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Zheng Nanle took a deep breath and gave a standard service smile. "Xie Xiaosan, what is your request?"
"Kill her, kill this poisonous woman!" Xie Xiaosan glared hatefully at Zhang Pandi.
Xie Xiaosan was filled with regret. If only he hadn't broken off the engagement back then. Looking at Er Ya, he felt even more remorseful.
If he had known Er Ya would become so beautiful, why did he cause such a scene in the first place? Otherwise, he would have a beautiful wife and a police job now.
"No, you can't. Murder is illegal, and you'll be arrested and executed too."
Xie Xiaosan knew it was unrealistic, so after shouting for a while, he said, "Send her to jail."
Zheng Nanle's smile remained unchanged as he slowly explained the consequences to him, "You have lost your fertility and will only have one son in the future. Are you sure you want to send his biological mother to jail and have the children in the village and his classmates call him the son of a labor camp inmate? You know, people who are discriminated against, like those with bad class backgrounds, are usually the first targets of bullying."
"Besides, with a mother in prison, he won't be able to do many jobs in the future. Are you sure you want to send her to jail?"
"Aaaaaah—" Xie Xiaosan screamed in anger, "This won't work, that won't work, are we just going to let her go unpunished?"
Zheng Nanle said, "No, you can do whatever you want, as long as you can accept the consequences."
Xie Xiaosan's mother clutched her chest, "Send her back. My son can't have such a vicious woman."
“No, according to the law, ‘the husband can only file for divorce if the wife has given birth for at least one year.’ Ms. Zhang Pandi gave birth less than a year ago, so the husband cannot file for divorce.”
"Can't get a divorce? No, we must get a divorce. She can hurt my son now, who knows if she'll go crazy and kill him later."
“You can discuss this with Ms. Zhang Pandi. The law stipulates that ‘this does not apply if the woman files for divorce.’”
"By the way, the law also stipulates that 'after a divorce, children who are still breastfeeding should stay with the breastfeeding mother in principle.' If a divorce really happens, the children will be awarded to the woman."
"That's my grandson, how could she take him away?" Xie Xiaosan's mother said in disbelief.
In traditional rural thinking, a child born to a woman belongs to the man's family.
"The law doesn't stipulate that. The law states that parents are the primary guardians of their children. If the father dies, the child automatically goes to the mother, and if there is no father, the child goes to the grandparents."
“I don’t want to listen to your lecture. He’s my grandson, he’s my family.” Xie Xiaosan’s mother wouldn’t listen.
"There's no such rule. In the event of a divorce, the law will decide. However, if the woman relinquishes custody, the child will remain with the man."
She had thought this marriage, which she herself had arranged, wouldn't last, but she never expected it to end like this.
Not wanting Zhang Pandi to suffer such a tragic end, Zheng Nanle subtly offered a reminder.
If Zhang Pandi is truly intelligent, she will know how to negotiate with the Xie family.
As for the law that "if one party has difficulty making a living after a divorce and does not remarry, the other party should help maintain their livelihood," Zheng Nanle did not bring it up, fearing that Zhang Pandi would be greedy and cause even greater trouble if the negotiations broke down.
"So that's how it is."
Most rural people don't understand the law. When Zheng Nanle explained the divorce law, they realized that many common practices were wrong.
"So, is it illegal for Zhang Sanzhu from the next village to kick his wife and child, who had just given birth to their daughter, out of his home for the sake of a widow?"
Zheng Nanle caught the message and nodded, saying, "Yes, your comprehension is excellent. This is illegal. If you know the wife who was kicked out of her home, you can call the police for her."
The villager, embarrassed by Zheng Nanle's praise, hid behind the crowd.
This generation did not grow up with praise. No matter how old they are, they are easily embarrassed by praise from others, just like children.
Zheng Nanle withdrew his gaze and asked Xie's mother, "Madam, do you have any further questions?"
If it were at another time, she would be very happy to hear Zheng Nanle call her "Madam," feeling that she was being respected.
But at this moment, she only sensed something strange and unsettling.
"That's all, let's go."
Xie's mother originally wanted to tell him to get lost, but out of fear of Zheng Nanle, she used a different word.
This scourge must be holding a grudge about the broken engagement, which is why he has repeatedly shown favoritism towards this wicked woman in this matter.
Zheng Nanle shrugged and turned to leave.
That's all she could do for Zhang Pandi.
*
After exploring all the marked areas, Zheng Nanle discovered several more treasures. In order to lure people out, she deliberately didn't hide herself and just swaggered around on the mountain.
Sure enough, they caught two more fish.
Unfortunately, these two fish, like the middle-aged man from before, knew little. They were like assassins, only knowing the mission but not the reason.
Zheng Nanle tied the two up and temporarily placed them on the mountain.
Afterwards, she went down the mountain and met Zhang Pandi.
Zhang Pandi was guarding the foot of the mountain when he saw Zheng Nanle and walked over.
Because of Zheng Nanle's words, Zhang Pandi reached a reconciliation with the Xie family. The Xie family would no longer hold Zhang Pandi accountable for hurting others, but after Zhang Pandi divorced Xie Xiaosan, the child had to stay with the Xie family.
Zhang Pandi still lives in the village. The village chief allocated a room in the educated youth settlement for her to stay temporarily, and her work points were transferred out and registered under her own name.
This life, where one person is full and the whole family isn't hungry, is much more comfortable than when I was a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law in the Xie family.
When she was a mother-in-law, she had to plan for her grandson's future and dared not spend a penny recklessly. When she was a daughter-in-law, she had no money or financial power. Unlike now, she doesn't have to think about her grandson or her son; she only has to think about herself.
When she gets old, her son and grandson, as long as they are not completely heartless, will take care of her.
There's hope for the future.
"Aunt Zhang, is there something you need?" Zheng Nanle gave a polite smile.
Zhang Pandi whispered, "I saw that couple from the cowshed sneaking off to the Immortal Cave before. I don't know if this information will be of any use to you."
Zheng Nanle was surprised.
I never expected that Zhang Pandi had such a bombshell.
She can really hold it in.
If it were any other auntie in the village, this would probably have been widely publicized and countless stories would have been made up.
By mixing truth and falsehood, the matter was eventually resolved.
"Thank you, Aunt Zhang. This information is very useful to me."
Zheng Nanle spoke from the heart.
"As long as it's useful to you."
Zhang Pandi wasn't truly ungrateful. After experiencing Xie Xiaosan's affair, Zhang Pandi suddenly became more open-minded about many things.
Zheng Hehua expressed her apology, and although Zheng Hehua did not accept it, she felt better.
Well, she still can't be purely good.
She waved to Zheng Nanle and left.
Zheng Nanle went up the mountain again to the Fairy Cave.
The Fairy Cave is not located in the safe area behind the mountain where villagers often go, but in the deeper mountains, on the cliff of one of the high mountains.
It is said that Lü Dongbin once lived in that cave. Every day, he would sit on the platform at the cave entrance, facing the rising sun and exhaling purple qi. Later, Lü Dongbin ascended to heaven from there, causing a sensation. The villagers nearby then realized that there was a real immortal on the mountain, and the cave where Lü Dongbin lived became known as the Immortal Cave.
People in Xianrendong Village generally don't go there. The old road was narrow and steep, covered in dust and pebbles. In some places, it was almost vertical, requiring people to climb the rocks with their bare hands to get in and out. If you were not careful, you would fall off the cliff.
Furthermore, because deep in the mountains, there is a possibility that wild boars, tigers, leopards, and other ferocious beasts may suddenly appear.
To keep the village children from going there, the villagers made up a little story, saying that after Lü Dongbin ascended to heaven, this Immortal Cave became a blessed land of outstanding people and beautiful scenery. Inside, a large Ganoderma lucidum grew, guarded by a giant snake as thick as an arm and ten meters long. The snake was so venomous that a bite from it would send you to the King of Hell.
In Er Ya's memory, she had never been there. Not only had she never been there, but almost none of the adults in the village had either. The road was too difficult to travel, and there were no real Ganoderma lucidum mushrooms in the Immortal Cave. Who would be willing to risk going there?
However, the older generation had been there before. When the locals raided the area, they would escape to the Fairy Cave to hide.
Thanks to the Fairy Cave, they managed to escape several deadly crises from Xiao Rizi.
Therefore, no one goes to the Fairy Cave, but the villagers all know its location and roughly how to get there.
There is only one path to the Immortal Cave. Zhang Pandi probably deduced it by looking at the path that Uncle Rong and Aunt Pei took. She was told to secretly follow it, but Zheng Nanle guessed that she didn't have the guts.
After climbing up the almost steep cliff, I finally stepped on a large rock and lightly leaped onto the platform in front of the Fairy Cave.
Because few people come here, weeds grow wildly on the platform, and the entrance to the cave is covered by weeds.
Zheng Nanle used a stick to push aside the weeds and bent down to go inside.
The entrance to the cave is small, but the cave inside is quite large. Further in, there is an even larger cave. At the very top of the innermost part of the cave, there is a small opening through which a sliver of sunlight shines down, illuminating the area brightly.
By the light, one can see that the edge of the cave is not a straight, flat wall, but rather, about two meters above, there are large rocks stacked one on top of another, forming staggered protrusions. Climbing these protrusions might allow one to crawl out of the cave.
Of course, it is also very dangerous.
Most people don't have the skills to do this. Let alone climbing out, they can't even get over the bottom two meters of the flat wall. Even skilled people can get over the flat wall, but climbing dozens of meters above is a huge challenge.
Zheng Nanle moved his wrists, using his sprinting feet to step onto the flat wall in parkour, landing lightly on the upper platform as if walking sideways, and then using his hands to climb the protrusions, moving upwards on the stone like a gecko.
The narrow passageway above looks tiny, but once you get there, you'll find it's actually quite wide, easily allowing people to pass through.
Outside the cave were mountains, desolate wild mountains, nothing special, but Uncle Rong and Aunt Pei wouldn't risk exposure to come here for tourism.
Zheng Nanle resorted to the old-fashioned method again, measuring the surrounding area with his feet.
She drank from mountain streams when thirsty, caught wild rabbits, fish and shrimp when hungry, and slept on a tree for the night when tired. She didn't take a bath, just wiped her hands and face briefly, and marked all the places in the vicinity that she thought were suspicious.
Of course, she didn't forget to go back a few times during this period to feed the little fish she had hidden with water and meat to make sure they were alive. She also went back to clean herself up and lay in bed for a night to recover her energy.
After walking for half a day in more distant directions and exploring all directions without finding anything unusual, Zheng Nanle got up and went home.
By this time, a month had passed.
After washing up, she let herself sleep soundly until the next day.
When the Zheng family saw Zheng Nanle walk out of the room, they were all a little surprised. Zheng Nanle had been elusive all month, and they hadn't seen her at all. If it weren't for the occasional shortage of firewood in the kitchen, the water on the stove turning cold, and Old Mrs. Zheng noticing that some of her treasured items were missing, they would have thought that Zheng Nanle had left long ago.
Old Zheng said, "Er Ya, your wedding banquet has already been held. You can go live there directly. Here's your key. Eldest brother, Fourth brother, you two help Er Ya move the furniture."
Zheng Nanle nodded, went to the room to pack up the odds and ends, and strolled into the new house. The eldest and fourth sons moved the furniture, while the eldest son's wife and the fourth son's wife moved the smaller items. As they went in and out, they discovered that Zheng Nanle had disappeared again and they didn't know where he had gone.
The eldest daughter-in-law couldn't help but say to the fourth daughter-in-law, "That Er Ya is really something. We're helping her move, and she doesn't even offer to lend a hand."
The fourth son's wife agreed wholeheartedly, but didn't show it on her face, only saying, "Er Ya is busy."
"What's she so busy about? She's not a police officer anymore, what's she busy about?" The eldest daughter-in-law muttered under her breath, quickly glancing around to make sure Zheng Nanle wasn't there. She breathed a sigh of relief and didn't dare complain anymore.
At this moment, Zheng Nanle was with Xie Jianhua and Daya, walking towards a secluded place.
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