binnovel Chapter 233 Money Power
Chapter 233 Money Power
Everyone in Lijia Village was completely bewildered.
Li Qiulan also paused. What compensation? Wasn't she supposed to be given money to sever ties with her husband?
"I gave birth to her and raised her, how could I have wronged her and have to compensate her?" she asked, puzzled.
Lin Chang'er said, "It's good that you gave birth to my second sister-in-law, but as for raising her..."
He chuckled dismissively. "If what you mean by 'raising her' is simply giving her a home in name only, while actually letting her fend for herself, then that would be acceptable."
"What...what do you mean by this?" Li Qiulan's face flushed red. Wasn't this still implying that she gave birth to her but didn't raise her?
Lin Chang'er stopped arguing with her. "Alright, let's calculate it the way it should be. I'll explain everything to everyone, one by one. What's the rush?"
After saying that, he continued, "You all in Lijia Village should know that my second sister-in-law suddenly lost her voice when she was eight years old, right?"
The people of Lijia Village were stunned again, looking at each other.
A villager said, "We know. Third Sister wasn't born mute. She suddenly became mute. We can't remember exactly how old she was, but I think she was seven or eight."
Others chimed in, "Yes, yes, yes."
Another person said, "We were wondering why Qiulan took San Niang to see a doctor. She was such a pretty girl, it's such a pity she became mute!"
Lin Chang'er continued, "So what did Li Qiulan say to the outside world?"
"To outsiders, just say that Third Sister fell ill and couldn't speak after she recovered."
"Yes, yes, as far as I remember, I didn't see Third Sister for several days during that period."
"What, is there something else hidden in this matter?"
Upon hearing this, the people of Lijia Village began to look at Li Qiulan and her son with renewed curiosity.
After all, the Gu family is talking about compensation now. If nothing happened inside, then there's definitely no question of compensation!
"It couldn't have been Li Qiulan who beat him, could it? There's a child in my wife's village who was slapped by her family and became deaf."
Someone boldly spoke up, and someone else immediately followed up, "That can't be! Third Sister's hearing seems to be fine."
The person who spoke first nodded. "Yes, yes, yes, it wasn't because he was beaten, was it? I also heard that in the next village, there was a child who was chosen by a wealthy family to be a tutor for their young master because he was good at studying. But not long after he arrived, the child stopped being able to speak. Later, I heard that he was bullied by a group of spoiled young masters at the academy."
"Such a thing is true?"
"It's absolutely true!"
"Then, that Third Sister, you must have been beaten a lot in the past, right?"
The villagers of Lijia Village immediately started talking again.
Upon hearing this, Li Qiulan became anxious, "What nonsense are you talking about? I've already said she's sick, that's all. Do you think I, as her mother, know my daughter better than a bunch of outsiders?"
Feeling guilty, Li Da hurriedly nodded in agreement, "That's right, that's right. Li Family Village is such a small place. If something really happened, wouldn't you know? Lin Chang'er is just fooling us!"
The people of Lijia Village agreed that this made sense, and they all fell silent and looked at Lin Chang'er.
Lin Chang'er remained calm and composed, "Why don't you all trust yourselves? My second sister-in-law was beaten a lot by Li Qiulan and her son when she was a child. You can't possibly be completely unaware of that."
"My second sister-in-law suddenly lost her ability to speak, not because she was sick, but because when she was eight years old, Li Da kicked her and she hit the door panel. Li Qiulan did not call a doctor in time, which caused a blood clot to accumulate in her brain, suppressing her speech nerves and causing her to lose her ability to speak."
"This might be hard for everyone to understand, so let me put it simply: my second sister-in-law couldn't speak properly because she was beaten by Li Da."
Li Da was startled and realized he absolutely couldn't admit it. He immediately jumped up, his face red and his neck thick, and said, "You're talking nonsense! Just because you say I was the one who got beaten up, does that mean I did it? I could say she wasn't watching where she was going and tripped over it herself!"
Looking at Li Qiulan, she said, "Mother, you tell me, did Third Sister kowtow herself?"
Li Qiulan nodded naturally, "Yes, it was Third Sister who kowtowed herself." Anyway, Third Sister Li couldn't speak, so no one would testify for her.
"No, he kicked me, he kicked me..." Li San Niang's eyes were bloodshot as she suddenly stood up from her seat, gesturing with both hands.
"Third Sister, calm down, calm down." Gu Erlang hurriedly stepped forward to comfort her.
Gu Xiaoman and Gu Xiaolu hugged her legs on either side, looking at her expectantly.
Lin Chang'er turned around and gave her a "don't rush" look, and Li San Niang slowly sat back down in her seat.
Seeing this, Li Da said smugly, "Lin Chang'er, words are not enough. My mother can testify for me, but can anyone testify for Li San Niang?"
Lin Chang'er sneered, "Mother and son testifying to each other is inherently unreliable. Even if it goes to court, see if the magistrate will accept it. Besides, you just said my second sister-in-law is sick, which is contradictory. Your words are even less credible."
"However, it's not impossible for you to have a witness."
Lin Chang'er winked at Niu Xiaomei again, and Niu Xiaomei immediately brought out another tray, covered with a red cloth.
Lin Chang'er deftly lifted the red cloth, revealing a tray full of gleaming silver ingots.
Lin Chang'er slammed the red cloth onto the table in front of her and said loudly, "I, Lin Chang'er, am not from Lijia Village. The things my second sister-in-law did do back home were indeed told to me by her."
"Li Qiulan and her son insist on having witnesses, but I, Lin Chang'er, don't have the ability to go back to my childhood to be a witness for my sister-in-law. However, you are all from Lijia Village, and many of my uncles and aunts watched my second sister-in-law grow up, so you should know something."
“I won’t make you play the villain for nothing. If anyone can tell me the specific time and place of how Li Qiulan and her son abused my second sister-in-law, I will give them a silver ingot. If anyone saw Li Da beating my second sister-in-law twelve years ago, the day before the Mid-Autumn Festival when she was eight years old, I will give them a silver ingot. If any neighbors heard the commotion, I will give them silver ingots as well.”
Isn't it just about needing witnesses? I refuse to believe that no one will be tempted by money.
"You, you're cheating!" Li Da said angrily. "This is bribery, this is perjury."
Lin Chang'er laughed and said, "I think you're the one who's hiding something and getting angry out of embarrassment. I'm offering a huge reward. If they dare to lie to me and cheat me out of money, I'll send them to the county government office."
“You…” Li Da didn’t expect this woman to be so ruthless. He was at a loss and hurriedly asked Li Qiulan for help.
Li Qiulan had long since lost track of Lin Chang'er's ways and found this woman very difficult to deal with. She wondered what Lin Chang'er was thinking and why she was giving away so much money. Why not just give it to them directly?
But is this woman stupid? The people from Lijia Village who came today are all related to her. Would they betray her?
Li Qiulan wiped away her tears and looked around. "Everyone, you all know how hard it was for me to raise three children on my own. You can't... Waaah..."
Originally, the people of Gujia Village thought Lin Chang'er was righteous for doing this, and they wished they had a sister-in-law like her.
The people of Lijia Village were both surprised and delighted. They were surprised that the Gu family was not only rich but also generous. They were delighted because the flood had just passed, and every household was struggling and in dire need of money. This money had just been delivered to their doorstep.
The third daughter-in-law of the Gu family is right. People living in the same village are bound to see each other once or twice, or even several times.
The pile of gleaming silver on that table was tempting to anyone!
But when Li Qiulan cried like that, her own little schemes started to fester again...