Chapter 536 - 537: Choice
Chapter 536: Chapter 537: Choice
As soon as Huang Pingguo arrived, the Huang family instantly surrounded him. "Pingguo, you can’t just abandon our whole family! Otherwise, your father and I really will have no choice but to take everyone back home to starve to death.
"Pingguo, I know we were wrong this time. We sold the house and the land back home without discussing it with you, but what’s done is done. You have to help us figure something out.
"We don’t want to squeeze the whole family into your house either, but we have nowhere else to go..."
A few of the women began to wipe their tears. They knew Huang Pingguo was notoriously soft-hearted, so they had prepared this tactic well in advance.
"That’s right," one of them chimed in. "It’s not that we refuse to work, but all the good land in this village is already taken. We wanted to buy a plot, maybe a few acres of farmland, but we couldn’t find anything suitable.
"We know our arrival has placed a massive burden on you. How about this? Ask your wife to come back, and we will sincerely apologize to her. From now on, we’ll serve her like our own ancestor! Surely that’s enough, right?"
Listening to this endless pleading, Bai Suihe felt a chill in her heart. By comparison, the Gu Family at least cared about their reputation. But this entire family was taking shamelessness to the absolute extreme.
"This..."
Seeing Huang Pingguo hesitate, the Huang family was overjoyed. At that moment, Zhuang Datou pushed his way through the crowd and grabbed Huang Pingguo directly. "You better think this through! The second you agree, your own little family is finished.
"They’re only acting submissive right now so they can latch on and suck you dry later! Have you forgotten how we lived before we were separated from our families?"
How had they lived? Huang Pingguo was old enough to remember. It wasn’t just living hand to mouth; back then, he hadn’t even known what it felt like to be full. His stomach had growled from dawn till dusk.
If the kind-hearted Nanny Wu hadn’t found them and brought them to the Bai Family, they would likely have wasted away in some ruined temple long ago.
"Don’t forget, even though they gave you life and raised you, the Bai Family and Nanny Wu saved our lives," Zhuang Datou whispered fiercely in his ear. "And the Master and Madam gave us a chance to make something of ourselves. Are you really going to ruin everything because of them?"
Huang Pingguo’s gaze firmed up. Deep down, he knew the truth: if he lost everything he had built, his family would be the first to abandon him.
"Father, Mother, stop this nonsense!" Huang Pingguo roared, no longer caring that he was making a scene in front of the Master and Madam. "I know what you want, but you’re asking for too much, and I can’t give it to you.
"I can give you everything I have right now, but on one condition: we officially split the family."
"You heartless wretch! How can you say such a thing?" Lu Cuihua suddenly changed her tune. "Fine, if you want to split the family, you can. You and your wife can leave with absolutely nothing, and I’ll agree to it.
"It’s not that I’m a cruel mother. You have a job, so the two of you won’t starve.
"But look at this huge family of ours! If you leave the house and the land to us, the rest of us will at least be able to survive."
Upon hearing this, the onlookers from Tian Village erupted into murmurs. They used to envy Zhuang Datou and the others, dreaming of one day living such comfortable lives. But in this moment, they felt nothing but profound sympathy for the two young men.
What kind of family was this? It would be more believable to call them sworn enemies.
Huang Pingguo smiled bitterly. "Father, Mother, don’t even think about it. The house and the land are under my wife’s name.
"They are all part of her dowry. The most I can do is give you the silver I’ve saved up over the years."
Thank goodness for his foresight. When he married Chunxiang, he had wanted to show his sincerity. He told the Madam that he was willing to put all their assets under Chunxiang’s name. Besides, the Madam had originally purchased those properties for Chunxiang anyway; by offering it up proactively, he had spared everyone an awkward conversation.
He never expected that very gesture would now become his greatest protection.
"What did you say? The house and land aren’t yours?" Lu Cuihua panicked. Could her schemes still work?
"Why didn’t you tell us this before? When you visited home, didn’t you brag about having a house and land out here?"
Right now, Huang Pingguo wished he could travel back in time to a few days ago and slap himself hard across the face. Why did he have to show off when he visited?
If he had listened to Zhuang Datou and hidden most of his wealth, this disaster wouldn’t be happening today.
"I only lied back then to save face and to keep you from being humiliated in our hometown!" Huang Pingguo shouted, his face flushed as he fought to protect his livelihood.
"Well, she married into our family, which makes her our daughter-in-law! She should be thinking of her husband’s family! We can’t survive right now. Doesn’t she have silver and jewelry? I won’t ask for any of that. Just give us the house and the land, and I promise we will never disturb your lives again!" Lu Cuihua swore, having run out of alternatives.
Her only option now was to pacify her son. She could plot out the rest of the details later.
Huang Pingguo was slightly swayed. Perhaps this really was a win-win solution.
Zhuang Datou yanked his sleeve, asking in a low voice, "Are you sure this will satisfy them?
"Don’t forget how massive this family is. A few acres of land will never feed all of them.
"If you back down now, they’ll only demand more from you in the future. Give them an inch, and they’ll take a mile."
Lu Cuihua narrowed her eyes at Zhuang Datou. Her foolish son always listened to him above all others. This was going to be difficult.
"Datou, I know you all have your own selfish motives, but at the end of the day, we are a family. How about you let us handle our own affairs?"
She had to isolate Zhuang Datou first to proceed with her plan. When she had the time, she would make sure Pingguo distanced himself from Zhuang Datou, lest her son be thoroughly corrupted by him.
Watching this unfold, Bai Suihe also wanted to know what choice Huang Pingguo would ultimately make.
If he truly caved to his family’s demands, she wouldn’t dare employ him anymore. And if Chunxiang thought things through, she would likely make her own choice as well.
Bai Suihe understood her two former maids well. They were both independent women with their own minds; otherwise, they wouldn’t have traveled thousands of miles to follow her to Lingnan, even after she had returned their servitude contracts.
Based on that loyalty alone, Bai Suihe absolutely could not let them be bullied.
Gu Kaiyuan astutely noticed that Bai Suihe’s breathing had grown heavy. He quickly reached out, gently rubbing her back. "Don’t be anxious. Let’s wait and see how they handle it.
"They have their ways of dealing with this, and we have our own decisions to make.
"We shouldn’t interfere right now. It’s the only way to know if these two young men are still worth saving."
It wasn’t that Gu Kaiyuan wanted the people around him to be unfilial, but filial piety depended entirely on who was receiving it.
These two families didn’t even bother to conceal the naked greed in their eyes. Even the bystanders could see it clearly; he refused to believe Zhuang Datou and Huang Pingguo were blind to it. They were only enduring this repeatedly out of familial obligation.
But the time for them to choose had finally arrived. He only hoped they wouldn’t disappoint him.