Chapter 60: A Heart of Kindness ◇

Indeed, even a clay figurine possesses a modicum of temperament; how much more so for a former nobleman of high rank, such as the old marquis of the Hou Mansion?

By the time Yu Lian rose, the courtyard had already descended into a tumultuous commotion.

The village chief and his family had all arrived, standing protectively beside their second son. On the other side were the villagers who had gathered to watch, while her father-in-law and her husband's uncles' families were also present.

Upon seeing her emerge, the villagers called out, "Miss Lian'er, please tell us how this matter should be settled."

The village chief's expression grew even more unpleasant. "We'll double the compensation for the bricks. Your father has already spent a night tied to the courtyard as punishment. Let's consider this matter settled."

Yu Lian inquired curiously, "Who can explain what exactly happened?"

Someone promptly recounted the events of the previous night and continued, "Miss Lian-er, you're in charge here. What should we do about this?"

At that moment, Mrs. Chen, along with her three children, also got up and stood beside Yu Lian. The old lady usually didn't bother arguing with an unimportant villager, let alone over a few worthless blue bricks. However, she understood that without rules, chaos would ensue. If they let this incident slide without proper consequences, others might escalate their misdeeds in the future.

So, she refrained from interfering and allowed her granddaughter-in-law to make the decision.

Yu Lian posed a few questions. First, she asked for their names and whether they were all villagers. Second, she inquired about the ringleader. Lastly, she offered them a chance to redeem themselves by asking who was willing to work.

They secretly pointed at Hua Tongluo as the mastermind, leaving him furious yet powerless. With so many elders present and his father watching, he couldn't act out of line.

Yu Lian said, "I'm not short of a few copper coins for the bricks, but theft is beneath us. I'll give you the chance to make amends. From today, help with the house construction for three days. Hua Tongluo, being the main culprit, will work for five days. After that, we'll consider this matter settled. You'll also need to assist in rebuilding the damaged huts."

The corners of Hua Tongluo's mouth twitched. Free labor for three days? And the culprit had to work two extra days?

Ordinarily, people were paid twenty copper coins a day for such work, but they were expected to do it for free? Initially reluctant, they changed their minds when Yu Lian looked at the village chief. "If not, perhaps we should invite the authorities to settle this matter."

The village chief waved his hand and kicked the miscreants' behinds. "Do the work when told, or I'll send you to the authorities for punishment!"

This threat seemed less severe. In these times, nobody wanted to deal with the law enforcement. Besides, regardless of guilt, a visit to the officials usually meant a sound beating.

As a result, Yu Lian gained a few free laborers for three days.

She instructed Ma Dafen and Hua Dameng to supervise these men, pushing them to their limits, causing them great discomfort. The sight made other villagers realize the strength behind Miss Lian's kindness. Though merciful, she was not weak-willed. Normally easy to get along with, she would not let things slide if crossed.

Yu Lian continued, "Considering it's your first offense and we share a village, I won't involve the authorities. However, there will be no leniency next time; you'll be directly brought before them."

Hua Tongluo and his companions were thoroughly discouraged. The village chief shot a cryptic glance at Yu Lian, as if he wanted to say something. However, since his own son had committed the offense first and had done such an embarrassing act in front of everyone, persisting in the matter would only add to their humiliation.

Besides, Second Master was also present.

The brick incident had served as a lesson for the village chief's second son, Hua Tongluo, and others, setting a good example for the villagers and giving the Yu family an opportunity to establish authority. Thereafter, whether it was building houses or clearing land for farming, everything proceeded smoothly without any further disturbances.

Speaking of going to see the officials... Yu Lian recalled the matter involving Hua Baogui's wife. The promised compensation had yet to be delivered, despite her signing and sealing the agreement. These past few days, there had been no word from her.

Yu Lian sought out Dashu's wife and asked her to put aside her chores temporarily to remind Hua Baogui's wife about the matter.

Upon hearing that the village chief's son had almost landed Yu Lian in court, Hua Baogui's wife grew fearful. Although she knew that her in-laws would never agree to sacrificing their old hen as compensation, she secretly tied it up and delivered it in a basket. As for the meat and bones, she didn't bother with them, instead opting to give copper coins directly.

After giving the compensation, she hurriedly left. Yu Lian requested that she apologize to Mrs. Chen. With a sullen face, Hua Baogui's wife offered her apology, though her words seemed to reveal her inner turmoil.

"You won't be getting that five taels and half of silver either. Hua Baogui is now foolish, and my mother-in-law has been wailing and scolding every day. If Baogui were fine, perhaps after a few days of pleading, my mother-in-law might have agreed to pay. But now that her son is like this, all hope is lost. How can she give you the money?"

She had come to understand that she didn't want to go to court and couldn't afford to provoke Yu Lian. Thus, she had brought her share of the compensation, considering it a debt owed by her husband's family. After all, who had she acted on behalf of?

With Hua Baogui being foolish, she was still young and had not even given birth to a child. How could she sacrifice her entire life for him?

She's returning to her maiden home and plans to remarry!

With that, she left with her head held high.

Yu Lian exchanged a glance with Dashu's wife, who patted her chest in surprise. "My goodness, what has she gone and done? Hua Baogui's mother only has this one son, whom she spoils rotten. Lian, be careful; she might come after you."

How could Yu Lian be afraid of a shrew?

It was just a pity for such a fine young man.

Upon learning about the incident, the elderly matriarch said, "Forget about those few taels of silver that Yu Lian had. Consider it an act of kindness for their misfortune, a pity for their circumstances."

If even Hua Baogui's wife intended to divorce him and return to her family, there was no doubt that he was indeed foolish. How could she continue to put on an act when her wife was leaving him?

Yu Lian nodded in agreement. That was precisely her intention. Rather than quibble over a trivial matter, it was better to use that time for something more productive. She could earn back those few taels of silver sooner or later.

Arguing with a foolish shrew would only lower oneself to her level.

Sure enough, the following two days brought news of turmoil at Hua Baogui's home. With Hua Baogui now mentally incapacitated, his wife's family came to take her away, despite his mother's fierce objections. She stood at the village entrance, cursing for an entire day in anger.

While the villagers worked, they couldn't help but discuss the matter. They pitied Hua Baogui for losing his wits at such a young age, but were more concerned about Yu Lian's inability to retrieve her silver.

There was no way Hua Baogui's mother would give it back willingly.

Some even dared to ask if Yu Lian was giving up on it.

She shook her head. "We'll wait until he recovers." Even if she was being kind, she wouldn't do so for nothing. She needed the villagers to know that the Huas still owed her family, to prevent Hua Baogui's mother from causing trouble again.

Yu Lian's prediction came true. Hua Baogui's mother might have taken him to the town to see another doctor, who was also helpless. Desperate, she led a group of people to create a scene at Yu Lian's home.

She plopped herself down at the entrance of the Hua residence and wailed, "You heartless wretch! My son came to your house to help, and now he's turned foolish. The doctor says there's no cure, only fate. Now, his ungrateful wife has returned to her parents' place. He's still so young! What will happen to the rest of his life?!"

"I don't care! If not for your dilapidated house, my son wouldn't have helped, and nothing would have happened. He wouldn't be foolish now! You must take responsibility!"

Yu Lian: "..."

She looked down at the elderly woman throwing a tantrum, speechless. She had built her house honestly without stealing or cheating. Hua Baogui hadn't been forced to work for her; he had come voluntarily to "help". Now that he was foolish, why should she be held responsible?

Hua Baogui's mother made a scene at the entrance for quite some time.

The matriarch accompanied Mrs. Chen by the entrance, attempting to calm her down and suggesting they discuss matters indoors. However, could an unrefined peasant woman from the countryside be swayed by her words? The woman was there to create a scene and had no intention of reasoning. The elegant and refined matriarch, who had spent her entire life with composure, found herself at a loss against such a shrew.

As the commotion escalated, villagers began streaming in to watch the spectacle.

In a small village where everyone knew each other, secrets were hard to keep. Yu Lian's morning conversation with the laborers had already spread throughout the village by the afternoon.

They all praised her kindness for giving up the five taels and a half of silver without a second thought, and for her claim that she would wait for him to recover, even though he was now foolish. Didn't that imply she had no intention of taking him back?

Initially, there was some sympathy for Hua Baogui's mother, who had given birth to a son at an advanced age, only to see him become incapacitated. But witnessing her aggressive behavior, many villagers disapproved and found it difficult to bear.

Some advised her to desist, arguing that with her son in such a state, her primary concern should be to take him home and care for him diligently, hoping for any possible improvement. What was the point in creating such a commotion?

"You easily speak from a position of privilege. If your son were to become mentally challenged, let's see if you would still quarrel with this ungrateful girl!"

Addressed as an ungrateful wench, the granddaughter-in-law felt deeply offended. The matriarch herself had never dared to exert her authority as a grandmother in front of her granddaughter-in-law. How dare this rustic old woman from the countryside show such disrespect?

Even a clay figure has a hint of temper, let alone a former nobleman who once held a high position in the marquis's mansion?

The elderly lady requested Mrs. Chen to fetch her walking stick, which she then firmly struck against the ground.

"Have you quite finished with your foolishness? I've heard from the child Sanshu that Hua Baogui could have been saved. The physician advised you to stay at the infirmary for two more days; he promised that with timely acupuncture treatments each day, Hua Baogui would recover swiftly. However, out of concern for a mere amount of silver, and lacking my kind-hearted yet naive granddaughter-in-law to foot the bills and medical fees, you've grown miserly. Thus, you insistently brought Hua Baogui back home to care for him instead."

"Let me explain this to you in detail today. It is by the grace of my granddaughter-in-law that Hua Baogui still has his life. But his foolishness is the fault of you, his mother!"

Upon the old lady's words, the atmosphere fell silent for an instant. Hua Baogui's mother was also taken aback, halting in her tracks. After a while, she reluctantly retorted, "How could it be my fault? If you hadn't built this cursed residence, how would it have caused my son's foolishness?"

Her unreasonable behavior had even upset the villagers. They criticized her, "Hasn't everyone in the village built a house before? Her family has an official land deed with the government's seal. Why can't they build a house? Did Hua Baogui offer to help on someone else's land by herself and then blame others for the incident? Lady Hua Baogui, one cannot behave in such a manner!"

Miss Lian'er mentioned today that she was not going to argue with you about the medical fee, simply letting go of five or six taels of silver. It was she who saved Noble Lady Hua Baogui's life. Ignorance of gratitude is one thing, but how could you be so shameless?