Chapter 5
Chapter 5
The sudden silence in the air caught me off guard, stopping my struggles in an instant.
Everyone turned their heads in unison toward the source of the voice.
“Uncle Yushuan, give her to me. I’ll pay twenty thousand.”
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd.
I froze for a few seconds, only belatedly processing what the man meant.
Li Yushuan clearly hadn’t expected this either.
He sized the young man up several times before finally speaking. “Kid, there’s a time and a place for tall tales.”
“It’s not that I look down on you,” Li Yushuan said, clicking his tongue. “Putting everything else aside, your sickly sister has already drained your family’s savings dry. Where would you get that kind of money?”
“Go on, get out of here,” Li Yushuan waved him off. “If you want a woman, wait a few years. You’re a handsome lad; just save up a bit more, and you won’t have to worry about finding a wife.”
Before Li Yushuan could finish, the old man who had been dragging me interrupted. “Yushuan, why are you wasting your breath on this kid?”
The old man glared at Li Mancang and cursed under his breath, his voice vicious. “Don’t you start looking for trouble again. Are you hell-bent on crossing me?”
Li Mancang’s gaze turned cold as he stared the man down.
He didn’t say a word, yet he exuded a powerful sense of intimidation.
The old man fell silent immediately.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, Li Yushuan clapped his hands and let out an enlightened “Aie-yo.”
He grabbed Li Mancang and pulled him to the side.
“Mancang, I get it now,” he said, patting the young man’s shoulder. “Kid, are you still throwing a tantrum at your Uncle Li Zhong over what happened last time?
“Didn’t you already make a scene about that? Didn’t you already get revenge for your sister?” Li Yushuan smiled. “Your Uncle Li Zhong already said that matter was a misunderstanding. Don’t keep dwelling on it.
“Buying a woman is a serious matter. It’s about carrying on the family line.”
Li Yushuan nudged Li Mancang. “Don’t be difficult, kid. Don’t go sticking your nose in this and intentionally making things awkward for your Uncle Li Zhong.”
Li Mancang remained silent, his face as grim as still water.
The old man was getting anxious, afraid that if this dragged on any longer, the prize he had within his grasp would slip away.
He hurriedly pulled Li Yushuan over and grabbed the sales agreement from his hand, intending to press his thumbprint onto it.
Just as the old man was coating his thumb with red ink, the agreement was suddenly snatched away. The only sound was the quick scrawl of a pen.
“There.”
The person who had signed shoved the pen and the agreement back to Li Yushuan, leaving the old man standing there dumbfounded, still holding his ink pad.
“Uncle Yushuan,” Li Mancang paused. “I will bring every cent of that twenty thousand yuan to you.”
Li Yushuan scratched his head, unable to find his voice for a long time.
After a while, he finally nodded. After all, no one would truly turn their back on that much money.
Li Mancang left the crowd without another word.
Everywhere he passed, the chatter died down.
I remained rooted to the spot, not daring to move.
The young man took a few steps before realizing I wasn’t following.
He turned back, though he didn’t look at me.
He simply said in a low, heavy voice, “Let’s go.”