Chapter 131 - 123: Water in the Brain?
Liu quickly said, "Mother, you must be muddled. Bai Zhi and Zhao Lan got one hundred taels of silver today! And they even got a house plot and fields from the village chief. That’s all family property! If we can just make up with them, won’t all of it belong to our Bai Family?"
The moment Bai Dazhu heard this, he scurried closer. "Yes, yes, yes, my wife’s right! As long as we make up with Bai Zhi and Zhao Lan and bring them back home, won’t all their things naturally become the Bai Family’s property? If they ever want to split from the family again in the future, we’ll just kick them out with nothing, same as before."
Old Mrs. Bai harrumphed. "We’re letting them off too easy. If it weren’t for the sake of the silver and the land, they could forget about ever stepping foot in the Bai Family home again for the rest of their lives."
Just then, Ms. Zhang and Bai Zhenzhu entered the courtyard carrying their bundles. They happened to overhear the conversation and Ms. Zhang couldn’t help but sneer, "To hear you talk, you’d think Bai Zhi and Zhao Lan are just dying to come back."
Liu shot a glare at Ms. Zhang, her voice sharp with anger. "So you finally decided to come back? Where have you been?"
Ms. Zhang was fuming as well. "What’s the matter? Upset that I wasn’t with you all getting beaten?"
The back-and-forth gave Old Mrs. Bai a splitting headache. She snapped, "Both of you, shut your mouths! Do you think this house isn’t chaotic enough already?"
She turned to glare at Ms. Zhang. "Since you’re back, go make dinner. Stop standing around here stirring up trouble."
’Stirring up trouble?’
Ms. Zhang wanted to turn around and walk right out. If she hadn’t known that Fugui had been beaten ten times and wasn’t so worried about her son, she wouldn’t have come back at all.
Ms. Zhang walked to her son’s side. Seeing his pale face and the way he couldn’t even stand straight, her eyes immediately reddened. "Fugui, how are you? Does it hurt?"
Fugui shook his head. "Mom, I’m okay now that you’re back. It doesn’t hurt."
’Such hatred welled up in Ms. Zhang’s heart. If it weren’t for that old woman and Liu’s insatiable greed, her Fugui would never have been dragged into this and beaten.’
"Come, Mom will help you inside." Bai Erzhu’s heart ached. ’It wasn’t worth it,’ he thought, ’for our son to suffer this undeserved punishment alongside us.’
Back in their room, Ms. Zhang flung her bundle onto the bed and whirled around to glare at Bai Erzhu. "Are you an idiot? You knew that old woman and Liu were going to shake them down for money, but you still took Fugui with you? Is your head full of water or something?"
Bai Erzhu had been struck fifteen times, and his backside was raw and bleeding. He was wincing in pain and had wanted to collapse face-down on the bed, but Ms. Zhang was blocking his way. He snapped in frustration, "What was I supposed to do? If I didn’t go, and they managed to get something from Zhao Lan and Bai Zhi, our branch of the family wouldn’t have seen a single coin! How could I not go?"
"Get something?" she sneered, pointing at his backside. "Is *this* what you got?"
Bai Erzhu looked utterly defeated. "Who could have guessed that wretched girl, Bai Zhi, would actually go to the government office to file a complaint? And then bring back an official to settle the case! If I had known any of that would happen, you could have beaten me to death and I still wouldn’t have gone."
Ms. Zhang pointed at his head. "With a brain like yours, what could you possibly think of? Haven’t you noticed that Bai Zhi isn’t the same girl she used to be? Do you really think you can all just push her around whenever you please?" She glanced outside, where Old Mrs. Bai and Liu were whispering about something in the main hall. Ms. Zhang harrumphed again. "They were so heartless when they threw them out of the house. Now that they’re doing well, they’re already thinking about welcoming them back. Do they really think life is that easy? Bai Erzhu, if you were Bai Zhi or Zhao Lan, would you come back?"
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