After finally calming himself down, Zheng Hedong decided to return to his cowshed.
Even if Xie Yan comes to invite him in the afternoon, he won't come.
Unexpectedly, Xie Yan didn't come to invite anyone in the afternoon; instead, he simply delivered the food to him.
Zheng Hedong was sitting in the cowshed, sulking, when he saw Xie Yan bring in food.
Just as I was about to loudly declare that I don't eat charity, Xie Yan calmly opened the lunchbox, and the aroma immediately wafted over. Looking up, I saw a large chicken leg in the bowl, its color enticing, glistening with oil in the sunlight, and other hearty dishes laid out beside it.
Zheng Hedong had no time to be angry anymore; his eyes lit up instantly, now only seeing the big chicken leg and those delicious dishes.
On a winter afternoon, the warm sun lazily shone on every corner of Xiliu Village, bringing a touch of warmth to the cold village.
Xie Yan and Yu Yue went to their parents' house for dinner together. Along the way, their shadows were stretched long in the golden afterglow.
As for Chaochao, they've long since passed away.
The Yu family has been feeling quite triumphant lately.
The fabric brought back from Beijing for this thank-you banquet was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, causing quite a stir in their village.
Previously, Xie Yan returned to the city alone, without taking Yu Yuehui and Chaochao with him. This gave the gossipy villagers something to talk about, and all sorts of rumors spread like snowflakes.
Under the big locust tree in the village, a group of people always gathered, whispering among themselves, and all sorts of bizarre rumors started from there.
An older woman began furtively, "Xie Yan's family definitely doesn't accept Yu Yuehui as their daughter-in-law, otherwise why would they leave her and her daughter here?"
Immediately, someone added fuel to the fire by saying, "Isn't it because Yu Yue gave birth to a girl in her second pregnancy? Xie Yan is disgusted with her, so he didn't take them with him when he returned to the city."
"If he has another chance to return to the city in the future, he might just abandon his wife and children."
······
Even worse, some people jumped right up to Yu Shan, pretending to be concerned for Yu Yue's well-being, and blamed Yu Shan: "You shouldn't have approved Xie Yan's leave. Look how long he's been gone. I bet he's not coming back. You've really ruined your daughter's life."
These words were like sharp knives, piercing straight into Yu Shan's heart.
Yu Shan knew in his heart that Xie Yan wasn't that kind of person, but he couldn't stop more and more people from saying such things, which overwhelmed him like a tide.
Every night, when all was quiet, Yu Shan would lie in bed, staring at the dark room, filled with worry, unable to fall asleep.
He was genuinely afraid that his decision would harm his daughter.
To be honest, he didn't breathe a sigh of relief until Xie Yan returned.
If Yu Shan is already under such pressure, the pressure on other family members must be even greater.
Apart from Yu Yuehui and Chaochao, who firmly believed that Xie Yan would return, everyone else was filled with anxiety and uncertainty.
The villagers, mostly with a "let's watch the show" mentality, were like a pack of keen-nosed hunting dogs, stirring up trouble everywhere and making up stories as if they had witnessed them firsthand.
However, no one expected that Xie Yan would not only return, but also bring back so many things, which made it clear that Yu Yuehui was very much loved by her husband's family.
This caused the villagers' attitude to completely change.
The village intelligence bureau immediately changed its tune. It was the same people, but this time their tone was different. "We told them that Xie Yan had an urgent matter to attend to in the city and didn't have time to bring his wife and children. They insisted on making things up, and now they've been proven wrong!" someone shouted.
“Yes, yes, yes, I felt something was wrong when I heard those rumors. Now I realize they were all made up!” These words came from Aunt Zhao, the village’s famous “loudmouth.”
She usually enjoys making up stories and spreading them around the village.
At the time, she confidently declared, "Xie Yan won't come back after returning to the city. People over there are already looking for partners, and they're even city workers." Her tone and demeanor made it seem as if she had been hiding behind the house, overhearing Xie Yan's family's conspiracy.
But now, reality has slapped her hard in the face, and she has switched sides faster than anyone else.
However, everyone was used to her appearance, since she had always been like this.
Every time her fabricated story was exposed, she would immediately turn against it and deny it, a smooth and efficient operation.
This time is no exception.
But people aren't stupid; how could those she offended easily forgive her?
But this person is shameless and flexible. He can offend someone and immediately change his attitude, not only refusing to admit what he did, but also acting as if nothing happened.
The day after Xie Yan returned, the afternoon sun was shining brightly. As usual, the village aunties and grandmas came to the Yu family one after another under various pretexts, actually wanting to find out what was going on.
When Qian Hong saw them arrive, she sneered inwardly. Without making a sound, she took out the fabric that Xie Yan had bought and began cutting it in the yard, preparing new clothes for the whole family to wear for the New Year.
When the villagers heard that everyone had one, their eyes widened in envy.
Especially Zhao Ailian, also known as Aunt Zhao, always thought she was very beautiful, but the man she married was not as good as Qian Hong, so she always secretly competed with Qian Hong.
Whenever Qian Hong has any new clothes or nice things, she immediately tries to get them for herself and then show them off to Qian Hong.
When she came over, she thought that the big bag of things Yu Yue brought back would at most be old clothes worn by city people. But when she saw the whole bolt of cloth, she was so angry that she almost ground her teeth to powder. She barely managed to hold back her outburst on the spot.
The others looked at the cloth and felt uneasy; their expressions were as bitter as if they had eaten a bitter melon.
Just yesterday, they were mocking Qian Hong's family, and today they're getting their comeuppance.
During this time, Qian Hong had suffered a lot of mistreatment from these people, and now it was finally time for her to fight back.
I remembered the matchmaker who came the day before yesterday, who wanted to introduce Yu Yue to an older man who had been married before.
That old man was from Li Mazi Village on the other side of the mountain. I heard he was about the same age as Yu Shan and was a drunkard.
He gets drunk and acts crazy, completely oblivious to the world around him, and enjoys hitting people and destroying homes.
His wife ran away because she couldn't stand his beatings anymore.
Before running away, the woman cried to others, "Even being arrested and shot is better than being beaten to death."
The villagers all felt sorry for her, so her escape went very smoothly.
Qian Hong was so angry when she heard what the matchmaker said that day that she trembled with rage. She picked up a broom and chased the matchmaker out of the house. She then cursed and shouted in the village for a long time.
Qian Hong remembered every single one of these accounts clearly, so how could she possibly let these people off easily?
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