Chapter 167 The Fate of Widow Zhang
Countless people are discussing it.
There are quite a few people in Dahe Village, and all sorts of trivial matters happen every day, but such a big event may only happen once every ten years.
More and more people gathered to watch the spectacle, and even Zhang's three children came. The oldest of the three children was only ten years old. When the eldest heard people cursing his mother, he started to cry, and he and the two younger ones also started to cry.
When Widow Zhang heard the child crying, she stood up and wanted to rush over.
But Aunt Xu grabbed her hair and said, "Let me tell you, don't even think about running away. You've disgraced the Xu family, and this debt must be settled!"
At this moment, some busybodies pulled Zheng Langzhong into the crowd. Zheng Langzhong really didn't want to get involved, but the matter had become so big that it wouldn't be right for him not to step forward.
He was pushed in front of Widow Zhang and said awkwardly, "Stretch out your hand so I can feel your pulse."
Widow Zhang gripped her wrist tightly, but Aunt Xu roughly pulled her out, rolled up her sleeves, and let Doctor Zheng take her pulse.
Before Dr. Zheng could even place his hand on her, Widow Zhang's voice exploded in his ear: "Yes! I'm pregnant! I'm carrying Zhao Fugui's child! He said he would marry me! Call Zhao Fugui over, he will definitely take responsibility for me! As long as he marries me, our relationship won't be an affair, and the child in my belly won't be a bastard!"
The crowd laughed even more blatantly.
"Zhao Fugui's wife is Aunt Fugui, you are going to be his mistress."
"We've never seen anyone in Dahe Village take a concubine before. Zhao Fugui is really something else. He has an older woman at home and a younger one outside, and now he wants to marry the younger one. It's hilarious."
"Even with all the commotion here, Zhao Fugui hasn't shown up. This guy dares to play but not admit it. What a coward."
"Isn't Big Head Aunt here? Let's ask her if she'd like a concubine to come to the house."
Everyone looked at Aunt Fugui.
Since Aunt Fugui separated from her eldest son and moved out of the family home, the villagers mostly call her Big Head Aunt.
She stood in the crowd, her face unusually calm, like an outsider.
Widow Zhang rushed over like a madwoman and grabbed Big Head's sleeve.
Everyone thought she would kneel on the ground and beg Big Head Granny to accept her, but to everyone's surprise, she had a ferocious look on her face, as if she wanted to swallow Big Head Granny whole, and what she said shocked all the villagers.
"You're too cruel! You're trying to kill me, to kill the child in my womb!" Widow Zhang's voice was shrill. "I go to your house every day to beg you, I kneel on the ground and beg you, why won't you divorce Zhao Fugui! You've long been tired of Zhao Fugui, you've long wanted to stop living with him, why won't you make room for me..."
Big Head Lady pushed her hand away coldly: "Even if Zhao Fugui and I can't make ends meet, I won't make room for you. Just give up on this idea! As for the child in your belly, if you give birth to it, it will be a bastard for the rest of its life!"
Now she lives in a dilapidated, leaky house with her son and daughter, all thanks to Widow Zhang. She's not kind enough to make room for this shameless prostitute; she wants to see this prostitute ridiculed and never be able to hold her head up high for the rest of her life!
After saying that, Big Head Granny turned and left.
No one in the village thought Big Head Mother had done anything wrong; that's how you have to be ruthless when dealing with a shameless prostitute.
This whole spectacle left Cheng Wanwan feeling a bit exhausted.
Widow Zhang is a homewrecker who broke up someone else's marriage, yet she still has the nerve to ask the legal wife to make room for her. Her values are utterly warped.
Moreover, she couldn't understand why Widow Zhang, who had no parents-in-law and could manage the household on her own, would be so foolish as to find herself a good-for-nothing man, and not only that, she got pregnant.
Zhang the widow had brought this upon herself.
Her only sympathy was for Widow Zhang's three children. Their grandparents and father were all dead, their mother was in such a terrible state, and the clan members were still eyeing the family's ancestral property. The three children were afraid that their future would be very difficult.
Cheng Wanwan glanced at the three children and turned to leave.
The moment she turned around, she saw out of the corner of her eye that Widow Zhang's expression was a little abnormal. The next moment, Widow Zhang broke free from Aunt Xu's shackles and rushed towards the big locust tree at the edge of the field.
Cheng Wanwan was quick-witted and quick-handed. While everyone was still talking, she rushed towards the big locust tree in one step.
Widow Zhang bumped her head into Cheng Wanwan's stomach, and Cheng Wanwan hugged her waist.
Although Widow Zhang brought this upon herself, she did not deserve to lose her life.
Moreover, she is only twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. Many modern women are just beginning their prime at twenty-seven or twenty-eight. As long as Widow Zhang sincerely repents, she may well be able to start a new life.
"Why did you save me? Let me die!" Widow Zhang collapsed on the ground, breaking down in tears. "After Dashu's father died, I had it so hard. These people in the tribe have human faces but no real purpose. They never help us, an orphan and a widow. What else can I do except find a man to rely on... I don't want to have a bastard, but it happened. What can I do? I might as well kill myself. I have no face to live in this world..."
"The Zhang family raised you all these years, not to collect your corpse!" An old woman pushed through the crowd, grabbed Widow Zhang, and slapped her hard across the face. "Shameless thing, you've completely disgraced the Zhang family!"
Widow Zhang covered her face, tears streaming down her cheeks: "Mother..."
"Don't call me mother! I don't have a daughter like you! And you have no right to be the mother of Dashu and the other two!" Old Mrs. Zhang said through gritted teeth, looking at the Xu family. "It's because my Zhang family failed to raise our daughter properly. From now on, the Zhang family has no relation to your Xu family. Remove her from the family genealogy. And these three Xu children have no relation to the Zhang family either!"
She dragged Widow Zhang's hand and said coldly, "Come on, come back with me and see how your father will deal with you!"
"mother--!"
Widow Zhang's three children caught up with them.
Aunt Xu stopped them, saying, "She's not your mother. The children of the Xu family don't need a mother like that!"
Another woman from the Xu family chimed in, "Big Tree, you haven't eaten yet, have you? Why don't you come to my house for a bite to eat?"
Cheng Wanwan turned around and immediately went to intercept the village head.
They hadn't gone far when they saw Zhao Tiezhu dragging the village headman hurriedly heading this way.
The village head, panting heavily, asked, "Auntie Dashan, what's the situation over there? They haven't started fighting, have they?"
Cheng Wanwan briefly explained the situation: "Widow Zhang has severed ties with the Xu family. Judging from Old Madam Zhang's appearance, it's unlikely that Widow Zhang will be allowed to return to the village. The three children are surnamed Xu, so they will definitely be raised by the Xu family. However, I just took a look, and it seems that the seven or eight families surnamed Xu all have their own plans. No matter which family the three children go to, they will be devoured without a trace."
The village head frowned.
There are orphans in the village, and usually when their parents die, the orphans are handed over to close relatives in the clan. This is the usual practice.
But he knew that those children without parents didn't have a good life in the homes of their uncles and aunts. The worst one didn't even have anything to eat every day. Once, he saw the child gnawing on tree bark and realized how miserable his life was. He scolded the couple severely, and the child's life became a little better. However, in places he couldn't see, the child was definitely still being mistreated.
“The Zhang widow’s family is not like others. They have four mud houses and more than 20 mu of land. The autumn harvest has just come, and they have a lot of grain. The Xu family has made such a big fuss, without any regard for their reputation. Is it really for raising the children or to seize the property?” Cheng Wanwan said slowly. “Uncle Village Head, how about this? Let the three children choose for themselves. If they want to go back to the Zhang family, then send them back. If they want to stay in Dahe Village, let them choose who will take care of them. Whoever they choose, the grain and land will be given to that family. However, you, Uncle Village Head, should still keep the land deeds. At least leave the children a way to survive.”
When she was running her ice jelly business, Xu Dashu had picked lanterns for her. This girl always called her Aunt Zhao, and she was very polite and gentle, completely different from Widow Zhang.
What happens to Widow Zhang is her own doing. Her three children are innocent. The village should help them if they can, but nothing else is her business.
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