Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 776 The Difficult Sutra

Xia Maosheng said, "Then why are you being so open about it? Don't you have any idea how much money you've spent from my sister's family? Is it yours or someone owes you? Brother-in-law, when he takes money back and forth, is he asking for it or borrowing it?" Xia Maosheng turned to ask his sister's husband.

Sister Xia said, "Every time I say I'm borrowing, I say I'll pay it back in a few days, but I've never seen it ever come back. I get angry if they don't give me tens or hundreds of yuan. Sometimes I'm short on cash and I have to borrow from others."

To be honest, I married Qingsheng, so it's only right that we help out when there are big events or difficulties in the family. When we were building and repairing the house, we only had a little savings left. Did I ever say anything about paying it back? Who's going to pay it back?

Now look at this! They come to me asking for money when I buy clothes or go to the movies. They come to me asking for money when I lose at mahjong or poker. Did I marry Qingsheng just to live with the two of us or to support your whole family?

To be blunt, it's better if you don't get married. If you do, how will you support your family and children? Will you live on air? Or will our whole family have to support your family and children from now on?

The fourth brother reached out to grab Sister Xia, but was stopped by her husband, who pointed at her nose and cursed, "Fuck you, who are you cursing? Someone like you should be grateful to marry into our family. What's so great about making a little money?..." Bang! Xia Maosheng punched him in the nose, silencing his words.

Mr. and Mrs. Xia were furious, their faces turning pale. Tears welled up in Mrs. Xia's eyes, while Mrs. Xia's eldest sister's youngest son burst into tears and was held in her arms. Xia Maosheng grabbed the fourth son by the hair, pulled him down, and began to beat him mercilessly. The old lady screamed and came over to pull Xia Maosheng away.

Chen Hui looked at Xiao Wei: "What do we do?"

Xiao Wei asked, "You still want to help?"

Chen Hui scratched his eyebrows: "A bit. This guy definitely deserves a beating. What a weirdo."

Someone was calling outside. Xiao Wei said to Xia's mother and sister, "There are people outside. You should take the child out first." Xia's sister took the child and pulled Xia's mother outside.

Xia's father said, "Alright, Xiaoxiao, don't hurt her." Xia Maosheng let go and stood up. His hands and neck were scratched a few times by the old lady, and they were bleeding, but he didn't care.

The old woman sat down on the ground and wailed, "I must have been blind to give birth to such an ungrateful son! He's calling on outsiders to beat his own brother! What sins have I committed? I can't live like this anymore!"

Xia Maosheng said, "Didn't you hear him cursing my mother? Only an old woman like you could raise a child like this. It's only because of me that he would have been beaten to death if it were anyone else. Damn, what kind of family is this?"

Xiao Wei asked, "His family has built quite a few houses, and his eldest sister paid for them all?"

Xia Maosheng nodded and said, "That's basically true. My older sister has taken all the money she earned in the past few years back with them. She's barely making ends meet here, and sometimes my dad and I have to help her out because we can't stand it."

Xia's father said, "When we were building houses, the eldest and third sons got married, we had to borrow and ask for money. Other families had all the big items, big color TVs and bicycles. This family just couldn't be fed up with them."

They take everything without gratitude or thanks, even asking for clothes and pacifiers for their kids. Sigh, they're practically family now. Birthday celebration, huh? If things don't work out, you and Xia Yu should just get a divorce. This situation really can't go on."

Brother-in-law Xia said, "Okay, let's get a divorce. Otherwise, you won't get anything good out of Xia Yu later. I know the amount of money, and I'll pay Xia Yu back slowly in the future."

Xiao Wei looked at Lao Si, who had sat up and whose face was covered in blood, then looked at Xia's brother-in-law and asked, "Brother-in-law, is this money a loan or a gift?"

Brother-in-law Xia sighed and said, "They all said it was a loan when they took it, and it's all in the accounts. They didn't keep track of the money I gave them. To be honest, it's only because of Xia Yu. Anyone else would have quit long ago. I'm not getting my monthly salary back, and I'm still losing money."

Xiao Wei said, "How much do they usually give us? Over a year?"

Brother-in-law Xia said, "Three thousand yuan a year is definitely the minimum. Only my eldest brother in the family has a job, and my third brother only got some work last year. And speaking of which, it was my aunt who got this job. She even handled all the paperwork for building the house! My goodness, do you understand how much we owe the Xia family? How are we going to pay them back?"

The fourth brother said, "What do you owe? How could someone as high-ranking as her be short of money? This is a trivial matter, just a word from her, what's the big deal? What do you owe?"

Brother-in-law Xia said, "Is it something they owe you? Why would you build a house without their permission? They put in both effort and money, so do they still owe you? How did I end up with a brother like you? Seriously, I'd rather be hit by a car and die than live with your family like this. I've lost all face."

Xiao Wei asked Lao Si, "What's a few tens of thousands of yuan to you when you open your mouth? What's the point of doing things when you shut up? What have you accomplished? How much money do you make? How many big things can you do? Tell me about it."

The fourth brother looked at the blood on his hands, looked up and asked Xia Maosheng, "What happened? Why did you beat me up like this?"

Xia Maosheng glanced at him: "You think the beating wasn't enough, don't you?"

The fourth brother said, "Give me three thousand yuan, or this matter won't end. I'll go to the government and make a scene. A relative of a high-ranking city official beat people up and bullied ordinary people. You'll see it in the newspapers."

Xiao Wei squatted down in front of Lao Si, looked at him, and asked, "So, what about all the money you borrowed? When are you going to pay it back?"

The fourth brother sneered, "What money? Show me the IOU, and I'll pay you back right away. Not a penny less."

Xiao Wei stood up and said to Xia Maosheng, "This family is a bunch of scoundrels, a real tough nut to crack. If you're not going to handle this, I'll take care of it. I don't believe they have nothing to hide. If they really don't, I'll admit it and I'll pay for it."

Xia Maosheng said, "Give me something, two hundred yuan for medical expenses." He took out the money, counted out two hundred, and threw it at Lao Si.

The fourth brother grabbed the two hundred yuan in his hand and said, "Three thousand, not a penny less is acceptable."

The old lady watched Xia's father from the side: "Old Xia, say something, what are we going to do about this? Don't act like nothing happened after your son beat someone up."

Xiao Wei asked, "Do you know what extortion is?"

The fourth brother said, "Who are you? If you're guilty, go sue me. What are you talking about? So what if you have someone in your family who's an official? I'm not afraid."

Xiao Wei pulled out handcuffs from his waistband and cuffed Lao Si with a click, saying, "Fine, let's try and see if I can handle you."

The old woman came over and grabbed Xiaowei: "What are you doing? Why are you arresting my son? Is this how officials bully people?"

Xiao Wei flinched and said to the old woman, "Don't you understand that arresting me is assaulting a police officer? Do you want to spend a few days in jail too?"

Chen Hui chuckled as he made a phone call: "Hello, is this the Chuanzhou branch? There are a few people who refuse to pay their debts, are extorting money, and assaulting police officers. The one who was assaulted is from the Provincial Department's Inspection Division, right here on Stationery Street, at Xia Yu Stationery Store. Yes, hurry up and come."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Hui said to Lao Si, "You'd better be tough all the way through and get away with nothing, otherwise you can just wait and see. You'll get whatever sentence you're given, not a day less."

(End of this chapter)