Chapter 14 Who is the real mother?

"What? You didn't do it voluntarily? Damn it, folks, help me call the police, I want to send this old coffin-stuffed man to the jail."

Jiang Ruzhen pointed at Old Hu and started cursing loudly. Judging from this, this matter is going to cause a huge uproar today!

Old Hu was always timid, and when he was really frightened, he quickly knelt down and begged for mercy from Jiang Ruzhen.

"No, no, no, sister, please don't send me to jail! I have evidence, I have evidence!"

Old Hu tremblingly handed over the marriage certificate from his pocket. "This is the marriage certificate that Li Fen and I signed. She accepted five hundred yuan as a bride price from me and married her daughter to me."

Li Fen also said she was afraid her daughter might do something rash, so she asked me to come over, sleep with her first, and then go get the marriage certificate.

Jiang Ruzhen's eyes lit up, and she hurriedly snatched the marriage certificate to examine it carefully. The marriage certificate was written very clearly, and both parties had pressed their fingerprints on it.

It's truly a stroke of luck for her; it seems the Qin family of three is going to great lengths to keep this old money tree in check.

"Fine, Li Fen is actually ruining her own daughter for five hundred yuan. Lanlan, don't be afraid, Mom will stand up for you. We won't marry her. Even if you shout 'Dragon's Cry' today, Mom won't let you jump into that fire pit."

Judging from Jiang Ruzhen's expression, everyone knew that it was true, and a commotion arose from the surrounding crowd.

"Oh my god, what kind of family is the Qin family? Even if they don't care about their daughter, they shouldn't sell her to this old Bi Deng!"

"Although every family is struggling now, they're not starving to death, so how can you bear to sell your daughter?"

"That's right, the Qin family doesn't seem like someone to be trifled with. They're heartless!"

"Qin Lanlan is pitiful. She was abandoned by her mother when she was a child and was sold as soon as she came of age."

"Sigh, this Jiang sister is really kind-hearted. Even the mother doesn't care about her daughter, but she still wants to take care of her."

"You can't be too kind. People get bullied when they're kind. Does she think she can help pay back the bride price? She's incredibly naive."

......

Listening to the discussions around her, Jiang Ruzhen rolled her eyes inwardly. She was just trying to get Qin Lanlan to switch sides later.

Otherwise, why would she be so nice to this ungrateful adopted daughter?

"Mom, you're so good to me, you're like my own mother." Qin Lanlan felt a little smug. It seemed that this widow Jiang was still as naive and easy to fool as ever.

She believed everything she said, so she decided to stay at her house for a few more days. She was determined to find an opportunity to sell that eyesore, Shen Shuxin.

Although she had lost her virginity, as long as she could go to the capital to study in place of Shen Shuxin, the world would be vast and boundless, and who would know about this?

Even if she marries a rich man in the future, she will have a way to cover it up.

Jiang Ruzhen looked down at Qin Lanlan in her arms, whose expression was constantly changing, and knew that this Wen Dazai was up to something bad again.

She pushed people aside in disgust and yelled at the second oldest in the crowd.

"Second brother, go and find Li Fen and Qin Liang. Tell them I want to settle accounts with them."

"Okay." Shen Zhuoyi readily agreed and turned to run outside.

To everyone's surprise, just as they stepped out of the crowd, they saw several young men bringing Li Fen and Qin Liang over.

"Everyone, make way! Make way! Qin Lanlan's family is here."

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly made way for them, and once they had passed, they formed a circle again, their eyes wide with surprise.

Oh my god, more people are coming! There's so much to see today, it's impossible to stop watching!

If these two families get together, they're bound to end up running brothels at night!

Li Fen and Qin Liang waited in the cornfield by the roadside, excitedly imagining a bright future.

As time passed, there was still no movement from Qin Lanlan, and the two of them became drowsy with boredom.

When the two woke up, they wanted to go to the beach to check, but found it teeming with people.

Not knowing what was going on, the two could only anxiously watch from a distance.

It was just a coincidence that the young men who were letting the water out spotted them. They mistook them for human traffickers and almost got into a fight.

After hearing their explanation, they quickly sent it to the brigade headquarters.

Li Fen and Qin Liang were completely dumbfounded. Why were these people so excited to deliver this to them? What was going on?

They wanted to find out, but the young men were too embarrassed to say in front of Li Fen that her daughter was having an affair.

They could only stammer that something terrible had happened at Widow Jiang's house in the village, and asked them to go and take a look.

Upon hearing this, Li Fen and Qin Liang immediately perked up, wishing they could run here on foot.

It seems my daughter has accomplished that task.

The prospect of marrying a rich man—a big house, a car, and money in the capital—seems to beckon to them from the sky.

Li Fen and Qin Liang excitedly rushed into the brigade headquarters, but were immediately taken aback by the scene before them.

Why is the person squatting on the ground, covered with a sheet, her daughter Qin Lanlan?

Li Fen opened her mouth wide like a toad and lunged at Qin Lanlan, "Oh my daughter, what happened to you? Did someone beat you up?" She thought that things had been exposed and that someone had caught Qin Lanlan red-handed.

Before Qin Lanlan could speak, the elderly people around her began to berate Li Fen.

"How could you be so heartless as a mother? Why didn't you just send down a bolt of lightning and kill you instantly?"

"If you can't afford to live, then hang yourself. What kind of cruel mother would you be, mocking her child like that?"

"Even Tang Sanzang would be tempted to kill someone as despicable and utterly rotten as you,"

"They're rotten to the core, how could they bear to sell their own daughter into such a hellish place?"

......

Hearing the angry shouts of the crowd, Li Fen didn't know what was going on and kept giving her daughter meaningful glances.

Qin Lanlan dared not say anything, for she was afraid that her biological mother would really go along with the mistake and marry her off.

Jiang Ruzhen didn't care about any of that. She was able to raise five children to adulthood without being bullied by the men in the fishing village, and that wasn't just because of the brigade leader's care.

Over the years, she's honed her silver tongue in the village, becoming a formidable weapon of wit and eloquence, a skill developed from the experiences of all the old ladies and aunties.

When she saw Li Fen come in, she yelled and pounced on her, seizing the initiative to grab Li Fen's hair and start grabbing her with both hands.

"Li Fen! You bastard, you dog! You just sell the daughter I raised? You son of a bitch, what were you thinking?

Even if that old man is rich, he's old enough to be Lanlan's grandfather. You damn bastard, I'll tear you apart today!

Li Fen was completely unprepared. In the past, every time she came to Old Shen's house, Jiang Ruzhen treated her and her son like royalty.

They had to bow and scrape, greet them with smiles, and serve them until they were completely satisfied. In the end, they even had to take away all the valuables in their house for them.

What triggered this today that made him dare to hit her?

Seeing his mother being taken advantage of, Qin Liang's eyebrows shot up and his face twitched. He spread his arms and pounced on Jiang Ruzhen.

The second brother, Shen Zhuoyi, was waiting nearby. When he saw the opportunity, he grabbed a chair and started beating the guy up.

While everyone's attention was focused on the two women tearing at each other, there was a loud crack, and Qin Liang was knocked to the ground.

Shen Zhuoyi's eyes were filled with sinister ruthlessness. For so many years, his family had allowed this dog mother and son to insult and bully him out of guilt.

He now knows the truth, and the time for revenge has come; he has no more reservations about taking action.

Lying down wasn't enough for him, so he jumped onto Qin Liang and started punching him with his hammer-like fists, each blow landing squarely.

In no time at all, Qin Liang was smashed to pieces, blood gushing from his nose and mouth.

Qin Lanlan wrapped herself tightly in the bedsheet and took a step back in fright. She wanted to go forward to help Li Fen and Qin Liang, but when she saw the ferocious faces of Jiang Ruzhen and Shen Zhuoyi, she hesitated.

She should just observe from the sidelines first; the captain can't possibly have her family members beaten to death here, can he?

Xiao Changgeng couldn't bear to watch people die at the brigade headquarters. After seeing that Jiang Ruzhen and Shen Zhuoyi had fought to a standstill, he waved his hand and ordered his men to separate the two groups.

"Li Fen, although you are Qin Lanlan's biological mother, your daughter Qin Lanlan was raised in Sister Jiang's house for twelve years."

She wasn't your biological daughter, but she was like a daughter to you. You sold your daughter to this old scoundrel for five hundred yuan, and even had someone sleep with her beforehand. What were you thinking?

What?

Li Fen suspected she had chicken feathers stuck in her ears and misheard. She looked at the brigade leader in shock.

"What did you say? Old Hu slept with Lanlan?"

Xiao Changgeng nodded, "It was in that dilapidated fishing boat by the sea. Everyone saw it with their own eyes."

Li Fen is numb, it's over, the sky has fallen!

He tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead.

They've dragged their own daughter into this mess!