Hao Cheng was stunned for a moment, his expression changed several times, and he simply admitted: "My father and mother left suddenly, and after burying my father and mother, I had no relatives around me, and I couldn't think about it for a while, so I had the idea of suicide." Only then did I find a hemp rope, thinking that it would be a hundred times, and I could reunite with my mother and father under Jiuquan. ”

She looked miserable, and everyone was also embarrassed. Kou didn't expect Hao Cheng to open his mouth to admit that his original plan was that as long as Hao Cheng quibbled, or slandered that they strangled him with a rope, he would immediately accuse Hao Cheng of lying, after all, if this was the case, why didn't she say so before, there is a big difference between burglary and murder for money.

But Hao Cheng admitted it, so it would be better, and he immediately followed her words and said: "Okay, you admit it yourself, Li Zheng, I don't have anything to say now, everyone understands, I really didn't expect that my brother is such a kind-hearted person who would raise such a white-eyed wolf!" ”

Everyone looked at Hao Cheng's eyes wrong, if the original owner was there, I was afraid that he would really be so angry that he would be speechless. But Hao Cheng had a blank expression: "Uncle, what are you talking about, I have never said before that I didn't have a short-sighted view, you admit it one by one, it seems that I have done something wrong." ”

Thinking of her father and mother who were worried about herself in another world, Hao Cheng, who was not a natural actor, quickly turned red, and before Kou Shi could speak back, she choked up and said: "I can't think about it for a while, but the moment I kicked down the stool, I figured it out, if I want to go like this, they have worked hard for most of their lives, and they won't be blind when they die." The sky has eyes, and the hanging hemp rope suddenly broke, and I was lucky enough to pick up a life. As a result, I was lying on the ground and before I could recover, I heard the conversation of the thief outside. ”

Her gaze swept over Kou Shi and the servant, and her tone was a little resentful: "It was because I didn't move that the thief outside told his plan unscrupulously, so I was able to take a stick in advance, guard in front of the door and knock the thief unconscious, and Aunt Dong saw the rest of the things." I am a scholar, and the neighbors in the township also know my Hao Cheng's temperament, have I ever said any lies on weekdays? ”

"Not really." "Hao Cheng, I can still trust it." The original owner is a well-known honest person in the village, and she is a bit stupid in reading, although she does not do well in farm work, and she can't help her mother and father work, but she is one of the few talents in the village, if she really lies, the people in this village don't believe it very much.

It's this Kou clan who was a well-known shrewd person before he got married. The words of the two people must be more credible than Hao Cheng.

"What do you mean by that?" He didn't know why his shy niece had become sharp.

Hao Cheng can play the bitter card, and his ability to show off his pity is also first-class, and he showed his pitiful side of loneliness and helplessness on the spot: "I was kind enough to come to see my niece, but I was slandered as a thief, which is really pitiful." A bunch of women bullied me for a weak man. ”

This is embarrassing, Kou is Hao Cheng's uncle, everyone knows about this, it stands to reason that his uncle will not do such a thing to his only niece, but Hao Cheng is not the kind of person who can lie.

The main reason is that the situation is not clear when people from the outside world see it, so the two sides insist on their own words, and there is no definite evidence and outsiders to prove it, even if it is the magistrate, it cannot be judged.

This kind of matter, Li Zheng thought about it and settled it in private, in the past, this kind of entangled housework, she basically adjusted with both sides of the mud.

Hao Cheng didn't wait for her to say anything, just shook hands with the two sides and made peace, stared at Kou's eyes, and asked out loud: "Uncle Fang Cai said, you asked this person to save me, broke the rope, and saved me from the beam." ”

Kou felt bad in his heart, and estimated that the rope was broken, and immediately said: "I may not be clear about what I said, it was when she came in, you suddenly fell, and the subordinates of my house went to check on your situation, but you suddenly grabbed a stick and knocked the servants of my house unconscious, I thought it was haunted, so I screamed and ran out." ”

"Oh, according to my uncle, this servant is not the one who saved me, and I was staying in the house, and suddenly a stranger broke in without saying a word, and I came to my senses and knocked this stranger unconscious, how did I become a white-eyed wolf in my uncle's mouth?"

Kou Shi was ready to give Hao Cheng a step down, of course, in order to be able to exit more decently: "I kindly came to see you, you were silent in the house, I was afraid that you would break in because you had something, and I didn't care that you didn't know the people in my house, and it was natural to say that the white-eyed wolf was too much, but you don't have that kind of suicidal thought." This time, fortunately, the rope was broken, and next time the rope was not broken, and no one broke in like this, then I can't explain it to your father. ”

The Kou clan seemed to be the tone of an elder, openly and secretly accusing Hao Cheng of not knowing what to do, but there was also a sense of letting go in his tone. Hao Cheng didn't want to stop there, she suffered this dumb loss, she said in a light tone: "My land and house are not worth a few dollars, my uncle's family is rich, and even a servant's monthly salary has two taels of silver, so it must be impossible to covet my money, maybe I heard it wrong." ”

Kou Shi saw that she was willing to be interested, so he said, "You must have heard it wrong, how can my servant's monthly salary have two taels of silver, and only half a tael of silver." ”

Everyone also knows that Kou Qing's married family is a well-known wealthy family, and they also discussed: "Yes, your uncle is blessed, he is the head of the house, and the family has to hire more than 20 subordinates to serve him every year." Not to mention the extra money in the house, how could I covet such a little thing from you. ”

Even if it's half a tael of silver, or about 20 people, it will cost more than ten taels of silver. The Kou family has always cried poor in front of his brother and the original owner, but no one in this village knows that Kou Qing's family has a lot of money left.

Hao Cheng smiled instead, and took out a yellow IOU on the spot: "Maybe I misheard, just in front of everyone, my uncle took the trouble to repay the twenty taels of silver that my father and mother lent you back then." ”

Money is the lifeblood of the Kou family, not to mention twenty taels of silver, he doesn't want to pay one or two pieces of silver: "Uncle's family is also very difficult, the expenses are so big, can't you be considerate and considerate of me as a husband?" ”

In the past, the original owner and the original owner's father were soft-hearted, and although twenty taels was much, it was not necessary. Kou is another miser, and it is more difficult to take money from him than to ascend to the sky.

Hao Cheng's eyes were red: "This money was lent to my uncle by my father and mother back then, and I also know that you are in difficulty, so when I buried my father, I didn't take this IOU out, so I borrowed some of my uncle's silver first, but my uncle's family was in difficulty, so I could only give me a hairpin of three pennies, in order to bury my father, I sold the valuable things in the family and owed a bunch of debts." I don't even have money to eat, I'm really hungry, it's not easy for everyone, and I don't have the face to rub other people's food every day. If it's really not easy for my uncle, forget about the money, after all, my uncle's family still has more than 20 servants to support, and I starve to death, and this debt will be gone. ”

This is said that there is no need to let the Kou family repay the money, but word by word it is clearly accusing the Kou family of being unkind, a white-eyed wolf! Obviously, the servant can get half a tael of silver a month, but when his brother died, he only paid three pennies to help bury him. And he owed twenty taels of silver to others, so he dragged it out and didn't pay it back, preferring to let his niece starve to death, but he himself was well fed and dressed. It is not strange for this kind of person to do things that seek money and kill people.

Everyone is not stupid, this IOU is written in black and white, and Kou's words are reversed, and he always changes his words, who is telling the truth, you can see it at a glance.

Hao Cheng is one of the few talents in the village, if he starves to death like this, Li Zheng is not easy to explain. But no one wants to raise Hao Cheng for nothing, anyway, the Kou family owes such a large amount of money, so he should be allowed to pay it back!

Li Zheng coughed twice: "Hao family, don't say frustrating words, it just so happens that everyone is here, so I helped you become the master." It is a matter of course to repay debts, and today the Kou family will pay back the money. If you don't have any money with you, I'll send someone to help you get it back to town. ”

Kou Shi wanted to say something, but Li Zheng said stiffly: "If you say that you don't have money, then go to the yamen and sue someone for murder, anyway, there are all human and material evidence, we are all Hao Cheng's human witnesses!" ”

Go to the yamen, and the county officials are more than twenty taels of silver, Kou Shi gritted a mouthful of silver teeth: "No need, I have enough money!" ”

He took out a tael of silver, pulled out the hairpin on his head, and said, "Take this to the pawnshop, and I will pay back the money today." ”

The hairpin was used as a silver ticket of twenty taels, and Kou put away the broken silver, tore up the IOU, and took the servant woman and left Xinghua Village in a gloomy manner.

When the people in the village left, Hao Cheng pinched the twenty taels of silver tickets and breathed a sigh of relief, one tael of silver is enough for ordinary people in this village to live for a month, but Hao Cheng doesn't know how to farm, and he has to add a lot of things after selling, and now the family is so poor that there is no other source of income, and twenty taels of silver is enough for her to last alone for half a year.