novelbest Chapter 537: Who Should Pay the Debt
Chapter 537: Who Should Pay the Debt
Except for Gu Youtian and Gu Ruinian, the entire family was looking expectantly at Mr. Gu.
Without house and land, life in Qinghe Bay would be impossible; they couldn’t be used as collateral.
If they used them as collateral, where would they eat, drink, and live?
Mr. Gu looked up, didn’t say what to use for collateral, but said to Mrs. Wei, "Feng Nian’s wife, why don’t you take Xiao Xue to cook a meal?"
Mrs. Wei’s heart skipped a beat; could she have guessed correctly?
"Grandpa, Xiao Xue is old enough to listen in," Mrs. Wei didn’t move, instead pulled Xiao Xue, who was about to get up, to her side and said.
Mr. Gu had always valued this granddaughter-in-law. Hearing Mrs. Wei’s words, he allowed Gu Xiaoxue to stay.
Forget it, she was going to find out anyway.
Mr. Gu said, "The Xu Family has taken a liking to Xiao Xue and wants to arrange her to be Xu Dabao’s wife. If we agree, we won’t owe the five hundred taels of silver anymore, and our two families will be relatives in the future."
As soon as Mr. Gu’s words fell, the room was so silent that even a pin drop could be heard.
Gu Xiaoxue’s mouth opened, Xu Family wanted her as a collateral for the debt.
Her aunt’s intention was clear to her and was indeed to marry her off to Xu Dabao to pay off the debt.
She couldn’t help but look towards Gu Ruinian, seeing his calm expression made her slightly confused.
"No," Mrs. Jia refused outright.
Mrs. Jia looked up at Gu Xiaoxue.
The appearance of her daughter was striking, her temperament gentle, she handled household chores brilliantly. Back then, many well-off families from the south wanted to arrange a marriage, but she refused.
She had her plans, Xiao Xue’s marriage couldn’t be so casual; it needed careful selection to maximize its value.
She wanted to wait for Gu Ruinian to pass the scholar exam so that Xiao Xue’s status would rise, and later marry into a better family, ones that could help support Gu Ruinian.
Gu Ruinian failed the scholar exam this year, so she hasn’t mentioned Xiao Xue’s marriage this past half year, hoping to wait till next year.
Now marrying Gu Xiaoxue to Xu Dabao, that beast, would be like throwing a snowflake into a manure pit.
Besides, her younger son’s leg was crippled, she was still counting on Gu Xiaoxue to marry well and help out Gu Ruinian.
Gu Xiaoxue looked at Mrs. Jia with a face full of gratitude.
Mother still had her in mind.
Mr. Gu sighed and said, "In the end, it’s all because the eldest daughter-in-law holds a grudge. If she was willing to lend the five hundred taels of silver, we wouldn’t have to use Xiao Xue as collateral."
Although he valued his grandson, with Gu Xiaoxue growing up by his side, her appearance and temperament were good, if there was a way, he wouldn’t agree to Xu Jin’s proposition.
Mr. Gu blamed Tong Huaqiong for not lending them money to get through this difficult time.
Old Mrs. Gu, crying, agreed and said, "That viper would love nothing more than for Xu Jin to beat Ruinian to death."
Mrs. Jia, choking back sobs, said, "You all have seen in the south, what kind of families wanted to marry Xiao Xue? Even the County Magistrate’s wife wanted to betroth Xiao Xue to her nephew. What kind of family is the Xu Family, marrying into them brings no benefit to our family. Ruinian’s leg isn’t getting better; we don’t even know if he can make it to next year’s provincial examination. Xiao Xue is our entire family’s hope now."
According to Mrs. Jia, since the Xu Family wants to use someone as collateral for the debt, it might as well be Gu Honglian.
Gu Honglian was neither pretty nor easygoing and couldn’t possibly marry well anyway; in Qinghe Bay for so long, no one had proposed to her. If they wait any longer, she might become an old maid, marrying her off to Xu Dabao would be just right.
But she couldn’t say this out loud, afraid that if she did, Old Mrs. Gu would kill her.
Gu Youtian, who had remained silent, agreed with Mrs. Jia’s idea and said, "Xiao Xue can’t marry Xu Dabao; she should be kept for a better match."
Gu Youtian had always overlooked Gu Xiaoxue, but upon hearing Mr. Gu mention the Xu Family wanting her as collateral, this was the first time he truly took notice of this daughter.
This closer look surprised him; his daughter’s appearance was becoming more and more outstanding.
Given their current family situation, marrying into a wealthy family as the primary wife was a fantasy, but becoming a concubine or marrying a wealthy old widower as a second wife was more reliable than relying on his younger son’s academic success.
Why hadn’t he thought of this before, and placed all his hopes on Ruinian?
Didn’t Xu Zaohua marry into the Zheng Family, letting Xu Jin hold his head high in the village?
Of course, his little Xiao Xue was kind and knew propriety, she would never embarrass her family like Xu Zaohua.
Gu Xiaoxue looked up, her gaze sweeping over Mrs. Jia and Gu Youtian’s faces, with a momentary loss in her expression.
She thought her parents were protecting her, but their words left her disappointed.
Usually silent, she wasn’t stupid; her parents wanted to use her as a stepping stone.
The opposition from Gu Youtian and his wife silenced Mr. Gu.
As the old saying goes, parents’ command and the matchmaker’s words, Mr. Gu couldn’t forcefully marry Gu Xiaoxue off to Xu Dabao to pay off the debt if the second son and his wife disagreed; they couldn’t privately betroth Gu Taohua to the Xu Family.
If it got taken to court, even the marriage contract would have to be annulled.
But Ruinian was the grandson, the continuation of the Gu lineage, and Xiaoxue was just a granddaughter, so protecting Ruinian was more important.
So, he had to persuade the second son and his wife.
Mr. Gu spoke, "Five hundred taels isn’t a small amount. The eldest at home won’t lend us the money, Bai Shuang and Da Han are unwilling too. Can we borrow money from Wu Ren or the second daughter-in-law’s family? In ten days, they’ll want either the money or Xiao Xue."
Mrs. Jia and Gu Youtian wore troubled expressions.
Gu Xiaoxue suddenly looked up, clutching her hands tightly.
"Grandpa, Xiaoxue can’t go to the Xu Family as a debt collateral, or else in the village, people will talk and look down on us," Gu Fengnian spoke nervously.
Isn’t this selling his sister?
Gu Fengnian wouldn’t do such a thing.
Hearing Gu Fengnian say this, Mrs. Wei felt slightly comforted. Mrs. Wei said, "If we let Xiaoxue go to the Xu Family, how is that different from selling a daughter? We wouldn’t be able to hold our heads up again."
Though indeed some families did sell their daughters, in Qinghe Bay, unless times were really tough, no one would sell their daughter.
Even if they did, it was to find their daughter a good marriage and receive a dowry, not like this where the daughter is used to pay off debt.
The Gu Family wasn’t so destitute; for such a big family with strong laborers, selling a daughter just because of debt would be too shameful.
Moreover, this debt was incurred by Gu Ruinian, what did it have to do with Fengnian and her, why should they share the disgrace?
Worst case scenario, the Yao Family wouldn’t be able to hold their heads high in the school anymore.
Mrs. Wei meant to simply let Ruinian go to the Xu Family as a son to work for them. Wasn’t the Xu Family lamenting the loss of a filial daughter? Then let Ruinian go and be filial, why use the sister-in-law as debt collateral?
Hearing Fengnian’s opposition, Mr. Gu was initially angry, but when Mrs. Wei spoke against it too, he couldn’t express his anger, so he changed to a more conciliatory tone, saying, "It’s not that serious. Privately, we’re using it to settle the debt, but publicly, it wouldn’t be said that way. Let me tell you the truth, Xu Dabao fancies Xiaoxue, if it weren’t for Ruinian and Zaohua’s issues, the Xu Family would have already proposed. The Xu Family promised that as long as the two families agree to marry, they would follow the full three matchmakers and six ceremonies to ceremoniously marry Xiaoxue. In the eyes of others, we wouldn’t lose face."
"Setting aside the family feud, Xiaoxue marrying Xu Dabao is not a bad match. Although the Xu Family has declined, Xu Jin has a stone quarry on the mountain, his savings still make him a wealthy household in our village. Xu Dabao has experience managing Zheng’s shop, and Xu Jin plans to set up a shop for Xu Dabao in town. In the future, Xiaoxue will follow Xu Dabao as a shop owner’s wife, she won’t have to farm or serve her in-laws."