The wicked mother-in-law doesn't try to whitewash herself; she only abuses her awful children.

Chapter 537 Who Will Pay Off the Debt?

Apart from Gu Youtian and Gu Ruinian, the whole family looked at Grandpa Gu with expectant expressions.

Houses and land are the foundation of life in Qinghewan; they cannot be compromised.

What will the family eat, drink, and stay in?

Grandpa Gu looked up but didn't say what to use as collateral. Instead, he said to Madam Wei, "Fengnian's wife, why don't you take Xiaoxue to cook?"

Wei's heart skipped a beat; could it be that she guessed right?

“Master, Xiaoxue is old enough to listen to this too.” Madam Wei remained seated and pulled Xiaoxue, who was about to get up, to speak.

Grandpa Gu had always valued this granddaughter-in-law, and when he heard Madam Wei speak, he let Gu Xiaoxue stay.

Oh well, she'll find out eventually anyway.

Grandpa Gu said, "The Xu family has taken a liking to Xiaoxue and wants to marry her off to Xu Dabao. If we agree, we can forget about the five hundred taels of silver, and our two families can treat each other as relatives from now on."

As soon as Grandpa Gu finished speaking, the room became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Gu Xiaoxue opened her mouth; the Xu family wanted her to pay off their debt.

She understood what her aunt meant; it was indeed a proposal to marry Xu Dabao to pay off a debt.

She couldn't help but look at Gu Ruinian, and seeing his calm expression, she felt slightly confused.

"No way," Jia refused outright.

Jia raised her head and looked at Gu Xiaoxue.

Her daughter was exceptionally beautiful, gentle, and a master at managing household affairs. Back then, many wealthy families in the south came to her door wanting to arrange a marriage, but she refused them all.

She had her own plans. Xiaoxue's marriage couldn't be arranged so casually; she had to carefully select someone to maximize their value.

She hoped that after Gu Ruinian passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, Gu Xiaoxue's status would rise accordingly, and she could marry into a better family, so that her husband's family could also provide assistance to Gu Ruinian.

Gu Ruinian failed the imperial examination this year, and she hasn't mentioned Xiaoxue's marriage for the past six months, intending to wait until next year.

If we let Gu Xiaoxue marry that beast Xu Dabao now, it's like letting snowflakes fall into a cesspool.

Besides, her youngest son's leg is crippled, and she's hoping Gu Xiaoxue will marry into a good family to help Gu Ruinian.

Gu Xiaoxue looked at Jia Shi with a touched expression.

Her mother still cares about her.

Grandpa Gu sighed and said, "In the end, it's because the eldest daughter-in-law is too vengeful. If she were willing to lend five hundred taels of silver, she wouldn't have had to use Xiaoxue as collateral."

Although he valued his grandson, Gu Xiaoxue had grown up by his side and was good-looking and had a good temperament. If he had a choice, he would not have agreed to Xu Jin's request.

Grandpa Gu complained that Tong Huaqiong wouldn't lend them money to get through this difficult time.

With tears streaming down her face, Old Mrs. Gu chimed in, "That vicious woman, she couldn't wait for Xu Jin to beat Ruinian to death."

Madam Jia choked up as she said, “You’ve all seen what kind of families are proposing marriage to Xiaoxue in the south. Even the county magistrate’s wife wants to marry Xiaoxue to her nephew who is within five degrees of kinship. What kind of family is the Xu family? Marrying into their family would bring us no good at all. Ruinian’s leg won’t heal anytime soon, and we don’t even know if he can make it to next year’s provincial examination. Xiaoxue is our whole family’s hope now.”

According to Jia's idea, since the Xu family wants to pay off their debts, it would be better to use Gu Honglian to pay off the debts.

Gu Honglian is not beautiful and has a bad temper, so she won't be able to marry into a good family. She has been in Qinghewan for so long and no one has come to propose marriage to her. If she waits any longer, she will become an old maid. It's just right for her to marry Xu Dabao.

But she couldn't say this, for she was afraid that if she did, Old Madam Gu would kill her. Gu Youtian, who had remained silent, agreed with Jia's idea and said, "Xiaoxue can't marry Xu Dabao; she should be saved to marry into a better family."

Previously, Gu Youtian had always ignored Gu Xiaoxue. This time, when he heard Grandpa Gu say that the Xu family wanted to use Gu Xiaoxue to pay off their debts, this daughter truly came into his view for the first time.

He was secretly surprised when he looked at his daughter; the more he looked at her, the more outstanding she became.

Given the family's current situation, it's wishful thinking for her to marry a wealthy man's son as his principal wife. Marrying a wealthy man as a concubine or a rich old widower as his second wife would be more reliable than hoping for her youngest son to pass the imperial examinations.

Why didn't he think of this before? He even pinned all his hopes on Ruinian.

Xu Zaohua's marriage to the Zheng family allowed Xu Jin to hold his head high in the village.

Of course, his daughter Xiaoxue is kind-hearted and knows right from wrong, and would never bring shame to her family like Xu Zaohua did.

Gu Xiaoxue raised her head, her gaze sweeping over Jia Shi and Gu Youtian, a moment of disappointment in her eyes.

She thought her parents were protecting her, but their words ultimately disappointed her.

She's not stupid just because she's usually silent; her parents are just using her as a stepping stone.

The Gu couple's objections silenced the old man.

As the saying goes, marriage is arranged by parents and matchmakers. Even if Grandpa Gu forcefully insists that Gu Xiaoxue marry Xu Dabao to pay off a debt, they cannot privately betroth Gu Taohua to the Xu family if the second son and his wife disagree.

If things escalate to the point of going to court, the marriage certificate will be void.

But Ruinian is a grandson, the continuation of the Gu family line, while Xiaoxue is just a granddaughter. Of course, protecting Ruinian is more important.

Therefore, he had to persuade his second son and his wife.

Old Master Gu spoke up: "Five hundred taels is no small sum. The eldest son's family refuses to lend the money, and neither Bai Shuang nor Da Han are willing to lend it. Can we borrow the money from Wu Ren, or from the second son's wife's family? They will need either the money or Xiao Xue in ten days."

Jia and Gu Youtian both looked worried.

Gu Xiaoxue suddenly raised her head, her hands clenched tightly.

"Grandpa, Xiaoxue can't go to the Xu family to pay off the debt. Otherwise, we'll lose face in the village." Gu Fengnian said nervously.

Isn't this selling my sister?
Gu Fengnian wouldn't do something like that.

Hearing Gu Fengnian say this, Madam Wei felt slightly relieved. She said, "If we send Xiaoxue to the Xu family, what's the difference between that and selling our daughter? We'll never be able to hold our heads up again."

Although many families do sell their daughters, in Qinghewan, they only do so when they are truly desperate to make ends meet.

Even if someone were to sell their daughter, it would be to find her a good family and receive a dowry, not to use her as collateral to pay off debts like this.

The Gu family was not in dire need of money; it would be too shameful for a large family of able-bodied men to sell their daughter because of debt.

Moreover, this debt was incurred by Gu Ruinian. What does it have to do with Feng Nian and her? Why should they be dragged down with her and lose face?

If things go wrong, Yao's family might never be able to hold their heads up at school again.

Wei's idea was to simply make Ruinian become a son and a beast of burden for the Xu family. Didn't the Xu family keep saying they lost a filial daughter? Then let Ruinian be filial. Why use his sister-in-law to pay off debts?

When Grandpa Gu heard Feng Nian's objection, he was initially very angry. However, when Madam Wei objected, he felt embarrassed to get angry and changed his tone to be more gentle, saying, "It's not that serious. We'll say it's to settle a debt privately, but we won't say it like that in public. Let me tell you the truth: Xu Dabao has taken a liking to Xiao Xue. If it weren't for Ruinian and Zao Hua's affair, the Xu family would have wanted to come to our house to propose marriage. The Xu family promised that as long as the two families were willing to get married, they would go through all the proper formalities to bring Xiao Xue into our family, giving us face in the eyes of outsiders."

"Putting aside the feud between the two families, it's a good match for Xiaoxue to marry Xu Dabao. Although the Xu family has declined, Xu Jin still owns a stone quarry in the mountains, and his savings still make him a wealthy household in our village. Xu Dabao has experience as a manager at Zheng's shop, and Xu Jin plans to help Xu Dabao set up a shop in town. In the future, Xiaoxue will be the shop owner's wife with Xu Dabao, and she won't have to stay at home to farm and serve her in-laws."