When she got home, it was just in time for dinner. Song Ning was starving, and the aroma made her forget everything else.
After the meal, Song Dahai went to fetch water, and Song Ning, having nothing else to do, followed him.
Nanshan Village is not small, and they live in a remote area, so it takes a while to get there from the Fang family.
Along the way, they encountered many villagers fetching water. They were quite polite to Song Dahai, as they were all from the same village and had a fairly good relationship with each other.
However, there were still quite a few idle aunties and grandmas by the roadside. As soon as they saw Song Ning, they would naturally start talking about what happened on the mountain that day.
Song Ning pretended not to hear and continued walking with Song Dahai towards the east end of the village. The further east they went, the more people they saw.
This is the only well in the whole village that still produces water. People line up to draw water day and night, and judging by the queue, it will probably take quite a while.
After waiting for a while, a voice sounded from behind: "Brother Dahai, you're here to fetch water too?"
As soon as the father and daughter turned around, they saw a tall, thin, ordinary-looking young man wearing patched clothes standing behind them, with a woman of about the same age beside him.
He felt a little uncomfortable when Song Dahai looked at him.
Song Dahai nodded without speaking, his attitude quite indifferent, which made the young man somewhat embarrassed.
The young man remained silent, but the girl beside him spoke up: "Er Ya is out today too? I heard you had that Zhou boy help you out last time?"
These words sounded like they were meant to stir up trouble, and people around Song Ning glanced at him intentionally or unintentionally.
Song Ning turned to look at her, and the woman said sarcastically, "Oh, it's been a few days, and Er Ya has gotten quite fat. I heard that Brother Da Hai is rich now. It's really different when you eat meat every day. Your face looks so fair and tender, unlike us, who eat bran and wild vegetables all day long. I heard from Da Lin that Brother Da Hai borrowed fifty coins from him before. Did he use that to buy meat too?"
Upon hearing this, many people began to whisper among themselves.
The man next to her tugged at the woman's sleeve, signaling her to stop talking.
But the girl flung her hand away, glared at him, and raised her voice to continue shouting, "Why can't I speak? You have money to buy meat, but you won't pay back the money! We've never seen anything like this in our village!"
With so many people watching, Song Dalin couldn't save face and stepped forward to stop him, saying, "Stop talking."
Song Ning pulled Song Dahai back, stepped forward and smiled: "Slander without evidence can land you in jail. Mind your own business. Looks like you're too full, otherwise you wouldn't have the time to gossip."
"you!"
"So sharp-tongued at such a young age, and you even dare to covet the Zhou family? No one will dare to want you in the future!"
"What's it to you?" Then she turned to Song Dalin with a smile: "Uncle Dalin, people say that when you marry, you should marry a virtuous wife. This aunt hasn't even married into the family yet, and she's already starting to make decisions for your family. She's even trying to sow discord between you and my father. My father helped you a lot back then, and I believe you won't forget that. But what exactly is this future aunt's intention?"
"The worst thing for a family is a troublemaker, Uncle Lin. You'd better be careful. Not only will your household be in turmoil, but she might even use your money to support other men!" Song Ning said seriously.
With each additional word she spoke, the woman's face darkened, and she glared angrily.
Song Dalin's complexion wasn't much better; it alternated between red and white, and he couldn't lift his head.
"You little bitch, what nonsense are you spouting!" Wang Lanzhi was furious and shouted as she tried to tear Song Ning apart.
Song Dahai quickly stepped in front of Song Ning, and Song Dalin also quickly pulled Wang Lanzhi away.
Song Ning poked her head out from behind Song Dahai and continued to stir things up: "Uncle Dalin, your future wife is really terrifying. You dare to want a woman like that?"
This woman was Wang Cuicui's aunt. She recognized her long ago. The Wang family was unwilling to accept what happened to Wang Cuicui last time, and today she was standing up for Wang Cuicui.
As for Song Dalin, he and Song Dahai were distant relatives, brothers by seniority. They used to be very close, and Song Dahai was incredibly devoted to his brother, helping him with everything he had. However, ever since Song Dalin started looking for a wife, the two have stopped seeing each other often.
Song Dalin's face darkened at the commotion. He grabbed Wang Lanzhi and roared, "Are you ever going to stop?!"
Wang Lanzhi was instantly terrified by the roar and froze, too afraid to move. Ever since their engagement, Song Dalin had been completely devoted to Wang Lanzhi and had never uttered a harsh word to her.
Wang Lanzhi was stunned, then furious. How dare Song Dalin yell at her! She opened her mouth to curse, but before she could utter a word, Song Dalin roared, "If you say another word, the engagement is off!"
Song Dalin's family had emptied their savings to get this daughter-in-law. Wang Lanzhi had made it clear before she agreed that if he wanted to marry her, he had to have less contact with Song Dahai's family. This matter had always been a knot in Song Dalin's heart.
Now look what's happened; with that shout, the marriage is over.
But Song Dalin felt relieved. He really didn't want to be an ungrateful person. Ever since he got engaged, he couldn't hold his head up whenever he ran into Song Dahai in the village.
"Brother Dahai, she just said it without thinking, don't take it to heart," Song Dalin explained calmly.
If Wang Lanzhi had been more low-key and hadn't been so sarcastic, Song Ning wouldn't have bothered with her.
She heard that the Wang family was very satisfied with this marriage. In the current situation, the dowry was quite generous, and the person was also good. It was just a pity that Wang Lanzhi had such a sharp tongue.
“Miss Wang, you’re engaged to Dalin, and you’ve taken charge of things for him beforehand, so I couldn’t really say anything. But the money I borrowed from Brother Dalin last time has already been repaid. As for my family eating meat, everyone in the village knows what kind of situation my family is in. How could we possibly eat meat?”
Everyone in the village knew what kind of life the eldest son of the Song family lived, and that he could eat meat every day. They would never believe it if they were beaten to death. Now, even the people around them started to speak up for Song Dahai.
"Exactly, Er Ya goes up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables every day. If there were meat, would she even bother with those wild vegetables?"
“This Wang Lanzhi is Wang Cuicui’s aunt. Have you forgotten what happened last time? This is to avenge your niece.”
"They dare not offend the village chief, so they bully the Song family. She's not even married into the family yet, and she's already so arrogant and vicious. Luckily, I didn't try to mediate on behalf of my nephew..."
Upon hearing these words, Wang Lanzhi's face became quite a sight, alternating between white and green. After saying so much, she ended up losing face, being pointed at and gossiped about in front of everyone. She wanted to refute, but after seeing Song Dalin's expression, she dared not say anything.
Song Dalin didn't want to stay any longer and become a laughingstock, so he glared at Wang Lanzhi and turned to leave.
Wang Lanzhi knew she had lost face today, so she followed Song Dalin and tried to grab his sleeve to coax him, but Song Dalin was in a fit of anger and threw her behind him with a flick of his sleeve.
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