jingcheng. Soon Wulang came out with the kettle. Wulang pretended not to notice the glances from his aunt and elder sister, and closed the door tightly.
Xu and the eldest girl could only turn their heads around as if nothing had happened, and then they heard the old lady start to get to the point.
"Third brother, luckily Sanlang knows someone in the county government office, so he took your second sister-in-law and Silang to visit your second brother and Erlang. I heard from your second sister-in-law that the prison cell in the county government office is as cold as an ice cellar, with only a thin layer of straw. Your second brother hasn't slept for several days. If it continues like this, even a person with a healthy body won't be able to endure it!"
Ye Changyan heard the old lady playing the sympathy card in front of Ye Xiaozheng, and seeing that Ye Xiaozheng was about to be unable to hold on, Ye Changyan spoke.
"Grandma, this county government has its own rules. The people working there don't dare to bring quilts or anything like that to Uncle in order to make a living. Fortunately, I said a lot of nice things and they agreed to bring another bundle of straw to Uncle and my brother. I think Uncle and his family will be better off today."
The old lady originally wanted to start with Ye Xiaozheng and pull Ye Xiaozheng to her own camp first. By then, Sanlang would more or less consider Ye Xiaozheng's face and help more wholeheartedly. Unexpectedly, she had just got to the point when Ye Changyan took over the conversation.
The old lady didn't want to do that in front of the people from the third room, so she kept twisting Ye Xiaozheng. Then she smiled and said to Ye Changyan.
"Sanlang, it's all thanks to you, otherwise your second aunt's wife would be like a headless fly, running into obstacles everywhere, and couldn't even see your second uncle!"
"Grandmother, the county magistrate has gone to the capital on official business. Now the county government is temporarily run by County Magistrate Zhang. I met County Magistrate Zhang last time when the cattle farm rented cattle, so I went to find him. I heard from County Magistrate Zhang that the bank has the loan note and the mortgaged land deed. Let alone the beating, the most urgent thing right now is to find a way to pay back the money that my second uncle owes."
Ye Changyan's words shocked the old lady, Xu and everyone in the third house. They were all wondering what the mortgaged land deed Ye Changyan mentioned was about, and then they heard Xu ask Ye Changyan anxiously.
"Sanlang, what did you just say about mortgage and title deed? What's going on?"
Hearing Xu's questioning, the old lady and the people from the third room looked at Ye Changyan anxiously.
Liu, on the other hand, had a worried look on her face, and she unconsciously moved her butt back on the stool.
Ye Changyan saw clearly what Liu did. It seemed that Liu did not tell everyone in the old house the whole truth, and Ye Changyan did not intend to beat around the bush with them.
"Didn't the second aunt tell grandma and the eldest aunt?"
Seeing that the old lady and Mrs. Xu were shaking their heads at him with a look of ignorance, Ye Changyan continued speaking.
"Second uncle borrowed three sums of money from Baotong Bank through the bank's broker Tang Laizi in March, June, and October of this year, totaling 750 taels. With the renewal, he now needs to pay back more than 1,200 taels of silver, including principal and interest."
The people in the third house, who didn't know that Ye Xiaowu owed such a large sum of money, gasped at the same time when they heard the amount reported by Ye Changyan.
"The reason why the bank was willing to lend such a large sum of money to Second Uncle is because Second Uncle had mortgaged the hundred-plus acres of land left by my grandfather to the bank. Now the land deed is in the hands of the bank's manager."
Ye Changyan's words made the old lady and Mrs. Xu feel weak all of a sudden. The old lady slumped in her chair, and Mrs. Xu almost fell off the stool.
Seeing this, the eldest girl hurriedly supported Xu, and the second girl and the fourth girl also hurried forward to support the old lady.
The old lady was unwilling to believe it, but still held a glimmer of hope in her heart, so she asked Ye Changyan.
"Sanlang, have you ever checked the land deed? Could it be that the bank is trying to scare you?"
"Grandma, it was the bank's owner who personally brought out the loan notes and land deeds. I personally checked every land deed at the time, and they were indeed the deeds to the land left by my grandfather."
Before the old lady could think about it, she heard Xu suddenly burst into tears.
"Mom, this second son is going to push this family into a dead end. He even mortgaged the land deed. How will this family live in the future? Wuuwuwu..."
Hearing Xu's crying, Liu's butt moved backwards unconsciously.
The old lady also had a face full of lawsuits, but she knew that she couldn't fall down at this time. If she fell down, the whole family would be really finished. Then she heard the old lady yelling at Xu.
"Don't be ashamed to howl here."
Xu was already in an unstable mood, feeling full of grievances. Her son had finally been able to marry the eldest lady of the Feng family, but the marriage was ruined by the second son and his wife. Since then, the marriage has been uncertain. There is no clue about the marriage of the eldest daughter either. If there is no decent Yue family to back her up, what kind of family he can marry into? Xu dared not even think about it.
Thinking of this, Xu could no longer suppress her emotions and exploded.
"Mom, tell me, where have I embarrassed myself? The things that the second son did have pushed this family to the brink of despair. Do you still want us to cover it up for him? I have been married to our Ye family for twenty years, and at least I gave birth to a boy and a girl for this family. Where have I embarrassed myself? Now these two children are of such age, and their marriages are still unsettled. If the family land is really taken away by the bank, what will happen to these two children in their lives? Mom, think about your grandchildren, please have pity on them! Woo woo woo..."
Xu's heart-wrenching cries echoed throughout the entire village, and everyone in the third room was shocked.
The old lady was also shocked. Xu had always been good at forbearance and was used to making a living under her. She didn't expect that this time Xu would question her in front of everyone.
The old lady was a little panicked for a moment. She couldn't even suppress Xu. Her authority as the head of the family was challenged by Xu in public.