Chapter 691: Chapter 596: Retribution

Mo Jiabao came out from the kitchen, blocking Granny Mo and Liang Panqiu. "My dad worked on the mountain for half the day, and then he drank a lot of rice wine with my cousins and their sons. He’s truly exhausted. Let him go lie down and rest. Aunt, what is it? You can discuss it with me, it’s the same thing."

Granny Mo waved her hand instinctively. "Er, well, this is a pretty big deal. I’d better talk to your dad about it!"

"Aunt, you only care about your own business and have no pity for your younger brother. As his son, I have to look out for him. That’s my father. If he wears himself out and gets sick, my mom and our whole family will be the ones to suffer!"

Granny Mo froze, her eyes darting around. She was becoming flustered and angry. "Jiabao, you’re a father of several children yourself. How can you be so tactless? Who says I don’t care about my brother? I’ve spent my whole life worrying about him. What do you younger ones know?"

"Well, now I know. So there’s no need for you to go up, Aunt. Let my dad rest. He’ll probably sleep until seven or eight tonight. You might as well head home for now. We can talk about it next time."

Granny Mo: "..."

’This is bad,’ Liang Panqiu thought. ’At this rate, he’s going to send us home. If we wait until next time, it’ll be the New Year!’

She quickly put on a sweet smile and called out, "Cousin," then said to her mother, "Uncle already said that Cousin will be in charge of the family in the future. He’s always been reasonable and speaks with authority. We can just discuss this with him!"

Her real thoughts were: ’This Mo Jiabao is usually so quiet, just giving the impression of being a diligent worker. It seems like all he knows is how to bury his head in his work; he definitely doesn’t understand social niceties. But just now, Uncle said the loan for the herb plantation was taken out in Jiabao’s name. That must mean Uncle has started grooming him to take over. In that case, maybe it’s okay to discuss the loan with Jiabao first?’

’Jiabao has that simple, honest look. I heard he was cheated badly back when he was with his adoptive parents, so he can’t be too bright. If I sweet-talk him a bit and play up our family ties as aunt and cousin, it shouldn’t be hard to win over this foolish cousin!’

The mother and daughter followed Jiabao to the kitchen. When they saw him send his wife and children away, leaving just the three of them to talk quietly by the stove, Liang Panqiu found him much more agreeable. He no longer seemed so simple and foolish. Anyone who could clear the room to prevent eavesdropping just from hearing "let’s discuss something" was no simpleton. ’It seems Uncle’s dedicated training these past few years has paid off,’ she thought.

However, Liang Panqiu soon regretted it, realizing her calculations were all wrong. Mo Jiabao was even more resolute than Grandpa Mo. Not only did he refuse to lend her money, but he also pleaded poverty. He claimed he’d have to tighten his belt and live frugally for the next three to five years, working himself to the bone, terrified he wouldn’t be able to repay the loan and would end up in jail. He even asked Granny Mo to put in a good word for him with his cousins and their wives, saying that one day he might not be able to make ends meet and would have to borrow from them just to get by!

In the end, the guests left in three groups. The first was Aunt Ahua and her two grandsons. She was furious with Granny Mo and Liang Panqiu and left first, disdaining their company. Yu Wumei took down two strings of cured meat and a cured pig’s foot from the beam above the stove, wrapped them tightly in newspaper, and discreetly handed them to her as she saw her out the courtyard gate. Aunt Ahua went home smiling.

The second group was Granny Mo, her son, her daughter-in-law, and their children, dragging a sobbing Liang Xiaoju out the gate with them. Granny Mo was cursing and muttering the whole way, her face a mask of displeasure. Besides being annoyed with Liang Xiaoju, she also resented Granny Mo and Yu Wumei. To let an old woman like her go home empty-handed, without giving her a single thing! That wretched mother-in-law and daughter-in-law pair were simply too rude!

The last group was the mother-daughter pair, Liang Panqiu and Zhang Lanni. They said they wouldn’t walk back together since they were from a different village. A tractor from their neighboring village was delivering sugarcane seedlings to Gongdao Village. They had run into the driver on their way and arranged for him to give them a ride home on his last trip.

The mother and daughter couldn’t wait for the tractor quietly. After standing outside the gate for just a few minutes, they crept back into the courtyard and slipped into the main hall to warm themselves by the fire. Whenever they heard the sound of an engine outside, they would shout for Da Zhi, Dapeng, or Qiuyan to run out and check. The three siblings each ran an errand for them, but then Qiuyan couldn’t be bothered to move anymore. Dapeng focused on carving his wooden top, and Da Zhi went with Gu Shaoqin and Xiao Man to tend to the wall of roses, ignoring the two women completely.

A little while later, Zhang Lanni also came out of the main hall and proactively approached Xiao Man to strike up a conversation. She told Xiao Man that she was a student at the township middle school and asked for her address, saying they could write to each other in the future to build their friendship.

Xiao Man refused, using the excuse that she was too busy with work and her studies to have time for writing letters.

Zhang Lanni felt she had lost face, and her expression soured. She turned and went back inside, but came out again a moment later with a very forced smile. In a soft, delicate voice, she said, "My mom says that cousins should be considerate of each other. Sister Xiao Man, if you don’t have time, I do! I can just write to you more often. All you have to do is receive and read my letters. You can write back whenever you have a free moment. We’re relatives, so we should stay in touch and visit more. We’re the same age, we’ll become the best of friends!"

Xiao Man was speechless. ’My understanding of Liang Panqiu has deepened,’ she thought. ’Her greed is immense, but her persistence is almost admirable.’

She spoke bluntly to Zhang Lanni, "You want to claim kinship and be friends with me without asking my opinion or even looking at my expression, just because your mom arranged it? Is this how she usually acts as a matchmaker? Does she just drag girls off to be married without a second thought, not caring if the woman is willing or not, all for a thank-you gift? Your mom has a lot of nerve, and she sure thinks highly of herself. Who does she think she is? The Earth Godess or the Stove Godess?"

Zhang Lanni’s face flushed crimson. She was a middle school student of the 80s—progressive, confident, and self-reliant. If her mother hadn’t been drilling it into her head that she absolutely had to befriend Xiao Man, she never would have debased herself like this. Biting her lip, she shot Xiao Man a furious glare and ran straight out of the courtyard.

Yu Wumei came out of the kitchen, having overheard Xiao Man, and couldn’t help but laugh. "This child, you know quite a lot. Some matchmakers really are that hateful. For a little bit of profit, they’ll lie to both sides and deceive people. The woman is the most pitiful one; if she’s tricked, there’s nothing she can do but regret it. She just has to make do for the rest of her life, bearing the good and the bad all by herself. The matchmaker takes her fee and runs. Does she care if you live or die? But there are good matchmakers, too. Ones who are willing to put in the effort, go back and forth between the families, and tell the honest truth—if it’s good, it’s good, and if it’s not, it’s not. They ask what the woman wants, because after all, when it comes to marriage, a girl has to be extra cautious. A woman’s greatest fear is marrying the wrong man, right? Who doesn’t want to find someone they’re truly happy with?"

Da Zhi asked jokingly, "Mom, have you ever been a matchmaker?"

Yu Wumei replied, "I don’t have the skills for such a delicate job. I’ve heard that successfully arranging a good match can accumulate good karma for your descendants. But it has to be a good match. If you’re just selfishly trying to earn a fee and you create a disastrous union, you’ll face retribution!"

Xiao Man snorted inwardly. ’Isn’t that the truth. Even if I hadn’t run into Liang Panqiu this year, I would have next year. That buried memory was destined to resurface. Liang Panqiu’s retribution has been waiting for her all along!’

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