Chapter Eight: Losing More Than You Gain in a Failed Scheme

"I don't know how..."

"That's not my concern. You stole grain and firewood from my home. To put it mildly, it's a neighborhood dispute; to put it harshly, it's robbery."

Zhao Zheng said loudly, "Besides, the villagers all saw it. There are witnesses. If I insist on holding you accountable, a flogging would be the least of it. If it gets serious, you might end up in prison."

"I am not scaring you. If you don't believe me, feel free to ask the village elders!"

"The reason I invited the three respected village elders here today is because I don't want to blow this out of proportion. Family scandals shouldn't be aired in public, after all."

Xu Youde hadn't expected Zhao Zheng to be so articulate and reasonable. "Zhao Zheng is right. Family scandals shouldn't be aired. We should resolve the affairs of our small mountain village ourselves; we must not let the township authorities get involved."

The other villagers nodded in agreement. "Old Zhao makes sense. He isn't extorting you. Chunmei, don't be a fool!"

"Your mother-in-law is ignorant, but you shouldn't be. Times are hard enough as it is. Old Zhao has injured his foot, and this is a matter of life and death for his family."

The elder Mrs. Li had already retreated into silence, and Zheng Chunmei was wailing internally, "Old Ma, if you don't come soon, I'm going to be bullied to death."

"I... I really don't know how to massage..."

Zhao Zheng said, "Actually, the rice you stole from my house was the last bit of survivor's pension grain left after my son died in battle. I wouldn't have minded giving some to you and your children."

"We are neighbors, and we have helped each other for years. I, Old Zhao, have received many favors from the villagers myself."

"Even if you took the firewood, it wouldn't have been a big deal. You are a widow with children, and this winter will be hard without firewood. For me, it would just mean a bit more hard work trekking up to Golden Chicken Mountain."

"It doesn't matter if you know how to massage or not; it's the attitude I'm looking for." Standing on the moral high ground, Zhao Zheng had won over the crowd. He kept the metaphorical soft blade at the throat of Zheng Chunmei’s family, making them suffer. "If you don't know how, let Mrs. Li do it for me. I’m not asking for much—as long as my foot is healed, we’ll call it even."

The elder Mrs. Li hated Zhao Zheng to the core. Make her massage his smelly feet? In her dreams.

"Oh, I feel dizzy, so dizzy. My old bones are full of ailments, and I still have to go gather herbs. Who knows when I’ll die? If you aren't afraid of me dying in your house, I can go."

Zhao Zheng smiled faintly. "It’s fine. If you die, I’ll make you a coffin!"

The people around them snickered. This Old Zhao, he was truly a mean one.

Zheng Chunmei smiled bitterly as well. How could she not know the true nature of her lazy, greedy, and shrewd mother-in-law?

She sighed. "Fine, I will go massage Uncle Zhao's foot!"

"Mother, you can't!" Li Erdan glared at Zhao Zheng, hating him to the bone.

Zheng Chunmei ignored him and looked at Zhao Zheng. "Uncle Zhao, are you satisfied now?"

"Good. Don't go back on your word, or I will crawl all the way to the township to report you!" Zhao Zheng nodded, then thanked the three village elders again.

This left the three old men very satisfied.

Just as Zhao Zheng was about to leave, Zhang Xiao'e asked timidly, "Father-in-law, are we not taking back the firewood and the rice?"

"Forget it. Consider it a gift from me," Zhao Zheng said magnanimously.

In the crowd, Liu Laosi cursed Zhao Zheng for his fake generosity. When he played the rogue, he would even snatch the last half-cake from his own mouth. Yet, when faced with the Li widow, he was willing to forgo the rice. Old Zhao was just as obsessed with saving face as he had always been.

While Xu Youde praised Zhao Zheng for his benevolence, he sneered inwardly, "The imperial pension grain is so scarce, and he gave away so much millet, and now the pension silver has been swindled away. The Zhao family is likely going to go hungry."

Just as he was thinking this, Zhao Zheng said, "However, Chunmei, you must return the three catties of millet you took from my house. That was borrowed by Zhaodi from her in-laws, so I cannot give that to you!"

At these words, Zheng Chunmei was stunned. "Where did you get three catties? It was clearly only one!"

Yang Zhaodi looked at her father-in-law’s solemn expression, also stunned. She had only borrowed one catty; where would three come from? But she quickly understood and inwardly laughed at the Li widow for trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice.

"Chunmei, I have been so accommodating, and yet you are still trying to cheat me out of my millet? Do you think that because my son is gone, I can be bullied at will?"

Zhao Zheng clenched his fists, his eyes red. "Let me tell you, my son is gone, and I have no worries left. I’m prepared to die, but I’ll take someone down with me if I do. You’d better not push me too far!"

In the countryside, a lone bachelor without backing is the easiest to bully, but also the most dangerous to provoke. When Zhao Zheng said this, the expression of a tall, burly man in the crowd shifted, and he took a few steps back.

Zheng Chunmei knew full well that Zhao Zheng was extorting her.

But she had no proof. Wasn't it just a matter of his word against hers?

The elder Mrs. Li was also furious. "Old Zhao, you are truly a wicked person..."

Zhao Zheng gritted his teeth. "Three village elders, you have seen it yourselves. Out of respect for our neighbors and for the three of you, I have conceded time and again. They have gone too far, so I have no choice but to report this to the magistrate."

As he spoke, he said to Yang Zhaodi and the bewildered Zhang Xiao'e, "Come with me to the township to seek justice."

"Sister-in-law..."

"Don't speak. Follow Father-in-law." Yang Zhaodi took Xiao'e's hand and followed Zhao Zheng.

Seeing this, the villagers' expressions changed.

Xu Youde was incensed. "Chunmei, your mother-in-law is ignorant, but you should know better! Zhao Zheng isn't lying to you. Stealing from others really can lead to prison."

"Since Mingzhou is suffering from disaster, the imperial court, fearing trouble, has dispatched eight thousand troops to maintain order. Anyone caught stealing grain will be punished severely. No one will be able to protect your family then."

"Zhao Zheng has been merciful enough. You, however, are pushing your luck. Since that's the case, I won't interfere anymore. When the soldiers come, not only will I not protect you, I will testify against you!"

The elder Mrs. Li was truly terrified now and begged for mercy. "Uncle Xu, we won't dare do it again, but we really don't have..."

"We'll give it! We'll give it!" Zheng Chunmei said, her eyes red. "Uncle Zhao, please wait. I'll go get the grain for you."

As she spoke, she kicked her son gently. "Move all the firewood piled by the stove back to Uncle Zhao's place."

Then she went into the room and took out the one catty of millet she had taken from the Zhao family, and then added two more catties from the grain jar hidden underground.

The jar was already hitting the bottom, with less than a catty left. How would their family of five survive?

It was all her mother-in-law's fault for listening to the children and causing trouble. Now, they hadn't gained any benefits and had lost even more.

No matter how reluctant she was, it was useless.

She even brought out the thick rice porridge that had been boiling in the pot. "This is the three catties of millet. This porridge was made from the rice taken from your house, take it back too!"