"Her name is Xing Zhaozhao, she lives in Xiaogaozhuang. Her husband is a soldier, currently serving in the army. They have three children. She's incredibly strong; she can lift a wild boar the size of a small mountain with her bare hands. She has a bad temper and is extremely domineering. She's not well-liked in the village, but no one dares to mess with her for fear she'll come knocking on their door. They're all too afraid to speak up. I asked a gossipy old woman about her, and she said she had no idea she had any dealings with Brother Fei from the black market, but..."
Awen paused, a mysterious expression on his face, and looked at Lao Gou and the others who were staring at him nervously. He continued, "It is said that she got involved in that case that caused such a stir in Qingxi Town a while ago. She even went to Qingxi Town herself and rescued someone. It was the future granddaughter-in-law of the village chief, and she is now living with her."
Old Gou and the others immediately tensed up. Old Gou didn't know about this, but he had some men sent by Ling Yongde to help him, and they immediately realized: "I had heard that the case was caused by a woman beating up a mountain villager who wanted to take advantage of her, but I didn't expect it was her."
Old Gou's face turned extremely ugly. He turned his head sharply and said, suppressing his anger, "Why didn't you say something so important sooner?"
If he had known earlier that Wang Dafei had such a person, he would have been much more cautious, instead of being completely unprepared and getting shut down as soon as they met. He could tolerate being outmatched by Wang Dafei, after all, he was getting on in years, and if word got out that he couldn't even compete with a woman, where would he put his old face?
The man shrugged, looking completely innocent: "I only knew there was such a person, but I didn't know that this person was her. Brother De didn't tell me either."
Old Gou: "..." He was so angry, he didn't know where to vent his anger.
"Oh, by the way, a couple of days ago a child came to their house. He said he volunteered to be their daughter's child husband. His surname is Ling, and his name is Ling Ze," Awen continued.
Old Gou didn't recognize him and didn't take him seriously.
Upon hearing this, the man sent by Ling Yongde was shocked. His expression immediately changed, and he stood up abruptly: "What did you say his name was?"
The people around him looked at him with puzzled expressions, wondering what he was so nervous about.
Awen was also a little confused. He didn't know what was wrong with this child named Ling Ze; he had just casually mentioned everything he had found out.
"Call him... call him Ling Ze," Awen stammered.
"It's just a child, what's the problem?" Old Gou said dismissively. Anyone willing to offer themselves up as a child groom must be from some poor family; they're not worth mentioning.
"How can there be no problem? There's a huge problem! Do you even know who this child is?" the man exclaimed.
When Lao Gou saw that his expression was off, his heart skipped a beat: "Who is it?"
"He's Ling Xiao's son," the man exclaimed.
Old Gou also sensed something was wrong and suddenly stood up: "Isn't Ling Xiao's son dead?" Otherwise, Ling Yongde wouldn't have taken this opportunity to kill Ling Xiao and take over the position himself.
"How the hell should I know?" the man said, looking annoyed.
Old Gou thought of Ling Xiao, then of Fei Ge, and his face turned pale instantly. Beads of sweat quickly appeared on his forehead, and he said in a slightly trembling voice, "Could it be that those two have discovered something and are deliberately teaming up to cause trouble?"
The man realized something and a look of fear crept onto his face: "You...you mean, from the moment the child fell into the water and news of his death spread, to when Ling Xiao and Wang Dafei fell down the steep slope, it was all a setup by them to fake their deaths and trick Brother De?"
Old Gou's expression was solemn as he said, "It's not entirely impossible."
The man panicked immediately: "No, I have to go back quickly and remind Brother De."
After saying that, he left immediately without hesitation and rushed back to Qingxi Town.
At that moment, Xing Zhaozhao was having dinner at home when Aunt Hao suddenly rushed over in a panic. As soon as she opened the door and saw her, she asked, "Zhaozhao, do you have any dealings with that Fei Ge from the black market?"
Xing Zhaozhao's heart skipped a beat: "Where did Auntie hear that from?"
Seeing that she didn't refute, Aunt Hao knew something was wrong. She was both angry and anxious, and slapped her arm, saying, "Are you crazy? At a time like this, you dare to associate with people like that? Have you forgotten what your in-laws' situation is now? They've all been sent to a labor camp, and there are no two adults in the family who can take care of things, leaving a bunch of kids at home to suffer. Do you want your Hongfei, Hongyu, and Xiaohongling to end up like them?"
"No, Auntie, if that family hadn't been so high-profile, so cunning, and so mean-spirited, they wouldn't be in this situation now. They brought it on themselves. I'm different from them, so you don't need to worry," Xing Zhaozhao reassured Aunt Hao.
Aunt Hao stared blankly at Xing Zhaozhao, thinking of the rumors she had just heard, and then thinking that the Gao family had been sent to a labor camp because they were involved with the black market. But could the Gao family, apart from Gao Mingcheng, really have connections with the black market based on the abilities of his other two sons?
Aunt Hao had a sudden realization and looked at Xing Zhaozhao with disbelief, asking, "Their family going to jail, could it be related to you too?"
Xing Zhaozhao smiled and remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement.
Aunt Hao clutched her chest, feeling like she couldn't breathe: "How could you be so bold?"
"Any news from the army lately? When will Mingcheng be back?" Aunt Hao couldn't help but ask. She was genuinely worried that if Gao Mingcheng didn't return soon, his wife would be out of control. How could she be so bold? How could she be so capable?
Xing Zhaozhao thought of the letter she had recently sent on behalf of Gao Mingcheng, and her heart suddenly warmed: "It should be soon." Although she didn't know what Gao Mingcheng had written in his heart, her intuition told her that it must be related to the war in the south. Perhaps she wouldn't have to wait so long in this life.
"That's good." Aunt Hao breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a significant weight lifted off her shoulders.
"Where did you hear about this, Auntie?" Xing Zhaozhao asked again.
Aunt Hao's expression hardened, and she said, "Just now, I heard from Old Lady Lu at the village entrance that someone gave her a dollar to inquire about you and asked if she knew about your relationship with Brother Fei from the black market in town."
Xing Zhaozhao's heart sank. The incident at the black market had barely happened, and people had already come to the village. It was definitely that old man's men; there was no doubt about it. This kind of thing was impossible to guard against, and it was indeed her own negligence. However, she hadn't expected that someone in the village would sell out her family's affairs for just one yuan. It seemed she had been too lenient with them before.
"I'll go take a look," Xing Zhaozhao said expressionlessly, then opened the door and went out.
Aunt Hao realized something was wrong and quickly chased after him, saying, "Wait, I'll go with you..."
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