Liu Qiaoer didn't quite understand. Since Geng disliked Zhang and her two daughters so much, why was she unwilling to give up
Liu Qiaoer rolled her eyes after hearing what her aunt said.
"Actually, it's not impossible to divorce." The aunt rolled her eyes at Liu Qiaoer. She still held a grudge against her for the last time she argued with her in the bun shop.
Liu Qiaoer raised her chin slightly and squinted her eyes: "What are the conditions?"
The eldest aunt and Geng looked at each other and snorted coldly: "Your mother married into the Liu family, but she didn't even give birth to a son. She also ate the Liu family's food for free for more than ten years. If you want to leave, you have to pay at least twenty taels."
Liu Qiaoer was just about to take out the silver when her aunt spoke again.
"Don't worry, I'm not done yet."
"You and Erniu will get married in the future, and she will have to prepare the dowry, at least twenty taels for each of you."
"In addition, the tribute to your grandmother and the compensation for delaying your father for so many years, a total of one hundred taels, if you can afford it, you can divorce. Otherwise, she will be buried in the Liu family's grave even if she dies."
Liu Qiaoer realized that Geng was trying to blackmail her and had no intention of releasing her.
Liu Qiaoer has enough for one hundred taels, but if she really gave it to these blood-sucking worms, it would be a real loss.
"One hundred taels... why don't you go and rob it."
Third Master Liu also felt that Geng was going too far, and glared at them angrily: "You can't earn a hundred taels in your lifetime, how can you ask Qiao'er to give you so much silver? Besides, shouldn't your whole family pay for the dowries of these two girls? Why are you putting all the money on Zhang's head?"
Even the neighbors couldn't stand it anymore: "When Qiao'er's mother came into our family, she had a dowry of ten taels of silver. You beat her and bullied her every day. Now Qiao'er has grown up and is willing to support her mother. It's good enough that she doesn't want your money. How can you still ask her for money?"
Geng was originally a shrew. She didn't dare to confront the old patriarch, so she took her anger out on her neighbors, put her hands on her hips, and cursed.
"If you are asked to take care of something, just mind your own business. Don't be afraid of getting beaten up for meddling in other people's business. Pah."
Liu Qiaoer knew that Geng was unreasonable, but she didn't expect her to be so unreasonable. She took out a twenty-liang silver note from her sleeve pocket.
"Here are twenty taels. My mother doesn't need to pay for my sister and I's dowry. As long as you agree to my mother's divorce, you don't have to worry about the three of us in the future."
When the eldest aunt's wife saw the amount of money on the banknote, her eyes lit up. Just as she was about to take it, Geng slapped her hand away.
"It's only twenty taels. It's not enough. I need one hundred taels. It's not easy to enter our Liu family, and it's even harder to leave. If you let your mother divorce you like this, how can the Liu family hold their heads up in the village in the future?"
Divorce is never a good thing. Geng actually didn't want to agree, she just wanted more money.
"Greed is insatiable, and the snake swallows the elephant." Liu Qiaoer slowly folded the banknote and stuffed it into her sleeve pocket, smiling contemptuously, "I'm afraid that this little money will not take more than twenty taels to send off the official, and they will sentence my mother to divorce."
There are two ways to divorce: one is with the consent of the husband's family, and the other is with the consent of the government.
What Liu Qiaoer said was right. If the woman reports the case to the government, she will need to pay a certain fee. After the government understands the truth of the matter, it will decide whether to divorce based on the woman's wishes.
To put it bluntly, it depends on whether the money is available.
In this dynasty, there were many women who were divorced, but it was difficult for divorced women to get married again. Reputation was also very important for women.
Especially after a divorce, a woman needs to return to her parents' home. If her parents' home support the divorce, then it will be easy. If they do not support it, then it is hard to say.
But Liu Qiaoer doesn't need Zhang's family to take care of her. On the surface, she is already engaged to Gu Mubai, so as long as her husband's family agrees that Liu Qiaoer can support Zhang, it's fine.
If Zhang had a son, as long as the son supported his mother's divorce, the government would be more likely to grant the divorce.
The reason why Liu Qiaoer still went to find Geng was simply because she was still engaged and unmarried.
Geng also seized on this point and refused to compromise: "Okay, then you should go to the government to get a divorce. Your mother has no son, so it depends on whether your future son-in-law is willing to raise another mother."
"Don't worry about it." Liu Qiaoer angrily flicked her sleeves and left.
Back at the bun shop, Zhang had already woken up. After a night of recovery, she was able to calm down. However, when she saw Liu Qiaoer's angry face, she knew that this trip was not going well.
"Qiao'er, forget it. I'll just be your co-wife. When you and Mr. Gu are married and your sister is married, I can divorce your father. I just don't know if my body can hold out until that day."
Liu Qiaoer checked Zhang's face and knew that she was too weak and had been lacking blood for years. If she was abused again, she would not live long.
Fortunately, there are plenty of modern medicines in Liu Qiaoer's space, and she can get better by slowly taking care of herself.
"Don't be afraid, Mom. As long as our family of three stay together, things will get better and better."
As she spoke, Liu Qiaoer gave Zhang five twenty-liang silver notes and some change for her to spend.
"Look, I can make money, and Mr. Gu listens to me. You should be relieved now."
Zhang was stunned when she saw Liu Qiaoer giving her so much silver at once. She didn't take it but instead stuffed it into Liu Qiaoer's hands.
"Don't show off your wealth. Don't let your grandma know. Otherwise, you won't be able to keep a penny."
The shadow that Geng had cast on Zhang was too great. Even if Liu Qiaoer proved herself to be strong, Zhang was still worried.
"I'd better go back and clean up the house so that your father and that woman can get married."
Liu Qiaoer was completely speechless: "Mom, their affairs have nothing to do with you. You don't have to go back. Even if grandma doesn't agree to your divorce, the government will definitely agree."
Seeing that Liu Qiaoer was more persistent than her, Zhang sighed and returned to the kang.
"Okay, I'll stay here for two days."
Liu Erzhu from the Liu family was happily accompanying them and preparing things for the wedding.
After returning home, even though he knew that Zhang wanted to divorce him, he didn't care.
"It doesn't matter, mother. After A-Lian and I got married, we lived in the county. Her house is empty, and it's convenient for me to work in the city."
Liu Erzhu didn't discuss it with Geng at all, but informed her.
Geng was so angry that her face darkened. She muttered and cursed, "Little devil, you seduce the man now. I wonder if you will come back to this family after the child is born."
My aunt-in-law had heard it a long time ago and came over to offer advice.
"Mother, we can't let Erzhu live in the county town. We can't give all the 600 yuan he earns every month to that little devil. If it doesn't work, we can repair his yard. No matter what, we have to let the new bride come home."
Only when she came back could she control her. She couldn't do the housework alone. In the past, even if Zhang was in poor health, she could always do the laundry and cooking.
If Liu Erzhu's family were allowed to live in the county town, what difference would that make from dividing the family? Apart from anything else, Liu Erzhu would still have to pay money to his family every month.
You have to know that Liu Erzhu brings home 500 coins every month, plus Liu Qiaoer's 500 coins, which is enough to support the Liu family.
Geng knew very well what her aunt was planning, but there was nothing she could do. Her aunt's family had two boys, the older one was old enough to get married, and the younger one was also due to get married.
Getting married requires money. The eldest brother's family farms at home, and it is difficult to save money. If not the second brother's family, who else can I rely on