Chapter 6: 006. Labor Contract

[Labor Contract] Su Liang pulled the axe from the ground and looked at Ba Zihu coldly, "I'm not." Ba Zihu didn't expect the seemingly weak Su Liang to dare resist. He raised his hand, stopping his followers who were about to rush over, and asked mockingly, "You're not what?" "I'm not Su Daming's sister," Su Liang said. Ba Zihu had brought six tall and sturdy men with him, all carrying clubs, making them difficult to handle. Besides, these people were after Su Daming, and Su Liang wanted to see them hurt each other even more. "She is! She's my sister! My real sister! Master Hu Er, take her away to pay off the debt!" Su Daming quickly realized. Ba Zihu walked over, stomped heavily on the stone slab on Su Daming's back, and snorted coldly, "It was agreed that you would repay the debt today, but I heard you went gambling again? You have money to gamble but not to pay me back? Go ask around, what happened to those who dared to owe me money in this area!" Su Daming's face went pale, "I sent someone to send a message yesterday, pleading for Master Hu Er to give us an extension of three days..." The extension of three days coincided with Su Daqiang's original plan: three days after Su Liang got married, they would go to Ning Jing to claim someone. The person had already been killed by them, and their real goal was extortion, just wanting money. It seemed that the high-interest loan Su Daming owed had also become a death sentence for the Original Master. The Original Master's death was not caused by Su Xiaodie's accident but a premeditated murder! "You really have the nerve to ask me to extend your deadline, but you don't even come to do it in person, I have to come and claim the debt myself!" Ba Zihu kicked Su Daming in the head and stomped on him several times. Su Daming couldn't dodge, gritting his teeth in pain, "Just use Su Liang to pay off the debt! She's good-looking, she must be worth a lot of money!" Ba Zihu squinted his eyes and looked at Su Liang again, "You say you're not Su Daming's sister, so why are you in his house? Did you do all this to them?" "I'm just a relative of this family, I used to live here temporarily, and I got married yesterday. To be exact, I was sold by them yesterday, and I came back today to get some things." Su Liang's expression was indifferent. "Since you're the girl of this family, if Su Daming can't pay back the money, you have to! I don't care whether you're married or not!" Ba Zihu waved his hand, and two men rushed towards Su Liang. In the blink of an eye, they were hit to the ground by the back of the axe, clutching their knees and sweating coldly. Ba Zihu's expression changed rapidly, "She's quite fierce! Go, catch her!" However, just as Ba Zihu's words fell, and his men were about to rush over, he suddenly fell to the ground, convulsing uncontrollably. "Master Hu is having a seizure again!" ... The scene instantly became chaotic, and Ba Zihu's men all surrounded him, at a loss for what to do. "Step aside." The calm voice of the girl sounded from behind, and the men instinctively stepped aside. By the time they realized what had happened, Su Liang was already beside Ba Zihu. "What are you doing?" The men lunged at Su Liang again. "Bang!" "Ah!" "Hiss!" "Who?" Just as the men were about to catch Su Liang, their heads were struck hard by a round object, and they all turned around to see someone else up in the tree. Half of the men rushed towards the pear tree, and the other half continued to chase Su Liang, but they were soon attacked by pears as well. Su Liang took the finest and longest embroidery needle from the Original Master's sewing basket and pierced it into Ba Zihu's Renzhong acupoint with a focused gaze! "What did you do to Master Hu?" "Get lost!" "Master Hu!" ... Su Liang withdrew the needle and took the axe with her as she stepped out of the encirclement. Seeing the situation, the immobile Su Daqiang's family's eyes regained their spirit. "That bitch killed Master Hu Er!" "You little bitch, are you crazy?" "You just wait to die!" Su Liang found it all too noisy. After Su Liang had pierced Ba Zihu with a needle, his men no longer cared about Ning Jing and surrounded him instead. "What's with the mourning? Get up!" Ba Zihu pushed down two of his followers, quickly stood up from the ground, and stared at Su Liang for a moment before clasping his hands in obeisance, "I didn't expect Miss to be so skillful in hiding your talents. You definitely can't be Su Daming's sister, I apologize for my earlier offense." Not only were Ba Zihu's subordinates dumbstruck, but the faces of Su Daqiang's family also looked as if they had been struck by lightning. "My grandfather was a doctor, so I've learned a bit." Su Liang said indifferently. As Ba Zihu's epilepsy had plagued him for many years, he had never recovered so quickly before. Upon hearing this, he became even more polite to Su Liang, "Miss, if you can cure my illness, we can negotiate on the consultation fee." "She... How could she heal diseases?" Su Xiaodie, who had always been jealous of Su Liang's looks and figure, was on the verge of madness, "She's a scam!" Ba Zihu frowned, "Keep that fat woman's stinky mouth shut!" Immediately, a follower went over, took off his dirty socks, and stuffed them into Su Xiaodie's mouth. Someone then reminded Ba Zihu that there was someone in the tree. It was only then that Ba Zihu noticed Ning Jing and was immediately dumbstruck. With such looks and temperament, she could not be an ordinary person. Ning Jing leaped down from the tree, carrying a large bag of pears, and landed steadily on the ground. Ba Zihu's eyes narrowed, she knew Martial Arts! A follower who was a relative of the Su family and knew some insider information went over to Ba Zihu's and whispered a few words. "So, it looks like it's Young Master Ning and Madame Ning, my apologies!" Ba Zihu said, pulling at the corner of his mouth. "How much money does Su Daming owe you?" Su Liang asked. A follower took out a stack of IOUs with red handprints and said loudly, "The principal plus interest amounts to a total of 500 taels!" Su Daming's face stiffened, "I only borrowed 50 taels!" "I made the interest calculation very clear from the start. If you didn't understand, that's because you're stupid." Ba Zihu snorted, "Your house deeds and land deeds are mortgaged in my hands, worth at most 50 taels. But if Madame Ning can cure my illness, I can give you a few more days' grace." "Su Liang! Sister!" Su Daming seemed to have caught a lifeline, "You must have a way! Your grandfather was a famous doctor in the capital city! Help cure Master Hu Er! Our whole family will treat you like an ancestor!" Ba Zihu looked at Su Liang with even more respect. Su Liang shook her head, "I'm not related to this family. I have irreconcilable grievances with them." Ba Zihu immediately understood, "This family is fat and wealthy, but Madame Ning is so thin, must have suffered a lot! Besides, it's only right to pay back the debts! Let's see, how much more does Su Daming owe me after handing over the house and land deeds?" "Master Hu Er, there is still a debt of 450 taels!" "How many people in this household?" Ba Zihu asked. "Counting the old and the young, there are six in total!" Ba Zihu sneered, "Today, I'm in a good mood. I'll consider them all as strong laborers. They will be sent to the mine to work for one tael of silver a year. How many years can they pay off the debt?" "One year, six taels, it will take them seventy-five years! But they won't live that long!" "I'll show some kindness and take a loss. Bring the labor contracts, have them all press their fingerprints!" Upon hearing the words "labor contract," Su Daqiang's entire family went mad, wailing and begging Su Liang to save them. Su Liang didn't know what a labor contract was, but it seemed to involve being sent to the mine to do hard labor. Seeing the terrified and pitiful looks of Su Daqiang's family, it must be something horrifying. However, the more horrifying and miserable it was, the more suitable it was for them. Ba Zihu had been subtly observing Su Liang the whole time, and seeing that she did not oppose the idea, but rather seemed quite satisfied, he urged his followers to hurry things up. By the time Su Daqiang's family got up from the ground, Ba Zihu was holding the six labor contracts with their bloody fingerprints on them. "Liang'er!" Xun's shrill voice called out as she lunged towards Su Liang. Surprised, Su Liang took two steps back to dodge her. Seeing this, Ba Zihu gestured to his subordinates to assault Xun, signaling his favor towards Su Liang. Ning Jing came over with pears, glanced at Su Liang's forehead briefly, and asked succinctly, "Shall we go?" Su Liang nodded, went into the kitchen, and filled a bamboo basket with all the remaining food and vegetables in Su Daqiang's house. "I'm not free today. We'll talk about your illness another day." Su Liang looked at Ba Zihu. She didn't want to offend such a local figure as it would be troublesome. As for whether she would treat Ba Zihu's illness in the future, it would depend on his "sincerity". Ba Zihu didn't dare to stop her, and as he watched Ning Jing and Su Liang leave, he promised to visit and discuss another day. "Beat them! Beat them hard!" Behind them, Ba Zihu's deliberately raised voice merged with the wailing screams of Su Daqiang's family. Seeing an elderly neighbor poking her head out, Su Liang stopped and spontaneously explained, "I was married yesterday, but I forgot to take my dowry with me. I didn't even have a change of clothes, so I had to come back to get them. I didn't expect that Su Daming had owed a high-interest loan of 500 taels. The house and land deeds weren't enough to pay off the debt, and the whole family signed labor contracts and is about to be taken away." "Labor contract?" The old woman's eyes nearly popped out, showing the terrifying nature of labor. "It's really pitiful." Su Liang sighed, thinking to herself: Su Daqiang's family working as slaves in the mine must be a beautiful sight to behold… I want to watch…