Chapter 30
Do You Have to Go This Far?
“You ingrate! I gave you face, did I not?” Zhao Chuchu sneered. “Those who have died once are not afraid to fight with you. If you complain to me once more, I’ll go up the mountain and grab a handful of Gelsemium elegans to kill you all, believe it or not!”
As soon as she said that, Niu Tongsheng subconsciously retreated.
The murderous intent on Zhao Chuchu’s face startled Xie Heng, who stood at the door.
It was a kind of cruelty that she could use on anyone at any time!
The member of the Zhao clan looked at Zhao Chuchu with his hands over his face and dared not utter another word!
“Each household owes us two taels of silver. Rice costs 10 cents per jin, so two taels of silver equate to 200 jin of rice. Every family that gives me rice or silver must inform me. I want to count everything bit by bit, and if one thing is missing, I demand compensation twofold. I will tear down the houses of those who try to deny what they owe me!”
Zhao Chuchu gave them a cold glance.
Everyone, except Niu Tongsheng, went pale.
Did these people think they could deceive her with their dirty little tricks?
Zhao Chuchu had no patience for those who wanted to kill her, so she grabbed a hatchet and stood at the dilapidated courtyard gate.
“Village Chief, sorry to bother you,” Zhao Chuchu said, looking at Niu Tongsheng. “If any of you refuse to admit that you are short of my money, all of you will make up for it!”
Niu Tongsheng stared gloomily at Zhao Chuchu with his teeth gritted. “Must you go this far?” he asked.
“Village Chief, listen to yourself. I am just claiming something that belongs to me. Am I wrong? If that’s the case, I can send you to a village with the plague, and you can catch it again. Then, you won’t owe me anything!”
“You!”
“Village Chief, first they did not treat me as a human being. They pushed me to the point where I almost lost my life. Should I still thank them with a smile?”
Niu Tongsheng was rendered speechless by Zhao Chuchu’s words.
“Chuchu, the events of the other day were our fault. But we were scared out of our wits by Zhao Zhizhi before we said those things.”
“We are all from the same village. Could you forgive us just this once? We promise it won’t happen again.”
“Every family has old people and children. The crops are in short supply now, and we’ll be out of food soon. Would you be so kind as to ask for less?”
The villagers changed their attitudes when they saw that playing hardball was not working with Zhao Chuchu. They pretended to be pitiful, attempting to gain her sympathy.
Zhao Chuchu changed her expression to appear even more pathetic than the villagers. “No way! My husband is blind, and my brother-in-law has to take daily medication,” she responded. “We do not own any land, so we are counting on these payments to save our lives. Why are you still trying to compel me to die?”
After witnessing Zhao Chuchu’s tough attitude, none of the villagers dared to owe her anything. They obediently supplied the rice that was in short supply and helped Zhao Chuchu move it into the house.
None of them dared to stay. They were afraid Zhao Chuchu would chop them down and kill them with her hatchet.
Niu Tongsheng was the last to leave.
“Village Chief, please wait,” Zhao Chuchu called out to him.
Niu Tongsheng looked back at her with a cold expression.
Zhao Chuchu stepped forward and put two taels of silver in his hand. “Village Chief, I’m sorry for what happened just now,” she said. “As you can see, everybody bullies us because Xie Heng is blind and Xie Jun is sick. I don’t have a choice. If I didn’t do this, we wouldn’t be able to survive.
“Village Chief, I have a lot of respect for you. I know that today’s incident has put you in a difficult position. This silver is for your hard work. I hope you will forgive me for being rude just now.”
Standing in front of the king of hell is easy, but smaller devils are harder to confront.
Zhao Chuchu did not want to badly offend Niu Tongsheng. She was going to need him for a lot of things.
For example, when it came to buying and selling land in the mountains, the village chief had to step in.