Chapter 255 - 255 Land Rental Crisis (2)
255 Land Rental Crisis (2)
Shi Bangqing’s family of three was having dinner at home. There was only a plate of cabbage and a plate of pickled vegetables on the dining table.
Shi Bangqing looked at the two simple dishes on the dining table and frowned, looking very unhappy.
Old Man Shi said unhappily, “Why are there only these two dishes today? There’s no meat at all. How are we supposed to eat? We’ve only eaten vegetables and pickles for the past week. Do you want to torment Qing’er and me to death?”
In the past, when Yuan Chunhua was around, no matter how hard the days were, they did not suffer. In the morning, they were given an egg and a little meat for lunch. Those days were really comfortable.
Therefore, Shi Dashan, who was used to eating meat every meal, was not used to eating vegetarian meals all the time.
Old Lady Shi also said aggrievedly, “I want to buy meat too, but I don’t have the money.”
Old Man Shi did not believe it at all. He asked, “You don’t have the money to buy meat. You don’t even have the money to buy five to six dollars’ worth of meat?”
The current price of pork was 12 dollars per catty.
“Old woman, don’t tell me you want to leave the money behind?” Old man Shi looked at her suspiciously. “Let me tell you, if you have money on hand, you have to buy me some meat to eat. Without meat, I can’t eat and neither can Qing’er.”
Old Lady Shi looked at Shi Bangqing and saw that her son was frowning. It was obvious that he was also dissatisfied with the food without meat.
Old Lady Shi said, “I’ve spent all my money on furniture and oil, salt, sauce, and vinegar. How can I have any money left?”
During this period of time, their family spent a lot of money. They had almost spent all the private savings they had saved up in the past.
Old man Shi frowned, clearly not believing it at all.
Old Lady Shi gritted her teeth and said, “Old man, give me 10 dollars tomorrow and I’ll go buy meat for you. I really don’t have any money on me now.”
The moment she said that he had to pay, Old Man Shi’s expression turned even uglier.
He said loudly, “You don’t have money, and neither do I. If you want to buy meat, think of a way to get the money yourself.”
Old Lady Shi’s expression immediately turned ugly. Anger surged in her heart as she said loudly, “How can you not have money? I’ve been paying for all your expenditures these days, and you haven’t paid a single cent. Now, I’m asking you to give me 10 dollars to buy some meat to eat, but you still say that you don’t have money. Damn old man, let me tell you if you want to eat meat, give me money. Otherwise, you can be a vegetarian every meal.”
Shi Dashan’s expression became even uglier after being reprimanded by Old Lady Shi.
He said, “I want to keep my money for my retirement.”
When Old Lady Shi heard this, she shouted angrily, “So you’re keeping your money for your retirement. But when you’re spending my money, you feel at ease. You don’t have any meat to eat, yet you still ask me. Now that I don’t have money, where do you want me to get the money?”
Even if they did odd jobs, no one would hire them.
The scandal of their family had spread throughout the surrounding villages. No matter where they went, they would be laughed at.
They were afraid of being laughed at. Even if someone asked them to work, they would not go for the sake of their reputation.
Old Man Shi also said angrily, “Now you know that you lack money. Back then, I didn’t agree to that b*tch entering the family, but that woman changed your mind with just a few words and chased Chunhua away. What’s going on now? Now everyone is gone, and we don’t have money. Our family of three will stay at home and wait to eat. Sooner or later, we’ll have eaten everything we have.”
Speaking of this, Old Lady Shi was also very angry.
Her face was red as she roared, “Did I agree to let that b*tch enter the house on my own? If you hadn’t agreed, I would have cooperated with that b*tch to frame Yuan Chunhua and chase her away! Shi Dashan, let me tell you, don’t even think about pushing the blame on me for our family’s situation.”
Old Man Shi also shouted in abnormal anger, “Alright, even if I agree to let you cooperate with that b*tch, I didn’t ask you to provoke Shi Tietou’s family, right? You could have scolded anyone, but you insisted on scolding the treasure that a family favors. Our family has become like this because of your foul mouth.”
“Is it my fault? Is it my fault?” Old Lady Shi said aggrievedly, “How would I know that that b*tch can’t be scolded?”
Old Man Shi pointed at her angrily and said, “You… you still dare to say…”
“I’m in my own home, why can’t I say it!” Old Lady Shi said righteously. “That slut is a jinx…”
Her mouth was filled with curses and unpleasant words.
“You…” Old man Shi raised his hand, about to hit her.
“Enough!”
Shi Bangqing’s expression was ugly. His face was ashen as he said angrily, “Are you guys done?”
Sensing that their son was angry, the two of them immediately stopped and looked at Shi Bangqing helplessly.
“Son… Son.” Old Man Shi carefully called out, “Your mother and I are like this. We’ve been arguing for our entire lives.”
Old Lady Shi nodded and said, “Yes, yes, we were just quarreling.”
Both of them doted on their son. Even if Shi Bangqing gave all the money he earned to Li Hongmei, they did not blame their son at all for the current situation.
To them, their son was right, but the woman was wrong.
Shi Bangqing looked at them coldly and said, “I’m full!”
With that, he turned around and returned to his room.
After Shi Bangqing returned to his room, the two old men looked at each other for a moment and stopped arguing.
However, the two of them could not eat anymore.
Old Lady Shi thought of something and said, “Old man, Shi Tietou’s family wants to rent land. Our family has an acre of land within the scope of what they wanted to rent. Should we rent it to them?”
Old man Shi said with a cold expression, “Of course not. Our family only has so little land, to begin with. If we rent it to their family, what will we grow ourselves? Besides, if they want to rent land, so be it. Why should our family rent our land to them? Hmph, if I don’t rent it to them, let’s see how they rent their land!”
Their family’s land occupied the center. If Shi Lichun and the others wanted to rent the land together, they had to pass through their family.
“Hmph, they caused us so much trouble. I’m just waiting for them to come up and beg us. They want to rent our land. Hmph, just wait.”
Old Lady Shi rolled her eyes and nodded. “Yes, if they want to rent our land, they have to beg us. If they don’t give us 10,000 a year, don’t even think about renting our land!”
10,000 per acre of land was better than farming.
Shi Dashan snorted coldly and said, “Hmph, don’t think that their family is so great just because they have some money.”
“Oh, right, I heard that Shi Banghua and Shi Bangjian are both unwilling to rent land to them!” Old Lady Shi said, “Old man, should we join forces with them to stop the Shi family from renting land?”
Shi Dashan nodded without hesitation. “Of course, we have to go with them. The Shi family might only be civil to us, but if we join forces with the other two families, they can only beg.”