Butcher Fulang’s Noodle Shop - Chapter 45
Aunt Liu hesitated before saying, “Your brother is still so young, so it might not be him who did it. Maybe a thief stole it when we were all out!”
But Liu Yu, determined, interjected, “Mom, don’t deceive yourself. How would a thief know where you hide things? No signs of rummaging, no forced entry – just the box missing. Mom, Dad is gone, and my brother has resorted to begging and stealing, picking up all sorts of bad habits. If you shield him now, can you shield him forever?”
Shen Fusheng’s advice echoed in her mind – to view the situation from her mother’s perspective. Liu Yu wished Gao Yaozu would vanish, but family ties held her back, a testament to her gentle nature molded by years of control from the Gao family.
“If he steals from us, the best we can do is either we lose our home or we seek help from our cousin,” Liu Yu suggested.
Aunt Liu shook her head, “No, your cousin is married, he can’t always assist us. It disrupts his family peace.”
Liu Yu acknowledged, “Then begging becomes our only option. When we can’t support Grandma and my brother, and he steals from others, will people be as forgiving as we are? Remember, there is a law; they can cut off the thief’s hands and feet!”
Aunt Liu, horrified, stammered, “Chopping off hands and feet, going to jail – irreversible!”
Liu Yu persisted, “Mother, picture him naked, with just a stick, begging on the street. It’s the inevitable outcome!”
Shaken, Aunt Liu, reluctantly, headed towards the grandmother and grandson who sought temporary refuge at Chenghuang Temple.
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In the rundown Chenghuang Temple, complaints filled the air between the grandmother and grandson. The old lady Gao reproached her grandson for lack of filial piety.
Gao Yaozu, having borrowed from the Liu family, only offered steamed buns after days, cursing his grandmother for giving away the house deed and money to a swindler.
As Aunt Liu approached, Gao Yaozu teased, “Mom, are you and sisters here to visit me?”
Ignoring his antics, Liu Yu sternly demanded, “Return the house deed and the thirty taels you stole!”
Gao Yaozu feigned innocence, “Don’t accuse me without proof. Who saw me steal anything?”
Liu Lu chimed in, “Brother, if you sell the house deed, we’ll end up living in Chenghuang Temple. It’s filthy and smelly. Without repayment, we can’t afford ingredients for hot-dried noodles to support you!”
Gao Yaozu stayed silent, but the old lady of the Gao family retorted, “What’s wrong with living in the Chenghuang Temple? If your grandma can, why can’t you?”
Liu Yu didn’t want to hear the old lady’s vulgar words anymore, so she grabbed a wooden stick and struck Gao Yaozu on the head and face.
The old lady of the Gao family was so frightened that she exclaimed, “Are you rebelling, you little white-eyed wolf?”
Liu Yu now ate and drank well. Each day she did heavy tasks like carrying buckets, kneading dough, and pressing noodles require great strength.
She spared no effort in beating Gao Yaozu, who had been starving for several months and was emaciated, until he ran around in the temple.
Aunt Liu pursed her lips but didn’t intervene.
“I… Can’t I give it back to you?” Gao Yaozu, unable to bear the pain, took out the box hidden behind the statue of the Chenghuang and returned it pitifully to Liu Yu.
In this confrontation, Liu Yu completely shattered his courage, and he could no longer resist.
Liu Yu returned the box to Aunt Liu and reminded her mother, “Mom, you said it might not be my brother who stole it. Look, isn’t this a case of the upper beam not being straight and the lower beam being crooked?”
The old lady of the Gao family, furious, retorted, “You, with a dark heart, insult your elders like this? Aren’t you afraid your father will come to settle the score in the middle of the night?”
Liu Yu, though thin and small, had endured years of bullying at home. A burning fire in her heart erupted as she spoke to the old lady of the Gao family, she yelled, “Gao Mingda divorced to my mother a long time ago. He kicked out both my sisters and my mother. We dare not recognize the Gao family’s ancestors!”
Gao Yaozu followed Gao Mingda since childhood, only learning to indulge in eating, drinking, and mischief. Neither Gao Mingda nor him were good people; both had corrupt hearts and dark motives.
The old lady of the Gao family rushed to protect her grandson: “Is taking your own mother’s things considered stealing?”
Liu Yu exclaimed, “Your son Gao Mingda sold all the houses. He even coaxed money from you and spent it all in less than a month! How much can my house be sold for? When we left home, Gao Yaozu didn’t recognize my mother. Even if he did, she’s from Zaozi Lane, and the other half of the house belongs to my cousin. If his family takes it to court, watch how many years Gao Yaozu will spend in jail!”
Gao Yaozu drooped his head and confessed, “I paid them all back…”
Aunt Liu opened the box, screamed, and almost fainted.
Liu Yu instinctively knew that inside the box was a yellowed deed of sale disguised as a house deed, given by Shen Fusheng. According to him, it was during a desperate time when he intended to sell himself as a slave for his parents and younger brothers’ sake.
However, his mother intervened just before he signed the deed.
Neither the old lady of the Gao family nor Gao Yaozu could read, making it easy to deceive them.
Next were two ingots of fake silver, painted on the outside but made of copper and tin inside. Aunt He and Shen Fusheng, new to business, sold the goods in the streets, eventually making some money but falling victim to deception.
Discovering the fake silver, Aunt He was devastated, almost throwing herself into the river. Aunt Liu could read and write, opening the deed of sale, her heart trembled, and she even bit the money, experiencing a near-death moment.
Liu Yu, showing no remorse, accused Gao Yaozu directly, “You’re heartless. Did you sell the house deed? Where’s the money? If you don’t confess, I’ll take this to the government and sue you!”
Gao Yaozu was speechless, and when he inspected the box, he found the items were fake.
Aunt Liu, anxious, beat him and scolded, “I told you to study hard, but you learned nothing. What have you gained from being with your own father?”
Liu Yu sneered, suggesting Gao Yaozu exchanged the items to avoid returning them.
Gao Yaozu, panicking, hugged Aunt Liu, who had gotten up, admitting, “Mom, this is what I took from your house. I didn’t make a mistake!”
Aunt Liu, disheartened, didn’t acknowledge Gao Yaozu and walked out as if soulless.
Despite feeling sorry for her mother, Liu Yu didn’t relent. With one hand holding her sister and the other helping her mother, she slowly returned home.
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When Song Shi’an and Xu Zhongyue returned, Xu Zhongyue, concerned for his wife’s well-being, insisted on letting him rest at home first. Bringing big and small bags to Aunt Liu’s house, when he sensed the tense atmosphere.
Aunt Liu was uneasy when taking the things. When Xu Zhongyue mentioned that Song Shi’an was pregnant, less than three months along, and unable to visit.
Aunt Liu finally smiled, “That’s good, that’s good. I’ve been looking forward to this day since you two got married. I’ll buy some anti-fetal and nourishing medicinal materials tomorrow…”
Suddenly, she paused, her face clouded with concern about her own financial situation.
Xu Zhongyue reassured, “Auntie, don’t worry. I’ve bought plenty of nourishing medicinal materials in Fucheng. He can use them until giving birth. If you have time, could you visit him? He’s young, and there’s no one to guide him. He’s a bit scared.”
Aunt Liu nodded repeatedly, hesitated to speak, and finally chose silence, personally seeing him off.
Before leaving, Xu Zhongyue noticed Liu Yu’s uncertain gaze and slowed down. Soon, the young girl caught up with a basket of eggs, explaining, “My mother, being forgetful, saved some eggs for my cousin and brother-in-law to eat. They aren’t much, but my mother has been saving them for a long time. Please don’t mind, brother-in-law.”
Xu Zhongyue nodded, took the basket, and prepared to leave. Yet, Liu Yu chased after him again.
Finally revealing the underlying issue, she said, “My mother has been living in fear lately, worrying that someone might present the house deed and force us out. I want to return the house deed, but I don’t know how…”
“So?” Xu Zhongyue asked lightly.
Liu Yu said with a smile, “It would be great if my brother-in-law could help me. I know you have a lot of connections. For example, if you find someone selling my house, you can quietly redeem it, and my mother can owe you some money. It would ease her mind and make her less burdened, so she can help my brother less.”
Unexpectedly, Xu Zhongyue shook his head directly and said, “You are so smart; you can naturally think of appropriate ways.”
He paused and reminded, “You might think your mother is too gentle, but it is precisely because of her gentleness and kindness that she still tried her best to protect you, your sister, and your cousin, even when she was treated harshly by her husband’s family. Smartness sometimes means a double-edged sword, combined with tolerance, it becomes great wisdom. If it is accompanied by endless resentment, it will not be good for you.”
Liu Yu turned away and gritted her teeth, saying, “Brother-in-law, you don’t know what I’ve been through!”