Chapter 19 Heated Argument
It's been exactly one month since the 6th of last month.
Xu Hongbo and Zhang Lanlan argued because they lost a large sum of money.
Xu Hongbo suspected that Zhang Lanlan had stolen money to support her family. Zhang Lanlan denied it, and the couple had a heated argument.
In a fit of anger, Xu Hongbo hit Zhang Lanlan, who then packed her things and went back to her parents' home.
Finally, Er Gou dragged her into the cornfield. At first, she resisted desperately, but then she found a ten-yuan note stuffed into her hand. She was stunned, and Er Gou took advantage of the situation.
Afterwards, the two went home separately, but they often secretly met in the cornfield when Xu Hongbo was not around.
That ten-yuan note was secretly stolen by Er Gou while Xu Hongbo was taking off his clothes to bathe by the river.
Xu Hongbo stepped out from behind the crowd and questioned Zhang Lanlan, "Is what Xu Qingmo said true?"
He recently discovered that Er Gou was hanging around his neighborhood all the time, and that Er Gou's hens were laying eggs, which he didn't eat himself, but instead sent to Xu Hongbo's house.
Xu Hongbo initially believed Zhang Lanlan's claim that Er Gou did this to get her to introduce him to potential partners, but now it seems that Er Gou has his eye on his woman.
Zhang Lanlan vehemently denied it, deliberately raising her voice, "You actually believed what a little girl of a few years old said? I've been married to you for seven or eight years, don't you trust me at all?"
Zhang Lanlan was unsure. Why did Xu Qingmo speak so clearly? Could it be that she really saw it?
On second thought, Xu Qingmo was only five years old. A five-year-old child's words are unsubstantiated. As long as she denied it, Xu Hongbo would have some doubts but wouldn't be able to do anything to her.
Xu Hongbo was unsure for a moment. He looked at Xu Qingmo and questioned, "You said Er Gou and I often go to the cornfield. What evidence do you have?"
"To prevent Zhang Lanlan from leaving him in the future, Er Gou deliberately took her underwear. The underwear is hidden under his pillow. You should be able to find it if you go and search for it now."
Xu Hongbo pointed at Xu Qingmo and threatened, "I'm going there right now. If I can't find her, you're in for a world of trouble."
The villagers, always eager for gossip, couldn't resist following Xu Hongbo to Er Gou's house, wanting to see for themselves if they could find Zhang Lanlan's underwear under Er Gou's pillow.
Er Gou panicked completely and hurriedly stopped Xu Hongbo, saying, "Xu Qingmo is just a child of a few years old. What she says is completely unbelievable."
"Since you say her words are unreliable, why are you stopping me? Why are you sweating?" Xu Hongbo had been wondering about this, but seeing Er Gou's flustered appearance, he quickened his pace.
"So many people in the village are watching. Do you want to become the laughingstock of the whole village?"
These words sounded more like a provocation to Xu Hongbo.
"Damn it, get the hell out of my way!" Xu Hongbo pushed Er Gou to the ground and ran to Er Gou's house.
The door to Er Gou's house was ajar. Xu Hongbo barged in, took away Er Gou's pillow, and found a red mandarin duck-patterned bellyband and a magenta pair of underwear there.
These two items were bought by Xu Hongbo for Zhang Lanlan before, so he recognizes them.
The villagers who followed witnessed this scene and gathered together, discussing it animatedly.
"Zhang Lanlan is really hungry. She can even eat someone as ugly as Er Gou."
"Perhaps it's because the old bachelor has been holding back for so long that he's more energetic than Xu Hongbo, and even with his eyes closed, he's enjoying himself."
"Xu Hongbo is tall and strong, but he's actually so weak?"
Several married women, who had seen the world, began to discuss the matter objectively.
The sound was quite loud, and Xu Hongbo heard it clearly.
Xu Hongbo blushed and angrily cursed, "A bunch of shameless old hags! If you keep talking nonsense, I'll have your men give you a good beating behind closed doors tonight!"
"Someone like you deserves to have his wife stolen by Er Gou."
After saying their piece, the older women left Er Gou's house.
They stood far away from Xu Hongbo, waiting to see what would happen.
Er Gou hurried back to his doorstep and saw Xu Hongbo coming out of the house. The look in Xu Hongbo's eyes was as if he wanted to devour him.
In a panic, Er Gou didn't dare to go inside the house. He turned around and ran away without looking back, with Xu Hongbo chasing after him with a sickle in his hand.
At this moment, Xu Qingmo looked at the village chief and said, "Ergou deliberately slandered us because I saw him with Zhang Lanlan. He wanted to drive Xu Yuanyuan and me out of the village so that no one would know about their relationship."
The village chief's expression was not good, but he also breathed a sigh of relief.
Ultimately, Zhou Qinqin was still Wang Xiuzhi's daughter-in-law, and she and Wang Xiuzhi's family were related by marriage.
If their family were to be imprisoned for speculation and profiteering, the village chief would lose face.
"Since this is a misunderstanding, let's all disperse." The village chief began to disperse the crowd.
Some villagers, however, were unwilling to leave just like that and couldn't help but speak up, "Since their family didn't engage in speculation and profiteering, why did Xu Yuanyuan initially accuse Xu Qingmo of speculation and profiteering, and say it had nothing to do with her?"
“That’s right. If they really didn’t do such a thing, Xu Yuanyuan would never have said such a thing.”
“Xu Yuanyuan’s brain doesn’t work. To be honest, since she said that, something must have happened. Village chief, you can’t intentionally cover for her just because you’re related to her family.”
The villagers were extremely dissatisfied with Wang Xiuzhi and were incredibly envious of Xu Qingmo's recent habit of eating meat.
They were eager to see Xu Qingmo and Wang Xiuzhi suffer setbacks one after another, only then would they feel satisfied.
Wang Xiuzhi hated Xu Yuanyuan even more at this moment; that brat had no sense of propriety when it came to her words.
The village chief was being held captive, unsure whether to leave or stay.
Xu Qingmo glanced indifferently at the person who had just spoken.
She pointed at one of them and said, "You, Wang Erdan, just got married, but because your wife ate half an egg, you beat her so badly that she miscarried."
"Is Wang Erdan really that inhuman? He only ate half an egg, why did he have to be so ruthless?"
“He even said to the public that his wife slipped and fell, losing the baby.”
“I remember Wang Erdan’s mother-in-law’s family is quite wealthy. His wife only married him because she thought he was good to her. If this gets back to his mother-in-law, he’ll be in big trouble.”
Wang Erdan's face flushed, and he hurriedly retorted, "I didn't hit my wife, Xu Qingmo, stop talking nonsense."
Wang Erdan was furious and took two steps forward, throwing a punch at Xu Qingmo.
He used all his strength, intending to knock Xu Qingmo unconscious with one punch, so that no one would reveal his secret.
His hand was caught in mid-air by Xu Qingmo, and a tiny flame traveled from her small hand to Wang Erdan's hand.
The next second, Wang Erdan's hand was engulfed in flames, and soon his right palm was burned raw.
Wang Erdan painfully shook his hands, even plunging them into a bucket of water, before he could barely extinguish the flames.
He watched as the pieces of flesh in his palm fell one by one into the bottom of the bucket.
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