Chapter 11: Scheme (2)_1

Cai Wei looked at Lady Du, secretly blinked her eyes and spoke crisply, "Mother, didn't you just say you want to take the wild boar to sell at the restaurant in town? If we cut off a piece, how can we sell it?"

Lady Du reacted and immediately chimed in, "Yes, indeed. Look at my memory, I completely forgot."

Aunt Zhou also squeezed over and loudly said, "Scholar's family, I heard that Wei'er fainted from hunger yesterday. It's pitiful that with so many relatives, there's not a single one willing to help! If you hadn't sold your hair at the market, Wei'er might not be here now. Today, we finally caught this wild boar and we must sell it at a good price, not to let the children and adults suffer any longer."

Just as Aunt Zhou finished speaking, the villagers who were joking about Mu Zhongli earlier had a change in their expressions, from initial laughter to glaring contempt.

As the uncle of these children, he wouldn't lend a hand to his starving niece, and even let his sister-in-law go to the market to sell her hair. Now that the family had caught a wild boar, he was eager to request a share of it. This shameless behavior was utterly despicable

Mu Zhongli, as sharp as a monkey, could surely understand the words that Aunt Zhou used to criticize him, especially when he saw those glaring, contemptuous looks, making his back shiver with cold.

Despite his greed, he still cared about his reputation. His two sons had both reached the age of negotiation for marriage affairs. If he were accused of treating his sister-in-law and niece harshly, it would be difficult to handle his sons' marital affairs.

However, to give up such a large wild boar was impossible.

Having whirlwinded some ideas in his mind, Mu Zhongli spoke with a pleasant smile, "My sister's idea is splendid, sell the pig to lighten the household burden. I'll go home now and prepare my horse carriage, to make the trip to town for you."

Lady Du couldn't help but understand the cunning mind of her husband's elder brother. She hastily said, "We mustn't trouble you, brother. I already spoke with Jiujin, he'll use his cow cart to take us there. Wei'er and I also need to buy some things."

Mu Zhongli's smile froze a little, if they didn't allow him to go, how could the money from selling the pig go his way? In his urgency, he put on a serious face and sternly said, "My sister, your words are unreasonable. As the saying goes, girls and boys should not sit together after the seventh age. Wei'er is already thirteen years old, it is not appropriate for her to ride with an outside man. If others see it, they will say that our Mu family is lacking in discipline. Furthermore, Jiujin's cow cart is slow, without a shed. When can it reach the town? I'm afraid that it will freeze you two to death before you get there. Our home's horse carriage runs fast and has a shed on top. It can get to the town in just an hour."

Mu Zhongli pulled all kinds of persuasive words to stress the benefits of taking the horse carriage. It was as if without his horse carriage, people simply could not reach town.

Seeing that he was determined to go along, even if they refused, he would find other excuses. It seemed that they would not be able to get rid of him, so Cai Wei said with a smile, "In that case, we will have to trouble Uncle."

Once Cai Wei gave in, Mu Zhongli's heart settled. Since his niece had acquiesced, he felt that Lady Du would not dare to contradict him further. Anyway, no matter what, he was fixed on getting the money from selling the pig.

"That's more like it, we are all family here. We have our own horse carriage, why use someone else's cow cart? If others see this, they might think that I, as her uncle, don't take care of my niece. Girl, wait for me. Uncle will go home, prepare the horse carriage and take you to the market." With joy blooming on his face, Mu Zhongli scampered home to prepare the horse cart.

Watching Mu Zhongli's departing back, Aunt Zhou slapped her thigh and said with exasperation, "Ah, Wei'er. I don't mean to blame you, but you've fallen into the shameless trap of your uncle. You think he's so kind to personally rush to take you to the market? I think he's like the weasel visiting the hen, harboring ill-intentions, scheming to get the money from the pig sale. You two must be careful not to end up with all your efforts wasted. Don't just get happy for nothing!"

Lady Du also chided her with slight reproach, "Wei'er, how could you make such a big decision without discussing it with your mother? Don't you know very well what kind of person your uncle is, after all these years?"

Cai Wei laughed and said, "Mother, Aunt Zhou, if we don't agree, would uncle refrain from going?"

Lady Du fell silent. The whole village knew what kind of person the uncle was. A wild goose flying past his house would not escape plucking, even more so for this fat wild boar.

"So, we can only let him go!"

Cai Wei's smile became profound!

"But you two need not worry, since I dared to let him come along, I will have a way to deal with him. This time, he must be taught a lesson, otherwise he will dare to plot against us in the future."