"I fell at home some time ago. The old physician said my spine has become brittle and I cannot withstand heavy impacts. Just now, your fulang pushed me, and now I cannot even stand up," Zhou Lao'er's wife replied.
Fang Zichen seemed not to understand: "Not being able to get up is your problem, what does it have to do with us?"
Zhou Lao'er's wife: "......"
Zhou Lao'er's wife exclaimed: "How is it not your business? If Zhao Ger hadn't pushed me, would I have fallen?"
"Why did he push you?" Fang Zichen asked.
"Wasn't it to help Zhou Ger," Zhou Lao'er's wife said.
Fang Zichen asked again: "Why did he want to help Zhou Ger?"
"Because we..." Zhou Lao'er's wife started saying, but then seeing the slight curl of Fang Zichen's lips, she immediately shut her mouth.
Fang Zichen smiled and said: "See, you said it yourself, it's because of you all. If you hadn't come to make trouble, Zhao Ger wouldn't have pushed you. If he hadn't pushed you, you wouldn't be like this. When all is said and done, to summarize, the state you're in now is your own fault. Who can you blame?"
"Hey, you..." Zhou Lao'er's wife almost got caught in his logic: "You can't be like this."
"We can't be like this, then how should we be?" Fang Zichen asked.
"Compensate with silver," Zhou Lao'er's wife said.
Fang Zichen: "How much?"
Zhou Lao'er's wife held up two fingers. Fang Zichen thought she meant two taels of silver, but who knew this woman would open her mouth like a tigress: "Twenty taels."
Twenty taels!!
Before Fang Zichen could even speak, the sound of gasps filled the courtyard.
This Zhou family's second daughter-in-law, she really dared to ask.
The village chief scolded: "Zhou Lao'er's family, you've probably fallen into a money pit, daring to say anything."
Twenty taels?
Her two lives weren't worth that much.
"Village Chief, I'm not shouting randomly," Zhou Lao'er's wife said: "I'm in great pain right now! Last time I didn't feel it was that serious, but the old physician said I needed to rest in bed for two months, and also take medicine and apply ointments. That medicine wasn't cheap, a few packets cost me nine taels of silver."
"Huo! Really or not? What medicine is that expensive?" someone outside asked.
"You believe what she says? With how she is, if it really cost nine taels, would she even be willing to get treated?"
Nine taels of silver, that was no small amount.
An ordinary family couldn't earn that much in a year.
With how stingy Zhou Lao'er's wife was, buying some cloth for a few dozen copper coins and then boasting about it all over the village upon returning, if she really spent nine taels, as long as she didn't die, she would rather lie down for half a year than be willing to spend that money.
Besides, resting for two months?
Since when did they not know about it?
The threshing ground, the small riverbank, the usual gathering spots for women and gers to share gossip—there wasn't a single day she hadn't been seen there. Two months of bed rest?
Laughable.
Zhao Ger's fists were clenched. Fang Zichen suddenly bumped him with his shoulder and pointed at Zhou Lao'er's wife.
"Zhao Ger, go on."
"Ah?" Zhao Ger was stunned.
"Beat her to death," Fang Zichen said decisively.
Zhou Lao'er's wife's eyes widened.
Fang Zichen said: "I have powerful connections, so you don't need to be afraid. For twenty taels, we might as well just beat her to death. If she dies, that's all we'll have to pay anyway."
Village Chief: "......"
The village chief almost couldn't catch his breath. What kind of statement was that! This was even more serious than starting a fight right away!
Zhao Ger poked Fang Zichen: "Husband, are you serious?"
There was a light of restless eagerness in his eyes, as if he was very excited, very thrilled.
Fang Zichen: "......"
This Zhao Ger, I've underestimated him before!
The Zhou family had never anticipated Fang Zichen could be this audacious.
Zuixiao Restaurant was patronized exclusively by wealthy and influential nobles. No one present doubted the truth of his words.
Zhou Lao'er's wife said with insufficient confidence: "Young Fang, you can't be like this!"
"Why can't I?" Fang Zichen raised an eyebrow.
Zhou Lao'er's wife: "You, your fulang pushed me..."
"So what if he pushed you?"
Before she could finish her sentence, Fang Zichen interrupted her, taking the lead to say: "Don't say push, even if he hit you, what could you do about it?"
"You, you all..."
The Zhou family was shameless, but Fang Zichen could be more shameless than them.
If they wanted to be unreasonable, he would be more unreasonable than them.
When it came to being unreasonable, he had never been afraid of anyone so far. Dealing with shameless people was like playing music for a cow—the other party wouldn't understand, and it would only waste his own time. Completely pointless.
Zhou Lao'er's wife had been shouting and yelling earlier. She had thought that if Fang Zichen didn't agree to pay silver, she would sit on the ground and throw a tantrum.
This kind of shrew had all her skills mastered in her loud voice. She would yell and scream without any sense of shame. Those who were more sensitive or easily embarrassed, when faced with such a person, could only resign themselves to misfortune. But encountering Fang Zichen was different—he had a way of making her feel so thoroughly ashamed that her butt would turn red.
"My family's Zhao Ger hitting you means he thinks highly of you. Don't be ungrateful," Fang Zichen said.
"Young Fang~" Zhou Lao'er's wife choked out: "Can't you be reasonable?"
This seemed very funny.
Fang Zichen scoffed and asked: "Do you know who I am?"
The question was abrupt. Zhou Lao'er's wife didn't understand why he suddenly asked this, but still 'honestly' said: "You are Fang Zichen!"
Fang Zichen pointed at Zhao Ger: "Then who is he."
Zhou Lao'er's wife: "Zhao Ger!"
"What is his relationship to me?" Fang Zichen asked.
"He is your fulang."
"Then what is your relationship to me."
Zhou Lao'er's wife fell silent.
Her gaze fell on Fang Zichen's flamboyant features and arrogant demeanor, then quickly moved away.
If possible, she wouldn't mind having some relationship with him either.
But the fact was, they didn't have half a copper coin's worth of relationship.
"Me standing here, you should understand. One is my fulang, the other is someone trying to extort silver from me. Would I be stupid enough to reason with a shrew like you!"
Fang Zichen was smiling, but his eyes held not a hint of warmth: "I came here to back my fulang up. Do you understand what 'back up' means? Whoever bullies him is no different from slapping me in the face."
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