Chapter 99 Regret
The second house stayed in Qingshui Village for another two days, and Zhang Huiniang and her family did not dare to disturb them again.
It was Mrs. Cai who criticized Zhang Yunniang and her husband whenever she met someone, but it had only been a few days since the last time the Liu family was visited by officials, so the villagers just listened to what Mrs. Cai said and did not dare to agree with her at all.
If she met someone who had received favors from Gu Mingda, she would quarrel with Mrs. Cai on the spot. If she met someone with a bad temper, she would pick up a broom and beat them.
Mrs. Cai's plan to ruin her son-in-law's reputation in the village completely failed, and instead the villagers discovered that there was someone missing from her family.
"Where's Jinbao? Auntie, your Jinbao hasn't shown up for a few days. He took my Shitou's slingshot and hasn't returned it yet."
Hearing the village women asking for things on the spot, Mrs. Cai looked uncomfortable for a moment.
"He's not feeling well and is resting at home." Mrs. Cai stammered.
The woman frowned and said, "Why do you feel uncomfortable during the New Year? It's unlucky. Don't forget Shitou's slingshot. His father made it specially for him. If you borrow something from someone else, you should return it as soon as possible!"
Before Mrs. Cai could reply, someone said, "Aunt, your Guangzong owed me five cents of silver. Even though he has been arrested, he still has to pay me back!"
Mrs. Cai glanced at the person who was speaking. It turned out to be one of Zhang Guangzong's cronies. She was not sure whether what he said was true or false.
"I'll ask Guangzong later." Mrs. Cai said this, but in fact she had no intention of returning it at all.
However, among the onlookers, some cunning people came up with a plan and tried to fish in troubled waters while there were many people. They shouted, "Zhang Guangzong also owes me one or two taels of silver. The son's debt must be paid by the mother. Don't think of evading it!"
Mrs. Cai took a look at the man and found that he was a well-known rogue in the village.
"Stop talking nonsense, my son doesn't associate with you at all!" Mrs. Cai refused to admit it.
But she didn't know if she was unlucky, and this had the opposite effect.
"This thief woman wants to deny her debt. No wonder she raised a son who is in prison. The upper beam is not straight, and the lower beam is crooked! Your son deserves to be beheaded!"
When Mrs. Cai heard this, she was so angry that her eyes turned red. She said, "Your son was the one who was beheaded! He was just summoned to the government office for questioning and will be released in two days!"
Unfortunately, no one believes this.
"That thief, she was never a good person before. She stole my chickens!"
The crowd was noisy, and more and more people were trying to take advantage of the situation, all rushing towards Mrs. Cai.
The messy scene at the entrance of the village scared the Gu family.
The Gu family is here to see you off today.
Gu Mingda went to the county yesterday to find a place to stay, and came back today with a carriage to pick people up.
"Niuniu, when you get to the county, don't forget that we are the best!" Gu Daya grabbed Niuniu's hand and reminded her again and again.
Gu Xiaoya said to Niuniu: "Don't remember this, we are the best!"
Seeing that this topic seemed to be endless, Niuniu had thought about the answer to this question very seriously during this period, and said to her two cousins very seriously: "I'm sorry, my mother and I are best friends."
The two sisters were stunned when they heard this.
Niuniu thought about their personalities and consoled them, "Next time I come back, I'll bring you something delicious, okay?"
Hearing that there was food to be had, the two men nodded reluctantly, still each holding one of Niu Niu's hands.
Gu Daya said: "Even if you are not the best to me, you must be the second best to me."
Seeing that Gu Xiaoya was also about to join in the fuss, Niu Niu’s little head was about to explode.
Zhang Yunniang gently hugged Niuniu from behind, took the hands of her two nieces with a smile, and reminded them: "You should also listen to the adults at home. When you go out to play, don't go to places with few people. Try to go out with more children..."
Gu Daya and Gu Xiaoya actually both like Zhang Yunniang, this generous and beautiful elder, but no child likes to listen to the nagging of the elders.
This time it was their turn to have their heads exploded. They both pulled their hands out of Zhang Yunniang's palms at the same time and quietly took a few steps back.
The carriage started to move slowly. Zhang Yunniang held Niuniu in her arms and looked toward the village entrance through the opened curtain of the carriage. Her eyes happened to meet those of Mrs. Cai in the crowd in mid-air.
Mrs. Cai was surrounded by a group of people who were collecting debts. When she saw that her former stepdaughter was now living a dignified life and that her granddaughter Niuniu, who had been trampled on at will, was also being carefully cared for, many memories that had been deeply buried in her mind suddenly surged up.
She still remembers that her son and daughter-in-law had just brought Niu Niu back from outside. She was so eager to have a grandson that her eyes turned green, but her daughter-in-law had not been pregnant for five years after she got married.
Although it was a girl, and not her biological child, when she saw the fair and tender little baby for the first time, she still felt some love for her.
Not long after adopting the child, the daughter-in-law, who had been infertile for many years, became pregnant.
Zhang Guangzong went into the mountains to see the scenery out of boredom, but accidentally dug up a hundred-year-old ginseng.
The son made a lot of money from selling ginseng, and he was generous enough to take the whole family to the city to play.
That was her first time riding in a carriage. She held her granddaughter in her arms and sat in the carriage. Like Zhang Yunniang at this moment, she lifted the curtain and looked at the villagers outside. She actually had an illusion that she was not the village woman Cai Po, but the high and mighty Madam Cai.
That was one of the few shining moments in her life.
The daughter-in-law was greedy and drank all the expensive supplements like water. The son was not a frugal person either. The family built a new house and spent most of the money from selling ginseng.
Just as the family was lamenting about having no money to spend, Zhang Guangzong went out and picked up a small package on the road outside the village. The package contained thirty taels of gold.
As soon as he returned home with the gold, Jinbao was born.
Mrs. Cai still remembers how ecstatic her son was at that time and how he named her grandson "Jinbao" on the spot.
Because they spread the news of their earnings from selling ginseng, many people came to Zhang Guangzong to borrow money. Finally, the Zhang family learned their lesson and never told anyone about finding gold.
Therefore, outsiders did not know that the Zhang family was actually extremely wealthy. It was precisely because of so much gold that Zhang Guangzong had the money to bribe County Magistrate Gou and obtained the title of a student.
While picking ginseng, Xiao Cai found out she was pregnant; while picking gold, Jinbao was born.
The Zhang family naturally thought that Jinbao was a blessed child, and that he brought wealth and silver to the family, so the whole family doted on him.
At the same time, Niu Niu grew up day by day, and her appetite became bigger and bigger. Now that she had her own grandson, she naturally felt displeased with this adopted granddaughter, and the family abused her however they wanted.
When Mrs. Cai thought of this, she couldn't help but cover her heart. She remembered what her son said at home before he was caught, saying that they mistook pearls for fish eyes and lost the real blessing.
"This was originally... my... my family's blessing..."
Mrs. Cai stretched out her hand and pointed towards the direction of the carriage in which Niu Niu was riding.
But the carriage went farther and farther away, slowly disappearing at the end of the road.
First update
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
