Chapter 186: Chapter 181: Song Tingfan Gets Beaten

Lin Han didn’t agree, shaking his head, "Aunt Fan, I can’t borrow your silver. I’ll sell the grain; selling it will almost be enough."

The price Fan Family offered for grain was already two cents higher than usual, a favor Lin Han was well aware of.

"With so many people in your family, how will you live after selling the grain? Take this to deal with the urgent matter first." Mrs. Fan took out a ten taels of silver from her pocket and handed it to Lin Qiao.

"Granny Fan, it’s okay, I’ve gathered enough silver." Lin Qiao sincerely thanked her.

Mrs. Fan didn’t believe it and still tried to give it to her. Lin Qiao, after much persuasion, managed to stop her. After she left, Lin Qiao said to Li Guifen and the others, "No need to gather more silver; I’ve already gathered enough. I sold the recipe for cold dishes to Fulaiyun’s boss for thirty taels, and the remaining twenty taels of silver were loaned to me by the fabric shop owner."

The Lin Family’s initial reaction was disbelief, but only after Lin Qiao showed them the money did they believe her. The tension and fear that had gripped the entire family for days finally eased a lot.

"Daughter, return that twenty taels to your boss; we can afford the twenty taels ourselves."

Lin Han was eager to resolve this matter quickly, adding, "I’ll go get the village chief to come with me."

Seeing him about to leave, Lin Qiao quickly called out to him, "No rush, let’s wait a couple of days."

They shouldn’t gather the silver too quickly; she still had things to do. She wouldn’t let the brothel and the government office bully common people like them easily.

The more powerful they are, the more they’re afraid of certain things being exposed.

At the very least, she wouldn’t let the brothel people dare target her again.

"Wait for what? The sooner we settle this, the better." Lin Han hadn’t slept well these past few days, closing his eyes only to envision his daughter being taken away.

"Dad, trust me, I’ll handle this myself; nothing will go wrong." Lin Qiao reassured him, then added, "I’ve bought some meat; come have lunch at my place."

"What meat, let your dad fix this quickly, and once it’s done, we’ll buy you a whole pig to eat." Li Guifen was also anxious.

How could they not be anxious? Their daughter’s "selling contract" was still with that black-hearted person.

Lin Qiao: "..."

She couldn’t help but laugh, "It will be dealt with, don’t worry."

"Worry? My heart’s always in my throat these days."

"Mom, come over to my place to make dumplings."

Lin Qiao pulled them back home to make dumplings. Once there, she sent Song Tingfan to return Song An’s money and invited them over for dumplings.

To avoid dissatisfaction from Mrs. Song, she specifically wrapped up a dozen peach blossom cakes for him to take.

Song An wasn’t home at the moment, only Mrs. Song, Song Hao, and Song Mei were.

Song Tingfan knew his eldest aunt didn’t like him coming in, so he called out to Song Hao from the door, "Cousin."

Mrs. Song, still angry, ran out as soon as she heard his voice. Without a word, she slapped him, "It’s all your fault; you ruined your cousin’s marriage!"

"Your sister-in-law is just a mess, redeem her for fifty taels of silver? I think you’ve all lost your minds!"

"Mom!"

Song Hao and Song Mei rushed over to hold back Mrs. Song.

A red mark quickly appeared on Song Tingfan’s cheek from being slapped. He didn’t mind the slap, but he couldn’t allow his eldest aunt to insult his sister-in-law, "Sister-in-law isn’t like that; you can’t say that, eldest aunt."

"I can’t say that? Of course, I can. She ran away from a place like that; what do you expect, purity? If I were her, I’d have rather hit my head and died." Mrs. Song said without restraint.

"Sister-in-law is pure, stop spreading lies!" Song Tingfan shouted back at her, his defiance a bit intimidating.

Mrs. Song was momentarily stunned by his outburst, but quickly regained her composure, "You ungrateful wretch! Your uncle lends you money, and this is how you repay us? Song Mei! Song Hao, you saw it yourselves; he yelled at me."

"Mom, don’t say anymore."

Song Mei tried to pull her inside, but Mrs. Song was too angry to comply, "Why shouldn’t I say more? Huh? What wrong have I done?"

"I want the whole village to hear. If it weren’t for my family lending money all these years, Song’s second family would have perished long ago."

"Now for Lin Qiao, they’re ready to give up everything they own for her redemption. Why bother? Redeem what? Bringing back trouble! She’s a widow anyway; what’s wrong with the brothel? Might even get food and drink..."

Before she could finish, "slap"—she was slapped.

Song An had returned at some point, furiously glaring at her, "Shut your mouth! You’re their eldest aunt; how can you say such nonsense!"

"If it were outsiders, that’s one thing, but you can’t! When you and your child were in trouble, second brother and sister-in-law helped you a lot!"

"Song An, how dare you hit me!" Mrs. Song widened her eyes in disbelief and then said, "That was years ago; we’ve already repaid it!"

"It doesn’t matter how long ago it was; one should never forget their roots!" Song An glanced at the red, swollen side of Song Tingfan’s face, his anger intensifying. "How many times have I told you not to hit Tingfan? Don’t you understand?"

"Song An! Are you choosing to yell at me for that brat? I’m going back to my parents’ home right now!" It was the first time Mrs. Song had been hit by Song An, and she felt wronged.

This time, Song An wasn’t feeling indulgent, "Then go on back. Mei’er, help your mom pack her things."

Mrs. Song was stunned, and although Song Mei disliked her mom’s personality, she was still her mother, "Mom, just apologize to Dad."

"I’m not wrong. I’ll go back if I want to, Song An, don’t expect me to come back!" Mrs. Song angrily pushed Song Mei aside and turned to pack her belongings.

Once again, his eldest uncle’s family was fighting because of him, and Song Tingfan felt guilty. He quietly said, "Uncle, don’t argue with Auntie; I’m fine."

After speaking, he took out the silver and said, "Sister-in-law managed to gather the silver; there’s no need to borrow from you, Uncle."

"Don’t listen to what your Aunt says. If Uncle gives it to you, just take it." Song An thought he was afraid the family would argue, aware of the boy’s good heart.

Song Tingfan stuffed it into his hand, "Uncle, we really managed to gather it. Sister-in-law told me to bring it here to return it, the peach blossom cakes are for you as well; sister-in-law said to invite you over for dumplings later."

"Is it true?"

"Really, sister-in-law’s boss loaned it to us."

Song An, knowing the boy wouldn’t lie, pressed his lips together and said, "We won’t go for dumplings."

Song Tingfan didn’t argue, nodding and then leaving.

Initially, Lin Qiao was busy making dumplings, and his deliberate effort to cover up meant she didn’t notice the red mark on his face.

Forgetting to put some scallions in the soup, she looked at the boy stoking the fire with his head down, "Uncle, go pick some scallions..."

He lifted his head slightly, and she saw the red print on his face. She immediately put down the spatula and walked over to examine it closely, frowning, "Did Aunt hit you?"

"No," Song Tingfan instinctively raised his hand to cover the side that had been hit.

Lin Qiao pulled his hand down, seriously asking, "Not telling me the truth? Did she hit you anywhere else?"

"No, just one slap." Song Tingfan obediently confessed.

Looking at the red mark on his face, Lin Qiao felt a surge of anger she couldn’t quite pinpoint, "Does she have a problem with her hand?"

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com