Upon hearing Xu Zifan's words, the three Xu brothers rushed forward to stop him, refusing to sever ties with their grandfather. Xu Dajun was genuinely sincere; he had been exhausted from managing the household these past few days and knew he could no longer be the head of the family. He truly didn't want to lose their grandfather as the patriarch.
Xu Dawei and Xu Aiguo were worried about their reputations. Their reputations were already bad, and if they really agreed to sever ties, they would never be able to clear their names again.
Xu Zifan just shook his head and sighed. Wang Baoguo said to the three of them, "Don't force Grandpa Xu. What were you doing before? Grandpa Xu just wants some peace and quiet, is that alright? That's fine. I'll find Grandpa Xu a room later."
"Thank you, Captain. I'm sorry to have troubled you again." Xu Zifan thanked Wang Baoguo, seemingly heartbroken and no longer wanting any descendants.
If some people said that Xu Zifan was taking advantage of his age to cause trouble when he previously distanced himself from his children and grandchildren, then after hearing what Xu Zifan said this time, no one criticized him anymore.
Such unfilial descendants not only made the old man sick, but also let him leave the house penniless. They didn't even care about the old man going into the mountains to hunt, which was so dangerous. What kind of people are they?
Look at the old man's abilities. He was able to support a large family when he was young, and he can still eat meat every day in his old age. He just didn't want to take any risks before and wanted to enjoy the filial piety of his children and grandchildren. As a result, his children and grandchildren have been disgusted with him.
Isn't it their own incompetence that they can't afford good food? A family of good-for-nothings blaming the old man for not going out to work?
The comparison between Xu Shengnan and Xu Zifan made everyone's hearts lean towards Xu Zifan.
Besides, Xu Zifan shared the wild boar meat with them after hunting it, and even caught a venomous snake to help them out of danger. They were indebted to Xu Zifan, so naturally they were more inclined to side with him. The Xu family couldn't even manage Xu Shengnan properly, and they didn't care about the old man at all. What were they pretending to be filial for now?
Everyone spoke up for Xu Zifan and offered to help him move, for which Xu Zifan thanked them profusely.
After he finished telling his story, everyone's attention returned to Xu Shengnan. Someone said, "Petty thieves must be severely punished," and everyone began to criticize Xu Shengnan.
Liu Xia panicked. After all, Sheng Nan was her only child, and she still felt sorry for her. She immediately said, "Sheng Nan definitely didn't want to cheat me out of money. She's not that bad. There must be another reason."
To prove that her family wouldn't cheat people out of money, she pulled Xu Shengnan aside and said, "Didn't the hospital refund you two hundred? Let's return one hundred to your second uncle first, one hundred to the team, and we'll figure out the rest."
Xu Dajun nodded and said, "Yes, my family doesn't actually owe that much money. After paying back this two hundred, we'll only have three hundred left. There must be a way. Shengnan wouldn't lie to me."
"What? They refunded two hundred yuan for the medical expenses? Why didn't they pay it back earlier? Are they up to something?"
"Didn't they say he was about to die? Why did they refund the medical expenses? And he's only been alive and kicking for three or four days. Was he really poisoned? It doesn't seem like it!"
"Liu Xia, why did you kneel down like that? Your daughter is perfectly fine. Could she be faking illness to scam money? Oh, Captain, we need to get our team's money back quickly. Maybe the hospital didn't even pay, and she was just faking it. It's five hundred yuan in total. What if she runs away? Xu Dajun and his wife won't be able to pay it back!"
"Yes, the brigade leader got the money back. Xu Lao Er's two hundred is their family matter. Didn't we just say that the medical expenses were refunded two hundred? This two hundred should be returned to the brigade."
Everyone had a terrible impression of Xu Shengnan, so they naturally thought the worst of everything she did, especially after the extortion incident. Seeing Xu Shengnan so lively and energetic, it didn't seem like she was poisoned at all.
Now everyone's gaze towards Xu Dajun and Liu Xia changed. Did they really not know? Were they begging for money that day, all part of a scheme to please Xu Shengnan? They seemed so honest usually, but they're actually so cunning.
Xu Shengnan nearly spat out blood. Her parents were not only stupid, but they also repeatedly dragged her down. They were utterly useless, only a hindrance. Was this a time to talk about money? Who needed them to speak up for her? Self-righteous idiots!
Xu Shengnan said coldly, "Enough! What evidence do you have that I cheated you out of money? Why are you so concerned about other people's business? Are you all just bored and have nothing better to do?!"
She'd had enough. This wouldn't clear her name at all, so she might as well just tear off the mask and face the brunt of their nonsense! She was going to live in Yanjing from now on; why should she put up with their arrogance?
Xu Shengnan glared at them defiantly, "This is a society governed by law. It's not like any village chief or brigade leader can arbitrarily convict and punish me. Just now, those two daughters-in-law from the Wang family were holding me captive, which was restricting my personal freedom. I can sue them!"
"But I don't care about this kind of trivial matter. If you have evidence, then report me to the police and say I cheated you out of money. If you don't have evidence, then shut up. Falsely accusing someone is a crime; that's called defamation, and you can go to jail!"
She took out two hundred yuan from her spatial storage and threw it on the ground. "Isn't it just paying back money? I'll pay this back to the team today. I'll also trouble the captain to revise the IOU later. I'll pay back the rest within ten days. I know my own family's affairs. You can use me as a pawn if you want. Anyway, I have a clear conscience and don't need to explain myself to you!"
Xu Shengnan paused abruptly, then strode back into the house with her head held high, slamming the door shut. She frowned, pondering how to explain things to Song Xin.
Wang Baoguo and Xu Dajun were furious at her attitude. Xu Dajun pounded on her door, his face red and his neck bulging, yelling at her to get out. Wang Baoguo, meanwhile, glared at her.
He said, "Fine, I can't control this Xu family girl anymore. I caught her red-handed. It's my fault for exposing her before she even got the money. I won't be so lucky next time. Xu Dajun, Liu Xia, you two come with me to revise the IOU. Xu Shengnan promised to pay back the remaining one hundred in ten days. I'll be waiting."
Xu Dajun was about to say something anxiously, but Wang Baoguo had already snorted coldly and stormed off. Everyone was utterly shocked. They had never seen anyone so arrogant in their lives. She had clearly made a mistake, yet they were acting as if they had all wronged her. They even accused her of meddling in other people's family affairs—what had they meddled in? What had they meddled in? She was the one who was confused!
Everyone went home, and the whole afternoon was spent discussing Xu Shengnan. Her infamy had risen another level, and her ugly heart and beauty reminded people of the legendary wicked concubine, making them even more disgusted with her.
The youngest daughter-in-law of the brigade leader was quite happy. She was the village beauty of the third team, came from a well-off family, and was pampered at home. After marrying into the brigade leader's family in the fourth team, she lived a good life.
She was initially just a little uncomfortable because Xu Shengnan was prettier than her, but Xu Shengnan acted as if she were a fairy and Xu Shengnan was a country bumpkin. Every time she saw Xu Shengnan, Xu Shengnan was arrogant and condescending, as if she didn't care to talk to her and looked down on her.
This time she finally caught Xu Shengnan by the nose and got her revenge, so of course she was happy.
In front of everyone, she only mentioned that Xu Shengnan wanted to extort money. However, while working that afternoon, she "secretly" told her close friends her suspicions: Xu Shengnan was actually trying to seduce Song Xin. Since Xu Shengnan herself said she wasn't short of money and could pay it back in ten days, what else could she be doing bumping into Song Xin at the Fifth Team? It was to seduce her!
Several girls in the village were jealous of Xu Shengnan's growing beauty, and the news spread quickly. As more people talked about it, a question arose: how could Xu Shengnan, earning so few work points each day, have the confidence to pay back the money within ten days? There was still a debt of three hundred yuan; they couldn't figure out how to repay it.
If Xu Shengnan is trying to seduce Song Xin by relying on her looks, then is she trying to get other men to spend money on her?
These kinds of things are usually not spread around. Even if people thought she was flamboyant before, they never said she seduced men, since they hadn't seen any other men around. But this time is different. There's no reason for her and Song Xin to fake injuries. It's either extortion or seduction; it can't be either of those.
If she repays the money in ten days, it's definitely either a scam or seduction, and neither is a good thing. Xu Shengnan's reputation is completely ruined, worse than manure used for fertilizer!
As for reputation, given Xu Shengnan's plans to go to Yanjing in the future, she has virtually no chance of encountering people from her hometown again in this era. Even if she does, Yanjing is so big that it won't affect her. Considering her plans after her rebirth, she really doesn't need to care about her reputation in the village.
But this was 1977, and the country's situation would take several more years to improve. Before that, she couldn't go to Beijing, and she couldn't even rent a room in the county town.
The county seat is very resistant to rural residents' household registrations, and it's not easy to transfer them there. Without county seat registration, one cannot stay for long, at most a few days. So, if she can't find someone to help her transfer her household registration these past few years, she can only live in this village, so her reputation is still very important.
This is also why Xu Zifan built up his reputation. He went to other cities without a letter of introduction. An old man suddenly becoming rich and going to other places might attract political scrutiny, and in more serious cases, he might even be suspected of being a spy.
Moreover, the political climate wasn't as clear-cut back then. Many places looked good on the surface, but were actually quite chaotic inside. For example, Li Zhenhong casually pulled out 10,000 yuan. Where did he get the money? Everyone knew perfectly well. Even a lowly clerk at the grain depot could live a life of luxury. After all, grain was the most important thing in those days. The profits were incomparable to those in other departments.
So if an old man like him is all alone and still has something to offer, he could be targeted by some unscrupulous and powerful person who could easily frame him for espionage and strip him of everything.
He could handle it, but it was too much trouble. The original owner's wish was to live a good life and retire, not to work hard to build up an empire again. So he might as well let things take their course these few years. Anyway, he could easily build up his reputation. If Li Zhenhong could get him a house, he would be more comfortable in the county.
Once things improve, he can go wherever he wants.
Leaving aside the distant future, let's talk about the present. Because of all these things, he has occupied the moral high ground and can now comfortably retire in the village.
Xu Zifan felt that Xu Shengnan was quite helpful, saving him a lot of trouble. Several of his planned moves hadn't even been used yet. But that was normal. Xu Shengnan had no skills in her previous life, always living at the bottom of society. What kind of knowledge could she possibly have? Now that she's been reborn and has a spatial spring, she's overflowing with a sense of superiority, inevitably becoming somewhat willful. This just goes to his advantage.
"We're moving soon," Xu Zifan thought, leaning back in his chair, eyes closed, humming a tune. "Living a comfortable life in this era is just too good."