The old lady of the Ma family was stunned.
"Zhao Laosan, you, what are you doing?"
Ma Laizi's wife was also stunned. "Old Zhao, have you been possessed by evil spirits?"
The surrounding villagers' eyes widened.
"Silver! Zhao Laosan actually took out so much silver."
Zhao Zheng said, "Ma Laizi and I are good brothers. This is a common knowledge. Ma Laizi was stung to death by killer bees. I was deeply saddened, so today I went to avenge Ma Laizi."
"I wiped out that entire nest of killer bees and sold all the bees and pupae to Yao Youjiao. I got a tael of silver!"
The old lady of the Ma family, Ma Laizi's wife, and son all looked at Zhao Zheng in disbelief.
"Then, why did you give the silver to my family?" Ma Laizi's wife trembled.
"My relationship with Ma Laizi is as close as that of a brother. If anything happens to him, I will definitely help him take care of his family!" Zhao Zhengyi said righteously, "The one or two taels of silver I got from selling bees was overpaid by Yao Youjiao. These bees can only be sold for two or three hundred coins at most. I'll give you half of it. Don't think it's too little..."
After learning the reason why Zhao Zheng gave the silver, the old lady of the Ma family was moved to tears. She held Zhao Zheng's hand and said, "Laizi has so many friends, but none of them are true friends. You are the only good friend of Laizi. I didn't expect you to be so loyal!"
Ma Laizi's wife said to her son, "Quick, kowtow to your Uncle Zhao!"
Plop!
Ma Laizi's son kowtowed three times.
The people around them envied the Ma family for getting half a tael of silver for nothing, and secretly mocked Zhao Zheng for being stupid and giving away the silver.
Of course, some people thought Zhao Zheng was sophisticated. "Old Zhao, I'm impressed!"
"No wonder Lai Zi always liked to play with you when he was alive!"
"Zhao Lao San, you're so sophisticated!"
Zhao Zheng shook his head, helped Lai Zi's son to his feet, and said to the old lady of the Ma family, "Auntie, if you have any difficulties in the future, just come to me. Don't be shy."
"Okay!" The old lady of the Ma family nodded and burst into tears. She had been heartbroken for the past two days, and unexpectedly found a little comfort in Zhao Zheng.
Everyone laughed at Lai Zi for being lazy and having only bad friends, but now Zhao Lao San had slapped them in the face.
Zhao Zheng was the focus of everyone's attention.
Of course, he could have swallowed the silver, but what if Yao Yingxiong asked a question?
Wouldn't all his efforts have been in vain?
Would he be seen as a hypocrite with smooth talk?
It would be a waste of his image for half a tael of silver.
However, the effect was still very good. This new persona would be the first step to his fame.
Looking at Ma Laizi lying on the wooden plank, his body covered in corpse spots, he couldn't help but say to himself, "Laizi, burn yourself to illuminate others, you are a great man!"
As soon as Zhao Zheng left the Ma family, the news spread.
Everyone was talking about it.
When the news reached the Wang family, Wang Dazhi cursed at home, "Damn Zhao Laosan, he was so generous, but he only gave fifteen cents? He made me sell my daughter and be criticized by the whole village!"
The old lady of the Wang family also gritted her teeth, "Damn Zhao Laosan, he is such a scumbag! No, we can't let him go like this, we must make him pay more!"
Old man Wang sat on the earthen kang, "My granddaughter has been sold, and the money has been paid. Are you going to rob the Zhao family? Zhao Laosan has a good relationship with the village elders, and he must be on his side. Let's not make a fuss anymore!"
The Wang family was almost scolded to death. At this juncture, he was jealous of Zhao Laosan?
Isn't he afraid of being scolded to death? Moreover, Zhao Laosan
had avenged Ma Laizi and given the Ma family money, earning praise from the entire village. Could he possibly win?
Old Lady Wang asked, "So what? Just let it go?"
Wang Dazhi, unconvinced, replied, "Of course not."
Old Man Wang paused, thinking, "Let's think about what to do when Yueying returns..."
News also reached the Li family.
Old Lady Li, visibly jealous, looked at her daughter-in-law lying in bed nursing her child. "Old Zhao is rich now! You should hurry over to his house today and eat as much as you can, until he's broke!"
Zheng Chunmei, secretly envious, was reluctant to go.
She had been humble enough.
But with Zhao Zheng pointing his finger at her and calling her shameless, even she couldn't bear to go.
"I don't want to go. His daughter-in-law doesn't like me and gives me a hard time every day," Zheng Chunmei said.
"In his family, is it the daughter-in-law who has the final say, or is it Old Zhao who has the final say?" The old woman of the Li family said with a dark face: "How much is face worth? It is important to make up for the cost of food. I tell you, there is not much food at home. You can either go to your mother's house to borrow some, or go to Old Zhao's house to eat. Otherwise, starting tomorrow, your half bowl can only be reduced by half!"
Zheng Chunmei was already hurt by San Ya's bite, and she was even more angry after hearing this. Thinking about Zhao Old San's attitude towards his daughter-in-law, and then thinking about her own mother-in-law, they are both elders, so why is there such a big gap?
"Mom, are you really not afraid that I will starve to death?"
"I won't starve to death. I used to eat one meal every two days, and I supported this family, didn't I?" The old woman of the Li family said with a stern face: "Anyway, I don't care. Erdan and I can't have less!"
Zheng Chunmei was angry, but there was nothing she could do.
Finally, she compromised, saying helplessly, "Okay, okay, I'll go. Is that not okay?"
"Hmph, that's better. I won't be satisfied until I get those three pounds of corn back!" the old woman from the Li family said angrily.
"Mom, you hold San Ya while I go boil some water!"
"What's the point of boiling water? Firewood is easy to find, and you won't be able to get by!" the old woman from the Li family said.
"Boil water for a bath!" Zheng Chunmei said coldly, ignoring the old woman's expression or her instructions. She turned around and started boiling water on the stove.
Meanwhile, at the Zhao family,
Qian Xiulan angrily approached the old woman and told her about Zhao Zheng's gift of silver.
She nearly fainted from anger.
"Mom, do you think Third Brother has a problem with his brain? That's half an ounce of silver. If we sold it for grain, we could get dozens of pounds, enough for our family to get through the winter!"
Food couldn't be bought with money; there was a quota. Mingzhou had been suffering from a two-year drought, leaving thousands of miles of barren land. Even with money, there wasn't much food to buy.
Moreover, all that can be bought are yellow old rice, most of which are worm-infested corn and rice bran.
Even old rice is extremely difficult to buy.
"Can't our family use this money well?"
"Mom, say something!"
Zhao Zheng gave money to Ma Laozi, feeling even more uncomfortable than Qian Xiulan losing money.
It would be great if this money could be given to her to subsidize her family!
The old lady stood up and said with a dark face: "This prodigal son, he is so arrogant when he has a little money, he likes to pretend to be rich, how can he live like this?"
"Let's go to the third brother's house and get the remaining half a tael of silver!"
"What if he doesn't give it?"
"His brother is still recovering from his injury, how can he not give it?"
The old lady said with a cold face: "If he doesn't give it, I will hit my head and die at his doorstep!"