At the village entrance, an old woman sat on a small stool in front of her house, surrounded by a group of people, all holding rice bowls, talking animatedly.
"...A short guy with a pointed face and monkey-like features, who looked like a bad guy, immediately handed me a dollar and asked who the person I had just passed was and who her family was. I thought to myself, something's not right. Isn't that Mingcheng's young wife? We never see her usually. Where has she been hanging out with all these people that I shouldn't have messed with?"
The old lady paused, then slapped her thigh hard: "Guess what?"
The people squatting around her forgot to eat and stared nervously at the old woman.
Seeing that they had all taken a liking to her, the old lady smiled with satisfaction and continued, "He actually asked me if I knew what the relationship was between Mingcheng's wife and Brother Fei, who runs a black market in town."
The people squatting around couldn't help but gasp in surprise.
The old lady slapped her thigh again: "I knew something was wrong. If they had no relationship at all, why would people come to ask? Before, when she was so desperate to sever ties with the Gao family, I really thought the Gao family was tormenting their daughter-in-law. Now it seems there might be some shady business going on. She lives alone with her child on the mountainside, and no one can see her anyway. Who knows what she's up to in private?"
The people squatting around listened and all thought it made sense, nodding frequently.
The old lady sighed and said, "What a pity for Mingcheng, such a good young man. He worked so hard in the army to earn his allowance, but he ended up with such a shameless wife."
The people squatting around also sighed.
The old lady said indignantly, "It's only because I don't have evidence right now, otherwise I would definitely have given her a good scolding..."
Before she could finish speaking, the old lady suddenly met a familiar face with a smiling expression but no warmth in its eyes. A look of terror appeared on her face, and her neck seemed to be grabbed. With a "snap," she fell silent, not daring to even breathe. Her old face instantly turned red.
The people squatting around were listening intently when the old woman suddenly stopped, and they were all puzzled: "Why did you stop talking?"
The old lady let out another "ga" and shakily raised her hand to point behind them.
The people squatting around turned their heads in surprise, and when they met Xing Zhaozhao's smiling face, they were instantly terrified. What's this ancestor doing here?
Seeing Aunt Hao who came with Xing Zhaozhao, they all showed a mournful expression on their faces. They were just listening to a storyteller, not taking it seriously, so why did they bring this troublesome person along?
Someone was trying to sneak away while Xing Zhaozhao wasn't looking, but they had only taken two steps.
“I’ve memorized every face here. If you dare to leave, I’ll come looking for your homes one by one later,” Xing Zhaozhao’s cool voice rang out.
The feet that had just stepped out immediately retracted.
Xing Zhaozhao looked at Old Lady Lu with a smile: "What did you just say you were going to hang for me?"
Grandma Lu immediately shook her head vigorously, her mouth tightly shut. She didn't say anything.
“But I clearly heard you say that there was something fishy about my breaking off ties with the Gao family, that I was living alone with my child on the mountain, and that I must have been doing something shady in private. You even called me shameless.” As Xing Zhaozhao spoke, she bent down and casually picked up another stool next to Old Lady Lu, seemingly wanting to sit down. However, she grabbed one of the stool legs with one hand and ripped it off with a “snap.”
Grandma Lu and the people squatting around her froze instantly, their legs trembling.
"Oh dear, I accidentally tore off one of the legs." Xing Zhaozhao looked apologetically at Grandma Lu and said, "I'll make you a new stool another day." After saying that, she tore off the other three legs with a "crack crack crack" and handed them to Aunt Hao, who looked speechless. "Take them back and use them as firewood. And please, Uncle, make me a new one to compensate the old lady."
Aunt Hao's lips twitched slightly, but she took it without hesitation and nodded, "I understand."
Old Mrs. Lu pouted, almost bursting into tears: "No, no, you don't need to pay. I know I was wrong. I'll never gossip about you again."
Xing Zhaozhao raised an eyebrow slightly: "Are you sure what you said was just idle gossip?"
Grandma Lu raised her hand and slapped herself in the face: "I was wrong. I couldn't control my mouth. Those were all made up. They're not true. I promise I'll never do it again."
"What if someone asked you about me, and even said I have connections with people involved in the black market?" Xing Zhaozhao continued to ask.
Since things had already come to this point, Old Mrs. Lu simply denied it outright. Anyway, she was alone at the time, and no one else knew: "I made it all up."
Xing Zhaozhao's eyes flickered as she looked at the people squatting around her: "You all heard that, right? It's all made up."
The people squatting around nodded hurriedly, "We understand, we understand."
They all raised their hands and swore, "Don't worry, we absolutely won't go around saying anything." Even if it were true, they wouldn't say anything.
I was listening with such fascination just a moment ago, and now I want to slap myself. Why can't I learn my lesson? I knew it was her gossip, yet I still eagerly came to listen. Is this woman someone to mess with?
"Alright, since everyone is so understanding, you can go back now," Xing Zhaozhao finally said.
The people squatting around were immediately filled with gratitude and couldn't wait to get up and leave. However, their legs went numb from squatting and they almost fell, but they still managed to stand up because they really didn't want to stay there any longer.
Xing Zhaozhao glanced at the bowls they were carrying and couldn't help but say with disdain, "Can't you just eat properly at home? You're spitting all over your food..."
Those who were about to run paused, glancing down at their unfinished bowls of rice, their faces falling. Couldn't they have waited until they went with them? How were they supposed to eat this? They didn't want to waste it.
Watching them leave with mournful expressions, Xing Zhaozhao felt much better.
She then turned to look at Old Lady Lu.
When Grandma Lu met Xing Zhaozhao's gaze, she shrank back guiltily and quickly turned and ran back home.
Xing Zhaozhao immediately followed her inside.
Grandma Lu almost cried, looking at her pleadingly: "I've already apologized, what more do you want?"
“Tell me everything that person asked you,” Xing Zhaozhao said.
"Didn't I already tell you that I made it all up?" Old Mrs. Lu said with a bitter face, not wanting to talk about it anymore, but when she met Xing Zhaozhao's sharp gaze, she finally confessed.
A cold glint flashed in Xing Zhaozhao's slightly narrowed eyes, and she asked, "You told him everything?"
Grandma Lu's eyes flickered, but she remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement.
Xing Zhaozhao stared at her expressionlessly for a moment: "If anything happens to my child because of this, I'll come and settle the score with you." After saying that, she turned and left.
Grandma Lu panicked and quickly chased after him, saying, "How can that be? How about I return the one yuan he gave you?"
"No need, keep it for yourself and spend it as you please." Xing Zhaozhao emphasized the word "spend it as you please," sounding like she was gritting her teeth.
Grandma Lu looked at the money in her hand and felt it burning her for the first time. Then she raised her hand and slapped herself again: "That'll teach you to talk nonsense."
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