After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 838 Shameless

Hai Xiya's expression turned cold.

Ma's wife was arguing with Ma's uncle's wife in the inner room. The latter kept repeating the same words, accusing the two sisters-in-law of not going through her brother and sister-in-law to conduct such a property transaction. Even if Ma was going to leave Chang'an and sell her shares in the weaving workshop, she should sell them to her brother and sister-in-law, not just give them to her nephew's wife. Now the nephew and his wife have a big family and a big business, so they don't lack money at all, unlike her brother and sister-in-law, whose livelihood is getting harder and harder and they need money to subsidize them. How could the sister-in-law be so cold and ruthless to her relatives from her mother's family? !
Listening to her sister-in-law's unreasonable words, Ma tried to explain to her in a gentle voice at first, but the more she listened, the less it seemed like that, and she was too lazy to say more, so she just said, "I asked for 3,800 taels of silver, and Jinlin's wife gave me 4,000, saying that the remaining silver should be used as a tribute to my aunt and used as travel expenses to Beijing. What a filial and polite child! Unlike my sister-in-law, who asked me for half of the workshop as soon as she opened her mouth, but refused to pay a penny. If you are willing to pay, even if you don't have 4,000 taels of silver, but only 3,000, I will sell you that half of the workshop, just as a preferential treatment for my brother and sister-in-law, how about it? As long as you come up with the money, I will go to Jinlin's wife and get that half of the workshop back from her and give it to you! With such generosity, my sister-in-law can't say that I am heartless and ungrateful to my relatives in my natal family, right?!"

Ma's wife choked and said hurriedly, "How can we afford three thousand taels of silver? Do you think this is three hundred taels?! If I could afford three thousand, would I still need your sisters to help me?!"

Ma sneered, "You are unwilling to pay even 3,000 taels of silver, but you want my workshop? This workshop can bring me and my elder sister an income of 100 or 200 taels each every month, which is more than 2,000 taels a year. You pay 3,000 taels, and you still share the profits with Jin Lin's wife, and you will get your money back in less than two years. For such a good deal, if you were not a close relative, I would not offer such a low price! Sister-in-law still thinks it is not enough, are you expecting me to give it away for free?! You and my elder brother did not contribute the capital at the beginning, and you were unwilling to help manage the relationship. Even when the workshop just wove the cloth, I asked you if you would like to buy a few pieces for good luck, but you were picky and disliked the bad patterns and refused to pay a penny. Now you think our workshop is a good business, and you are planning to not pay a tael of silver and occupy my sister's property for nothing! Sister-in-law, I always thought it was not easy for you to be a housekeeper, but I didn't expect you to be so thick-skinned!"

Ma's wife was so embarrassed that she immediately got angry: "Who are you scolding?! We are your brother and sister-in-law! You are going to quarrel with us just for half a workshop. Do you think you are going to enjoy yourself in Beijing and never come back to your parents' home in this life?! Do you even not want to recognize your own parents?!"

Ma pulled a long face and said, "If sister-in-law wants to drive me and my elder sister out of the house just for half of the workshop and refuses to recognize us sisters from now on, then I have nothing to say! I will go talk to Jin Lin's wife and ask her to write a letter to my elder sister, saying that my brother and sister-in-law can't tolerate us, and even my parents don't want us to recognize them!"

Ma's wife was furious and was about to quarrel with her sister-in-law. Outside, Hai Xiya heard this and could not help but glance at her brother-in-law: "What does this mean, uncle? Are you threatening my wife and me? That half of the workshop has changed hands and belongs to Jin Lin and his wife. If my uncle is dissatisfied, why doesn't he go and talk to Jin Lin and his wife, but has to find fault with my wife and my husband?"

Uncle Ma knew he was in the wrong and smiled awkwardly: "Jin Lin is busy with official duties, how can he have time to care about these trivial matters? We, as elders, should not disturb you..."

Hai Xiya sneered: "I'm afraid you only pick on the weak, right?" No matter how poor the third branch of the Zhou family is, it is still a member of the Zhou family. Now that Zhou Shigong has been reinstated and Zhou Jinlin has developed smoothly in the army, it is not comparable to the Ma family, which has long been in decline. Moreover, Zhou Jinlin has been training at the border for a long time and has a mediocre relationship with his uncle's family. After returning to Chang'an, he only treated them with courtesy and never looked at his uncle's family differently. Uncle Ma and his wife can't be tough in front of him. If they rashly come to ask for the property, I'm afraid Zhou Jinlin and his wife will not pay attention to it, and then Uncle Ma and his wife will be embarrassed.

They might as well go to the Hai family to talk to Ma. As long as they can persuade Ma to change her mind and take the initiative to talk to Zhou Jinlin and his wife, then no matter how reluctant the latter are, they cannot blame their uncle's family. If they have any resentment, they will only resent Ma, their aunt.

Uncle Ma's wife had a good plan, and Uncle Ma also acquiesced. Now he only blamed his wife for being too aggressive. As soon as they met, they had a conflict. I'm afraid it will be difficult to resolve it. Both of his brothers-in-law were promoted to Beijing, and he actually didn't want to offend them...

Uncle Ma looked at his brother-in-law's ugly expression and couldn't help but whispered in defense: "I know it's wrong to do this, but the family is struggling to make ends meet, the children are growing up, and I don't know where the money for the wedding will come from. My legs also need to see a doctor and take medicine... The mother of the child is thinking about me. Although I think it's wrong, I don't have the face to say anything more. My brother-in-law's family is big and powerful, so why would he care about this little money? Please bear with me..." This is a bit of moral kidnapping. Is being poor justified?

When Haitang walked into the upper room, she couldn't help complaining when she heard Uncle Grandpa say this. But she didn't say anything, she just silently sent tea and snacks to the table, set them for the two elders, and then stepped aside.

Hai Xiya obviously also heard the implication of his elder brother-in-law's words, knowing that he was planning to play the victim, so he couldn't help but say: "If your family is in such a difficult situation, why haven't you mentioned it before? Then what job did you let Lu Sheng go to Beijing to find? The expenses of the couple on the way, as well as the food, clothing, housing, transportation, daily expenses, and the money spent on building relationships after arriving in Beijing, add up to a lot of money, wouldn't it make your family even more stretched? If I had known this, I would have found a future for him in Chang'an, even if it was just a ninth-rank postmaster, there would be an income, right? I ran into nephew Lu Yuan by chance outside the other day, and I didn't hear him mention it."

Uncle Ma looked embarrassed. How could Ma Luyuan say such words? Because his wife was worried about the future of their youngest son Ma Lusheng, and because of what she said, the eldest son got angry. So Ma Luyuan simply took his wife and children to live with his wife and children at Yue's house temporarily, and no longer asked about family affairs. The eldest son didn't know that his wife was eyeing his sisters' private property, and he would object if he knew. He didn't dare to let his eldest son know that when his youngest son went on a long trip, he had taken most of the family savings away. The Ma family is really poor now, and they are not pretending. Let alone three thousand taels of silver, I'm afraid they can't even take out three hundred taels, and they have to pawn things at home to raise money!

If Uncle Ma had not been in such an embarrassing situation, he would not have allowed his wife to cause such a scene with his younger sister!

Uncle Ma still didn't speak, Hai Xiya sneered again: "Uncle is too proud to let his children and grandchildren know about the difficulties of the family. But Lu Yuan is the eldest son after all, and he will inherit the family business in the future. Uncle shouldn't hide the situation of his family from him. It's better to tell him. Besides, the Ma family still has some leeway. If uncle is embarrassed to ask, I will help you to tell the elders. Instead of borrowing money from outsiders, it's better to ask for help from the clan. When Lu Yuan and Lu Sheng have money in the future, they can repay the debts owed to the clan, which will be easier to deal with than external creditors."

Uncle Ma's face suddenly changed, and he sat up straight: "Brother-in-law Hai, you must not do this! This... this must not be known to the clan!" If the clan members knew what he and his wife had done, he would really lose face for several lifetimes...

Haitang also interrupted: "If we can't tell the clan, we should let our eldest cousin know, right? Uncle, you have high expectations for Uncle Lu Sheng now. I don't know what good future he can have in Beijing. Do you need help from my great aunt and my grandfather?"

Uncle Ma was stunned.

(End of this chapter)