Chapter 528 - 529: The Huang Family
Chapter 528: Chapter 529: The Huang Family
Father Huang, Huang Qianlao, had been hiding in the back without saying a word, but deep down, he silently agreed with his wife’s claims. He reasoned that since they had already sold their land and house back home, if Huang Pingguo didn’t acknowledge this house as shared family property, where would such a large family go? Therefore, no matter what happened today, it was best to get this matter sorted out clearly.
It wasn’t a bad thing for his old wife to kick up a fuss. It would serve to make Huang Pingguo realize sooner rather than later that it was still the two old folks who called the shots in this family. Pingguo’s wife wasn’t home today, and even the Zhuang Family’s second daughter-in-law next door was nowhere to be seen. He figured those two women were probably hiding in some corner scheming, urging their own men to come back and make a scene.
He had always said that these women who worked as slave girls were malicious and venomous. They had long been corrupted by those wealthy households, and now they were even scheming against their own family. He had told Huang Pingguo a long time ago that women needed to be strictly disciplined. If she was disobedient, a few good beatings would quickly make her behave. They were nothing more than two girls who had sold themselves into slavery. They had no family to back them up, yet they still dared to act so arrogantly in front of them. If they hadn’t just arrived and were still trying to figure things out, he would have had his wife teach them a lesson long ago.
"Father, is this what you think too?" Huang Pingguo looked at his silent father, then at his brothers standing beside him. In the family, only his eldest brother had married and had a son; his two younger brothers were still unmarried.
Huang Qianlao looked at the family, then at the onlookers outside, and said, "What could I possibly think? We’re all one family; there’s no need to make things so tense. Pingguo, I know our whole family coming to rely on you has put you in a difficult position.
"But no matter what, we’re a family. You and your brothers are connected by blood, and you’ll have to rely on and support each other in the future.
"Rest assured, your mother and I aren’t trying to dump the entire burden on you. We’ve brought all the Silver from selling our house and land back home, and it’s entirely in our hands. Just hand over everything you have to us for now. Later, we’ll buy a few acres of fertile land, and you can figure out a way to find jobs for your brothers. Give it a few years, and our family will be thriving."
Hearing this, Lin Wei stared intently at Huang Pingguo. He also wanted to know what choice Huang Pingguo would make. Having traveled together and gotten along quite pleasantly along the way, he certainly didn’t want Huang Pingguo to make a decision he would regret for the rest of his life. As an outsider, even he could see through this family’s motives in just a few words. He refused to believe that Huang Pingguo couldn’t see it too.
"Father, I can give you what belongs to me, but Chunxiang’s dowry must be kept separate—"
Lu Cuihua chimed in again, "Good heavens! She’s already married into our family, yet she’s still harboring such selfish thoughts!
"When your eldest brother’s wife married in, she handed everything over to me. Why should a lowly slave like her dare to hoard so much money?"
"Mother, don’t talk like that. I’m a lowly slave too," Huang Pingguo said, his face darkening. "You might as well just curse me directly while you’re at it."
Lu Cuihua slapped her thigh. "Even at a time like this, you’re still defending your wife! Are you blaming me for not keeping a closer eye on you back then? But you were already a big lad. If you wanted to run off, I couldn’t possibly catch you. When you went missing, your father and I couldn’t eat or sleep. We searched for you for so long..."
Huang Qianlao also rebuked him angrily. "If you hold a grudge about what happened in the past, just say it straight. Don’t be so passive-aggressive..."
The courage Huang Pingguo had mustered earlier deflated completely. "...I didn’t mean it like that..."
"I say, your family shouldn’t be making a racket from morning till night," Village Chief Zhu Zhiqiang said as he rushed over after receiving the news. He originally hadn’t wanted to interfere in such trivial matters, especially since these people’s household registrations weren’t yet officially in the village, making them outsiders. However, he had just been informed that Gu Kaiyuan and his wife had returned. It would be highly inappropriate if he didn’t make an appearance now.
"Your household registrations aren’t in our village, yet your daily squabbling is ruining the atmosphere for everyone else. If this continues, don’t blame me for kicking you out," he added.
Zhu Ziqiang’s appearance immediately silenced the Huang family. If the Village Chief really drove them out, how could they possibly rely on Huang Pingguo?
"Village Chief, it’s a misunderstanding. It’s just a family matter," Huang Qianlao explained, bowing and scraping. "We’ll be transferring our household registrations over very soon. We’ll have to trouble you a lot when the time comes."
Zhu Zhiqiang felt a headache coming on. He really didn’t want villagers like these to move in, but he kept those thoughts to himself. Instead, he looked meaningfully at Huang Pingguo. "Steward Huang, have you finished all the tasks your master assigned you? How do you have the time to deal with these trivial family matters?"
"The master knows I have a lot going on at home, so he let me come back to rest," Huang Pingguo replied. "He told me to sort out my family affairs first before worrying about anything else."
"It’s just a few minor issues at home; there’s no need for you to rest! Hurry back to work. Otherwise, if your Silver gets deducted, what will our large family eat and drink?" Lu Cuihua countered. She knew full well that working a day meant earning a day’s Silver. Coming back to rest for no reason was practically throwing Silver away.
Huang Pingguo spoke coldly, "Because of this mess with our family, I almost lost my job today! If I don’t get this sorted out, we’ll have no choice but to head back to our hometown.
"It just so happens that you were reluctant to leave anyway. You constantly complained about leaving your roots behind just for my sake, and that guilt has been suffocating me. We might as well all go back. From now on, I’ll stay by your side and fulfill my filial duties."
Lu Cuihua and Huang Qianlao were stunned. Everything had been fine this morning—how had he suddenly lost his job? After all, Huang Pingguo was a steward now. He managed so many matters and people. They had been counting on him to arrange jobs for the rest of the family. How could he just lose his position?
"Pingguo, you aren’t joking?" Before Huang Qianlao could speak, the eldest son standing behind him eagerly interjected. He had been relying on Pingguo to secure him an easy job that paid a lot of money.
"How could I be joking? Can’t you see I’m already back home?" Huang Pingguo replied.
Only then did the Huang family realize that, normally at this hour, Huang Pingguo would have already gone up the mountain to work.
"But didn’t you say before that your masters were exiled all the way from Shangjing to here, and that they wouldn’t mistreat you? How did it end up like this? Are all wealthy people so ungrateful?" the eldest son demanded.
Huang Pingguo’s expression changed drastically. He had just spotted Lin Wei and the others standing in the crowd. He hurriedly scolded, "What nonsense are you spouting?
"The master and madam have already repaid us and even gave us back our contracts of indenture! Otherwise, we would still be the lowly slaves you keep talking about.
"They also built this house for us, not to mention giving us jobs.
"Even if they hadn’t done any of this, it would have been perfectly justified. After all, we used to just be their servants!"