No Money to Spare
At this moment, Cynthia Wu walked over and quickly examined Mrs. Thompson. She found that while Mrs. Thompson looked frightening, her injuries were actually minor. Lucky had been careful with his kick and hadn't used his full strength.
"Mrs. Thompson, your injury isn't serious. Why are you pretending to be so hurt? I think medicine and consultation fees together should be about two hundred copper coins," Cynthia Wu said.
Cynthia Wu was Dr. Wu's daughter. She had learned some medical skills from her father, and the village women often came to her with ailments they couldn't show to a male doctor. So everyone trusted her medical expertise.
"Did you hear that? Your injury is only worth two hundred coins." Lily Evans shot Mrs. Thompson a look of disgust. This woman wanted to fake an injury and extort money from her—dream on!
Mrs. Thompson was stunned. She'd thought that since she'd taken a kick, she could at least extort five taels of silver. How come it was only two hundred copper coins?
"You think two hundred coins can fool me? Don't take me for a fool! Lily Evans, you and Cynthia Wu are in cahoots—she's definitely siding with you!" Mrs. Thompson protested relentlessly. She finally had a chance to squeeze some silver out of them, and she wasn't about to let it slip away.
"Who's fooling you? This is just a minor injury. It's not even as bad as when your husband beats you!" Cynthia Wu retorted.
The villagers around them burst into laughter.
If you asked who got beaten up the most in this village, it was definitely Mrs. Thompson. Her face was never without bruises.
And if you asked who was the toughest in the village, that was Mrs. Thompson too. After being beaten half to death one night, she'd be up at dawn fetching water and cooking, as if nothing had happened.
Mrs. Thompson’s face burned with embarrassment as she scrambled to her feet.
Lily Evans pulled out a small piece of silver worth about one tael and waved it in front of Mrs. Thompson’s eyes.
Mrs. Thompson stared greedily at the silver, secretly delighted. She thought Lily Evans was all talk and would have to pay up eventually!
One tael of silver was no small sum—a windfall!
Lily Evans eyed Mrs. Thompson’s greedy expression with disdain. With a twist of her wrist, she put the silver back in her pocket and said, “You want silver? Fine. First, pay for the emotional damage you caused my mother by cursing her—ten copper coins per insult.”
Mrs. Thompson was dumbfounded. “So what if I cursed your mother? I did it, so what! Why should I pay for that?”
“Then if my husband hits you, he can just hit you and not pay either.” Lily Evans stepped forward, staring Mrs. Thompson down. “Trying to extort me? You must not know who I am! Mrs. Thompson, I’m warning you—don’t mess with my mother again! Next time, it won’t just be a kick!”
Lily Evans was tough, and with her strong husband Lucky backing her up, Mrs. Thompson knew she wouldn’t get any advantage today.
Feeling aggrieved after getting kicked for nothing, Mrs. Thompson vented her anger by kicking over Lily Evans’s chicken basin as she left. Afraid Lucky would chase her, she could only shout, “So what if I kicked your chicken!”
The crowd burst into laughter as they watched Mrs. Thompson’s fleeing figure. “Look at her—she only dares to take it out on the chickens! Hahaha!”
Evans Family
May Parker sat on the bed twisting her handkerchief, fuming to Helen Parker, “Mom, I’m not going to that wretch Lily Evans’s house for a banquet! It’s not like I’ve never eaten before—why should I go to that wretch’s place? If you want to go, go ahead, but I’m not!”
Helen Parker’s eyebrows shot up, her voice fierce: “You silly girl, can’t you see what’s at stake? Your brother’s betrothal, his studies, his future—all of it costs money! Now that Lily Evans is rich, we can’t let our golden goose slip away! Anyway, your grandparents said we all have to go to the Evans Family today. May Parker, put on your best dress and don’t embarrass us!”