Xie seemed to be very angry. She pointed at the people who gossiped the most and started to criticize them in a torrent of words.

Although she felt disgusted with the old hag, she had her eye on her eldest granddaughter, and if she ruined her reputation, it would not be good for her either...

The women shut their mouths in embarrassment. What they said just now was blurted out in anger. Whether it was true or not, they were just making up rumors and it should not be taken seriously.

Xie pointed at them and reprimanded them several times. After she said so much, the women felt suffocated and secretly spat at her. Then they scattered like birds and beasts.

After most people had left, Xie cursed for a long time and let out most of her anger. She covered her chest and cursed inwardly, "You gossipy woman, you always confuse right and wrong."

While his grandmother was arguing with the woman at the village entrance, Xie Mingchi found a ridge on the edge of the field and sat down quietly, picking mushrooms.

After the scolding was over, he stood up and walked over.

Xie came to her senses and gave him a look. Seeing his sullen look, she rolled her eyes and cursed, "Were you mute just now? Your future daughter-in-law has been slandered and abused, and you are still pretending to be a grandson!"

Xie Mingchi frowned and retorted, "What daughter-in-law? I have nothing to do with her. Grandma, stop talking nonsense all day long. You're ruining her reputation. If others hear it, they won't know what to say."

Xie snorted inwardly, "Now you know you're afraid of what others might say, why were you pretending to be mute just now?"

Xie Mingchi chose to shut up and stop arguing with her. There was no point in saying more.

His grandmother is a stubborn person. No matter how unwilling he is, no one can force him to do anything...

What those women said just now is not without reason. The boy who often plays with my younger brother is called Hua Li, and he is the younger brother of the eldest girl of the Hua family.

He often heard negative comments about the eldest daughter of the Hua family from his younger brother. Most of them said that she was lazy and greedy, liked to work without doing anything, and took pleasure in bullying his younger siblings...

He had heard his younger brother say these words many times, and over time, he naturally had a very bad impression of her.

He really didn't understand his grandmother's inexplicable affection for that Hua family girl...

He remembered that the boy named Hua Li was often so hungry that he couldn't speak. He had evil thoughts and stole things from others. He saw him several times and caught him red-handed.

The child cried and knelt, begging him not to tell anyone, saying that his brother was sick and his brother was starving to death, and he had no choice but to steal things...

Thinking of the miserable appearance of the child he met last time, and later her grandmother said that she had gone into the mountains and disappeared, so she gathered everyone to look for her. He was the first to find her by chance, and saw the girl, who was dressed brightly, had a rosy complexion, and slender fingers. She didn't look like she had ever worked.

Combining the news I heard before, it’s natural to think that... the rumors outside are not entirely false.

At least it was true that she treated her younger siblings harshly, forcing them to resort to thieving and stealing to make a living... It was obvious that she was not a good person.

He really didn't like it, but it was someone else's family affair after all, so he had no reason to interfere and had no intention of having anything to do with her.

I just don't know why his grandmother is so determined to have him marry such a... vicious woman...

…

On the other side, Hua Shi followed Li tremblingly, walking towards home step by step.

Along the way, Li's mood was terribly low. Hua Shi felt guilty and scared, and didn't dare to say a word.

The black cat in her arms seemed to have noticed her owner's change of mood, and nestled in her arms obediently without making a sound.

Along the way, the air was eerily silent.

"Bang!"

As Hua Shi stepped into the courtyard, the old wooden door behind him was slammed shut by Li.

In the yard, Hua Xiao was talking to his younger brother Hua Ying. Seeing Hua Shi following Li with his head lowered, Li looked unhappy and said nothing.

Seeing this, Hua Xiao quickly stood up, protected Hua Ying behind him, and shrank into the corner, fearing that the fish pond would be affected.

Hua Yu didn't know when he came back. He was squatting by the well, bending over to wash dirty clothes. His upper body was bare and his hair was wet and hanging on his forehead.

Li walked over as if she didn't see the people, moved a stool, sat down, and slapped the table, making a loud noise.

“Bang!!”

Hua Ying, who was hiding behind Hua Xiao, was frightened and almost screamed, but was held down by Hua Xiao in a panic.

He was afraid that Li would notice him and bring disaster to him.

She was not blind, so how could she not know that Li was obviously righteous and was angry with her good elder sister.

If you can avoid participating at this time, don't make any noise, don't say a word, and don't make any movement.

Otherwise, Li would turn around and blame them.

Hua Xiao was a shrewd person, and saw everything clearly. She secretly winked at her second brother, who was squatting by the well, telling him to wash up quickly and hide away to avoid being implicated again...

“Bang!”

Li slammed his hand on the wooden table again, making a muffled sound.

Hua Shi lowered her head and stood there obediently. Apart from waiting to be scolded by Li, she could not think of any other way to calm Li down...

"Hua Shi, Hua Shi! It's not that you don't understand what I'm saying! I told you a long time ago, don't go out, don't go out! Don't go out! Are you deaf?!"

It was obvious that Li was really angry. Her face turned red with anger, and one hand was on the table, shaking with anger.

Hua Shi lowered her head, and her eyes fell on her trembling hand on the table.

"Hua Shi! Did you hear me talking to you?! Stop playing dumb again! From now on, you are not allowed to go out without my permission! Just stay home and study hard, learn to read, and don't worry about anything else!"

For some reason, Mrs. Li was extremely obsessed with her going out and repeatedly emphasized and forbade her to go out.

This almost pathologically persistent request made Hua Shi feel suffocated.

Even if he was really worried that something might happen to her if she went out, he shouldn't have stopped her like this. Just ask the whole village, which elder would do this...

Hua Shi thought about this and said directly, "Grandma, I want to go out. Who would stay at home every day..."

Before Hua Shi could even begin to argue, Li felt like someone had stepped on her sore spot. She was like a barrel of explosives about to explode, and she was furious...