The village chief glared at Uncle Cheng, tired of these troublesome in-laws.
First, they tricked his son into marrying their son and then besmirched the village chief's reputation.
(Here village chief son means his mer son who was married to the son of Cheng family who is a man as i mentioned before here mer can be married to both man or woman).
It's fortunate that his son-in-law was wise enough to sever ties with this leeching family, or my son might be... The village chief sighed, feeling increasingly irritated as he mulled over it, shaking his head to regain composure.
Noticing the murmurs among the villagers, Uncle Cheng's face turned red with fury as he shouted at Jiho, "Jiho, you've gone too far!"
"How am I going too far, uncle? Don't I even have the right to claim my money? Should I just live quietly and die hungry?" Hearing his words, Jiho looked at him with a wronged expression, her eyes turning red as if tears were about to fall any minute.
The villagers could not remain calm any longer; someone from the village shouted, "Village chief, Jiho is right! Don't we have the right to claim our own money when the Cheng family has enough to eat and play, but they cannot even pay their debts?"
"Yes, yes, village chief, you have to do justice!" More and more villagers started to shout.
"ENOUGH!" The village chief's shout made the loud shouts cease. He looked at the villagers and then at Uncle Cheng, his voice now dripping with hatred as he addressed him.
"Uncle Cheng, Jiho is right. You have three days to pay back her debt, or your land and houses will be stripped from you," he said with a commanding tone, looking squarely at Uncle Cheng.
"But, village chief," Uncle Cheng tried to refute, but the village chief raised his hand, signaling for him to stop.
"Uncle Cheng, it seems like you didn't hear what I said. Return the money," the village chief reiterated sternly, then turned to Jiho with the same annoyed expression.
Jiho, seeing him turn, quickly bowed her head. "Thank you, village chief, for your help."
"It's okay; it's my duty," the village chief replied haughtily, giving her a sidelong glance before turning around to leave.
"Hmph, at least this girl knows when to bow," he smiled arrogantly as he walked away.
After the village chief left, everyone else also started to disperse slowly. Uncle Cheng's face turned paler and soon red with rage; he suddenly turned to look at Jiho.
"You unfilial bitch, how dare you demand money from me?" he shouted as he rushed toward Jiho, raising his hand to hit her, but soon his hand was grabbed midway.
"You... let me go!" Uncle Cheng shouted as he looked at Jiho, who was grabbing his hand more tightly than before.
Jiho released his hand with a yank, causing Uncle Cheng to fall to the ground. "Am I your daughter, granddaughter, or related to you by blood? Hah, you old pig, it seems like you forgot my surname is Li, not Cheng. Be happy that I am tired today, or it might not end with only this,", she said as she patted his cheeks and turned around to leave.
"Oh, and it would be good if you repaid me in three days or..." Jiho smiled lazily as she turned her head.seeing Jiho like this uncle Cheng felt a shudder running through his spin he cannot believe how fast this girl changes faces.
Coming out of Cheng's house, Jiho was walking while humming a song, unaware that she was being followed.
The person in the shadows saw Jiho, and a smirk formed on his face. "Found you."
Suddenly, Jiho stopped and turned around, shouting, "Who's there? Come out while I'm still being polite, or..." Her face darkened, but there was no response. She ran towards the direction of the sound until she reached the spot.
'Looks like I made a mistake... Hm,' Jiho thought, bending down to touch the ground with her fingers. As she rubbed the dirt between her fingers, a smile formed on her face.
After reaching home, Jiho looked at the sweet potato placed in the kitchen and went down on her knees.
"No, not sweet potato again," she clenched her fist and shouted towards the sky.
"Cheng family, I will not let you off."
After releasing her anger, she stood up and walked toward the main room to clean. Due to unbearable suffering from childhood, Jiho developed a habit of cleanliness. Living with so much dust was unbearable for her.
As soon as Jiho opened the door, she saw a dusty but organized room. From looking at it, you could tell how much care someone had put into it. Memories of the original owner and her mother appeared in front of her like a projector.
Plop
"What?" Jiho felt her cheek wet when she touched her face, a little shocked.
'Why am I crying? No, it's not me... is it you?' As Jiho asked these questions, tears fell more rapidly, giving her the answer. 'Oh, so it's really you, huh.'
After a while, Jiho regained her composure and started to clean the room, carefully wiping the area without touching anything.
After her father passed away while giving birth to her, her mother took care of this room. From the vase to the curtains, everything was Daddy Li's favorite.
Outside, it's already been nineteen years since he died, and even people have forgotten about him, but this room still looks the same as before.
As Jiho was wiping the armoire, something heavy fell from above directly onto her head.
"Ugh, why is my life like this?" Jiho rubbed her head and then bent down to pick up the thing. As she picked it up, she saw a wooden box, which looked quite antique, totally different from the background. She opened the box.
"Ughhhh." As she tried to open the box that had been sealed for a long time, suddenly it opened, revealing something inside.
CLINK
"Huh," Jiho looked at the object that had fallen out. She picked it up, cleaned it with a cloth, and a key came to light.
"Is this a key? But what is it for?" Jiho looked at the key with confusion, rotating it and examining its handle. She noticed something unique about it.
"Is this what I think it is?" A smile formed on her face. She hurriedly put the key in her pocket, pushed the wooden stool from its place, and started digging.
"This."
Jiho: 'You old hag, think you can escape? Just don't come in my way or I...' Hehe, that poor thing still doesn't know what awaits him later.
Meanwhile, the village chief sneezed. "Looks like someone is talking behind my back; must be that Cheng bastard," he said, rubbing his nose.
(A/n: I hope you like it. Feel free to comment and let me know your opinions.)