Unreasonable Arguments

After finishing her words, Mrs. Tang happily went back inside to count the copper coins she had just swindled, humming a little tune and showing off, completely ignoring the loud banging on the door outside.

“Bah, people are stupid, they’re willingly giving me money, so why blame me!” Mrs. Tang felt no guilt, only pride in her cleverness, thinking those few households were just too dumb.

Those foolish donkeys got cheated out of their money, but that’s not Mrs. Tang’s fault—it’s their own lack of brains!

Outside, those households were about to explode with anger. They had opposed Mrs. Tang and Su Li, thinking Mrs. Tang had a way to grow vegetables and that even without Su Li, they could manage alone. But who knew they’d get swindled like this?

Immediately, someone went to call the village chief to mediate. When the village chief heard about it, he cursed Mrs. Tang as a scoundrel.

The man was so anxious he was about to cry: “Village Chief, you must help us get justice!”

The village chief glared at the man with no patience: “And you still have the nerve to shout? Don’t you know what kind of person Mrs. Tang is? The moment trouble started at Ali’s house, she was busy kicking them while they were down, demanding compensation and causing a fuss. You all have no shame!”

The man was left speechless by the village chief’s scolding. He slapped his own face hard: “It’s all my fault for being foolish and believing Mrs. Tang. We shouldn’t have let money blind us. We opposed Ali’s family for a little profit, and now we’re getting what we deserve!”

Seeing these households were truly remorseful and sincere, the village chief’s anger eased a bit. He said, “Alright, admitting your mistake is enough. Go back to Ali’s family and offer a proper apology!”

“We definitely will, we’re ungrateful wolves, we’re scoundrels!” those households bowed repeatedly in apology.

The village chief nodded and shouted towards Mrs. Tang’s courtyard: “Mrs. Tang, not only did you trick everyone and break the agreement, but why did you also take their money? Hand over those five hundred copper coins!”

Mrs. Tang, hearing it was the village chief, stuck her head out and shouted: “Village Chief, what are you talking about? I don’t understand, what five hundred copper coins?”

The man, seeing Mrs. Tang deny everything, stomped angrily and cursed: “You shameless woman! You just cheated us out of five hundred copper coins, and now you won’t admit it?!”

Mrs. Tang clicked her tongue and said mockingly: “Come on, you all just don’t like me and want to shake me down! I never took five hundred copper coins from you. You’re all falsely accusing me. Village Chief, don’t believe them! If they say I took five hundred coins, where’s the evidence? The IOU? The contract? Let them show it. If they can, I admit defeat and will pay them five hundred coins. But if they can’t produce proof, don’t pin this mess on me! If you keep causing trouble, I’ll report you to the authorities!”

Those households listened, gritting their teeth in anger. They hadn’t thought about any IOUs before; Mrs. Tang was clearly twisting the facts to keep that five hundred copper coins!

The village chief was also in a dilemma. Although he knew Mrs. Tang had definitely cheated them, her sly argument was hard to refute. Even if they went to the magistrate, the official would require evidence to make a judgment.

IOUs and contracts are evidence, but unfortunately, these people had none! The copper coins had no names on them, and coins can’t testify—who could prove anything?

Mrs. Tang counted the money several times inside, happily jingling the coins in her hand, thinking to herself, "Five hundred copper coins for free, I’m so happy! As for the others, I don’t care at all!"

“I’m so furious! How dare they play tricks like this! They think hiding at home means I can’t do anything to them? Damn it, I’m going in right now to beat some sense into her!” The man, fuming, took a few steps back, ran up, jumped over the low wall of Mrs. Tang’s courtyard, rolled up his sleeves, and stormed inside, scowling: “Damn you, today I’m going to teach you a harsh lesson!”