Chapter 100: The Zhou Woman's Tantrum

Xiao Ding despised, in his heart, people like this who relied on blood ties and the authority of their elders to brazenly demand whatever they pleased.

Last time, he had risked his life to kill a wolf and turn it in for money, only to have Granny Zhou take every last silver coin in the end. Yet Xiao Ding had not quarreled over it then.

He felt that, after all, she was an elder, and money was no more than an external thing. If she wanted it, then let her take it.

Although he had transmigrated into this world and had no real connection to these people, the Tians had treated him quite well. When he had first arrived in this world, it was thanks to the Tians that he had a place to stay. Though the family had always regarded him as a fool, Xiao Ding could not bear to tell them the truth. If they learned that the real fool had already been eaten by wolves, who knew how heartbroken they would be? Especially Mrs. Li, who was frail to begin with.

Besides, Xiao Ding had his own selfish reasons. Since he had come to this world, he would eventually need a lawful identity. If he told them he had crossed over from another world, would he not frighten them to death? The people of this era were deeply superstitious, and if word spread, those ignorant villagers might well treat him as a monster and drown him in a pig cage.

Since he had taken on the identity of Tian Fool, he would, for the time being, reveal nothing if it could be avoided.

Xiao Ding did not place much importance on wealth, but neither would he give it away to just anyone who asked. If Tian Eighth Flower, Mrs. Zhou, Mrs. Luo, or Mrs. Wu truly had difficulties and came to him in earnest for help, he would lend a hand without a word.

But now they were relying on their status as elders to shamelessly demand things of him. That, Xiao Ding would not agree to. Besides, since those waves of guests had left the house, there were only thirty or forty horses left on the back hill. How could there possibly be enough for them to divide up?

“Cough, cough! To answer you, Granny, Second Aunt, and both aunts, there really are three or four dozen horses on the back hill. However, they are not ours. They belong to a friend I recently made. I have no authority to distribute his horses...” Xiao Ding replied respectfully.

“Not yours? Is that true?” Tian Eighth Flower asked, disbelief written all over her face.

“If they are not yours, why are they at your place? You clearly just don’t want to give them up!” Hearing that the horses were not Xiao Ding’s, Mrs. Zhou felt as though the silver that had seemed already in her grasp had flown away again, and she grew instantly aggrieved. At once she began to throw a tantrum.

“Good heavens, why is my life so bitter? I worked myself to the bone raising my children and grandchildren, and yet the eldest branch has never shown the slightest filial respect to us old folks. Your household eats fine food every day, lives in such a grand brick-and-tile house, and has so many horses on the back hill, yet you can stand by and watch us old folks eat husks and swallow chaff, sleep in a broken earthen hut...” Mrs. Zhou shouted and wailed, crying and making a scene, though not a single tear could be seen. Her commotion drew everyone nearby to look over.

Xiao Ding stood there dumbstruck. He had never imagined that this grandmother would resort to such a spectacle so quickly. Her face-changing speed was beyond compare. Her acting, her lines, her momentum—they were fit to rival the finest award-winning actor in the world. From all her rambling, Xiao Ding could also tell that she did not merely want the horses; it seemed she had also set her sights on the newly built eight-room tiled house...

Human greed truly had no end.

What was he supposed to do? As a tall, sturdy man and a junior to them besides, he could hardly go and fight an old shrew, could he?

At that moment, Tian Dabo had already heard the uproar and came hopping over on one leg. Yes, he walked by bracing himself on two crutches and hopping forward on a single leg.

“Mother, what is the matter? Did Xiao Ding offend you?” Tian Dabo hurriedly asked with great respect when he reached Mrs. Zhou. Seeing Xiao Ding standing nearby, he assumed Xiao Ding had had a fit of foolishness and offended her, so he quickly called out to him, “Xiao Ding, come here at once and apologize to your grandmother...”

Seeing Tian Dabo arrive, Mrs. Zhou cried even more fiercely. “Why did I have to give birth to such an unfilial creature? I worked so hard to raise you, and now that your life is better and you have moved into a new house, you have forgotten this old woman. Why did I ever raise such an ungrateful wolf cub? Heaven, why do you not let me die...”

First crying, then making a scene, then threatening suicide—the three supreme arts of a shrew.

Hearing this, Tian Dabo hurriedly dropped to one knee, supported himself with one hand on his crutch, and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, “Your child is unfilial, your child is unfilial, it is all my fault. Please, Mother, calm your anger...”

Seeing this, Xiao Ding felt his heart grow cold. His cheap father was truly a dutiful son! At this rate, let alone asking for horses, if Mrs. Zhou demanded the eight-brick house, Tian Dabo would probably hand it over without the slightest hesitation.

By then, the surrounding villagers had more or less understood what was going on, and they began discussing it among themselves.

“Didn’t Tian Dabo’s family already split off from Old Tian the Money God?”

“Exactly. I heard Tian Dabo practically left with nothing back then. They called it a division of the family, but in truth Old Tian didn’t give him a thing...”

“Then what is Mrs. Zhou crying and making a fuss about today?”

“Isn’t it because she’s jealous of Tian Dabo’s eight-room new house...”

“Not only the house—they also want a share of the horses on the back hill...”

“Mrs. Zhou really has a thick skin. We all saw exactly how Tian Dabo’s family lived these past years. They’ve only just started to get better, and now she comes barging over. Why doesn’t she think about how they were driven out in the first place...”

“...”

The villagers murmured in all directions, and Xiao Ding found it quietly amusing. Yet Mrs. Zhou remained completely unfazed, continuing her crying and bullying as she had Tian Dabo firmly in her grasp.

Soon, the village head, He, also heard the commotion and came over. After asking the nearby villagers to explain the situation, he turned to the table where Tian the Money God was sitting with an unmoved expression and shouted, “I say, Tian the Money God, what exactly is going on? Why aren’t you controlling your wife? Today is the day Dabo moves into a new house. The feast hasn’t even begun, and you’ve already started making trouble. Aren’t you afraid of being laughed at? Hurry and talk her down. If there’s anything to discuss, do it afterward. Don’t make a fool of yourselves here!”

Village Head He was a little older than Tian the Money God and held considerable prestige in the village.

Seeing that Village Head He had spoken, and with so many neighbors watching, Tian the Money God could not continue pretending to be a turtle with its head tucked in. He had no choice but to rise and shout at Mrs. Zhou, “You damned woman, what are you making a scene for? Aren’t you ashamed? Dabo has always been filial since he was a child. If you want to live in the new house, how could he refuse you? You spend all day making a racket!”

Upon hearing this, the crowd immediately broke into a chorus of jeers. Tian the Money God’s words were plainly a scolding of Mrs. Zhou, but beneath the surface he was still angling to live in Tian Dabo’s new house.

Of course Village Head He heard the implication as well, and his old face darkened at once. He scolded, “And you still have the face to covet Dabo’s new house? Have you already forgotten how you drove Dabo’s family out of the home? The separation deed is still in my hands. It was written clearly in black and white from the very beginning: after the split, each family would live its own life, and from then on you would be two separate households. You gave Dabo nothing, and Dabo need not give you any support money in return. While I am here, don’t you even think about taking advantage of Dabo’s new house! This house was earned with this child Xiao Ding’s life. How could you let yourselves live in it for nothing!”

When Tian the Money God saw Village Head He exposing his old shortcomings in front of all the villagers, his face could not help but stiffen. He glared fiercely at Mrs. Zhou and said sharply, “You damned woman, you know nothing but making trouble all day. Do you still want to eat? If you don’t, then get back home now!”

Mrs. Zhou, seeing Village Head He angry and Tian the Money God repeatedly signaling her with his eyes, finally stopped crying and screaming, though she still muttered, “Their back hill still has plenty of horses...”

Just then, someone outside the crowd suddenly shouted, “Horse thief, come out at once! Who stole my horse? Come out now! Or I’ll cut off your head!”

Everyone was startled.

Thus it is said:

Greed opens the eyes and leaves desire insatiable;
Cleverness gone awry only makes matters worse.
To the greedy, even the sea seems too narrow;
With nothing selfish in the heart, heaven itself feels wide.