PNB Chapter 2 gives Lolo a chance to vent her anger.
Chapter 2 gives Lolo a chance to vent her anger.
As Wen Zixun reached the door, his body stiffened, and he turned back to flash Wen Luozhi two rows of bright white teeth.
Xie He fed Wen Luozhi a bowl of water and then followed her out of the courtyard.
Outside the courtyard gate, the onlookers had already started gossiping, and as soon as Xie He came out, they began to chatter amongst themselves.
"Is Luo Luo, the daughter of the second branch of the Wen family, alright?"
The speaker was Aunt Wang from next door, and the anxiety on her face was genuine.
She lived closest to Wen Lao Er's family, and they often saw each other and greeted each other frequently.
Xie He's complexion improved somewhat, and she sighed, "My daughter is fine, just very weak and needs some nourishment."
"Pooh!"
Zhang Chunhua, standing in the crowd, spat out a mouthful of sunflower seed shells and said sarcastically, "She doesn't have the life of a young lady, but she has the illness."
Upon hearing her words, Wen Zixun's eyes widened, and he precisely pulled the person out from the large group of people.
Looking at the tall, burly young man in front of her, Zhang Chunhua stiffened her neck and stammered:
"What! You...you want to hit me?"
Snapped!Snapped!
Xie He pulled her son away and slapped her twice across the face.
"Zhang Chunhua! If you hadn't insulted my daughter today, would that perfectly healthy child have been so distraught?!"
Snapped!Snapped!
Before she could react, Xie He slapped her twice more across the face.
"what!"
Zhang Chunhua screamed, but Xie He, a country woman used to farm work, was quite strong.
Her face quickly swelled up, and Zhang Chunhua, her face full of resentment and her obese body gathering strength, lunged at Xie He.
Xie He dodged and fell straight onto the threshold.
When he opened his mouth to curse again, he spat out a mouthful of blood, which included a front tooth.
"Wow!" people around exclaimed.
Xie He sneered. This guy, fat as a pig, thinks he can hit her?! No way!
The eldest and second eldest son's wives, who were busy in the kitchen, also came out, standing on either side of Xie He, one holding a kitchen knife and the other holding a broom.
Behind him stood Wen Zixun, who looked strong and powerful.
Zhang Chunhua's face was covered in blood from her mouth, and her hand, pointing at the group of people, trembled uncontrollably.
When Lin Huaizhi arrived after hearing the news from the villagers, this was the scene he saw.
He pushed through the crowd, helped Zhang Chunhua up, and said to the Wen family in a trembling voice, "You! You've gone too far!"
"I want to report to the official!"
Xie He laughed in anger, crossed his arms and mocked, "Fine, Lin Xiaotongsheng, then report it to the authorities!"
"It's just the right time to make you pay back all the money you've swindled from my daughter over the years!"
Lin Huaizhi was taken aback, and a sense of panic began to run through him.
He had indeed taken a lot of money from that stupid woman over the years. If this were reported to the authorities, where would he, a scholar, put his face?
He took a deep breath and said calmly, "I already told Luo Zhi that I don't like her."
"It was her who wanted it..."
"I bother!"
Xie He went straight up to the mother and son, spat on them, pointed at Lin Huaizhi's nose, and cursed:
"Have you no shame? If you don't like my daughter, why did you take her money?!"
"I'm going to report this to the authorities! I'll make sure you give me my money back!"
Xie He became angrier and angrier as she spoke. Over the years, her family had been living hand to mouth, tightening their belts, while that silly girl in the family had been doing so well!
He took the money and started throwing it at this pretty boy, almost killing himself in the process!
Look at how shameless these two have become! One's fat and bloated, the other's beaming! She's determined to get revenge for her silly daughter today!
Before she could give any instructions, Wen Zixun rushed forward and punched Lin Huaizhi right in the eye.
"You dare lied to my sister! You dare lied to my sister!"
Wen Zixun kept punching him, and Lin Huaizhi was powerless to fight back.
"You...you brute!"
Lin Huaizhi clutched his head and fell to the ground, feeling excruciating pain! He frantically cried out to those around him for help: "Hurry and save me! I'm going to be the scholar of Shanquan Village!"
Hearing this, everyone looked at each other hesitantly and stepped forward to mediate: "Madam Xie! Tell your son to stop! He's a student, after all! It wouldn't be good if he got hurt."
"That's right, if word gets out that we beat up a scholar, who will dare to come here again?"
In the future, the village girls will still have to marry out, and the young men will still have to marry into the village! We can't afford to make a big fuss about this.
……
While everyone was still trying to persuade her, Xie He stood with her hands on her hips, showing no intention of letting anyone stop.
As soon as Village Chief Li arrived, he saw a chaotic fight. One of the two wives from the second branch of the Wen family was straddling Zhang Chunhua and pulling her hair, while the other was hitting her with a broom.
People around tried to break them up, but none of them could separate them!
Lin Huaizhi fared even worse, beaten black and blue by Wen Zixun while still begging for mercy.
"Stop it all!"
He roared and pounded his cane on the ground as if he wanted to punch a hole in it.
Upon hearing his voice, the Wen family members stopped what they were doing.
Zhang Chunhua scrambled to his side, hugged his leg, and cried with snot and tears streaming down her face:
"Waaah, Village Chief, you must do us orphans and widows!"
Village Chief Li impatiently pulled his leg out and took a few steps back.
Zhang Chunhua usually takes advantage of having a son who has passed the imperial examination to cause trouble for cats and grass, which has caused him, the village chief, a lot of trouble.
"Wen Lao Er's wife, you tell me what happened!"
Village Chief Li cleared his throat and turned his gaze to Xie He.
Xie He truthfully recounted how Wen Luozhi nearly died after hitting a wall earlier that day.
Village Chief Li took a couple of puffs of his pipe, then turned and glared at Zhang Chunhua: "What did you do? What did you say to that girl that drove her to suicide?!"
I knew Zhang Chunhua was no easy task. Everyone in the village knows how her family has managed all these years.
Wen Lao Er's youngest daughter would occasionally come to deliver money, and during the busy farming season, she would pester her family to help Zhang Chunhua with their work.
Even if the two children are not going to amount to anything, you can't push them to the brink!
"That's right, Zhang Chunhua! You can't live without a conscience."
"What exactly did you say to that girl that made her so heartbroken?"
"Be careful, or your family will suffer retribution and your son won't pass the imperial examination!"
……
Everyone chimed in with their own comments, but Zhang Chunhua, with her pig-like face, mumbled, "What can I say!"
"I always said that my Huaizhi would marry a girl from a wealthy family, not some peasant!"
Zhang Chunhua stood with her hands on her hips, blocking Lin Huaizhi's way, looking like she was in the right.
Village Chief Li snorted coldly, his expression displeased: "What? Have you grown too high and look down on us peasants?"
"This beating was well deserved! Don't you have any idea how much money this Wen family's daughter gave you or how much work she did for you?"
"You dare to sue the authorities? I'd like to see where you get the nerve!"
The village chief spoke angrily, and his words struck a chord with everyone. They were all just toiling in the fields, and no one was any more noble than anyone else.
Since the Lin family has no intention of marrying the young girl, they should make it clear sooner rather than later. They shouldn't try to act like a prostitute while pretending to be virtuous.
"If you ask me, you should just pay back the money you owe, or you'll end up in jail and unable to pass the imperial examinations!"
Aunt Wang added fuel to the fire, and Lin Huaizhi, hiding behind Zhang Chunhua, tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "Mother, if I go to the yamen, I'm doomed."