Volume One, Chapter Four: Lin Xiaoxu Intends to Take on All the Debt Himself

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“Shen Yulian, your dead husband Zhao Daming borrowed two thousand five hundred yuan from my family before he passed away. You must pay it back today, or don’t even think about leaving this house!”
“Zhao Daming owes my family one thousand nine hundred yuan!”
“Your dead husband Zhao Daming didn’t just borrow one thousand nine hundred yuan from us, he actually stole it!”
“You can’t get two kinds of people from under the same quilt. Zhao Daming was both a rotten gambler and shameless, and in my opinion, Shen Yulian isn’t a good person either.”
“Look at Shen Yulian’s breasts, you can tell she’s not a good woman.”
“And that round, big ass—who knows if she had children by other men before marrying Zhao Daming?”
The villagers were spewing endless slander.
Shen Yulian had originally intended to shoulder the debts Zhao Daming left behind to the villagers.
After all, they were husband and wife.
Moreover, she was born without a uterus, something her parents had concealed when they accepted Zhao Daming’s twenty-eight thousand yuan bride price.
Though Zhao Daming had also hidden his impotence, marrying her just to silence gossip, Shen Yulian still felt a pang of guilt.
But as soon as she heard a few women making vulgar remarks about her chest and hips, her anger flared, and all her so-called guilt toward Zhao Daming vanished entirely.
She stood up, hands on her hips, and declared:
“That money was borrowed or stolen by Zhao Daming—what does that have to do with me?
I’ve been married to Zhao Daming for years and never spent a penny of his.
I’ve always supported myself by farming,
and later by gathering wild fruits and medicinal herbs from the mountains to sell in town.
Before he died, Zhao Daming sold all our land and houses and even sold me to Lin Xiaoxu!
Is it fair for you to treat me like this?”
Village chief Wu Deshun had initially intended to demand the twenty thousand yuan Zhao Daming owed him.
But his attention was distracted by Shen Yulian’s voluptuous figure.
Secretly rubbing his hands together, he licked his lips several times without realizing it.

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Lin Xiaoxu, sharp-eyed, immediately saw Wu Deshun’s lecherous expression.
Years ago, when his parents were killed by Xu Weilong’s drunk driving, leaving him an orphan, relief funds were allocated to him, but Wu Deshun embezzled them all, and he never received a penny.
Even Zhao Daming’s trickery in coercing him to sign a free land transfer contract was masterminded by Wu Deshun.
Afterward, Wu Deshun bought the eight acres of land that rightfully belonged to Lin Xiaoxu at a low price from Zhao Daming.
“When Zhao Daming owed us money, Shen Yulian was already his wife, so it’s completely reasonable to ask her to repay the debt.”
Spring Phoenix Auntie had just finished speaking when widow Liu Shulan chimed in,
“Exactly! Besides, Shen Yulian is an outsider. She might not put up with that idiot Lin Xiaoxu for long and could secretly leave Taoyuan Village in a few days!”
Husbands selling their wives or uncles taking their sisters-in-law is an ancient custom.
Though such customs nearly vanished after the founding of the nation, they still occasionally occurred in remote mountain villages.
Many villagers in Taoyuan, living in the backwoods, were illiterate and had little awareness of the law.
On the day Lin Xiaoxu signed the contract with Zhao Daming, they tacitly accepted that Shen Yulian belonged to Lin Xiaoxu.
“Enough! Stop talking. That Zhao Daming owed me a full twenty thousand yuan. I’m the most miserable one here, got it?” Wu Deshun stamped his foot and shouted.
Wu Deshun had lusted after Shen Yulian for many years!
But before Zhao Daming drowned, his violent temper made Wu Deshun hesitant to act.
Now that Zhao Daming was dead, Wu Deshun vowed to press Shen Yulian beneath him and serve her with every one of thirty-six sensual techniques.
“I want to take Shen Yulian to work at a small factory my classmate runs in the county seat. Her wages will be transferred directly to my account until she pays back the twenty thousand yuan!”
Wu Deshun put on a reasonable front,
but behind his belly, he was scheming.
He planned to get Shen Yulian to the county, find her a day shift at the factory, and then ravage her mercilessly each night when she returned to her rented room—
until she cried out in vain for help.
“What about our money?” Auntie Chunfeng asked.

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Wu Deshun replied, “First, Shen Yulian’s wages will go to me. Then, I’ll pay you all back. Until she clears all the debts owed to everyone in Taoyuan Village, is that okay?”
“All right,” they nodded in agreement.
Shen Yulian’s heart sank.
Could Wu Deshun really be so kind-hearted?
She remembered Wu Deshun had once harbored lecherous intentions toward her; before Zhao Daming died, Wu Deshun had even secretly groped her.
Shen Yulian would never trust Wu Deshun’s false words. Just as she was about to refuse, Lin Xiaoxu’s voice came through her ears.
“Sis-in-law, write down how much you owe, and when I earn money, I’ll pay it all back.”
With a bang, Lin Xiaoxu slammed a pen and paper down on the eight-immortals table.
Lin Xiaoxu wanted to assume all the debts Zhao Daming owed the villagers not only to make things easier for Shen Yulian in the village but also because most of the creditors were elderly, lonely, sick, or widowed.
Though the sums were only a thousand or two thousand yuan, that was money these vulnerable people had saved by scrimping and saving for months.
Lin Xiaoxu was moved by compassion.
“You idiot, what nonsense are you stirring up here! This is grown-up business—get lost!”
Wu Deshun hated Lin Xiaoxu so much he wished he could strangle him on the spot.
His plan to take Shen Yulian to the county to work had been long in the making.
He could not let Lin Xiaoxu ruin it now.
Auntie Chunfeng and the others were also riled up, joining in the curses against Lin Xiaoxu.
“Get lost? Shen Yulian’s already my wife. What happens to her is my business!”
Lin Xiaoxu spat as he wiped his nose.
Seeing Lin Xiaoxu, foolish as he was, stand up for her so fiercely, Shen Yulian felt deeply touched.
“Fine!” Wu Deshun gritted his teeth and was the first to step forward to register the debts, glaring angrily at the sniffling Lin Xiaoxu.
“I’m giving you ten days. If you don’t pay me back my twenty thousand yuan within ten days, see how I’ll deal with you, you idiot!”
Seeing Wu Deshun register first, the other villagers had no choice but to follow suit, one by one.