Yunniang's heart was in her throat as she watched, wondering if it was a case of family scandals not being aired in public, and whether these people didn't want the two outsiders to hear about their village's shameful affairs.
Liujia Village is a large village, and many people in the village know Pei Yao. Some of them have even worked for Pei's family on weekdays.
But the two people in front of them clearly did not recognize Pei Yao and Yun Niang.
"Let me tell you, young lady, you don't know, we're talking about Qi Dayong and Zhang Niangzi's family. Judging from what you've said, you must know them, right? Oh, I just remembered, isn't Zhang Niangzi from the Wang or Pei family in your village..."
The woman thought for a moment but couldn't remember, but that didn't stop her from continuing her gossip: "I can't remember whose family it is either, but they're the ones who do the work."
Pei Yao replied casually, "My surname is Pei."
The older woman continued, "You know that Pei family, no wonder you know Madam Zhang. You didn't know..." She sighed, her face beaming with excitement, and continued:
"Let me tell you, Qi Dayong recently got involved with Xia, a widow from the village whose husband died. And Xia, well, she's no pushover..."
The older woman's mouth was like a machine gun, rattling off to Pei Yao.
Another person would chime in every now and then.
Pei Yao couldn't help but sigh, "Sure enough, no one can resist the allure of gossip."
It can instantly transform strangers into longtime friends, who can talk endlessly and never seem to have enough.
However, before Pei Yao could finish listening, she became restless and wanted to squeeze to the front to see what was going on.
I wonder if Madam Zhang is alright.
......
The situation of Madam Zhang in front of us is indeed similar to what Pei Yao just heard.
She was being beaten on the ground by a woman with a long face. It's unclear whether she was beaten too badly, but she lay on the ground with her eyes closed, almost on the verge of death.
They were already powerless to resist.
Qi Dayong stood aside and watched coldly, showing no intention of helping at all.
Zhang Niangzi's three children, seeing their mother being beaten, rushed to her side crying and tearing at Widow Xia, begging her to stop.
"Don't hit my mother! Get away from me! Let go of my mother!" The eldest of the three children was trying to shove the widow Xia.
However, she was just a child and her strength was limited; she couldn't push it at all.
Widow Xia shoved the child away: "Get lost, don't drag me. I'll deal with this stupid woman first, then I'll deal with you three little brats."
Some people in the crowd couldn't stand it and wanted to help, but Qi Dayong had just declared that this was his family matter and anyone who dared to interfere would be dealt with severely.
Qi Dayong was a notorious scoundrel in the village. Anyone who got involved with him would have to suffer a lot to get rid of him.
Naturally, no one dared to step forward to help.
However, someone couldn't help but shout at Qi Dayong, "Dayong, if you don't do something about this, your wife might really be beaten to death by this widow Xia."
Qi Dayong glanced at the person who spoke and said disdainfully:
"Since you like meddling in other people's business so much, why don't you take care of it? After you're done, you can have this woman and her three children with you too."
The person who had just spoken was suddenly rendered speechless.
She just glared angrily at Qi Dayong.
Zhang Niangzi was kind to everyone and never got into arguments with anyone.
She was known for her good nature, and the villagers all had a good impression of her.
Although some of those people wanted to help Zhang Niangzi, they didn't dare to speak up when they saw Qi Dayong's appearance.
After all, if Qi Dayong were to give Zhang Niangzi and her three children to them, they wouldn't be able to afford it.
"I'll take care of it!"
Suddenly, a strong voice rang out from the crowd.
There was a moment of silence, then everyone turned to look at the source of the voice and made way for the speaker.
Everyone craned their necks to look, eager to know which brave soul dared to interfere in the Qi family's affairs.
Just now, someone went to invite the village chief, but he made an excuse and didn't come.
Even Widow Xia and Qi Dayong were momentarily stunned.
Pei Yao repeated what she had just said: "I said I'll take care of it. Zhang Niangzi and her child can move to my house from now on."
Pei Yao was not far ahead, so she heard what Qi Dayong and the others were saying.
She feared that if she didn't speak up, Madam Zhang would be beaten to death.
Zhang Niangzi was in such poor condition that she was pinned to the ground by Widow Xia and remained motionless.
Pei Yao calmly stared at Qi Dayong, who was standing by and watching from a distance.
Qi Dayong glanced at Pei Yao and curled his lips in disdain: "You mean you're going to help me raise these three little things?"
After saying that, Qi Dayong looked at the three children with utter disgust, as if they were strangers to him.
Yunniang went over to comfort the child, but didn't know how to do it.
The three children were currently clinging to Zhang Niangzi, crying their hearts out.
Yunniang looked at the dying Zhang Niangzi and wanted to go forward to help her up, but as soon as she got there, Widow Xia pushed her away with one hand.
Widow Xia had a hard childhood, growing up doing manual labor with her family, running around doing chores. Even though she was a woman, she was still very strong.
So Yunniang was quite shaken by the slap she received.
Fortunately, Pei Yao reacted quickly and caught her from behind.
"Mother, are you alright?" Pei Yao helped Yunniang up.
Yunniang shook her head: "It's alright."
Although Yunniang is usually gentle, she forced herself to calm down at this time.
She looked at Madam Zhang with concern and softly called out, "Madam Zhang, are you alright?"
When Zhang Niangzi heard the voice, it took her a while to recover. She mumbled incoherently, "Madam, you've arrived."
As she spoke, Madam Zhang tried to get up to look for Yunniang and the others, but before she could even lift herself up, Madam Xia pressed her back down.
Among the crowd were many workers who worked for the Pei family, and they recognized Pei Yao and Yunniang.
Everyone was speaking out for Pei Yao and Yun Niang.
"No, Widow Xia, it's one thing for you to fight with Madam Zhang, but why did you have to attack others as well?" a villager said indignantly to Widow Xia.
"That's right, Widow Xia, don't push your luck. Don't drag others into your dirty business with the Qi family. Madam Pei didn't offend you."
Widow Xia was known throughout the village for her shrewishness, and almost no one dared to mess with her.
Upon hearing the villagers' words, she widened her eyes and glared maliciously at the people speaking in front of her.
"Old Wang, you're so siding with this woman, so why don't you also help that slut Zhang raise these children?" Widow Xia's words were harsh and unpleasant.
Those who had just spoken up in defense of Pei Yao and the others were immediately enraged and glared at her.
Only Wang Pozi, who had just been called out and scolded by Widow Xia, stepped forward to scold Widow Xia without fear of trouble: "Widow Xia, what people do is seen by Heaven. Sooner or later, Heaven will punish you for the vicious things you have done."
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