635 Scoundrel
Old Madam Li’s village was more than 20 kilometers away from Foshan Village. It would take at least a day to get there by foot.
The one adult and two children casually stopped a horse carriage on the road and set off for their village after discussing the price. By the time they reached the village entrance, it was already dark. They did not expect the coachman to raise the price at the last minute.
“You’re going too far in. Give me another 50 cents!” the coachman said unhappily.
“Pfft! 50 cents! Why don’t you go rob someone! You’re already charging us a dollar and 50 cents simply for bringing us here from the neighboring village! How dare you ask me for another 50 cents now! I’m not giving it to you!” Old Madam Li said rudely.
“If you don’t want to give me, then get off now! Give me a dollar and 50 cents! Otherwise, you have to pay me more!” the coachman said as he glared at Old Madam Li.
The village entrance was still four kilometers away from Old Madam Li’s house! It would take at least an hour to walk back.
When the two children heard this, they held on tightly to the carriage and refused to get down.
“If you don’t send us to our door! We won’t get off! We’ll stay here!” Old Madam Li took the opportunity to lie down in the carriage.
She was using her shameless method again, but the coachman did not fall for it. He had seen many people like this after doing this job for so many years!
“If you don’t get off, I’ll send you to a place where no one can find you. I don’t think you’re worth much. These two children of yours are not bad. Are you going to pay me or not?” the coachman said as he looked at Old Madam Li sinisterly.
“Get down, get down! We’ll walk back ourselves!” Old Madam Li dragged the two children out of the carriage forcefully and reluctantly took out a stack of money from her pocket.
She was more afraid of losing her life!
The coachman thought that she was a rich person, but when he took a closer look, he realized that the stack of money were denominations of 10 cents and 20 cents. The largest denomination was probably only 50 cents!
Old Madam Li reluctantly counted the money and handed it to the coachman. The thick stack instantly reduced to a few notes and the coachman left the village without looking back.
“You! The horse carriage will definitely fall into a deep ditch! You’ll die a horrible death!” Old Madam Li muttered as she watched the coachman leave.
The two children hugged each other to keep warm from the cold. They were still wearing summer clothes and the clothes were also obviously too big for them. They were wearing tattered clothes that their older brothers discarded.
One of the girls kept shivering from the cold and asked in a trembling voice, “Grandma… Can we go home now?”
“Always rushing me! What are you rushing for! If we don’t go home, are we going to stay here and be food for the wolves! Hurry up and go!” Old Madam Li kicked the two children sulkily.
The children staggered behind Old Madam Li and walked for more than two hours before they reached home.
Zhao Hong thought that they would all be sleeping at Li Gui’s house tonight, so she turned off the lights and went to bed early. Usually, she could not go to bed until the middle of the night.
Old Madam Li forced her to keep doing needlework and housework. As long as it was something that she could do, the old woman would make her do it and did not allow her to rest at all.
“Dong dong dong! Dong dong dong!”
There were loud bangs at the courtyard door. All the dogs in the village barked wildly when they heard the sound, making it so noisy that no one could fall asleep.
“Jinx! Open the door quickly! How dare you slack off when I’m not at home! Come out here! Open the door quickly!” Old Madam Li shouted while panting as she kicked the door forcefully.
Zhao Hong ran out to open the door for Old Madam Li without even putting on her clothes properly. As soon as she opened the door, she received a slap from Old Madam Li.
“Who allows you to go to bed so early! Don’t you know that I’m coming back tonight! Do you even listen to me! Don’t you take my words to heart!” Old Madam Li pointed at Zhao Hong and scolded her.
When the two children saw their mother, they quickly shrank back beside Zhao Hong and looked at her timidly, not daring to say anything.
“Mother… I’m not trying to be lazy…” Zhao Hong explained aggrievedly.
“Then why! Tell me!” Old Madam Li shouted.
“Are you done! Can’t you let me sleep in the middle of the night!” A scolding came from afar.
Old Madam Li quickly walked out of the courtyard with small steps. With her hands on her hips, she shouted, “What the hell! You can sleep if you want! How dare you interfere with my family’s business! Come out if you dare! How dare you scold me!”
No one in the entire village dared to provoke Old Madam Li. It was not because she was a village tyrant like Qiao Zhuang, but because she was a famous scoundrel in the village!
