Lin Yonghua shouted loudly, “Everyone in the Lin family, you must have seen what happened yesterday. Auntie Lu wasn’t lying or exaggerating, right? Let me say it plainly—what you did was truly disgraceful. Your son was already engaged to Lu’s daughter, yet he was acting so close with that educated youth.”
“You’re practically stomping on the Lu family’s face. Have you ever tried to put yourself in their shoes? If Lu’s daughter had been close to another guy and you didn’t break the engagement, how would you feel? And the grain you borrowed—return it right away. You acted all polite when you borrowed it, but now you’re too stingy to pay it back.”
“We’re already in a famine; harvests are small and we don’t even have enough to eat. And now you’re wasting time and affecting work. Ask the other villagers—do they agree with this?”
Wang Xiulan, who had always clashed with Xu Xiuying, immediately stepped forward.
“I’m telling you Lin family, you’ve lost all shame. You want to break the engagement AND keep the grain. Where in the world does that happen? Are you trying to ruin the reputation of Xinghua Village? If everyone acted like you, how would the young men and women here ever find partners?”
Xu Xiuying was lying on the ground, but her mouth didn’t stop.
“Wang Xiulan, what business is this of yours? Why are you butting in? What right do you have to lecture us? Don’t think you’re special just because you’re the village leader’s wife. Others may fear you, but I don’t. Believe me, when I recover, I’ll strip you bare.”
“I’ve lived my whole life and never suffered such a loss. My son doesn’t want her—so what? That girl is your daughter, and she can’t even keep a man. She deserves it. My son is looking for someone better. Is that wrong? If you want to break the engagement, fine—then break it. From now on, we don’t cross paths. As for the grain, you can return it when you have it.”
“Hmph, Xu Xiuying—don’t give me that line. If you don’t return the grain today, no one here will have a good day. I don’t trust your family’s character. And what do you mean ‘when we have it’? What if you never have it? Will you just keep owing forever, then deny it later?”
“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re planning. Don’t think you’re the only one with brains. Village leader, and everyone else—this is the situation. We’re not unreasonable, but what’s ours, we won’t give up even one cent.”
The Lu family’s reputation was mixed.
Some said they were too aggressive.
Others said their response was justified—because they had been bullied too much.
Don’t let Lu Mengyi look weak—when it came to fighting, she was ruthless.
Since the Lu family settled here, not long ago, some people tried to bully them.
But she, along with her sons, had taught them to behave.
Since then, aside from a few stubborn troublemakers, no one dared confront the Lu family directly.
After all, that woman really was fierce.
If she said she’d fight, she fought.
If she said she’d hit someone, she hit them.
If she said she’d smash something, she smashed it.
Even if the police came, they could only scold her.
Once they investigated, it was clear the other side started the provocation.
You can’t expect someone to stand there and take it.
When no one spoke up, Lin Yonghua knocked his pipe on the table hard.
“Lin Daqiang’s family, have you decided? Will you pay with money or grain? Don’t waste everyone’s time.”
Xu Xiuying replied, “Village leader, we’re relatives, so why aren’t you on our side? It’s the Lu family who wants to break the engagement. That hundred jin of grain should be compensation for us. Besides, we already ate it. We have no grain or money now.”
Lin Yonghua said, “So you mean you won’t pay in money or grain? Then fine. I have nothing more to say. I’m leaving, and whatever happens next isn’t my problem.”
The village leader turned to leave, but Lin Daqiang blocked him.
“Cousin, please help us. Don’t leave. Let’s write an IOU—how about that? We truly can’t afford to pay this much now. We don’t have the grain or the money. You can’t force our whole family to ruin ourselves.”
Lin Yonghua said, “Why didn’t you say that earlier? If you’d been honest before, they might’ve agreed already. Now I have no choice but to ask them. Whether they agree or not is not my problem.”
The village leader walked over and repeated what Lin Daqiang had said.
Now that the issue had escalated this far, even if they decided not to demand the grain, the Lu family would hold a grudge.
Xu Mengyi made one final concession.
“Village leader, for the sake of our shared village ties, I’ve already been generous. At most, we’ll give them until tonight. Don’t say I didn’t give them time to raise money or grain. If by 6 PM they still haven’t returned the grain… No one can say what will happen. My sons are fierce. They like to beat and smash things.”
Everyone understood her meaning.
If the grain wasn’t returned, the Lu brothers would go smash the Lin family’s home.
Everyone waited for the evening showdown.
Although they were exhausted and weak, they still went to work.
Working was tiring, but not working meant starving and weakening.
Lin Yuchuan found an excuse to seek out Jiang Xiaowei.
He grabbed her in his arms.
“Weiwei, I missed you so much. You have no idea what I had to go through to break that engagement with that damn woman. You must feel sorry for me.”
“Yuchuan-gege, I know. Of course I know. That Lu Wanqing is shamelessly clinging to you. But did you actually break the engagement? If she dares to cling to you again, I won’t let her off.”
“Xiaowei…”
Lin Yuchuan hesitated on purpose.
“Yuchuan-gege, what’s wrong? Say it already. You’re making me nervous.”
“It’s like this. Our family borrowed 100 jin of grain from the Lu family before, right? It’s been a long time, and they’re still holding onto it. They’re using it to threaten us, demanding we return it immediately. If we don’t return it, they say they’ll smash our home. You know we don’t have that kind of money right now. Xiaowei, you’re an educated youth—you must have some money. Can you lend me some to tide us over?”