Proofread by Peter Gong

As he is driven into a corner, Tao Dafu simply casts aside his dignity. “It is impossible for me to afford so much money! All in all, I have nothing but my single life!” However, Jin Weiwei is not angry but agrees with his idea. She says, “Ok, since you have no money, it acceptable if you pay with your life.”

Everyone bursts into an uproar. In anger, Tao Dafu shouts, “You bastard! You do everything against me on purpose! You gonna to kill me, right?” “I don’t mean that! Your life means nothing to me!” Jin Weiwei glares at Tao Dafu in disdain, and continues, “Since you can’t afford so much money at once, you can work for your debt. Come and work in my meat shop until you pay off the debt.”

“You mean I sell myself as a slave in Jin’s family?” Tao Dafu says angrily, gnashing his teeth. “To be a slave for you? No way! You bastard!” He feels angrier when looking at Tao Xiaoqing who stands aside silently. Suddenly, he pushes away Tao Xiaoqing and says, “It is Tao Xiaoqing who has to pay for the debt! It’s his own fault! It’s none of my business!”

Blinking her eyes, Jin Weiwei says, “It makes no difference! Tao Xiaoqing is your nephew, isn’t he? But, verbal statements are no guarantee. In order to make it clear, it’s better for us to put it in writing with the witness of the head of our village. Thus, no one can deny it.” After several hours’ negotiation and bargain, Tao Dafu and Jin Weiwei reach an agreement that Tao Dafu agrees to use the ten years’ salary of Tao Xiaoqing to pay for the debt. After that, both of them put their thumb prints on that contract for affirmation. Jin Weiwei puts it in her arms carefully and says, “Since everything is clear, I will take Xiaoqing away right now.”

There is no disagreement. Jin Weiwei adds, “From now on, Tao Xiaoqing is one of my employees. If he is hungry, I give him food; if he is sick, I give him medicine; if he is dead, I give him a coffin. All in all, his affairs are none of the business of Family Tao. Remember that?” Tao Dafu says “Yes” without any hesitation. At that moment, he wishes to kick Tao Xiaoqing, the curse of his family, out of his life immediately. Jin Weiwei nods her head with satisfaction. She expresses her thank to the head of the village and swaggers home with Tao Xiaoqing and Little Rich. Until Jin Weiwei has been out of sight, Tao Dafu, lost in thought for a while, shouts suddenly, “There’s something wrong!” Everyone is confused. He beats his breast and cried, “I am cheated by her!”

“What’s going on?” A villager asks him. “Don’t you know the truth? I guess it’s simply a trick! They just make a scene in front of me!” Says Tao Dafu, gritting his teeth. “It is in this morning that Jin Weiwei agreed to let Tao Xiaoqing go home. After that, she ordered Tao Xiaoqing to fetch something in her home immediately. But how come that Xiaoqing happened to smash nothing but the bottle containing that magic pill? Who can prove that the pill has magic power to heal everything? The whole thing that we know is all from Jin Weiwei’s mouth. Who can prove that she told the truth, because no one saw the magic pill for sure. But Tao Xiaoqing told me that it is him who smashed the bottle of the magic pill. At that time Tao Xiaoqing was so sure that there was no room for any question. The whole thing must be a plot!” Hearing that, everyone realizes immediately that the whole thing has been planned to help Tao Xiqoing get rid of the exploitation of Tao Dafu and work in Jin’s meat-shop. “What a dishonest girl!” Tao Dafu curses for thousands of times. However, he has already signed the agreement in black and white, he has nothing to do with that but to accept the fact.

“What makes you feel so happy?” asks Zhen, the wife of the head of the village who is pouring wine for her husband. The old man wears a grin on his face after returning home this morning and it seems that he has had a lot of fun. Sipping the wine, the head of the village says, “You may not believe that a girl played a trick on me this morning!”

Hearing that, Zhen smiles and says, “Are you insane? How can you be so happy to be cheated by others!” “Not just me, but everyone there believes her story. Ten or so people there were tricked into being the witnesses to the whole thing.” Eating a peanut, the head of the village continues, “that girl is not simple…” Zhen is getting more and more interested in that; therefore, she is pestering her husband, urging him to tell her the whole story. He tells her the whole story in detail again.

Knowing the whole thing, Zhen sips her tongue with a disdainful expression on her face. “That girl in Jin’s family is too sophisticated. What kind of man has the ability to control a girl like her?” “Nonsense!” The head of the village glares at her. “Sophisticated?! She is wise and smart! A girl knows how to reach her goal by her wisdom! She is not a simple girl… Unfortunately, she has already got married. If not, she is quite suitable for our son Shiying…”

“You Dotard! How do you think she is suitable for our Shiying?” Wearing an unhappy look, Zhen snatches the wine glass from the hand of her husband and says, “Our son, Shiying, is a great person! He is an scholar, OK? Every teacher in the country speaks highly of his wisdom. In the future, he must be a high-ranking official, honoring our whole family. How can he get married with such an uncultivated girl!” “See! I’m not asking…I am just saying that a girl who is knowledgeable, good-looking, and smart can be regarded as the possible future wife of our son. How can you be so angry about that?” says the head of the village, grabbing the wine glass and burping. However, he looks out of the gate, wearing a regretful expression.

After that, Tao Xiaoqing works harder. Jin Weiwei simply takes Tao Xaiqoing to her home and empties the storeroom near the sheepfold where Tao Xiaoqing can live after two days of sleeping on the floor in the meat-shop. “Xiaoqing, I made two suits for you. Come here. Do you like them?” Jin Weiwei takes two suits to Xiaoqing’s room. He comes running when he hears the voice of Jin Weiwei and watches the new suits eagerly with disbelief. “Boss, these two suits are made for me?” Since Tao Xiaoqing lived in his uncle’s home, he has never got a new suit. His clothes are always mended for so many times that it is almost impossible to recognize their original appearances. Jin Weiwei laughs and says, “Of course, the two suits are for you. Take them.” After he rubs his hands on his clothes hard, Tao Xiaoqing takes over the two suits, and says gratefully, “Thank you very much, my boss. Thank you!”