617 Seeking Refuge
If Li Gui did not have money to give her, she would beat and scold Li Gui until Li Gui found something to give her. She wanted everything that Li Gui had, but when Zhang Qian found out about it, he beat her up and chased her out. Only then did she stop turning up to ask for things. Later on, Zhang Qian went home and beat Li Gui half to death, saying that she had stolen the Zhang family’s things to supplement her maternal family.
The children heard that she contacted Li Gui behind his back not long after. They did not know how this matter was resolved after that.
Qiao Mei gently patted Zhang Wei’s back and whispered, “Go and find your Uncle Zhao. Tell him that an outsider has come to our house and we need his help.”
Zhang Wei understood what she meant and disappeared in a flash. Old Madam Li did not even notice that there was a child missing.
“Oh my! You’re Qiao Mei, right! I finally found this place!” Old Madam Li said as she staggered forward.
Even if she had not met the current Qiao Mei, this girl’s reputation had already spread to the villages around!
Everyone said that not only did this girl help the villagers get rich, but she was also young and beautiful. Many young men regretted not going to Qiao Mei’s house to propose marriage back then.
When Old Madam Li finally saw Qiao Mei today, she realized that the girl was indeed different from the fat bear spirit from before. She looked as if she had been reborn! If not for the fact that she had Li Gui’s children with her, the old woman would not even dare to acknowledge Qiao Mei.
“Grandmother, why do you have two children with you? Why are you here?” Qiao Mei said as she looked at the old woman.
Without another word, Old Madam Li sat on the ground and sobbed. “That damn Zhang family! They came to ask me for money! I didn’t have any money to give them! Everything in the house was smashed! These two children and I are really at our wits’ end, so we’re here to look for your mother.”
As soon as she said that, Qiao Mei understood that these people were here to ask for money. They put it nicely and said that they were here to seek refuge, but they were actually here to try and get a big sum of money so that they could go back and enjoy life!
She did not expect the Zhang family to be released so quickly. She had heard from Chen Hu that Zhang Qian had been imprisoned and sentenced to eight years in jail. Zhang Cong and Sun Yan were afraid that they would be implicated by Zhang Qian, so they cut ties with Old Madam Zhang and the others. Zhang Cong became a matrilocal son-in-law and went to live at Sun Yan’s house.
Now, there were only two old people left in the Zhang family who were unable to go out to work. The person who went to look for Old Madam Li must be Old Madam Zhang. The Zhang family would definitely not dare to cause trouble for Li Gui again, therefore they could only bully Old Madam Li.
After all, she was the one who had received all the betrothal gifts from the Zhang family back then. Qiao Mei already expected that after the divorce, the Zhang family would shamelessly go and ask for the gifts to be returned.
Qiao Mei had no choice but to open the courtyard door to let them in. She could not let an old lady and two children make a scene at the main door. If others saw them, they might gossip again.
She had just offended Wang Qin and could not let anything go wrong now.
“Alright, stop crying. Come in quickly. Be quiet and don’t disturb the people in the house,” Qiao Mei said disdainfully.
Old Madam Li hurriedly rushed into the courtyard with the two children. Her fitful steps were not those of a weak old woman at all. If she did not claim to be weak, no one would even think that she was sick.
“This courtyard is so much nicer than the one at my house! Look! These fruits are so fresh! Oh my, there are even chickens and ducks here! How good!” Old Madam Li looked around the courtyard as if she had never been out before and shouted loudly, not taking whatever Qiao Mei just said to heart.
The way she looked at the chickens and ducks was as if she wanted to immediately heat up oil in a pot and cook all the fowls in the courtyard.
Qiao Mei said coldly to Old Madam Li, “I told you to be quiet! If you make any more noise, then get out!”
Old Madam Li was so frightened that she did not dare to make a sound. She still had something to ask of Qiao Mei. If she offended her now, she would get nothing.
Qiao Mei sat on a bench under the pavilion. If not for the fact that Zhang Miao was still sick, she would definitely teach Old Madam Li a lesson.
Li Gui heard the commotion and walked out of the house. When she saw Old Madam Li, her expression changed drastically. Ever since she was abandoned by the Zhang family and came to Foshan Village, Old Madam Li had never visited her again.
Old Madam Li was worried that Li Gui would not be able to survive in the village and might need a lot of money to furnish her new place. Even if the villagers of Foshan Village were making a lot of money by growing bean sprouts at that time, it would definitely cost a lot of money when starting out. She had been waiting until Li Gui made money.