Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 201 Miss Shen, can you lend me 42 silver coins?

"At least I don't have to worry every day about being sold out if Li Changgen loses again."

Zheng Sanniang still looked hesitant, frightened and confused.

Shen Yu said slowly, "Sister Zheng, if you don't leave this family, you will be sold today, and your youngest son will be sold tomorrow."

"No, no, no, that's absolutely impossible. Xiao Zhuzi is his own flesh and blood. How could he do such a thing?"

Mrs. Liu glanced at Shen Yu, smiled knowingly, and fanned the flames: "What's wrong with that?"

"Have you forgotten that last year, Wei Laizi's family, who lives three lanes away from our house, lost money in gambling and sold their little daughter to a brothel?"

"The girl was only seven or eight years old at the time. His wife watched her daughter being sold but could not stop it. She was so heartbroken that she hanged herself. The house was soon sold by Wei Laizi. The whole family was ruined."

"I heard that there are some who are into men, and they only buy good-looking boys of six or seven years old."

"Your little Zhuzi is quite good-looking."

Li and Jiang were a little embarrassed, thinking that Mrs. Liu was too outspoken. How could she dare to say anything in front of Shen Yu, a young unmarried girl?

Shen Yu didn't react much. He sat there leisurely with a calm expression, watching Zheng Sanniang's reaction.

When Zheng Sanniang heard this, she shuddered all over, as if Li Changgen was right in front of her, and suddenly shouted, "This won't do. It absolutely won't do."

"My little Zhuzi, how could he be sold to a place like that? Even if I die, I will protect him."

Shen Yu asked back with disbelief: "Can you really mean that?"

Zheng Sanniang nodded with a determined look in her eyes: "Xiao Zhuzi is my lifeblood. For him, I am willing to do anything."

Shen Yu saw that the situation was about right, so he snorted coldly and said sarcastically, "Are you willing to do anything? What about the divorce?"

"You are not afraid of death, but you don't want to divorce? We don't believe you if you say that."

"If you don't divorce, your fate will be just like what Sister Liu said, or even worse."

Zheng Sanniang said with difficulty: "Then...then I will divorce him!"

"But I want Xiao Zhuzi to leave with me, but my husband's family won't allow that."

Shen Yu encouraged him, "How do you know if you don't try? What does Li Changgen lack the most right now? It's money!"

"The gambling house has been chasing him for gambling debts these days, and he is in a hurry. As long as you give him some money, I think he will agree to any conditions."

Zheng Sanniang lowered her head in fear: "I don't have any money left. Even if I did, I wouldn't dare to ask him for a divorce. He would beat me to death."

Mrs. Liu looked at Zheng Sanniang's weak appearance and said sadly, "Sanniang, how did you become like this now? If it weren't for the fact that you are my sister, I wouldn't care about your affairs."

"If you really want to divorce him, be tough. I'll go with you to talk to him."

Zheng Sanniang shook her head repeatedly: "Sister, I can't let you down."

"Your mother-in-law is right. The two families have been neighbors for so many years, and they will meet again in the future. If you go, I'm afraid your mother-in-law will make things difficult for you."

Mrs. Liu was so angry that she sat down on the chair: "This is not possible, that is not possible, you don't dare to go by yourself, and you are willing to go if I accompany you."

"What exactly do you want? Do you still want to wait for Li Changgen to come back?"

Zheng Sanniang's face suddenly turned red and she was so anxious that she couldn't speak.

Shen Yu originally wanted to mention Xiao Zhuzi again, asking Zheng Sanniang to muster up courage for the sake of the child.

Unexpectedly, Li suddenly stood up and said, "I'll go with you to talk to him."

Shen Yu was furious: "Oh my god, Zheng Sanniang herself hasn't figured it out, why are we outsiders getting involved?"

The clever Mrs. Liu immediately took advantage of the situation and pulled Zheng Sanniang to thank Li.

Shen Yu called out anxiously: "Mom, you can't go."

Li said angrily, "What is there to be afraid of? Can Li Changgen eat me? When we go tomorrow, ask Zhou Dalang to come with us."

Shen Yu had no words to say, "Mom, are you just trying to make the world a mess? Do you want all of us to accompany Zheng Sanniang to fight against a gambler?"

However, Li was still full of passion and was eager to roll up her sleeves to help Zheng Sanniang fight.

Shen Yu waved her hand and pressed Li down on the chair: "Mom, this is not something that can be accomplished with more people. We need to discuss it first before we can confront Li Changgen."

"It's no big deal who goes to talk to Li Changgen, but Sister Zheng, since you want to divorce him, you must give him some benefits."

"For a person who has lost a lot of money and is in debt, the most important thing in his eyes is money."

"With money, he will agree to anything. But if there is no money, he will definitely hold on to you. At least there is someone around, and he can use it to pay off gambling debts."

As soon as Shen Yu said this, Zheng Sanniang's face turned even paler.

"Do you still have any money?" Shen Yu made the point clear and asked directly.

Zheng Sanniang said timidly, "When Xiaozhuzi was one month old, my mother gave him a silver lock. It was a big silver lock, and it must be worth one or two taels of silver."

Shen Yu frowned slightly: "What can one tael of silver do?"

"Didn't Li Changgen say that he would use you as collateral for twenty taels of silver? Then you must have at least twenty taels before you can make any demands to him."

Zheng Sanniang murmured in despair: "What should I do? My dowry was stolen by Li Changgen. It was only because this lock was specially given to Xiaobao by mother and I kept it separately that it was not taken away."

Mrs. Liu hesitated for a moment and took off a silver bracelet from her hand: "Don't think that I sell some fruits at the stall every day, but I also earn money through hard work."

"My husband collects the bills for the fruit stall, and I don't have much money. If I add up my hidden pocket money and this bracelet, it's probably only five taels of silver."

"My dowry cannot be moved. My mother-in-law will notice if it is moved."

Mrs. Liu's round face turned slightly red, and she explained in a low voice uncomfortably.

Shen Yu knew that lending money to Zheng Sanniang would basically be a waste of money and would never come back.

It is impossible to expect her to pay back the money in a short period of time. If Zheng Sanniang remains as weak as she is now, she may never be able to pay back the money.

Thinking about the two sums of money he had to repay, Shen Yu, who was burdened with huge debts, was not too willing to pay out the relief money.

She could only say with embarrassment: "I bought my shop with borrowed money, as you all know. It looks good on the outside, but in fact, there are a lot of debts to pay."

Although Li wanted to borrow it, she thought that what Shen Yu said was true, so she opened her mouth and then closed it again.

Zheng Sanniang suddenly raised her head and said, "Miss Shen, can you lend me another fourteen taels of silver?"