Meng Yao remained calm, and under the astonished gazes of everyone, she slowly opened her mouth, "If you agree, then the matter of Xiu'er recovering her health won't be related to your Song Family anymore."
Just now, the doctor roughly calculated that Song Xiu'er's health was severely depleted; recovering wouldn't be a matter of a day or two.
If she could get better in two or three years, we would have to thank the heavens for their mercy.
Besides taking herbal medicine to recuperate, her diet would also need to be fine-tuned.
The annual cost, conservatively estimated, would be at least ten taels of silver.
What's the concept of ten taels of silver? An entire family's annual savings might not even reach ten taels of silver.
Even if it took only two years to recover, it would still cost twenty taels.
This is why the Song Family was so agitated. If it were three or two taels, perhaps they might grit their teeth and agree. But twenty or thirty taels, the collective thought of the Song Family was: Does Song Xiu'er, a worthless girl, deserve it?
The village chief felt that severing ties was a bit too much; no matter how wrong the parents might be, they are still parents, aren't they? Just as he was thinking of persuading Meng Yao, he heard Mrs. Li speak firmly.
"Mistress Meng, in front of everyone, you better mean what you say! We'll sever the ties with Xiu'er, and everything is cleared out?"
Mrs. Li's tone even carried a hint of excitement.
"Yes, whether it's you instigating Xiu'er to bring her food back to her maternal home or kicking her to cause a miscarriage, everything will be canceled. With the village chief and everyone as witnesses, you don't have to worry about me not keeping my word. From now on, Xiu'er will have nothing to do with your Song Family. Don't even think about exploiting Xiu'er again, nor will you get anything from her."
Mrs. Li's eyes darted around, she agreed first and then could deal with the consequences later! That pesky girl is her daughter; she knows how to handle her. This time, she's being so resolute, she must be venting her anger because she lost the child. Once some time passes and the anger subsides, won't she have to listen to whatever she says?
"Alright," Mrs. Li readily agreed.
The village chief shook his head secretly; Song Shizhu and his wife are truly both foolish and malicious. People like them, even if you advise them, they'd blame you for having ulterior motives.
Thus, the village chief didn't plan to say much; as long as the Song Family and the Zhao Family agreed, he was just a witness.
"Words alone have no proof, village chief, we need to draft a document," Meng Yao said.
The village chief nodded, "Mrs. Li, do you agree with what Mistress Meng said?"
"We're all people from the same village, and there are so many witnesses; why draft it? It's a waste of ink and paper!" Mrs. Li said.
"Even close siblings should have a clear account!" Meng Yao did not relent, having seen Mrs. Li's shamelessness. She couldn't trust her to keep her word. Moreover, Song Xiu'er appeared very determined now, but after all, they are her biological parents. She worried that if there were no binding agreement, Mrs. Li might come pestering her, and she wouldn't be able to handle it. That would be troublesome!
"Let's write the separation document according to what Mistress Meng said," the village chief thought it over and said. The main reason being Song Shizhu and his wife's actions were truly heartbreaking, thus she chose to stand with the Zhao Family, and besides, the child Xiu'er is quite pitiful.
The village chief sent the doctor to his home to fetch writing materials, and under the witness of everyone, he drafted the document for severing relations, in three copies: one for the Song Family, one for the Zhao Family, and one for himself as the witness.
"Village chief, will the Government recognize this kind of document?" Meng Yao asked again.
If it's not recognized, it would indeed be a future hassle.
"It needs to be filed with the Government Office," the village chief said.
"So do we go ourselves, or will you go?" Meng Yao asked again.
"Coincidentally, I have to make a trip to the Government Office tomorrow to establish the household registration for Chen Qing's newlywed wife, so I'll take it along to file," the village chief pondered.
"Then we'll trouble you. Since the matter is resolved, I'll take Xiu'er back now; she's weak and needs to rest," Meng Yao supported Song Xiu'er, greeted the crowd, and started to walk out.
The ancestral hall was cold; even someone as healthy as her was finding it hard to endure, let alone Song Xiu'er, who looked even paler.
"Oh right, doctor, please trouble you to come to my house to prescribe medicine for Xiu'er." Meng Yao stopped in her tracks and turned to say to the doctor.
"Ah, alright, I'll come right away," the doctor responded.
"Pah, who are you trying to impress? Xiu'er, you fool! Mistress Meng is clearly putting on a show for everyone; how could she bear to spend all that silver on your health recovery? Don't forget, your younger brother is still studying! Where could the Zhao Family find silver to spend on you? She's just coaxing you to obediently go back and be her workhorse! Just wait, you'll regret it!" Mrs. Li shouted angrily.
"Whether the Zhao Family has silver to help sister-in-law recover health is none of Aunt Song's concern. Mother, this is what the teacher rewarded me for taking third place in this month's exam." The young man in a blue long robe handed a purse to Meng Yao, "Don't worry, I will study harder in the future and strive to earn rewards each time."
It's the original body's second son, Zhao Dahe.
Tall and graceful, with a countenance like jade, a truly handsome appearance.
No matter what the original body's character was, at least they had good children; none of their four kids were ugly.
Meng Yao was puzzled; in the original body's memory, Zhao Dahe looked down on his elder brother and sister-in-law; he usually didn't greet them, yet this time, his words were full of intentions to defend Song Xiu'er.
"Dahe, how come you're back at this time?" Meng Yao asked in surprise.
Zhao Dahe was the original body's favorite son, so Meng Yao had to be happy.
"The teacher is going out today and tomorrow, so he gave us a holiday. I missed mother and came back," Zhao Dahe said.
After he finished, he greeted the village chief and all the villagers.
Faced with Zhao Dahe, who read books and read well, both the village chief and the villagers were very polite to him.
Especially the village chief, who had also studied for a few years when he was younger and knew the benefits of studying, thus he valued scholarly individuals more.
"Since Dahe is back, persuade your mother well; don't let this matter upset her," the village chief said amiably.
"Don't worry, village chief uncle, I will." Zhao Dahe responded while coldly sweeping his eyes over the Song Family's three members, "Today, the village chief uncle has already handled the matter, so I won't say much more. If anyone bullies my mother in the future again, you uncles, aunts, don't blame me for disregarding neighborly ties."
People clamored, assuring they wouldn't, and the village chief also said he would ensure the villagers would interact harmoniously henceforth.
Zhao Dahe slightly nodded, turning to Meng Yao, "Mother, let's go back."
Tsk tsk, don't say, this kid is quite imposing.
Meng Yao turned around and kicked Zhao Dajiang, "What are you dawdling for? Don't you know to carry Xiu'er back?"
Meng Yao wasn't afraid of being exposed because, usually, the original body treated the eldest son with shouting and beating, which was common.
The only ones to get tender treatment from the original body were Zhao Dahe and Zhao Xiaohua.
Once they were a distance from the ancestral hall, Zhao Dahe snatched the purse from Meng Yao's hand, "Mother, how could you hold on to it, unless you plan to snatch your son's silver?"
Meng Yao: ...