"Chunmei is back! Chunmei is back with Yaomei!"
As soon as Xia Chunmei entered the village, the villagers spread the news.
Upon hearing the news, Xia Hongfen, Grandma Ming, and the others quickly put down their work and ran out to greet them.
Even though Xia Huohua had returned ahead of time to report the news, everyone was still worried. Only when they saw that Xia Chunmei and Yaomei were both safe and sound did they finally feel relieved.
"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back." Xia Hongfen cried her heart out. "Yaomei, Auntie will hug you."
"Big sister, I miss you so much." Xia Dongmei hugged Xia Chunmei's leg, her tear tracks still clearly visible on her face.
Chunmei, are you alright?
"I heard you became a customs broker. What happened to those damned county magistrates from the Fan family? Were they all arrested and executed?"
"I've lived most of my life and I've never seen such a wicked person! A dog who deserves divine retribution for having a child without a father, I spit on him!"
...
The neighbors greeted him with scathing remarks.
“The county magistrate hasn’t pronounced the verdict yet, but Fan Baowen and his parents have been arrested by him, and the case is currently under trial,” Xia Chunmei said. “The county magistrate is wise and powerful, and I believe he will soon bring justice to us sisters.”
“Chunmei is right, the evidence is conclusive. The kidnappers have personally identified Fan Jiangshi, saying that she was the one who ordered Yaomei to be sold. This time, the Fan family can’t escape it.” Xia Xintian was filled with righteous indignation when he talked about the Fan family.
“You have no idea what the Fan family is like!” Xia Xintian told the villagers about what happened in court. “Fan Jiangshi denied everything in court, and even said that Chunmei was slandering them, and said... In short, they are utterly wicked. Their eldest daughter, Fan Baoyun, even tried to hit Chunmei with a stone. Not a single good person in the whole family is good.”
“Every time Fan Jiangshi comes, she looks all smiles and seems very kind, but she is actually very vicious.”
"You really can't judge a book by its cover."
"Exactly. We used to think Chunmei had found a good husband and that the Fan family was kind. Even though Ping An is gone, the Fan family is still so good to Chunmei. Turns out they had ulterior motives. Tsk tsk."
“I used to think my daughter would marry into a family like the Fan family, but I was so blind.”
"Chunmei, did the magistrate say when the verdict will be delivered?" Chen Jinlian asked. "When he does, we'll all go throw away the rotten vegetable leaves."
“Yes, let’s go pee!” Xia Ping said angrily.
"Sister Ping, let's skip the peeing. It smells too strong and could easily injure friendly forces," Xia Chunmei said with a laugh.
...
Even if there is a conflict between relatives, friends and neighbors, at most it will be a fight, but the villagers have never encountered such viciousness as the Fan family.
Therefore, this matter has remained a hot topic in the village, becoming a popular topic of conversation among villagers.
Xia Chunmei returned home, and the villagers were still discussing it enthusiastically.
"Auntie, I'm going to take a few days off. You've almost mastered the skills now, so you can take charge of cooking for the banquet later. I'll stay home and take good care of my younger sister."
"Ah, Chunmei, you're not going? I'm afraid I can't handle it..." Xia Hongfen was a little unsure. "Is Yaomei injured?"
“Yaomei wasn’t injured. She’s so young and she’s already been traumatized like this. I’m worried she’ll be scared, so I want to stay home with her for a while.”
Upon hearing this, Xia Qiumei felt that her chance had come and immediately said, "Sister, can I go with Aunt? If you don't go, there will be one less person."
"There will be plenty of people, so you just stay home and practice writing on the floor every day. Have you been practicing?"
Xia Chunmei taught Xia Qiumei and Xia Dongmei five or six new characters every day. Since they didn't have money to buy pens, ink, paper, and inkstones, she had the two sisters supervise each other to write on the ground with twigs. Xia Chunmei would check their work every afternoon when she came back.
Upon hearing that she couldn't go to the banquet, Xia Qiumei pouted, clearly unhappy.
Xia Chunmei continued to say to Xia Hongfen, "There are no banquets these two days. Tomorrow, Aunt, when you go back, call Quan Gui over. Take him to a banquet for a few days to get acquainted with the guests, so that you won't be caught off guard when you start your own business in the future. It's just that there won't be enough room for him, so he'll have to squeeze into Uncle Tianji's house for a bit."
“What’s there to feel wronged about? You’ve always thought of us. We’re just grateful. Why don’t you come with me to Xiaojiaping tomorrow to go to jail with the Fan family of three? I’m worried that the other members of the Fan family will come and cause trouble for you.”
"There are so many people in our village. Putting aside everything else, it's impossible for Grandma Ming, Uncle Huohua, and Uncle Xintian not to help."
Moreover, I estimate they will arrive in the afternoon. Once Fan Baowen and his family of three have gone inside, their first priority will definitely be to go into the city to gather information and try to meet with them. So you can go back without worry.”
Xia Hongfen was still worried, so she went door-to-door to speak to several neighbors and Xia Xintian's family, asking them to help look after her.
After making all the arrangements, I was finally able to go home with peace of mind the next morning.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com