Chapter 16
Wu Xiaojiu cautiously and tentatively asked, “What’s wrong with writing an IOU? You’re lending money and asking for an IOU, that’s legal and compliant.”
To his surprise, the woman slapped her thigh, pointed at his nose, and trembled with anger, letting out a shrill cry.
“Lend money my foot! We’re all relatives from the same family! Now that your dad has made it big, shouldn’t he just give us two million for free?”
After the woman said this, Wu Dan and another woman chimed in repeatedly.
“My daughter-in-law is right! If your dad had given our family that two million back then, we could have used it to do business. Maybe we’d have already surpassed your Main Branch by now! Why would we need to borrow money and sign a Bet Agreement with you?”
“Exactly! If you ask me, all the remaining property of your Main Branch should be transferred to our family for free, to compensate for our family’s losses.”
The more they spoke, the less human they sounded.
Wu Xiaojiu was so angry that even his nose and eyes looked crooked.
Held in Wu Yuting’s arms, he gritted his teeth and nodded.
Then he pushed his sobbing sister aside, strode forward, and yanked Wu Dan by the collar.
Wu Xiaojiu had been a young master for some time, after all.
When he got angry now, he actually exuded a bit of pressure.
But all he could do was fiercely grab the other’s collar; for a long while, he couldn’t say a word.
[System, can’t you just erase my Second Cousin? I feel like this guy’s brain doesn’t work; you can’t reason with him, and scolding him is like complimenting him.]
Wu Xiaojiu couldn’t help but madly vent to the System in his mind.
The long-silent System actually spoke for once.
[The youth has his own strength. Host, keep going.]
Wu Dan, seeing himself grabbed, was a bit flustered at first, but seeing Wu Xiaojiu silent for so long, curled his lip with a cocky air, and put his hands in his pockets.
“What? You also think it’s wrong and have nothing to say? Let me tell you, we’re all relatives, blood-related. Back then, your dad was so successful-never mind two million, even twenty million he should have given us.”
“If you ask me, your Main Branch’s downfall and your dad’s car accident are all karmic retribution for that day!”
The more Wu Dan spoke, the more excited he got, not noticing Wu Xiaojiu’s face getting darker and darker.
Just as he kept rambling-
A loud slap rang out.
Wu Xiaojiu swung his hand and slapped Wu Dan hard across the face.
Wu Dan’s face swelled up high before he could even scream.
The elderly woman beside Wu Dan let out a wail, rushed over, bared her teeth, and viciously pushed Wu Xiaojiu aside, then tenderly touched Wu Dan’s swollen cheek.
“Sure enough, there isn’t a single good one in your Main Branch! You really let my husband down. He was even planning to introduce a good marriage for you, but now, ptooey!”
The young woman ran over as well, wiping and dabbing at Wu Dan, not even bothering with the crying baby in her arms.
“Marriage?” Wu Xiaojiu caught the key word, alarm bells ringing in his heart, his expression suddenly changing.
Wu Dan’s expression shifted slightly when he saw this, but he still forced himself to keep up the act: “Don’t listen to your Sister-in-law’s nonsense. It’s just that the Village Chief has a handsome son, and seeing that your sister has been single for so long, he wanted to match them up.”
As soon as he said this, Wu Yuting’s crying stopped abruptly, and Wu Xiaojiu’s mother was also stunned. Their strong reactions made Wu Dan feel a bit guilty, but he still pretended to be calm.
“What’s wrong! We’re just being kind. A married daughter is like water spilled; Wu Yuting is just a girl-at most, she’ll become a relative to your family again. Marrying her to the Village Chief’s son isn’t a loss for your Main Branch.”
Wu Xiaojiu was shaking all over with anger.
He hadn’t been that angry before, but now all his temper had flared up.
His blood rushed to his head, buzzing in his ears.
Wu Xiaojiu glared fiercely at Wu Dan’s face, his fingers already clenched into fists in secret.
But his Second Cousin didn’t notice anything wrong. Instead, seeing Wu Xiaojiu silent, he thought he was easy to handle.
Emboldened, and with the two women adding fuel to the fire, they sang in chorus and continued:
“Xiaojiu, Second Aunt knows you grew up with your sister and can’t bear to part with her, but girls have to marry and have children eventually. Your family is short of money right now, so today, with Second Aunt and her mother-in-law here, you can be our witness. As long as you let us take your sister home today, tomorrow the twenty thousand Bride Price will be transferred to your card!”
At the mention of the twenty thousand Bride Price,
Second Cousin’s wife looked extremely smug, as if this was a sky-high sum, holding her head high with pride as though she was doing the Main Branch a huge favor.
The baby in her arms was still bawling, but the wife didn’t care at all.
“Twenty thousand! No one in our village spends this much to get a wife. Only because Wu Yuting is your sister does she get this treatment. So? Let’s settle this today, all right?”
From start to finish, Wu Xiaojiu kept his head down, his jaw clenching so hard it creaked.
But Wu Yuting kept her arms tightly around his waist, urging him not to be impulsive.
As soon as these words fell, Wu Yuting’s grip loosened a bit, an expression of disbelief on her face.
Wu Xiaojiu also looked up accordingly, his eyes red, staring at the people in front of him with hatred.
He squeezed out his words from between his teeth.
“Settle your damned business! I’m telling you, Wu Dan, if you don’t want to die, you’d better take your wife and your mother and get out of here right now. Otherwise, even if I have to do it with my bare hands, I’ll strangle you all today.”
As he said this, he charged forward with a burst of fury.
But before he could reach them, Wu Yuting held him back.
Wu Yuting understood the bigger picture. Even now, no matter how heartbroken she was, she didn’t want Wu Xiaojiu to suffer any harm.
Wu Dan’s family realized things weren’t looking good, exchanged a glance, and the young woman gave the baby in her arms a hard slap as a warning. At the same time, she took the opportunity to retreat: “You little money loser! Can’t you see your mom is working on a big deal? Why are you crying! It’s all your fault for ruining your cousins’ good mood.”
“Xiaojiu, I think you’re not in the right state and haven’t faced reality. There’s no point in saying more. Think about it carefully-we’ll come back in a couple of days.”
The baby, after being slapped, cried even harder.
He wailed in the swaddling cloth until he nearly fainted.
Wu Dan’s family, carrying the child, slunk around Wu Yuting and headed out.