sjar Chapter 394 Using Du Yaobang as a Pretext
Chapter 394 Using Du Yaobang as a Pretext
Just past noon, the scorching sun failed to dispel the oppressive atmosphere and discussions over the fishing village.
The news that Zhao Ming and Du Hehua were going to sell Xiao Jun to a ghost marriage spread like wildfire, reaching every corner of the island.
Some were there to watch the spectacle, while others felt a sense of regret.
Xu Yiyi and her four siblings were eating in a side room of their great-uncle's house.
The children were still young, and Sihai was too young to understand what the adults meant by "ghost marriage."
Wu Yuan sat on Xu Yiyi's lap watching everyone eat, still unable to speak.
Er'er and Sanchuan understood, but since the adults were talking, they couldn't get a word in edgewise, so they could only eat quietly.
Xu Yiyi felt that she had caught a cold and had no appetite. She forced herself to eat half a bowl of rice and then put down her chopsticks.
Just as they carried Wuyuan into the courtyard, the discussion paused briefly, then quickly resumed.
Some people were sitting or standing in the courtyard. Great-uncle and Great-aunt sat in the middle, while Xu Pinghai was lying in the room, his face still pale, and he didn't seem to be thinking about resting properly.
The door was open; Xu Anyang was practically helping him out.
Auntie Si was squatting on the ground, processing the mudskippers in the fish basket.
Xu Honglian and Er'er leaned against each other, and Xu Yiyi walked over carrying the child.
Sanchuan and Wu Yunzhi sat next to them. Old Lu didn't follow the usual path; after eating his fill, he lay down on the wall.
He swung his feet, kicking the stone wall repeatedly.
The mud and dust on top were falling off in a flurry.
It happened to fall right into Xu Yiyi's eyes.
"Ouch!"
Lao Lu sat up abruptly, his eyes filled with curiosity as he wondered why Xu Yiyi had pinched him.
"Sit down and behave yourself. The dust you kicked up is getting into my eyes."
Xu Yiyi's right eye turned red, and tears welled up uncontrollably.
Old Lu naturally saw it and, feeling guilty, jumped down from the wall.
The little incident between the two did not interrupt the discussion in the courtyard at all.
"This family is utterly despicable!"
Xu Honglian leaned against her as she spoke, her eyes red-rimmed.
"How old is Xiao Jun? She never had a good day in her life, and even after she dies, her parents will sell her off like merchandise! Her heart is harder than stone."
Er'er nodded, "Xiao Jun is two or three months younger than me, and she'll be twelve years old soon."
"Who can argue with that!"
Xu Anyang sighed, "On the way back, I made a special trip there. They couldn't even afford a simple coffin, so they just wrapped it in a straw mat and put it in the yard! I guess they're just waiting for someone from there to come and take it away to exchange for money!"
"This matter... is difficult to handle."
Wu Yunzhi shook his head helplessly. He had seen many such cases when he traveled around practicing medicine.
"The government has never interfered with such ghost marriages, regarding them as folk customs. Even if you take it to the county yamen, the officials will at most reprimand her parents for being greedy and heartless; they won't actually do anything about it."
Auntie was soft-hearted and couldn't help but shed tears upon hearing this.
Uncle coughed heavily and slammed his cane on the ground.
"The most troublesome thing is that they are not from the same clan! If they were from the clan, the elders could use the clan rules to suppress them and reason with them in the ancestral hall, and they wouldn't dare to disobey! But the Zhao family are outsiders... If we try to manage them by force, it would be illegitimate and would only give them a reason to be accused of bullying outsiders!"
Xu Anyang was sitting on the threshold when he heard his father coughing violently in anger, so he quickly went inside.
"Are we just going to stand by and watch that child be sold into a ghost marriage?"
Wu Yunzhi's voice was low and somber, "If you can't be independent while you're alive, you won't find peace even in death!"
A moment of silence fell over everyone, their faces showing a mixture of resentment and helplessness.
Xu Anyang, being young and impetuous, came out of the room and said, "Why don't we snatch her and bury her secretly? Once she's buried, they won't be able to hand her over."
Lao Lu didn't say anything, but gave him a thumbs up.
"Nonsense!"
The great-uncle scolded, "And then what? Let her parents come to our door to make a scene? And then a fight breaks out?"
Xu Anyang snorted, "This won't do, that won't do, how about I just pay to buy her, okay?"
Since he opened the restaurant, his wallet has never been empty.
"No amount of money can stop them from ripping you off."
They've made it clear they want money. Knowing that Xu Anyang's actions are out of compassion, they'll likely ask for an even bigger sum.
"Fine, you guys tell me! I'm out of ideas."
He flung his coat over his shoulder and sat back down on the doorstep.
“Du Yaobang is also attending elementary school. Maybe his parents want him to pass the imperial examinations? He often gambles with people in town. Could we use that as leverage?”
San Chuan suddenly spoke, and everyone looked over.
How did you know? Did you go too?
Er'er's sharp gaze made Sanchuan blush.
"No, I didn't. There's a gambling den right across from the bookstore. We run into them all the time."
Du Yaobang even threatened him, telling him not to reveal these things.
He couldn't care less about it since it wasn't his brother.
San Chuan would pretend not to see him each time he saw him, and Du Yaobang stopped avoiding him.