"Lady, that’s a joke if I ever heard one. If it weren’t for us, could Song Chongjin have learned his skills and lived up until now? Honestly, we’ve been good to him, and he’s ungrateful to go against us. We’re merely taking back the skills we taught him, which is only fair and square! Besides, that medicine was only meant to blur his vision, not poison him or damage his body to shorten his lifespan by ten years. We know nothing about all that. Could it be you’ve consulted some quack doctor from the countryside who got it wrong?..."
This was a clear refusal to admit any wrong.
However, Wang Yongzhu was well prepared for their excuses and replied calmly and unhurriedly, "Shopkeeper Zhang, since you insist on saying that, we have no choice. There’s no shame greater than shamelessness, invincible under heaven! You insist the medicine isn’t poisonous—surely we can’t wait ten years for Brother Song to die and then come after you? Given your cold-blooded nature, leaving no room for leniency, who’s to say you won’t face retribution soon and not even last those ten years?"
Sniggers rippled through the crowd at these pointed and venomous words—it was an outright curse for Hunter Qin and Shopkeeper Zhang to die early.
Hunter Qin and Shopkeeper Zhang were furious, but Hunter Qin was not good with words, and Shopkeeper Zhang, despite his verbosity on normal days, was helpless when it came to arguing.
With Wang Yongzhu’s pressing comments, they had no choice but to stand and watch.
"Leaving aside the matter of the medicine, let’s talk about something else. You did teach Song Chongjin some skills originally, but for the past ten years or so, hasn’t he been taking care of you? Now you claim to take back his skills, blinding him in the process, and render him unable to lead even an ordinary life for the rest of his days. How do you reconcile this account?"
Old Granny Zhang’s eyes lit up as she chimed in, "That’s the point! You say you taught my son-in-law skills, but now those skills have been taken back from him, and his eyesight is ruined, his health damaged. How is he supposed to live the rest of his life? Even if he hadn’t studied under you, his life might have been hard, but he wouldn’t be in the sorry state he is now, would he? You took back the skills you taught, yet he took care of you for over ten years. Ten years is enough to grow fond of even a dog, isn’t it? Feeding you two old turtles, he’s ended up sacrificing himself! There’s no reasoning in the world that justifies this!"
Hunter Qin, hot-tempered, realized that the Wang Family was about to make a big demand.
"Is it compensation you want? How much silver? How much could a peasant possibly need to live out his second half of life? Just say the number, and we’ll begrudgingly accept our bad luck and pay! All you’re here for is the money, right? Say how much you want, take the silver, and get out of here—"
"Tsk, tsk, listen to that—the Qin fellow is way too arrogant. The Wang Family stated they didn’t want money, they wanted justice, yet why do they assume our rural lives are worthless?"
Older and wiser folks could see that Hunter Qin and Shopkeeper Zhang were confident and fearless, which made them worry for the Wang Family.
Some kind-hearted people approached Old Granny Zhang, "Sister, you might as well demand some compensation for medical expenses. Ask for more—find a good doctor elsewhere for your son-in-law, maybe he can be cured. Don’t keep clashing head-on with these two. Look at them; they almost certainly have backers..."
Old Granny Zhang seized the moment to wipe away tears, "Sister, I know—if these two old turtles didn’t have backers, could they be so brazen? But I just can’t swallow this injustice. My poor son-in-law~"
Her crying prompted several other old women to begin dabbing at their eyes too.
Others went to persuade Wang Yongzhu and Wang Yonggui.
"Ask for a good sum of silver and get out of here fast. If pushed into a corner, these folks are outsiders after all—they might find an opportunity to harm your family in secret, and you’d regret it too late."
"Yeah, girl, you’re young and may not know how vicious people can be. It’s hard to guard against petty villains!"
"Brother, try to convince your sister and your mother to take what they can and leave it at that. If they stubbornly insist the medicine was harmless, even the Government Office won’t be able to help. Better to take some money and go see a Doctor slowly. Don’t worry, with such people around, we in Shiqiao Town wouldn’t dare close our eyes to sleep either."
"Auntie, rest assured, once you’ve got the money, we’ll come together and petition the Government Office to drive them out of our town. Only then can we all sleep in peace at night!"
Town elders buzzed with suggestions and advice.