The Republic of China: I, Xiangzi, a Hero in a Chaotic Era

Qian Huozui crossed his arms and added in a muffled voice:

"And me, two months ago he broke one of my family's heirloom snuff bottles, worth five silver dollars, not too much, right?"

Ma Wu folded the IOU in his hand and Zhao Magan's IOU together and tapped them in his palm:

"Sister-in-law, Xiao Fuzi, you do the math. Ten dollars plus five dollars, plus Sun the Bald's five dollars for wine, and Qian the Cleft-Mouth's five dollars for snuff bottles. That's exactly twenty-five dollars."

He shoved the stack of tattered paper forward with a forceful, compelling gesture.

"It's only right that the sons should pay for their fathers' debts. Now that Erqiangzi and his brothers are gone, you two have to settle this score."

Twenty-five silver dollars! This number struck Xiao Fuzi's heart like a heavy hammer.

Her rice jar was already empty; even a mouse that went in would come out crying.

When my father was alive, the family could hardly scrape together a single silver dollar. They relied entirely on my mother and her husband to do laundry and mending for a few copper coins to buy the coarsest mixed flour.

For them, twenty-five silver dollars was an insurmountable mountain of gold!

"No...nothing like that!"

Wang Xiue, with a strength she didn't know she possessed, struggled to prop herself up halfway from the kang (a heated brick bed), her withered hand pointing towards the door, her voice hoarse and broken, filled with a desperate sob.

"Erqiangzi... he's just a rickshaw puller... how could he dare borrow so much money... you... you're bullying us, a widow and her children... bullying us because we have no one to back us up... God..."

She coughed violently, her thin body trembling like a leaf in a storm.

"Bullying you?"

Ma Wu's face instantly darkened, and the old scar looked even more ferocious.

"Sister-in-law, what you're saying is unreasonable."

"Debts must be repaid, no matter where you are! It's all in writing, with red fingerprints and us brothers as witnesses. How does this become bullying you?"

"When Erqiangzi was alive, we took good care of him. Now that he's gone, you two are trying to renege on your debts. That's really heartless of you."

"Exactly! Do you think we're made of clay!"

Sun the Bald glared with his turbid eyes, spitting as he spoke.

"When Erqiangzi was alive, he always freeloaded off us brothers' drinks. Now that he's gone, you think you can deny it? No way!"

"My dad... my dad is illiterate!"

Xiao Fuzi suddenly raised her head, tears welling up in her eyes, but she held them back. She pointed to the IOU in Ma Wu's hand.

"He couldn't recognize a single word on that paper! How could he possibly have signed it! You...you're just taking advantage of my father's passing to bully my mother and me!"

A fierce glint flashed in Ma Wu's eyes, followed by a cold smile:

"That little brat has a sharp tongue. He may not be able to read, but he can surely recognize handprints."

"That red handprint, he pressed it himself! He was desperate after losing so much money, begging me to lend him some to try and win it back. He was more willing than anyone else to press his handprint!"

"What, you want to deny it now? Fine, if you don't believe me, we'll go find the neighbors and see who's talking nonsense!"

Seek justice from the neighbors.

Xiao Fuzi felt a chill in her heart.

Everyone in Maojiawan knew what kind of person Erqiangzi was, and everyone knew about the plight of the widow and her orphan.

Normally, people would avoid them at all costs; who would risk offending these scoundrels for their sake?

Ma Wu's words clearly indicated that he was certain they were isolated and helpless.

"We...we have no money..."

Xiao Fuzi lowered her head, her voice so low it was almost inaudible; the immense humiliation and fear chilled her to the bone.

"We don't have a single copper coin left at home... The rice jar has been empty for three days... My mother... My mother is so sick..."

She couldn't continue speaking; tears finally broke free and fell in large drops onto the cold ground.

"No money?"

Zhao Magan spoke in a sinister tone, taking a step forward, his sunken eyes scanning Xiao Fuzi like a venomous snake.

"Your sister-in-law is sick, and your two sons are gone. You're the only capable girl left in the family. Twenty-five silver dollars is no small sum."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the despairing Wang Xiue and the trembling Xiao Fuzi, a chilling smile creeping across his lips:

"However, as Brother Ma Wu just said, it's only right that children pay for their fathers' debts. If you and your mother really can't come up with the money, there are other ways."

He deliberately stopped, waiting for the mother and daughter's reaction.

The room was deathly silent, save for Wang Xiue's suppressed sobs and Xiao Fuzi's chattering teeth.

Qian, with his gap-mouthed mouth, chuckled and picked up the conversation, his gaping lips stretching even wider:

"Girl, you're quite pretty, with a clean and innocent look. As the saying goes, a tree dies when transplanted, but a person thrives."

"Rather than starving and freezing to death in this tenement with your mother, you should find yourself a better place."

Sun the Bald rubbed his hands together, his cloudy eyes gleaming with a lewd light:

"That's right! We brothers are doing this for your own good, and for your dad's sake."

"The Erqiang brothers left in a very unclear way, and who knows how many other messes they have left outside."

"If you two keep going like this, someone will eventually gnaw you clean until there's nothing left."

Ma Wu cleared his throat, adopting a posture of "compassionate and just" demeanor, and raised his voice a few decibels:

"Little Fuzi, don't blame us uncles and elders for forcing you."

"It's a debt your father incurred, and we can't afford to delay. We've been thinking, rather than letting you and your mother suffer here, it would be better to... find you a good family."

He leaned forward, lowered his voice, but every word pierced Xiao Fuzi's ears clearly:

"We know some stewards of wealthy families who are short of maids. Someone as pretty and quick as you would be very welcome.

"Sign a contract and they'll immediately give you a 'settlement fee,' enough to pay off your father's debts, and maybe even leave some for your mother's medicine and medical treatment."

He straightened up, looked around the dilapidated and hopeless house, and spoke with a tone of "magnanimity" that seemed almost condescending:

"Now the debt is paid off, you have a place to eat and wear, and your mother's medicine money is covered. Erqiang."

"Even if my brothers are down there, they can leave cleanly and without any debts."

"Isn't this a win-win-win situation, killing two birds with one stone? Don't you all agree?"

"Yes, that's great!"

"It's better than starving to death!"

Sun the Bald and Qian the Gap-Mouth immediately chimed in.

"Selling myself...to pay off debts..."

Xiao Fuzi felt dizzy and her ears were ringing. Ma Wu's words of "killing two birds with one stone" and "achieving three goals at once" were like poisoned needles, piercing her heart one after another.

She finally understood what these people's true purpose was.

IOUs, money for wine, snuff bottles—these are all excuses! They took advantage of the fact that they were a widow and her children, helpless and alone, with their father dead, their brother lost, and their mother nearing death, like fish on a chopping board, at the mercy of others.

They came here specifically to sell her!