The person who came was not Old Man Xu, but Xu Genshu.
He didn't even have time to put down the book box before he ran into the courtyard and rushed to Yang's side. Yang was caught off guard and Xu Genshu pulled her hand away.
"Man'er." He tenderly picked up Fu Man'er, who was kneeling on the ground. The little girl's eyes were filled with tears, and there were several red marks on her fair and tender face.
"Uncle, she's a thief! She stole our things!" As soon as she saw her family, Fu Man'er immediately complained.
Upon hearing her words, Yang's face contorted with rage again, and she tried to attack again, but the adults who came over quickly pulled her away, and Xu Genshu also carried Fu Man'er away.
At this moment, Old Xu also ran back. He was doing carpentry at the village chief's house. When he heard someone calling, he hurriedly ran back, his hair still covered in sawdust.
"Man'er, Man'er." Old Xu immediately saw Fu Man'er being held in his youngest son's arms. The little girl's face was covered in patches of white and red, and it was heartbreaking to see her like that.
"Grandpa, sob sob." Fu Man'er finally couldn't hold back her sobs and began to complain, "Grandpa, a thief stole our things."
Old Xu had no idea what was going on. He knew everyone in the courtyard. "Where's the thief?"
"It's her." Before Fu Man'er could speak, the group of children pointed at Yang Shi and started talking all at once.
"She stole meat from your house."
"She even pinched it full."
"They even hit us."
"I didn't steal it, I didn't steal it." Everyone looked at Yang, and she could only loudly defend herself, even kicking the hand on the ground with her foot, "It's just a piece of scrap meat, my family has plenty of that, I don't care about it."
This angered Fu Man'er. "You're lying! You clearly stole the meat. I closed the gate when I went out to play, and when I came back, you were carrying the meat out of my kitchen. We all saw it."
The children immediately chimed in.
“You saw us, but you still put the meat down and tried to walk outside with it. We stopped you from leaving, so you hit us, cursed at us, and pinched us.”
Although Fu Man'er is just a child, she speaks with such conviction, and with more than a dozen children saying the same thing, it's hard for the adults present not to believe her.
“Yang, you, you…” Old Xu pointed at her, “You’re so old, yet you’ve wasted your life.” This was his younger brother’s wife, and Old Xu still didn’t say anything harsh.
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The scrutinizing looks from everyone made Yang feel guilty, but she prided herself on living well in the village and thought these people had no right to criticize her.
"Shut up, shut up, you believe what a few brats say?"
Many of the children's parents came over to the yard, and they immediately became unhappy when they heard what she said.
"What do you mean? You're calling my child a dead child? I think you're the dead old woman."
"Stealing and then denying it, at your age you have no shame."
With everyone chiming in, even Yang, with her thick skin, was starting to feel overwhelmed. Her eyes darted around, and she was about to sit down and start wailing and crying.
Just as I was thinking this, Fu Man'er got down from Xu Genshu's arms at some point, stood among the children, and cried as she spoke.
“My second grandmother is ruthless. She tried to beat us to death. Erni, does your hand still hurt? Are you hungry?”
Wang Erni was pushed by Yang Shi, and her hand fell to the ground, scraping her palm. The children, reminded by Fu Man'er, suddenly started crying and complaining that they had been hit here and pinched there.
The adults forgot about scolding Yang and rushed to check on their children. Some adults who hadn't arrived yet also helped look after them.
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Old Xu pulled his granddaughter to his side and said, "Little girl, tell Grandpa, where does it hurt?" Xu Genshan also came over.
Fu Man'er shook her head, "I'm not in pain, Grandpa, Uncle, it's our family's meat."
No matter how much her flesh ached, it couldn't compare to the pain in her heart; the flesh was still lying on the ground.
"Old Xu's family, go and see if anything is missing from the house." Granny Zhou hugged her granddaughter and looked at Yang with hostility.
After she said that, everyone urged Old Man Xu to go inside and check.
Yang started yelling again, "I didn't go into the Xu family's house, I just went into the kitchen to get the meat, don't try to pin the rest on me!"
She was desperate, afraid that the Xu family would blame her for anything that was lost.
The children beat her to it when she started crying, and for a moment she didn't know how to react.
Old Xu glanced at the rooms. He had locked them when he left, and the locks were still hanging on the doors. He then went to the backyard, which was also in good condition.
Seeing Old Man Xu shake his head, Yang straightened her back again, "I told you I didn't steal it."
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“I didn’t steal anything else, but my second aunt just said that you stole this meat,” Xu Genshan said as he put down the book box and walked over.
Yang glanced at him and said, "Genshu, how can you talk like that? I'm your second aunt. How is it stealing if I come to your house to take a piece of meat? You and your parents have worked so hard to send you to the private school to study. You've been trying to pass the imperial examination for three or four years now, and you still haven't passed. Aren't you ashamed?"
This incident was undoubtedly a painful experience for Xu Genshu. A trace of distress flashed across his handsome face, but he quickly calmed down.
"Second Aunt, you don't need to worry about my schooling. It didn't cost your family a single penny."
“When I was a child, my teacher taught me that taking something without asking is stealing. May I ask, Auntie, who in our family did you ask for this meat?”
Xu Genshu, being a scholar, spoke with conviction and force, leaving Yang unable to answer.
"I didn't take it away, the meat is still here, isn't it?" She often did things like this, trying to get away with it.
"Genshan, you don't need to worry about this." Old Xu walked over, and Yang was delighted. This old man knew how to handle things.
But Old Xu's next words were, "Village chief, since you're here today, I'd like to ask you to be a witness. We'll discuss this matter again after my brother returns tonight."
Zhou Yongkang came with Old Man Xu, but he didn't say anything. If it were before, he might have wanted to smooth things over, but now, because of the waterwheel issue, he sided with Old Man Xu.
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Seeing the village chief nod in agreement, Yang was stunned. "Why do we have to wait until tonight for such a small matter? I didn't take the meat away." No one responded to her.
“Grandpa Village Chief, she just injured a lot of children.” Fu Man’er tugged at Zhou Yongkang’s clothes and looked up as she spoke.
When Zhou Yongkang saw the pretty little child's face so badly injured, he felt a pang of sympathy. He thought Yang had been too ruthless.
Old Xu also noticed that some of the children had cuts and scrapes on their hands. Realizing that he had caused their injuries, he spoke up.
"Man'er, don't worry, Grandpa will go buy some medicine later and apply it to your friends."
“That won’t do,” Granny Zhou retorted immediately, her voice not soft. “It was Yang who injured him, how can we let your family pay for it instead of Yang?”
"Yes, let her scratch it. My girl's face is all scraped raw by her." Several adults chimed in, agreeing.
Yang went mad, shouting, "Why? Why? Every child gets hurt sometimes, why shouldn't I pay?"
Just as another argument was about to break out, Zhou Yongkang stepped in and said, "Mrs. Yang, you did hurt these children, so you have to take responsibility. We're all from the same village, so let's not make things too ugly."
"What do you think?" Zhou Yongkang asked, looking at the adults who had brought their children.
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“We’re not greedy. We’ll give the children something, either five eggs or a penny,” Granny Zhou said after thinking for a moment.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yongkang realized that Zhou was not greedy, and so the compensation was settled.
Yang refused, crying and shouting. "You're trying to extort money from me!" Everyone ignored her. The village chief had said that she could go to her husband's house to collect the money when he returned that evening.
Several women pulled Yang out as she went out, and she kept shouting that she was being extorted. Inadvertently, she saw Fu Man'er.
The two stared at each other, and Fu Man'er's clear, bright eyes seemed to say: So what if I'm trying to extort you!
Yang felt a surge of anger burning in her head. The women let go of her hand when they reached the roadside, and she immediately wanted to turn back and deal with Fu Man'er.
Unexpectedly, a dry branch fell from the tree next to her and hit her squarely on the head, making her see stars instantly.
Fu Man'er leaned against the door frame, her eyes squinting with laughter.
"Man'er, come quickly, let me apply the medicine for you," Xu Genshu called out.
"Coming," Fu Man'er replied, slamming the door shut and running into the house.
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