Translator: Lonelytree
After the courtyard door was opened, a cold, domineering, and imposing man walked out.
The villagers who stood at the door watching the show shivered. They had heard that Old Master Gong’s grandson was pursuing Xiao Lingyu. This confirmed it.
Gong Tianhao’s cold and imposing manner immediately gave Xiao Chengcai’s mother a fright. Old Master Gong was normally very amiable, so it gave them the illusion that his grandson was also easy to talk to.
Xiao Chengcai’s mother looked at the tall and cold Gong Tianhao and said loudly, “Where’s Xiao Lingyu? Call Xiao Lingyu out. The bitch has harmed my family. If she doesn’t give me an explanation, I won’t leave. There is no way she is getting compensation from my family.”
When Gong Tianhao heard the word bitch, he furrowed his brows and shot a sharp gaze at Xiao Chengcai’s mother.
He walked forward with steady and sharp steps. His sharp aura scared everyone into taking two steps back.
Gong Tianhao looked at Xiao Chengcai’s mother and said coldly, “I don’t hit women, and I don’t hit old people. However, there are many other methods to shut someone down.”
“Wh… What?” Xiao Chengcai’s mother trembled in fear and stuttered in confusion.
Gong Tianhao’s sharp eyes looked at the people around him and said coldly, “Xiao Lingyu is the woman I want to pursue. I will never allow anyone to bully her or scold her, and that includes you.”
His sharp eyes stared at Xiao Chengcai’s mother and almost scared her to the ground.
“Your wife has done something wrong, so she should be punished. You are her family, so you have the obligation to help her!
“So, why are you making a scene here?”
Although Xiao Chengcai’s mother was frightened by Gong Tianhao, she was not afraid of anything when she thought of the compensation of more than 100,000 RMB.
She said, “Zhang Xiaolan has already been sent to jail. Why do they still need us to compensate them? They are already so rich, yet they are still so cold-blooded and heartless. They want to see our family collapse and die. Aren’t they afraid of retribution?”
“Exactly. This is retribution for your family who has done bad things!” Gong Tianhao said coldly, “I’ll only say it once, get lost.” No one expected Gong Tianhao to chase them away like this.
With a signal from her son, Xiao Chengcai’s mother immediately lay down and rolled around on the floor. “They are bullying us. Someone is taking advantage of their wealth and power to bully poor people like us. How are we going to live like this?”
Some villagers pitied Xiao Chengcai’s family. Although Zhang Xiaolan had committed arson, she had been arrested and imprisoned. She had received severe punishment, so the Xiao Family was being cruel to ask for more compensation. Xiao Zhengyang’s family was already so rich. They didn’t lack the money. Why would they insist on compensation other than the fact that they were cruel and black-hearted?
However, none of the villagers dared to say that. They still needed to rely on Xiao Zhengyang’s family for work. Hence, everyone tactfully watched but did not say anything.
At this moment, Xiao Chengcai suddenly knelt down at the door. His action gave everyone a big fright. Even Gong Tianhao’s brows were tightly knitted together.
In the business world, no matter how difficult things were, he was able to handle them with ease.
However, when faced with these mischievous peasants, he was helpless.
Firstly, his grandfather now lived at Taoyuan Village. Secondly, his wife and in-laws were both people from Taoyuan Village.
If things were not handled properly, they would be harmed in the future.
If this had happened in the capital, Gong Tianhao would have dealt with these people already. No one would be rolling around on the floor.
At this moment, Xiao Chengcai shouted, “Xiao Lingyu, my wife has done something wrong. I apologize to you. But can you please let our family live? I have my parents and children to support. I won’t be able to compensate you the money unless you want my family to die!”
People were always sympathetic to the weak. Zhang Xiaolan had already been punished. Like what Xiao Chengcai said, even if he sold his entire family, he couldn’t pay 108,000. Xiao Chengcai had his parents and children to feed. If they were forced to pay the money, how could they survive? Did Xiao Lingyu really want this family to die?
Gong Tianhao said calmly, “The people from the court didn’t ask you to pay in full. Instead, you can pay in installments.”
Xiao Chengcai choked.
Everyone’s expression also froze.
Xiao Chengcai continued to act miserable as he said, “Even if I pay in installments, that is 9000 RMB every year. I can’t earn that much money. I can barely feed my family. How do you expect me to pay?”
This was the case for most farmers. They worked an entire year, and they would have barely enough to feed their family. However, this was often because the families had a small labor force.
Gong Tianhao said sharply, “The solution is very simple. Your family has three able-bodied members. Actually, you’ll only need to send one to work at Xiao Lingyu’s farm as labor to work off the debt.”
Then, he turned to the surrounding villagers and said directly, “Their family is not as pitiful as you think.
“The oldest family member is this auntie. She looks like she is in her sixties. The youngest is her son, who is twelve.
“Both of them can still work. Moreover, they have three adults in their prime years. There’s this uncle and his two adult sons. So what are you talking about when you say you don’t have the means to make the compensation?”
The villagers immediately understood.
To put it bluntly, Xiao Chengcai’s family had a lot of able-bodied members. As long as they were not lazy and worked diligently, they could pay off the debt easily.
Xiao Chengcai’s mother immediately got up from the ground and refused, “No. We need to save the money to send my youngest son to the university. We will not let you take that money!”
Xiao Chengcai added, “My sons are adults. They need to get married. How can they be working as free laborers at Xiao Lingyu’s farm? How will they ever get married like this?”
At this moment, Xiao Lingyu came out.
She asked, “Then what do you want? Let me tell you. If you want to get the compensation waived, you need to go to court. No matter how big of a fuss you make here, nothing will change.. My family might be rich, but the money didn’t fall from the sky. We worked hard for them, so what’s wrong with me asking back for what should have been mine?”
