Chapter 46: Chapter 46 Jealousy(2)_1 Chapter 46: Chapter 46 Jealousy(2)_1 “Alright.” Lin Changshu agreed.
They rubbed themselves with medicinal liquor they had at home, and only then did they feel their injuries start to ease.
“What happened?” The patriarch asked as he entered the house, panting with two children in tow, along with the folks from the Bai Family.
“Oh, it hurts.” Lin Yanzhi burst into tears when he saw the injuries on Lin Changshu’s face.
“It’s just a minor flesh wound.” Lin Changshu responded awkwardly. Seeing her son crying so fiercely, Guo Huiniang had no choice but to go calm him down.
“How did you get hurt so badly?” Seeing the bruises on the pair’s faces, Bai Dazhuang asked anxiously.
Because Lin Changshu and Wu Dayou returned at noon, with their injuries clearly visible, everyone in the village knew they had been assaulted. Thus, when the members of the Bai family returned from the fields, they also came to check on them, and saw the patriarch returning home with two children carrying baskets before even entering the house.
Seeing their concern, Lin Changshu explained the incident once again.
“Those people are under the control of Lai Zi Li, just a bunch of desperados. Your business is in a precarious position.” Bai Dazhuang furrowed his brows after hearing the story.
Like them, he also frequently sought work in the market, so he understood the kind of people there.
“Bai brother, I have a favor to ask.” Lin Ziyin started, smiling.
“Go ahead.” Bai Dazhuang looked at her and asked.
“We have an agreement with the meat vendor in the market. Could you perhaps go and inform them that we’ll pick it up on the fourteenth? We can’t go there right now.” Lin Ziyin said embarrassingly, “None of us can go there for the time being.”
“Alright, I will head to the market this afternoon.” Bai Dazhuang agreed straightforwardly.
“Serves them right.” The village wasn’t very big, so Yan soon got word that Lin Changshu had been assaulted at the market. Upon hearing this, she laughed gleefully.
“Mom, why are you happy?” Ma Zhicai furrowed his brows, looking at his mother, “If they’re out of business, how will they repay our silver?”
“If there’s no silver, they can pay back with their land.”, Yan said nonchalantly. The Lin Family had faced a series of misfortunes, and their resources were drying up. However, the three acres of paddy fields they had left were prime assets.
She had wanted them for a while. If the Lin family couldn’t come up with the silver to repay their debt, using the land to compensate would be perfect.
Upon hearing this, Ma Zhicai’s furrowed brows relaxed a bit, and he didn’t say anything more.
The villagers gradually came to visit Lin Changshu and Wu Dayou, under the guise of concern. After everyone had left, it was almost dark.
“This is the money for selling tofu and braised pork, amounting to slightly over two taels.” Lin Changshu handed the money bag to Lin Ziyin.
“Grandpa, big brother, give these forty coppers to the miller, and say it’s for renting the millstone.” Lin Ziyin counted the coppers and handed them to Lin Changshu. “Use the rest to buy back the jars tomorrow.”
“Alright. I’ll give you the rest when we get back.” Lin Changshu agreed.
The patriarch didn’t object. Ziyin was considerate. Even though villagers might be simple, when it came to money, suspicion could creep in over time.
Renting with silver was different.
After dinner, the patriarch and Lin Changshu took the forty coppers to the house of Elder Barbarian at the village entrance.
The Barbarian family’s life was only slightly better than the Lin family’s. The five members of the Barbarian family opened their eyes wide in shock when they saw the forty coppers brought by the patriarch and Lin Changshu.
The patriarch voluntarily explained the reason for the coppers.
“We cannot accept this.” The Elder Barbarian was poor, but honest. Upon hearing it, he attempted to return the coppers to the Lin family. “It’s just borrowing the millstone. We’re not using it either, we can’t accept these coppers.”
“You take it. I feel better using the millstone this way. If you’re willing to continue lending the millstone to me, then you must take this money, for at least a few months.” They exchanged words up to the entrance, and the Elder Barbarian felt rather embarrassed, with his family members also trying to return the coppers.
Next door lived the Ma family’s second wife, the high-cheekboned woman from the Bao family. The Barbarian family didn’t have a courtyard, so what happened on this side could be clearly heard from next door. When the Lin family gave the Elder Barbarian forty coppers, saying they wanted to rent the millstone, Bao’s eyes turned red from envy and she almost wished she could run over and snatch the coppers herself.