"Nainai, don't misunderstand, I did it on purpose," Chen Lishu said coldly, almost making Old Mrs. Chen dizzy.
"You little beast, is that how you talk to your nainai? What are you so proud of if you didn't buy it?"
Chen Lishu said, infuriatingly, "It's raining, and beating children is just to pass the time."
"I can't go on living!"
Old Mrs. Chen dared not fight Chen Lishu. She turned and rammed into Chen Mantun's arms: "I've lived this long, only to be bullied by a dead brat. Second son, you gave birth to a good daughter, you unfilial son. I raised you with my own hands, and you just watch her anger me? Rather than let her anger me to death, I might as well just smash my head against something!"
Chen Mantun stumbled when Old Mrs. Chen pushed him, but he didn't dare to dodge, for fear of her getting hurt. He could only turn his head and look at Chen Lishu with a troubled expression: "Lishu, why don't you just buy the pig?"
San Mao Er and San Mao weren't much different in price. Rather than let Old Mrs. Chen continue to make a scene, it was better to spend a little more money to settle this quickly: "How about I pay the two cents difference?"
At this point, he was still thinking of compromising. Chen Lishu was upset and went forward to pull Chen Mantun over.
Old Mrs. Chen was forcefully pushing Chen Mantun. When he suddenly moved away, she lost her balance and stumbled forward several steps.
"Dad, how did you promise me when we came?" Chen Lishu asked coldly. Chen Mantun was immediately speechless.
Seeing that Chen Mantun remained silent, Chen Lishu turned to Old Mrs. Chen: "Nainai, if you want to die, go hit a wall. Hitting my dad won't do any good."
She said sarcastically, and then added kindly, "Hitting a wall might not work either. There's a well over by the rice mill, why don't you try it there?"
Hearing her unfilial words, Old Mrs. Chen almost couldn't catch her breath: "Second son, look at the unfilial daughter you raised. This little imp is forcing me to die!"
Facing the unreasonable Chen Lishu, Old Mrs. Chen felt as if her chest was stuffed with cotton. She couldn't exhale this breath no matter what.
"Lishu, how are you talking to your nainai?" Seeing Old Mrs. Chen's flushed face, Chen Mantun was really afraid that she would get angry and suffer something. He couldn't help but frown and scold.
Seeing that Old Mrs. Chen's tantrum was useless, Zhang Chunhua's mind turned. She stepped forward, speaking with the attitude of an elder considering a junior: "Lishu, it's not that I'm saying this as your aunt, but your nainai is so old. To put it bluntly, you're a girl who's already married, and in the future..."
"If you know it's unpleasant, then don't say it," Chen Lishu said, turning her head and glancing impatiently at Zhang Chunhua.
"Second brother, who is in charge in your family?" Chen Mancang, who had been sitting without moving, looked at Chen Mantun with a stern expression.
Hearing Chen Mancang's words, Chen Lishu sneered. Of their entire family, Chen Mancang was the one she despised the most. He always wanted to squeeze value out of Chen Mantun, yet he acted superior and pretentious.
"Naturally, my dad is in charge," Chen Lishu said, seeing Chen Mancang about to speak. "But I have the final say."
"You're a married girl, what right do you have to speak here!"
Chen Baozhu said, standing up: "Chen Lishu, I'm telling you, I've tolerated you for a long time! Since you've spoken, you have to buy this pig today, whether you want to or not."
Seeing him strutting towards Chen Lishu with his neck out, Chen Mantun immediately shielded Chen Lishu behind him and said sternly, "Baozhu, what are you doing? I'm still here!"
Chen Mancang saw Chen Mantun's attitude and knew it was going to be bad. He quickly called out to stop Chen Baozhu: "Baozhu, don't be foolish. Your second uncle is here. Can he just watch our pig not get sold?"
"Mantun, what I said earlier about the second-grade price was just between us. If Lishu thinks it's not acceptable, then it will be according to her words, and it will be the third-grade price from the purchasing station."
Chen Mancang looked at Chen Lishu and asked, "Lishu, do you think this is okay?"
If this niece of his really backed out, it would be a whole pig. His family couldn't afford such a loss. So, as soon as he saw the situation was not right, he immediately retracted his words.
"I've changed my mind now."
Chen Lishu glanced at everyone present, and then her gaze finally fell back on Chen Mancang: "The price of this pig is what it is. Since the purchasing station considers it outside the grade, it means it's only worth an outside-grade price. Two mao eight. If you want to sell it, I'll pay now."
Anyway, Old Mrs. Chen was blocking the entrance, and it would be difficult to leave with this situation. So, she decided to force the price down as a lesson for them.
Chen Mancang and Zhang Chunhua's faces turned green when they heard her words.
"Chen Lishu, don't go too far!" Chen Baozhu was furious: "You're clearly taking advantage of the situation!"
Chen Lishu smiled: "You saw right through me."
"I—" Old Mrs. Chen was about to scold, clutching her chest, but Chen Lishu's sharp gaze choked her words back.
"Nainai, don't act like you're dying. The money is in my pocket. If I don't pay, you can't do anything. Make up your mind, sell it or not."
"Second brother, look at this..." Chen Mancang turned his head, his gaze pleadingly looking at Chen Mantun, pinning his hopes on him.
Chen Lishu also turned her head to look at Chen Mantun.
Chen Mantun had initially wanted to say a few words for them, but when he thought about their actions since they entered, he felt disheartened. Especially when Chen Baozhu actually intended to lay hands on Chen Lishu, which was something he absolutely could not tolerate.
Chen Mancang looked at Chen Mantun, who was avoiding his gaze, and felt disappointed and a little panicked.
If even he didn't help, then he definitely wouldn't be able to sell this pig. No matter how unwilling he was, he could only nod in agreement.
Chen Baozhu had borrowed a scale. The pig weighed a total of 156 jin. Chen Lishu readily paid forty-three yuan and seven jiao, and together with Chen Mantun, they drove the pig away.
"This damnable family, not a single one is good. Especially that little beast, she's full of mischief. Going back to her maiden home to get cheap stuff, she's going to hell!"
Seeing the pig she had painstakingly raised exchanged for such a small amount of money, Old Mrs. Chen immediately pounded her chest and cursed.
"Dad, we can't let this go." Looking at the backs of Chen Lishu and Chen Mantun leaving, Chen Baozhu said with sinister eyes.
"Baozhu, do you have any good ideas?" Zhang Chunhua asked curiously. She now hated that brat Chen Lishu to death.
"Mom, don't you remember? The Gu family's pigs weren't sold to the purchasing station last year."
Chen Baozhu said hatefully, "This time, I must make that ungrateful slut Chen Lishu repay it with interest."
...
"Third sister-in-law, where did you get the pig?" Gu Xingye asked curiously, seeing Chen Lishu driving the pig into the courtyard.
"I bought it from my uncle's house," Chen Lishu said, opening the pigpen door and driving the lame pig into it.
"Fourth brother, didn't you want to slaughter a pig when you got married? I bought this one cheap, so we can slaughter this one, and sell the other one to Liu Yong."
"Third sister-in-law, that's a good idea."
The Gu family's pig was large, and half a pig would be enough for the wedding banquet. Now that they had this smaller one, the family's original pig could be sold whole.
With the pig Chen Lishu bought, it exactly met the two pigs Liu Yong needed. The next day, Chen Lishu and Gu Xingye took the collected grain and returned to the town.