Chapter 164: Argument
Editor: Atlas Studios
Although Mu Shi’s injuries were not as serious as Qi Haoran’s, they were not light either. After the military doctor prescribed medicine for him, Mu Yangling brought the medicine back to Shu Wanniang and asked her to take care of him.
The children were also made to stay at home. After Qi Haoran left, Great-aunt finally heaved a sigh of relief. She patted her chest and carried the hoe into the field.
On the way, the people they met greeted them one after another. “Auntie, how’s Sister-in-law Mu? I heard that Benevolence Hall’s physician stayed at your home for the night?”
“Section Commander Mu is back, right? Sister-in-law Mu usually looks a little weak, but she’s not that sick. Why did she suddenly fall seriously ill?”
Madam Ma-Liu said with a dark expression, “Everyone has their own fortunes. Who can say for sure? However, my nephew’s wife’s illness is already much better. Physician Pang’s miraculous medical skills brought her back to life that night. Now, my nephew has taken a long leave to take care of her at home.”
Someone said enviously, “Sister-in-law Mu is so lucky. Not only does she not have to do farm work usually, but Section Commander Mu also dotes on her so much. The daughter she gave birth to is also capable and can handle all the farmwork alone.”
These words were extraordinarily sour. When Great-aunt heard this, she snorted coldly in her heart and pulled Mu Yangling and Xiuhong away. She retorted, “It’s indeed difficult to find someone like my nephew. Also not anyone can give birth to someone like his daughter. If you regret it, you can always find another one while you’re still young.”
The expression of the person who spoke sourly froze.
Old Hu walked slowly behind her. He was already dissatisfied when he heard the form of address ‘Section Commander Mu’. Now that he saw that Madam Ma-Liu and Mu Yangling did not refute, he was even more dissatisfied. He strode forward and caught up. “Ah Ling, you have to keep your word that night. Your father isn’t a section commander anymore. How could you not correct her?”
As soon as these words were spoken, many people stopped and looked over. The flames of gossip burned in their chests.
Mu Yangling was stunned, for she didn’t expect Old Hu to stop her on the street and confront her about this. She couldn’t help but frown.
However, Madam Ma-Liu was furious. She pushed Old Hu away and scolded, “Talk about kicking someone when they’re down. Is your wine made of immortal water? Huh? Ah Ling spent 17 taels of silver to buy your three jars of wine, but that’s not enough for you. You actually forced her father to give the position of section commander to your second son. Don’t you know that it’s a life-saving thing? How can you be so heartless? To think that back then I even told Ah Ling to let your family have the plowing oxen first knowing your family was in difficult times. You’re really ungrateful!”
Old Hu’s face flushed red as he shouted unhappily, “Ah Ling was the one who said those words. What has it got to do with me? Surely the Mu family’s words have to count for something? That wine has been passed down in my family for more than 50 years. It hasn’t been easy to keep it until now!”
“Pfft.” Madam Ma-Liu spat on his face. “Aren’t you afraid of hurting your tongue? Haven’t you sold that wine before? Go and ask the Fang family at the village entrance. That jar of wine of yours was sold for a few hundred copper coins. Why is it that when it comes to Ah Ling, it costs more than ten taels of silver on top of a section commander post? You merely took advantage of the fac that our Mu family was in a hurry to save a life, so you raised the price on the spot. Unless I turn blind and break my leg in the future, I won’t have anything to do with your family again!”
“Great-aunt!” Mu Yangling pulled her back.
Madam Ma-Liu shook off her hand and looked at Old Hu coldly. “Don’t worry, we keep our word. My nephew doesn’t care about the section commander position. I only hope that your second son can sit firmly in this position. Hmph!”
Old Hu pointed at Madam Ma-Liu with a livid expression as he covered his chest. “B*tch, b*tch!” Tears flashed in his eyes, but he couldn’t help but worry in his heart. Mu Shi had already accumulated a lot of power in the village. Now that Madam Ma-Liu had caused a scene, it would be even more difficult for his second son to establish his prestige in the village.
Old Hu felt a faint regret in his heart. He shouldn’t have confronted Mu Yangling about this on the streets just to force her to admit it. But who knew that Madam Ma-Liu’s personality would be so strong?
Madam Ma-Liu pulled the two children to the field with a dark expression. She spat at the Hu family’s field and said to Xiuhong, “None of you are allowed to play with their children later. If I see you do that, I’ll break your legs.”
Xiuhong shared a common enemy with her. “Grandma, I definitely won’t play with the Hu family’s children.”
Sighing, Mu Yangling said, “Great-aunt, didn’t you say that Second Auntie Hu was having a hard time? Why did you bring this up? It’ll be even harder for Second Uncle Hu and Second Auntie Hu in the future.”
“They deserve it. Didn’t they get any benefits now? Am I forbidden to say anything when they dare do something like this?” When Madam Ma-Liu saw the Hu family coming over, she deliberately raised her voice and shouted, “I want everyone to know that they shouldn’t be a bitch and still expect to be hailed saints in the end.”
Mu Yangling tugged at her sleeve and whispered, “But this has nothing to do with Second Uncle and Second Auntie Hu. It was Old Hu who suggested this.”
Madam Ma-Liu’s expression froze before she snorted. “Serves them right, too. Who asked them to have such a father?”
Mu Yangling was instantly rendered speechless.
The expressions of the Hu family members were very ugly.
Madam Hu-Jin looked at the ground under her feet and thought of the villagers pointing at her along the way. In the end, she slammed the hoe on the ground and turned to leave.
Furious, Old Hu shouted, “Second Daughter-in-law, where are you going?”
“I’m going back to my parents’ house. Father, even if you aren’t afraid of being criticized, I am. My husband and I are both honest people. He also has a good relationship with Big Brother Mu. By doing this, aren’t you pushing us to our deaths? Anyway, if he doesn’t want to be a section commander. Whoever wants to be that can have the post.”
“How dare you! Come back, come back!” Seeing that Madam Hu-Jin did not stop, Old Hu snapped angrily, “Fine, go ahead and leave. If you dare to leave, I’ll ask my son to divorce you!”
Madam Hu-Jin’s body stiffened, and she stood there with red eyes for a while before running away.
Hu Gui also dropped the hoe in his hand and said unhappily, “Father, you’d better apologize to the Mu family. If you do this, we won’t be able to live in the village in the future.”
“What do you know, brat?” Old Hu said, “When your second brother becomes the section commander, these people will all be controlled by your brother. No matter how dissatisfied they are, they won’t dare to show it. Otherwise, your second brother can have them killed by complaining to the superiors.”
“But our family’s reputation is already ruined. I haven’t even gotten engaged yet. Can that blockhead Second Brother suppress others? Why should our family sacrifice our reputation to help him? I don’t agree.”
Old Hu fell silent. Hu Dian glared at Hu Gui and said to his father, “Father, since things have already come to this, let’s think of a way to fix our relationship with the Mu family. Regardless of whether Second Brother is willing to do this or not, our family can’t make an enemy of the Mu family. This time, when Miss Mu’s mother fell seriously ill, General Qi even came over personally to visit her. I heard that Miss Mu once saved Little General and Young Master Fan. That’s why the relationship between their two families is so good. Even if Second Brother becomes the section commander, he will still be under Little General’s thumb.”
Madam Hu-Fang, who had been silent all this while, couldn’t help but say, “Old man, forget about the section commander position. I didn’t agree with you taking advantage of them back then. Now that things have become so tense with the Mu family, it won’t do our family any good.”
Seeing that no one in the family supported him, Old Hu was so angry that he squatted on the ground and said, “Who am I doing this for? It’s all for you and our family. Now, all of you are blaming me. Since you’re unwilling, go and make peace with the Mu family yourself. Anyway, I don’t care anymore.”
Hu Gui’s expression was ugly. “Father, you were the one who caused this mess. Now, you want to throw it to us with just one sentence?”