249: Dead Old Woman

When Papa Wang returned into the house, everyone was watching him. Li's eyes were expectant. She already knew that with Wang Cheng’s character, he would certainly not let that money go easily; however, even though she was mentally prepared, she was still taken aback by the condition that Papa Wang put forward.

"I just told Chengcheng about this, and he agreed." Papa Wang went straight to the point. Li and Granny Wang’s eyes lit up. This answer was beyond their expectations. How could Wang Cheng become so easy to talk to this time?

"But there is one condition," Papa Wang continued.

Granny Wang didn't expect this turning point, and immediately displayed an impatient expression. She said evilly: "What is the condition?"

Li frowned, of course it wouldn’t come so cheap.

The only person with an unchanging expression was Mama Wang. Although she was a little surprised that her son agreed to lend them money, she believed in her son.

Papa Wang ignored Granny Wang’s tone as his eyes fell on the two of them. Thinking of what his son had just said, his tone and expression grew more determined, "Chengcheng said that borrowing money is fine, but just written evidence is not enough, he wants to take the house as collateral. Only in this way can he lend it to you with confidence."

"What? Are you dreaming!" Granny Wang began to scold them all of a sudden. They wanted to use their house as collateral for only 300,000 yuan? How could there be such a cheap thing in the world?

Li angrily laughed. She didn’t expect that they would make this move and directly disrupt their plan. If they really used the house as collateral, they wouldn’t dare delay repaying the money. Borrow 300,000 her ass, it would be better to not borrow money at all and sell the house herself.

"Third brother, we’re still family, anyway. I asked to borrow money from you and you’re asking to take the house as collateral. What kind of heart do you have, or are you finding excuses to drive us away?"

Papa Wang's face sank. "It was you who said that you wanted to borrow money, and it is you who are saying that we have bad intentions. Why should I find an excuse to drive you away? Just borrow the money then pay back the money, it’s not like you’re buying back the house from us. Or could it be that you didn’t plan to repay the money from the beginning?"

Papa Wang suddenly became aggressive.

Li's expression froze. Since her intentions were seen through, she could not catch her breath for a moment..

Granny Wang jumped up, her facial features distorted with anger. She pointed at Papa Wang and cursed, "You rebellious son. I am your mother and she is your sister-in-law, it’s not like we’re asking to borrow money from you as outsiders. Others don’t even have written evidence, but you dare to want to take the house as collateral. I know, you must be blaming me. You are jealous that I only treat your eldest brother well so you want to kill him right, right? Oh, why is my life so bitter!"

Granny Wang’s thought process couldn't be compared with normal people. When Papa Wang spoke, she didn't have the guilty conscience of her intentions being exposed. Instead, she took on a straightforward and scolding attitude. After scolding, she even sat down before continuing to yell at him.

"It was a waste for me to give birth to you and raise you. I worked so hard to let you grow so big, but now you aren’t even willing to lend some money to your elder brother. You know, I should have strangled you directly."

Papa Wang's heart grew colder as he listened. What was this? He knew that his mother had always disliked him, but as a parent, how could she say such a thing?

There was a sudden warmth in the palm of his hand. When Papa Wang turned his head and saw Mama Wang’s comforting expression, his heart suddenly became warm. It really didn't matter anymore.

"Eldest brother now has two houses. How can it be considered killing brother to take one of them as collateral? If Mother insists on saying this, are all people who don't have two houses considered dead? Mother, I respect you, but I will not make concessions in this matter. I have already helped convey the condition to you. It is your business whether you want to agree or not."

"You rebellious son. Since you have to kill me, that’s okay. I will die here right now. Let other people see how you treat me." The old lady's eyes were red as she got up and slammed into the wall.

Mama Wang grabbed her with quick eyes and fast hands*, and though Granny Wang attempted to break away, her strength as an old woman was no better than Mama Wang’s.

[T/N: means to be quick to respond; clever, agile.]

When Li, who was next to her, watched this scene, her eyes flashed with triumph. She knew that Guan Lanfang and Wang Hongxin didn't dare to let the old lady die.

Father Wang had already seen the expression in her eyes, so began to believe his son's words more and more. He unexpectedly directed a cold gaze towards the old lady who was looking for death.

At this time, Mama Wang said: "If Mother thinks Chengcheng is doing something wrong, how about we go outside and let everyone give their opinion? I believe everyone, especially those workers who are asking for wages, will definitely be very interested in learning of Ningkai's ownership of the house in the city. If they learn that Ningkai has a big house but says he doesn’t have any money, what do you think they’ll say?"

The old lady's search for death ended there.

Li was startled; she had almost forgotten that the workers didn't know that they still had the house in the city, and that they would definitely make trouble if they did know.

Papa Wang said: "I forgot to tell you one more thing: Chengcheng said that he wants you to show him a sheet of the workers' wage bills. He said that the amount of money you need to borrow is not small, so he needs to look at the sheet in order for him to rest assured when loaning the money.” The implication was that they were not at ease for fear that they were lying.

Granny Wang and Li finally panicked this time, because they really wanted to borrow the money.

Li immediately raised her head and loudly said, "I really misunderstood your family. Ordinary people don’t lend money like you do. If you don’t want to lend money, just say it, why should we turn around and wipe your feet? We don’t have to borrow from you. It seems that the world is really getting worse; borrowing money between siblings has to be calculated bit by bit. If we can’t borrow, we won’t. What good man? I think everyone in the village has been deceived by you. Mother, let’s go. Talking to people like Wang Hongxin is a waste of our time."

Granny Wang was a little unwilling to leave like this. Li went and held her arm while hinting at her with her eyes. Granny Wang hesitated for a moment before leaving with her.

On the way back, Li and Granny Wang deliberately scolded them, implying that when there was an incident at the older brother’s house, the younger brother just stood idly by. Even when the granny personally begged, they didn’t relent and instead demanded the house as collateral in exchange for lending money. People passing by Papa Wang exchanged glances, seeming to think of him as a white-eyed wolf. Through word of mouth, rumors that Papa Wang was unfilial spread through the village.

However, Papa Wang and Mama Wang were no longer easily bullied. If Li created rumors, so could they, but they wouldn’t be spreading lies. The workers employed by their family were not few at this point, so there were naturally more people on their side than Li’s family’s.

So, it was soon rumored that Wang Ningkai had a house worth one million in the city that was currently unoccupied. However, he and his family were reluctant to sell the house and asked Wang Cheng’s parents to borrow money from them. They were obviously cheating money from them, as they didn’t need much for the workers’ wages, but they even said that they wanted 300,000 yuan - without letting them use the house as collateral. 300,000 yuan was not cabbage. They wanted to borrow so much at once, and were not allowing any form of insurance?

In short, if one side was unkind, the other side would also be unrighteous.

This matter went on, but Papa Wang and Mama Wang didn't believe that Li and her family’s unreasonable behavior could still be justified. Facts proved that most people were still on their side.

Seeing that three days would soon pass, Granny Wang suddenly made a disgusting move.

The next day, she moved a small stool to the door of Wang Cheng's family’s house. After sitting down, she wouldn’t budge an inch. She held a gong in her hand and knocked on it vigorously, causing everyone nearby to look towards her. She then began to cry about how pitiful her life was.

The old lady kept talking about how hard she worked to raise her son, and yet how her son was so unfilial now. He would not even let go of her eldest son’s house that her grandson was moving into. How was she still alive after giving birth to such a white-eyed wolf? Since God was so short-sighted, she might as well die at the door of her youngest son's house.

Although most people knew what truly happened, there were still people who thought that this old lady was very pitiful, and the balance in their hearts were faintly inclined towards Granny Wang.

The longer Granny Wang sat there, the more people sympathized with her. Some people began to accuse Papa Wang of being unfilial, and new rumors spread in the village.

Mama Wang didn't expect that Granny Wang would be so thin-skinned, and wouldn’t care for her own loss of face. She really went to great pains for the sake of the eldest family, not even afraid of being struck by lightning.

Li and her family were also quite wicked. Though they knew that Granny Wang was not doing things the right way, they still turned a blind eye to this matter, and were clearly also determined to get a lot of money from them. There were no such cheap things in the world, so there was no way that this behavior could get them the money. However, the couple still couldn't think of a good solution to Granny Wang’s move.

The sun was half-hidden into the horizon, and the sky was faintly blurred by the colors of the sunset. The faint evening light shone on the old lady who was sitting outside, causing her to look very lonely and pathetic.

There were fewer and fewer onlookers. Some people thought that Papa and Mama Wang were very cruel, and the way they saw them grew worse and worse. Even if their parents did not person well, how could they treat their parents like this as their children?!

"Old lady, I think you'd better go back. This family is so cruel, they will get their due retribution sooner or later."

A triumphant light flashed in Granny Wang's eyes. Just as she was about to say something pitiful, a voice suddenly came from behind her.

"Where did this dead old woman come from, why is she sitting in front of my house?"

***

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