Divorce
Zheng Nanle used his mental energy to probe inside and found a man covering a woman's mouth and pressing down on her.
The woman struggled, tears streaming down her face, her eyes pleading, yet she dared not resist too violently or make too much noise—beside her lay a little girl.
Her restrained yet cautious demeanor clearly aroused the man's inherent wickedness, making him more excited and intense as he tore at her clothes.
Zheng Nanle breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, she discovered it in time, and the woman's clothes were still intact on her body.
She jumped in, passed through the half-open door, and as silently as a cat, knocked the man unconscious with her palm as if it were a knife. Carrying his body, she moved as silently as she had come and nimbly jumped over the wall.
The whole process was smooth and seamless; the woman didn't see anyone from the moment she was rescued until she came to her senses.
"Who is this person?" Zheng Nanle asked Er Ya.
After examining him closely, Er Ya said, "He seems to be Xie Bosheng's fifth son, my fiancé's cousin, a good-for-nothing in the village."
Where does he live?
Zheng Erya led the way.
Zheng Nanle circled Xie Bosheng's house, found their manure pit, and threw the person into it from a distance, like a basketball.
"Thump—"
The sewage splashed half a foot high.
Zheng Nanle covered her nose and jumped up into the tree in disgust.
It's been so far away, how come it still smells so bad?
The weightlessness combined with the icy, foul-smelling fecal water hitting his face naturally jolted Xie Xiaowu awake. Upon waking, he felt water in his nose and, thinking he'd been thrown into the water, immediately cried out, "Help... glug, ugh, glug..."
A short while later, a figure emerged from the latrine and lay on the edge, retching repeatedly.
Zheng Nanle was full of disgust, and her stomach was churning.
He moved a few more trees back and continued to squat on them.
Forget it, I'll be more experienced next time and definitely stay far away.
Seeing that Xie Bosheng and the nearby families had lit their lamps, Zheng Nanle turned and left, continuing to run quickly towards the back mountain.
She moved with light steps, her body like a wisp of smoke, treading the mountains as if on flat ground, like a mountain spirit. The mountains were her territory, and she wandered among them as if patrolling her own domain.
Of course, it was only a vague resemblance, not a true one, as she was unfamiliar with the mountains.
They were able to avoid wild beasts and dangers in the mountains by relying on their outward-directed spiritual power.
After wandering around the mountains for half a day, they didn't find the magical herb Lu Guangbai mentioned, but they did find that some people had planted sweet potatoes and corn in the mountains, and some people had raised chickens, ducks and three pigs deep in the mountains.
There was a man guarding the farm. He wasn't tall, but he was very strong, with bulging muscles that exuded power.
Zheng Erya introduced, "This is Xie Ronghua, the village chief's grandson. He's also a good-for-nothing in the village. He's idle and doesn't work in the fields, so people call him a good-for-nothing. But actually, he's a good person and doesn't bully others. He used to give me dried sweet potatoes a few times because he felt sorry for me."
Zheng Nanle nodded, and seeing that he was sleeping soundly, she went over to look at the chickens and ducks, and then at the pigs.
Zheng Erya stared at Zheng Nanle expectantly, and asked hesitantly, "Sister, are you going to catch the chickens he raises?"
Zheng Nanle twirled the chicken feed, looked around in circles, and asked, "Er Ya, in your heart, am I a bandit?"
“No, no,” Zheng Erya shook her head repeatedly.
Zheng Nanle walked down the mountain and said with a smile, "Don't worry, I'm a good person and I don't do bad things. I just want to see how these chickens, ducks, and pigs are raised on the mountain."
Hmm, they have mosquito and snake repellent powder, and there are herbs in the chicken and pig feed; they're being raised very carefully.
If I want to eat chicken in the future, I can find someone to buy me a few.
Zheng Erya gave a big laugh.
Her older sister was her favorite person, and Ronghua was someone who had been kind to her; she didn't want them to become enemies.
The next day, when Zheng Nanle woke up, the house was quiet and empty.
She didn't think much of it and went to the kitchen first. As expected, there was no breakfast left for her. She then checked the cupboard, but there was no food there either.
"Sister," Zheng Erya called out worriedly.
Zheng Nanle raised an eyebrow and said to Zheng Erya, "Erya, let me teach you one more thing: if no one in this world cares about you, then care about yourself. Put yourself first, and remember not to wrong yourself."
She rubbed her stomach and said, "I'm hungry. I want to eat breakfast. Come on, I'll take you to eat your portion."
She walked to the house where Old Man Zheng and his family lived and saw that the lock was an old-fashioned brass lock. She found a wire, hooked it slightly, and inserted it into the keyhole.
The lock opened in no time.
Zheng Erya stared wide-eyed in surprise, "Sister, you're amazing!"
It's amazing that they can pick locks with wire.
Her grandmother trusted this lock the most; she would always lock it when she went out, and always carried the key with her, firmly believing that no one could enter the house without her key.
"Oh, it's nothing special, just basic stuff," Zheng Nanle thought to herself. What's so special about this? She could open those pin tumbler locks with a wire.
Entering the house with an open mind, Zheng Nanle scanned the room with his spiritual power and found the pastries, cakes, candies, and malted milk powder hidden in the cabinet.
Zheng Nanle made herself a cup of malted milk powder, which was fragrant and sweet. No wonder the heroines in historical novels always wanted to try it.
Of course, for those who have tasted the flavors of later generations, the taste may not be amazing, but it is a specialty of that era, and what you are tasting is the atmosphere.
After that, she took most of the snacks like candy, cakes, and pastries, scooped up a third of the rice, went to where she hid the money, grabbed a handful of bills, and left leisurely.
Zheng Erya asked worriedly, "Sister, you took so much, will you be alright?"
"What could possibly happen?" Zheng Nanle wasn't worried at all.
If there were space, she could have taken all those things.
She wasn't worried about alerting the enemy; her main point was, "I did it, so what can you do to me?"
Without evidence, we can't win, heh.
Zheng Erya covered her mouth and laughed, feeling extremely happy.
Hehe, my sister isn't her, so she won't be bullied.
Zheng Nanle went up the mountain again, intending to make millet oil, but found that he didn't have a pot, which was a mistake.
She hid the items in the cave she had found the night before, hunted a wild rabbit, roasted it, and ate it. After that, she continued searching for the magic herb.
Judging by the time, she went down the mountain, strolling home with a silly grin on her face.
She arrived home at just the right time; the Zheng family members had all returned from work.
Upon seeing Zheng Nanle, the Zheng family pretended not to see her. Grandma Zheng took out her key, opened the door, and went inside to get the grain.
Zheng Nanle sat on the threshold, her face cupped in her hands, smiling brightly.
"Ah, which damned bastard stole from my house? He's a son of a bitch..."
Grandma Zheng cursed venomously, her face contorted with rage, and stormed out. She glared at Zheng Nanle, suspecting that he was possessed by the hungry ghost.
Old Zheng entered the house and saw that the grain, money, and coupons were missing. His face darkened. He glanced coldly at his granddaughter sitting on the threshold, took a deep breath, and suppressed his anger.
He said to Old Lady Zheng, "Go and cook first."
Let's tolerate her for another day.
Old Mrs. Zheng went to get the grain while cursing, only to find a few sweet potatoes and a pitifully small amount of rice. Her eldest son's wife and fourth son's wife were shocked. "Mother, so little?"
"It's that thief who stole our food, that greedy beast. He stole all our grain. We should be grateful we have anything to eat. If you think it's not enough, then you don't need to eat lunch." The eldest son's wife and the fourth son's wife shut up.
They both knew that Old Lady Zheng was capable of doing such a thing.
Wasn't that how the second son's wife, who passed away, was tortured to death by her?
The Xie family arrived quickly; they probably went home for a visit before coming over.
Walking at the front was Xie Zhongsheng's wife, He Chuncao. She saw that Zheng Nanle had a small bottom and was very thin. He didn't greet people but just stared at them and smiled foolishly. She couldn't hide the disgust in her eyes.
Behind her, Xie Xiaosan's gaze swept over Zheng Nanle's face, chest, waist, and buttocks, full of disdain.
She has no face, no breasts, no butt... the only good thing is her slim waist, but what good is that? Holding her is like holding a child.
No, it's not even as good as a child. At least a child has some flesh and won't hurt you.
Zheng Nanle met the gaze of the mother and son, grinned with his big white teeth, and smiled even more foolishly.
He Chuncao glanced at Zheng Nanle, frowning in displeasure, "Really stupid?"
Walking past Zheng Nanle towards the Zheng family's courtyard, he didn't sit down but stood in the courtyard, hands on his hips, and said, "Second Uncle Zheng, Second Aunt Zheng, your family is not doing things properly. Before, you wanted to keep your granddaughter to work, but you never mentioned the marriage. Now that your granddaughter is mentally challenged, you're pushing her into our house. There's no such thing as a free lunch."
They only pinned the blame on the Zheng family, never mentioning that they themselves had avoided discussing this marriage for so many years.
Grandma Zheng, of course, refused to admit it and spat out loudly, "What utter nonsense! What do you mean by keeping your granddaughter to do chores? Which family doesn't keep their eldest daughter until she's eighteen before getting married?"
"If we really want to keep her working, is it possible that she won't let herself get out of bed?"
When Zheng Nanle heard Grandma Zheng say three times that she wouldn't get out of bed, she asked in confusion, "Er Ya, why does your grandma emphasize that you won't get out of bed? Is there any special meaning behind your not getting out of bed?"
Zheng Erya said, "Household chores are not as tiring or easy as working in the fields. Only those who love their children at home will stay at home and do chores."
Of course, that's someone else's house.
In other families, housework is shared among several people, but in Zheng's family, all the housework is piled on her shoulders, and no one in the family will lend a hand.
These household chores are easier than working in the fields, but not by much, and they are still quite tedious.
From 4 a.m. to 10 p.m., from morning till night, without a break, she would like to get out of bed if she could.
"So, as long as Grandma says I don't get out of bed, no one can accuse her of being harsh on me; they can only say that I'm not in good health."
"This isn't like your grandparents. Why didn't they let you get out of bed?"
"I'm the only one suitable in the family."
My aunts are all married, my second sister is in school, and my eldest aunt and fourth aunt can both earn full work points. Unless she can also earn full work points, my grandmother will not change her.
Of course, it was also related to her poor health; she had fainted several times when she went to work in the fields before. To prevent people from talking about it, her grandparents didn't let her do housework or go to work in the fields.
Because of this, Grandma felt she was enjoying a life of luxury and made her do all sorts of things for her. Not only did she have to serve tea and water, but she also had to pour everyone's bathwater and foot-washing water at night.
The amount of food that reached her mouth also decreased.
Zheng Nanle thought to himself, "I knew she couldn't possibly be that kind."
Old Mrs. Zheng continued, "Also, my second son betrothed her to your third son, so she is now a member of your Xie family. My Zheng family has raised her all these years without asking your Xie family for food or sustenance. If you take her back, it will fulfill the bond of kinship between grandparents and grandchildren that has lasted for so many years."
“Aunt Zheng, if your Er Ya were a good girl, we would take her home without hesitation, and we would give her a generous dowry. But Er Ya is mentally challenged. It would be unfair of you to marry her off to my third son, wouldn't it? My third son is a high school student.”
Grandma Zheng was furious. "If it weren't for my second son saving your third son, what high school student? He should be buried underground by now."
"Second Aunt," He Chuncao raised her voice, "how can you act like an elder? How can you curse my third son?"
Grandma Zheng pursed her lips.
Is this not true?
In the end, he didn't say much.
Old Zheng tapped the ashes from his pipe on the table and said, "What do you want? My second son's life-saving grace is not something you can just renege on."
He Chuncao reluctantly said, "Erya is mentally challenged and definitely can't be a match for my third son, but we can't forget Changgui's life-saving grace back then. How about this, my family will give Erya fifty yuan as a dowry."
Old Mrs. Zheng looked at Old Mr. Zheng, who tapped his pipe on the table without saying a word.
Old Mrs. Zheng understood what was going on; this meant she had agreed to settle the matter privately with the Xie family.
She said, "No, fifty is too little."
He Chuncao made a scene, and the two of them pulled and tugged at each other, eventually ending the marriage and the debt of saving her life by paying eighty.
Having torn up the marriage certificate and achieved their goal, the Xie family turned to leave. At that moment, the three chickens and the big fat pig, which had been quietly in their pen, suddenly leaped out. The rooster and hen fiercely chased after He Chuncao and Xie Xiaosan, pecking at them, while the big fat pig rampaged through the yard, bumping into both the Xie and Zheng families.
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