Ah Tie’s stepmother spat, "You talk less nonsense. Even if you are his master, he is still Da Gen’s son!"
"It’s nothing wrong to honor your parents, no matter what!"
Zhao Lizheng heavily slammed the table, "Quiet! Quiet!"
He glared at Ah Tie’s stepmother, took the contract from Yun Jiao’s hand and shook it vigorously, "Do you think the red stamp from the government on this paper is for fun?"
"If Doctor Gu really sues you, not only must you give her the cotton clothes, but you will also get punished!"
Ah Tie’s stepmother dared to challenge Yun Jiao but didn’t dare to confront Zhao Lizheng, her face full of defiance.
Zhao Lizheng said with a headache, "There is absolutely nothing wrong with what Doctor Gu just said, the law is defined this way."
"You need to understand, you’re not taking Ah Tie’s cotton jacket, you’re taking Doctor Gu’s stuff!"
"Besides, selling Ah Tie means breaking the blood ties; Ah Tie has nothing to do with you anymore."
"Everything was made clear when we drafted the contract, and now you’re stirring up trouble again."
"Da Gen, quickly, have your wife take off her clothes!"
Zhao Lizheng didn’t plan to talk much sense into these people.
These villagers and village women, who can’t recognize a single word, are simply impossible to reason with.
Liu Dagen still hung his head without moving, Zhao Lizheng shouted sharply, "Da Gen, do you want a lawsuit?"
Liu Dagen shuddered in fear and hurried to pull the jacket off his wife.
Ah Tie’s stepmother still wanted to be stubborn, Liu Dagen gave a slap on her head, she was stunned and pouted aggrievedly, but dared not move anymore.
Liu Dagen swiftly removed the cotton jacket from Ah Tie’s stepmother.
Sixth Brother cleverly stepped forward and took the cotton jacket.
Liu Dagen, with a face ashen, dragged his wife dressed in a single garment through the crowd and left.
Yun Jiao smiled sweetly at Zhao Lizheng, "Thank you, Uncle Li Zheng."
Zhao Lizheng smiled kindly at her, then gave Sun a look to escort Yun Jiao and Mrs. Chen out.
The onlookers all dispersed.
Back home, Yun Jiao handed the cotton jacket to Ah Tie.
Ah Tie lowered his head and put it on.
Yun Jiao looked at Ah Tie, pursed her lips, and said slowly, "Ah Tie, let me ask you, your stepmother wanted to strip your cotton jacket off, why did you just obediently let her do it?"
"Even if you don’t dare to fight her, do you not even dare to run?"
"I don’t believe you can’t outrun her!"
Ah Tie hesitated for a while, "I, I, although she is not my biological mother, a stepmother is still a mother."
"Books say, when a ruler orders a minister to die, the minister must die, when a father wants a son dead, the son must die."
"Whatever parents do is always right."
"Nonsense!" Yun Jiao spat, "No book ever wrote such outdated and vile crap! You’ve hardly read anything and already become a fool!"
"Mr. Kong clearly stated, the father should be kind and the son should be filial, first comes the father’s kindness, then comes the son’s filial piety! Do you understand?"
From next door came Jiang Youzhi’s suppressed low laughter.
Yun Jiao continued educating Ah Tie, "Is your stepmother very kind to you?"
Ah Tie shook his head, said sadly, "She doesn’t treat me well. The day after she married my father, she drove me out of the house."
Yun Jiao spread her hands, "Since she’s not kind, why should you be filial to her?"
"Remember this, if she ever tries to take your things again, just run away, understand?"
Ah Tie nodded forcefully.
Yun Jiao sighed, Ah Tie, though smart, is too benevolent. Benevolence can be a strength, but sometimes a weakness too.