Chapter 32
Zhao Shiliu's face still hurt. She covered her swollen cheek, feeling anxious and angry, but she still had to explain to Zhang Qingshou, "Don't listen to her nonsense. There's no such thing as a man. She made this up! How could I do such a thing!"
When Chu Jiujiu heard this, she let out a particularly rude sigh and repeated what Zhao Shiliu had said to her, "Why would I make this up, Second Aunt? It won't do me any good if you become a slut. Look, I'm only nine years old. If you become a slut, it will be hard for me to find someone else in the future. Tell me, why would I ruin my life?"
Zhao Shiliu gritted her teeth, but didn't know how to refute her.
No man could stand being cuckolded, not to mention Zhao Shiliu's dark history when she was young. Her parents had originally found another husband for her, but Zhao Shiliu secretly got together with Zhang Qingshou. Although she had not been formally engaged before, it was still embarrassing to make it public. Fortunately, her parents' home was far away, and the family did not make a fuss, so her reputation was preserved.
However, so many years have passed since this incident, and Zhang Qingshou, one of the parties involved, has always had a thorn in his heart. He is afraid that Zhao Shiliu will treat him the same way she treated the previous man. Usually, when Zhao Shiliu goes out, he will follow her. If Zhao Shiliu talks to other men for a few more words, he will lose his temper in his room.
He kept a close eye on them, and they had been living in peace all these years. Only this time, due to the busy farming season and the need to remit money, he was unable to spare time, so he let Zhao Shiliu go out alone for several days.
The blood vessels on Zhang Qingshou's forehead were about to burst. He pulled Zhao Shiliu over and revealed her face, which she had been hiding. "Tell me the truth, is what she said true? Zhao Shiliu, if you dare to lie to me, I will kill you!!!"
Zhang Qingshou yelled the last four words, and Zhao Shiliu was frightened so much that his whole body trembled. Captain Zhao was standing nearby and wanted to go over and arrest Zhang Qingshou again, but then he thought, Zhang Qingshou wouldn't dare to do anything in public. What's more, this was a matter between husband and wife, and as long as nothing had happened, it would be better for him not to interfere.
Zhao Qianjin didn't move, but the other villagers started to persuade him. Some advised Zhang Qingshou to calm down, some advised Zhang Qingshou to be more positive, and some advised Zhao Shiliu to stop crying and admit her mistake. Zhao Shiliu's temples jumped when she heard this. What had she done wrong? Chu Jiujiu just said this casually, but these people actually believed it. Are you all idiots?
At this moment, she hadn't considered that not long ago, she had also used this to make Chu Shao and Chu Jiujiu speechless. Now it was just a matter of changing circumstances.
If she hadn't done it, she hadn't done it. Zhao Shiliu angrily put her hands down, her face swollen as she shouted, "Shut up! Okay, no one believes me, right? Chu Jiujiu, come here and tell me what that man looks like, what his name is, and where he lives. I'm putting this out there today. I, Zhao Shiliu, am worthy of the commune, my husband, and my parents-in-law. Tell me what you said, and I'll confront him. Don't think you can turn white into black just by talking!"
Every word Zhao Shiliu spoke was powerful and she was full of confidence. The onlookers saw that the tide of the discussion began to change again. Chu Jiujiu, looking at her righteous and noble look, wanted to beat her up.
After enduring for a moment, Chu Jiujiu clenched her fists and smiled sweetly, "Second Aunt, have you misunderstood something? Your relationship with other men, or with several men, has nothing to do with us. Chu Shao and I are only concerned about the remittance. Since you say you are worthy of the commune, your husband and parents-in-law, then you must also be worthy of your deceased sister-in-law and the poor children she left behind, right?"
Raising the letter of introduction in her hand again, Chu Jiujiu looked into Zhao Shiliu's eyes, seemingly calm but actually aggressive. "I don't know where that man lives, but I know where the red-armbanded lady from the post office is. Everyone is here now, so please be our witnesses. Second aunt, how about we go to the post office now and confront that lady? Ask her why she called you Zhang Fengjuan and so abominably sent all the remittance that originally belonged to my family into your hands? How could she, a good comrade serving the people, do such a despicable thing? Such a person should not continue to work. Second aunt, you are so kind-hearted, you must be willing to join me in exposing the true face of such a person in front of everyone at the post office, right?"
Zhao Shiliu: “…”
The little girl's clear voice echoed through the air, and everyone heard it clearly. It was precisely because of this clarity that it struck them as odd. Chu Jiujiu spoke at length, and without interruption, it gave everyone plenty of time to think. Finally, the villagers who were watching realized something: they'd been so engrossed in the excitement that they'd forgotten the magnitude of the fraudulent remittance. And, how much money was actually being remitted?
No matter what era, money always becomes the focus of public attention. Everyone looked at Zhao Shiliu, wanting to hear her answer, but Zhao Shiliu froze, unable to utter a word.
What could she say? If she went, she would die. If she didn't go, she would also die.
Zhang Qingshou's anger at being cuckolded finally subsided a bit. He realized belatedly that the surroundings were extremely quiet. Thinking of what Chu Jiujiu had said before, he also became nervous. It is said that husband and wife are of one mind. Zhang Qingshou's brain is more active than Zhang Qingguo's. He suddenly raised his arm and slapped Zhao Shiliu again. He was much stronger than Chu Shaoda and slapped Zhao Shiliu down directly. Zhao Shiliu's eyes went black and it took several seconds for her vision to recover. She looked up in shock, but Zhang Qingshou grabbed her arm and cursed, "You disgraceful thing, come back with me! I must teach you a lesson!"
Zhao Shiliu was confused for a moment, but soon reacted and walked home quickly while crying.
Want to run?
No way!
Chu Shao took a step to the side, immediately blocking the way of Zhang Qingshou and Zhao Shiliu. Zhang Qingshou raised his hand and wanted to push him, but the next second, there was another person next to Chu Shao. Han Shengyi stood two steps away from Chu Shao. The two of them stood on either side, blocking the way like door gods, just to prevent them from passing.
Han Shengyi smiled at them. "When you were saying Zhang Fengjuan was embarrassing, you could hear her shouting for miles around. Why are you silent now? Could it be that you're the one being embarrassed this time?"
Zhang Qingshou was stunned on the spot. At first he couldn't remember who he was. When he remembered, he suddenly became arrogant, "Who do you think you are? Get out of here!"
Zhang Qingshou wanted to hit him, but just as he raised his hand, his arm was blocked by Chu Shao. Looking at Chu Shao's fierce eyes, he was startled. Then, he was kicked in the knee by someone behind him. He fell to the ground unexpectedly, and the serious voice of Captain Zhao sounded from behind.
"It's wrong to hit someone. If I see you again, don't blame me for being rude to you."
Zhao Shiliu: “…”
Why didn't anyone say this when she was beaten just now?
The road was blocked and the couple could not go back, so they returned to the previous situation. This time everyone reacted and the situation became even more chaotic.
Mrs. Zhang tugged at Zhang Qingshou's sleeve and kept asking him, "Qingshou, what's going on with the remittance? Someone sent money to Juanzi? How come I didn't know about this?"
Old man Zhang looked at his family hesitantly and said, "Could it be that the second son's wife hid the remittance from us?"
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Zhang turned around and aimed her gunfire at Zhao Shiliu, wishing she could tear her face apart. "Alright! You black-hearted bastard, you didn't even tell me about the remittance. You're treating me like I'm dead! Tell me, where did you put the remittance? Did you send it all to your parents or your lover?!"
How could there be a lover! Zhao Shiliu wanted to kill himself to prove his innocence, but on the other hand, Zhang Fulai was still not calm.
He stood beside Captain Zhao, repeating over and over like a tape recorder: "Chu Shao stole things, catch him, he stole things from our family, catch him quickly, send him to the farm!"
Captain Zhao frowned. To be honest, he still hadn't figured out what had happened. Zhang Fu was right. Anyone who stole should be arrested, but...
He raised his head and looked at Chu Shao who was not far away. He was actually taking a look out of habit, but this look made Chu Jiujiu very nervous. She was afraid that Captain Zhao would really arrest Chu Shao, so she ran to Captain Zhao and raised her flushed little face. Chu Jiujiu explained very quickly: "No, we didn't steal anything. I found out yesterday that our family's remittance had been misappropriated, so I wanted to bring Chu Shao with me to find the remittance receipt from the post office, but we didn't see the receipt, only the letter of introduction that they had hidden away. We didn't think of stealing anything. Chu Shao and I are both earning work points. We can support ourselves. Even if we can't support ourselves, we will never be thieves!"
She spoke sincerely, her watery eyes kept looking at Zhao Qianjin, and every subtle movement emphasized how eager she was to prove her innocence.
Today, Chu Jiujiu was still wearing the same white dress with yellow flowers. As for her hair, she didn't put it up, but instead tied it into a pigtail, a style she learned from her third aunt. The fair and cute little girl tilted her head back, looking at him anxiously and nervously. Zhao Qianjin looked at her and was silent for a second. Then, he nodded to Chu Jiujiu, "I understand."
There was no change in Zhao Qianjin's expression, and he pronounced these three words in a firm tone. Chu Jiujiu couldn't figure out his thoughts, and the nervousness in her heart didn't disappear at all. To be honest, she was a little afraid that Zhao Qianjin would abuse his power for personal gain.
After all, according to the story Chu Shao had told, Zhao Qianjin had been severely humiliated by Zhang Fengjuan. What if he still held a grudge against him...
Chu Jiujiu started to pull at her pants worriedly. Zhou Xiaohe was watching them talking outside and couldn't help but narrow his eyes.
Zhao Qianjin wasn't good with words, so after learning about the situation from Chu Jiujiu, he walked forward. Mrs. Zhang was still tussling with Zhao Shiliu, cursing and even hitting her. Zhao Shiliu had been avoiding her, but there were always times when she couldn't avoid her. Now her hair was all messed up, and her body was twisted several times, causing her to cry in pain. Zhao Shiliu sobbed. Zhang Qingshou wanted to protect her, but when he thought of what Chu Jiujiu had said and how his mother kept calling her a lover, his legs couldn't move.
Zhao Qianjin came forward, and without any words or movements, the Zhang family members only saw his face, and their arrogance was mostly extinguished.
Mrs. Zhang's expression was extremely ferocious. When Zhao Qianjin approached, she lowered her arms and panted, "Qianjin, this is our family's business. Don't get involved."
Zhao Shiliu was still crying, but she also followed Mrs. Zhang's words and said, "Yes... yes, second brother, let's solve this matter behind closed doors. You don't have to worry about Chu Shao. We are all family, so it can't be considered stealing."
Zhang Qingshou looked around and nodded, "Yes, Captain Zhao, I'm sorry to have made a fool of myself. You should go home first."
Zhao Qianjin ignored them. He first glanced at Chu Shao standing across from him. Coincidentally, Chu Shao was also looking at him. One was an adult man, and the other was a minor who was forced to act like an adult. After making eye contact with Chu Shao, Zhao Qianjin turned around and asked Zhao Shiliu, "Where's the receipt?"
Zhao Shiliu: "Where's the receipt..."
She had torn up the receipts long ago and thrown the pieces into the stove, where they had now turned to ashes. She was not stupid and knew that money was useful to keep, so she naturally destroyed all the useless receipts that might cause trouble in the future as soon as she got them.
Anyway, there is no evidence, so she doesn't want to see what these little brats can do to her.
As for Mrs. Zhang and Old Man Zhang, just give them a few dollars to get rid of them. They are two blind people who can't even read. It doesn't matter how much money she says, it's just that.
Han Shengyi looked at the disheveled Zhao Shiliu and suddenly said, "It doesn't matter if you don't have a receipt. Take the letter of introduction to the post office to check the remittance records. They can check the remittance records for the past year."
Zhao Shiliu froze in her tracks as she wiped away her tears.
The remittances had been coming for only five months. Not long after Zhang Fengjuan's death, Zhang Qingshou and Zhao Shiliu had moved into Zhang Fengjuan's house. One day, the postman suddenly arrived, saying there was a remittance from Zhang Fengjuan. Zhao Shiliu, upon hearing the money, rushed out without a second thought, claiming to be Zhang Fengjuan. The address and age matched, and the postman, not being from the countryside, didn't know anything about Zhang Fengjuan. So, without a clue, he delivered the money to Zhao Shiliu.
Only in the first month did Zhao Shiliu receive the remittance through the postman. After that, Zhao Shiliu was afraid of being discovered, so he and Zhang Qingshou went to the post office every month to wait. Before the postman delivered the money, they took the money back first. In this way, they concealed the truth perfectly for five months, and only now did they reveal any clues after moving back to Zhang's house.
If it is really possible to check, what should I do?
Chu Jiujiu was the shortest, and when she looked up, she happened to see Zhao Shiliu's expression as she lowered her head. She noticed a flash of guilt and fear in her face, and Chu Jiujiu knew what was going on.
She trotted over to Chu Shao and stuffed the letter of introduction back into his hand. "Let's go to the post office now and find out how much money they've embezzled. The Inheritance Law of the People's Republic of China clearly states that the first-line heirs to an estate are spouses, children, and parents, and brothers and sisters are second. According to this law, Zhao Shiliu can only take the money if Chu Shao and I, as well as Mrs. Zhang and Old Man Zhang, are both dead. She's now bypassing so many people. This is a violation of the law, and a particularly serious violation!"
Chu Jiujiu spoke loudly, and everyone present heard it. She spoke so clearly and professionally that no one thought it was made up, especially Zhao Shiliu. When she thought of Zhang Qingguo and his wife, whose life or death was unknown, her heart almost jumped out of her throat.
Everyone believed that what Chu Jiujiu said was true, except Han Shengyi, who was a little confused.
Inheritance Law of the People's Republic of China, when did the country promulgate this law?
Chu Jiujiu pulled Chu Shao's hand. Chu Shao hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Okay, let's go check it out now."
Chu Shao glanced at Han Shengyi before taking a step forward.
Chu Jiujiu pulled Chu Shao forward for a while. When she passed Zhao Qianjin, she suddenly stopped and said, "Captain Zhao, please keep an eye on my second aunt. Wait until we get the receipt from the post office back. It's the physical evidence. We also have the red armband lady from the post office as a witness. Zhao Shiliu not only seized my family's property, but also slandered my mother Zhang Fengjuan's reputation. We in the Chu family will never reconcile with her. When the time comes, we will definitely send her to a labor camp as well!"
Zhao Shiliu was horrified when she heard this. Seeing Chu Jiujiu was about to leave, she quickly stopped her and said, "Wait, you can't go!"
Seeing her hand about to fall on her, Chu Jiujiu immediately dodged it in disgust, "Don't touch me!"
"Why shouldn't I go? You just called me an illegitimate daughter. Ask others, who can stand being told that? You robbed my family's money, bullied my mom, and bullied me. Why shouldn't we go?"
Chu Jiujiu's expression was quite serious. Chu Shao held her hand, and although he didn't say anything, he had the same attitude. Zhao Shiliu was anxious. She turned around and began to plead with Zhao Qianjin, "Second brother, there's no need to make such a big fuss about this. Let's go inside and talk it over, okay? Why go to the post office? It's so far away, and it will tire the child out."
Chu Shao: "For this matter, we are not afraid of being tired."
After saying that, he was about to take Chu Jiujiu away. Zhao Shiliu quickly blocked their way with her body. At the same time, she grabbed Zhao Qianjin's arm and said, "No, no, second brother, everything can be discussed. Look, I'm still your distant cousin. It was my mother who helped arrange your marriage with Zhang Fengjuan. For my mother's sake, let's make a big deal out of a small matter, second brother..."
Zhang Qing tried to hold back for a while, but he couldn't help it anymore and tore her away from Zhao Qianjin. "What are you doing pulling and tugging?"
Zhou Xiaohe outside was also watching this scene. Ever since Zhao Shiliu mentioned their marriage, her eyes towards Zhao Shiliu had become dull.
Zhao Qianjin wanted to push her away, but Zhang Qingshou did him a favor. Frowning, Zhao Qianjin said in a businesslike manner, "I'm not only your second brother, but also the company commander of our village's militia. Village affairs, regardless of whether they're big or small, are done if you did them, and not done if you didn't. Calling me second brother won't change that."
After saying that, he looked around and called a man from the onlookers, asking him to go to the field to find two people, both of whom were members of their militia company, so that they could take Zhao Shiliu under guard after they came.
Zhao Shiliu was in disbelief, as if he had never expected him to be so cold-blooded. Seeing that something bad was about to happen, Zhao Shiliu was so angry that he started to speak without thinking: "You, you——"
"Bah! You talk better than you sing. You're just still thinking about Zhang Fengjuan!"
Zhao Shiliu's expression became distorted. "When I married into the Zhang family, you were my bride. I met Zhang Fengjuan only once, and you fell in love with her. In order to be closer to her, you even reported to the Qingzhu Village militia. I should have seen at that time that you were a coward who had his eyes on a woman's belt! When she was alive, you were thinking about her. Now that she's dead, you're still thinking about her son and daughter. I'm your sister, we're family! Your conscience has been eaten by dogs!"
She pointed at Chu Jiujiu and Chu Shao beside her and said, "You didn't help me, but instead helped these two little brats from unknown origins. Did you know that they don't even have the same father?"
Chu Jiujiu: ...my bad temper.
Although Zhao Shiliu was right that she and Chu Shao did not have the same father, it did not stop her from wanting to scratch Zhao Shiliu's face.
Chu Jiu was so angry that he was about to step forward when suddenly, a loud shout rang out in the air.
"Shut up!!!"
These two words rang in everyone's ears like thunder. Zhao Shiliu was startled, and so were the others, except for Zhou Xiaohe who was at the outermost edge. She clenched her hands and had an extremely ugly expression on her face.
Chu Jiujiu was stunned for a moment, then quickly backed away. Only when she was close to Chu Shao did she regain her sense of security. Zhao Qianjin stared at Zhao Shiliu intently, his breathing heavy, as if he was enduring something. After several breaths, he spoke again: "For the sake of our family, I'm giving you a warning. Return the money you swallowed to Chu Shao now, and maybe you'll be fine. If you wait for Chu Shao and the others to return with the certificate from the post office, no one will be able to save you."
Zhao Shiliu was stiff all over. She was closest to Zhao Qianjin, and her ears were numb. It was only because Zhao Qianjin's temper had improved a little in the past two years that she had forgotten that this man was a militia company commander with a gun, and she could not afford to offend him. She regretted her slip of the tongue and also regretted her carelessness yesterday, which had been seen by Chu Jiujiu. Zhao Shiliu's eyes flickered, and her fingers trembled, but she still did not say anything and would not return the money.
Zhang Qingshou, however, saw that they were powerless to change the situation. He was silent for a while, then suddenly turned around and began to unbuckle his belt in public. A young wife saw this and cried out, covering her eyes in shame. The old ladies were not shy about this and watched him with sparkling eyes as he pulled four ten-yuan bills from the folds of his belt.
After taking out the money, Zhang Qing threw it on the ground in front of Chu Shao as if to vent his anger, "That's all! Take it, we don't really want it anyway!"
I don’t care if you tuck it into your waistband. Chu Jiujiu really wanted to roll her eyes, but there were so many people here, so she forced herself to hold it back.
Chu Shao frowned as he looked at the money on the ground. Zhang Qing's action was humiliating. Whether Chu Shao or Chu Jiujiu picked it up, they felt uncomfortable. Han Shengyi didn't feel that pressure. He calmly bent down, picked up the money, and handed it to Chu Shao. He said, "The post office will record the details of each month, including how much money was remitted, when it arrived at the post office, and when it was collected. If the amounts don't match, you and your wife will still be held responsible."
When he said the last sentence, he turned his head and looked at Zhang Qingshou, whose face was ashen. The forty yuan had been given out, but they still had to go to the post office to check. The family's situation was already bad. If even Zhao Shiliu was sent to the farm, there would only be him, his parents, and seven children left in the family. He didn't want to support so many people alone!
Besides, my eldest brother didn't do anything at the time, but he was taken away because he knew about it. Not only did he know about it, he also went to the post office several times. What if he was taken away too...
Zhang Qingshou gritted his teeth and yelled at Zhao Shiliu, "What are you still standing there for? Give them back their money!"
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