Chapter 69 Double Return
Feng Lan and Chen Kangbo looked at each other and saw relief in each other's eyes.
Chen Kangbo touched his eldest daughter's head and said in a loud voice:
"Go ahead and tell your village head that we have a well in the east courtyard that we're willing to let everyone use. Anyone from Pingjiang Village can come and draw water, free of charge."
He changed the subject and said, "Don't even think about getting a drop of water from that family in the west courtyard!"
After getting her parents' approval, Daya ran out happily.
Soon, the news spread throughout Pingjiang Village. Initially skeptical, the villagers erupted in joy upon confirming the truth. Suddenly, every household lined up at the east courtyard gate, carrying buckets of water.
Chen Kangbo and Feng Lan stood by the well, helping everyone draw water.
The heartfelt "thank you" and sincere gratitude filled the entrance of the East Courtyard with long-lost warmth.
In the west courtyard, Old Man Chen sat in the main hall, listening to the laughter coming from outside. Looking at the women in his own yard who were still cursing each other, he felt a lump in his chest, unable to move it up or down.
The weather was hot and he was already feeling upset. Now he felt as if his throat was on fire and was extremely thirsty.
"Water..." he shouted hoarsely.
No one paid any attention to him.
He called out again, a little louder: "Bring me some water!"
Old Mrs. Chen was sitting on the ground sulking. When she heard him shout, she replied angrily, "There's not a drop of water left in the jar. Where can I get you some water?"
"Then go and fight!" Old Man Chen roared.
"Fight? Where do you want me to fight? Go to the East Courtyard to ask that unlucky person for help? I would rather die than go there!" Old Mrs. Chen turned her head away.
Old Man Chen was shaking with anger and went to see his daughters-in-law. Qian's face was scratched with bloody marks and she was holding a mirror and complaining to herself. Liu was locked in the woodshed, crying loudly.
No one can be counted on.
He looked out the window and saw that the villagers who had once mocked his family were now carrying two full buckets of water and walking past his door with joy on their faces.
The clear water swayed in the sunlight, as if swaying his heart as well.
Old Mrs. Chen also saw it.
She watched other families having water to drink, listened to their laughter, and felt the burning thirst in her throat. An indescribable jealousy and anxiety gnawed at her internal organs.
She couldn't help but swallowed, but found that her mouth was dry and there was not even a trace of saliva.
The well, clearly just across the wall, seemed as far away as the horizon. The thirst in the west courtyard was like an invisible fire, burning everyone's throat and mind.
Especially Old Mrs. Chen, she sat on the doorstep, listening to the sound of bucket after bucket of clear well water being brought up from the east courtyard across the wall, and listening to the villagers' grateful voices of thanks. Every word of that voice was like a needle, piercing her heart.
She was mad with jealousy.
Why? Why did that unlucky star's family have water to drink and be admired? And she, the ancestor of the Chen family, was dying of thirst here?
She didn't dare go look for Feng Lan. Even now, the thought of Chen Kangbo's deadly shoulder pole still sent chills down her spine. However, the thirst she felt made her sit still and uneasy. It felt like a handful of sand was stuck in her throat, and even swallowing was painful.
Just then, she caught a glimpse of a small figure out of the corner of her eye.
It’s Erya.
Erya was playing cat's tuck with a few of her friends from the village in the open space not far from the east courtyard gate. Her little face was rosy and she was giggling.
Old Mrs. Chen's eyes lit up instantly.
A vicious thought emerged from the depths of her dry heart. She didn't dare to offend the adults, but could she not control a little girl?
She stood up tremblingly, forced a self-proclaimed kind smile on her face, and walked towards Arya.
"Erya, my good granddaughter, come here quickly and let grandma see you."
She shouted in a sickening voice.
Erya's laughter stopped, and she looked warily at the old lady who had suddenly approached her. She remembered her mother saying that no one in the West Courtyard could be trusted.
"You...what are you doing?" Erya took a step back.
"Oh, my dear grandson, grandma just misses you." Old Mrs. Chen continued to move forward, and the wrinkles on her face turned into a rotten chrysanthemum with a smile.
"Look, grandma is so thirsty that she can't speak. You are a good and filial child. Go and help your grandma fill up the water tanks in the west yard, okay? When grandma is no longer thirsty, I will buy you some candy."
Fill the water tank? Erya looked at her and thought of the two large water tanks at home. Her brows furrowed. How could she possibly fill them all by herself?
Seeing Erya hesitate, Mrs. Chen's patience was instantly exhausted, and the smile on her face disappeared, replaced by a sinister and threatening look.
"What? You don't want to? You heartless little bastard! I'm your grandmother! How dare you disobey your elders? Believe it or not, I'll teach you a lesson today on behalf of your damn parents!"
As she spoke, she stretched out her hand, which was as dry as a chicken claw, and was about to grab Erya's arm.
That hideous face, those resentful eyes, instantly overlapped with the look on his face when his second uncle Chen Kangzhong pounced on him that day in the back mountain!
"ah--!"
A huge fear gripped Arya. She screamed suddenly, turned around and ran, crying out of breath.
Old Mrs. Chen was frightened by her scream. She felt guilty and was afraid that she would attract the evil spirit Chen Kangbo.
She spat fiercely at Erya's back, called her a little bitch, then ran back to the west yard and closed the door tightly.
Feng Lan and Chen Kangbo were helping the villagers fetch water in the yard. When they heard Erya's terrified cry, their faces changed and they immediately dropped their work and rushed over.
"Erya, what's wrong?"
Feng Lan hugged her daughter in her arms and wiped her tears with heartache.
Erya was so frightened that she couldn't speak clearly. She just pointed in the direction of the west yard and cried.
The little friend next to him talked at once about what had just happened.
After hearing this, Chen Kangbo's face turned dark as ink. Without saying a word, he turned around and went to grab the shoulder pole in the corner.
"Comber!"
Feng Lan grabbed him.
"These bastards! It's never going to end! I'm going to break that old hag's legs today!"
Chen Kangbo's eyes turned red with anger.
"Will beating her up solve the problem?" Feng Lan's voice was cold. "She'll just lie on the ground and throw a tantrum. Then the whole village will say we, the younger generation, are unfilial. Beating someone like that is the worst option."
She comforted Erya, stood up, and walked to the villagers who were queuing up to fetch water.
Everyone stopped and looked at the couple with unfriendly expressions.
Chen Kangbo took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in his heart, and used all his strength to shout to everyone, word by word: "My fellow villagers! I, Chen Kangbo, am making this clear today! My well is for saving everyone's lives, not for quenching the thirst of those beasts who can't even think of taking advantage of a few-year-old child!"
His gaze, like a knife, swept across everyone.
"From today on, if anyone dares to help that family in the west courtyard, even by fetching a drop of water or even giving them a bucket of water, I, Chen Kangbo, will immediately fill up this well! Then, no one will be able to drink from it!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole audience was in an uproar.
This is simply cutting off the source of the problem!
The villagers looked at each other in bewilderment. On one side was the life-saving water source, and on the other was the Chen family, their fellow clan.
But there is no need to do it at all.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
