"What do you mean? Why don't you ask your son what he's done? He bullies people, slanders people, and even falsely accuses others. Does he think he's right?"
Although Zheng Quchi was a cultured person with higher education, it was a woman's nature to protect her own. If anyone dared to bully her family, she would dare to turn against them.
The village woman, hands on her hips, glared angrily and called out to those on either side, "Who said my child bullied anyone? It was clearly you, bullying the younger one. Today we must make her give us an explanation, otherwise this matter will not be over!"
A group of burly women surrounded her, looking down on Zheng Quchi for being short and thin, and completely disregarding her.
Instead of retreating, Zheng Quchi advanced, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes: "Don't think you can bully others just because you have more people. Try touching me and I'll turn around and report you to the authorities. There are laws in Da Ye that anyone who provokes trouble or intentionally causes harm will have their face carved with a knife and ink applied to the wound so that it will never fade. At the same time, they will be punished with hard labor such as building city walls and digging ditches under close supervision."
Her words were forceful and clear, and she suddenly took another step, startling the women who involuntarily shrank back.
"Come on, let's get started."
Seeing her fearless demeanor, the village women hesitated.
The villagers often have arguments and fights, but no one will take the initiative to report it to the authorities, since the people have always feared the power of officials.
Secondly, they are all from the same village, and as the saying goes, you'll run into each other all the time. Doing things too extreme will also draw criticism and cause trouble.
So this was the first time they had ever realized that assaulting someone and causing trouble could result in such a serious crime, and they were all quite frightened.
"Who are you trying to fool?"
Old Wu's wife, out of the corner of her eye, noticed the basket on her back and the pile of yellow soil on the ground. Her eyes darted around, and she sneered, "Oh dear, you poor folks think you can find anyone in the village to help you repair your house? Don't even think about it. You're bullying my child. I'd like to see which man in the village dares to help your Sang family!"
Recently, the Sang family was burned down in a fire. Behind their backs, everyone is maliciously speculating that the Sang family must have done something dirty and shady to offend someone.
Because the Sang family were newcomers who had only recently moved to Hegou Village, and because everyone in the family was either lame or mentally challenged, and there was also a freakish second son who was as black as a lump of coal, there was a lot of gossip about them in the village ever since they moved there.
They even repeatedly caused trouble for the village head, trying to use this as an excuse to drive them away.
However, the Sang family had always lived a secluded life and rarely interacted with the villagers. The village head was not an incompetent official, so he simply brushed the matter off.
At this time, Brother Sang had suffered countless scornful looks in the village and returned empty-handed. He came back dejectedly, but saw a large group of people surrounding Zheng Quchi. Startled, he hurriedly limped over.
What are you doing?
When the woman saw Brother Sang, her expression became even more arrogant: "Sang the Cripple, you've begged around and no one cares about you. Don't waste your time. Someone will come to help you repair your house. If you know what's good for you, get out of our Hegou Village right now."
Brother Sang clenched his fists. He was hurt by the word "cripple" and his face was also gloomy because he was powerless to help Brother Qing.
No wonder the villagers made excuses to avoid responsibility; it turned out they were the ones who caused the trouble.
“Sister-in-law Wu, it’s just children playing around, why are you being so aggressive? I… I can apologize to you.”
"You apologize?" Ha, Old Wu's wife seemed to stand up suddenly in front of Brother Sang. She flipped her lips and pointed at Zheng Quchi in a sarcastic tone: "You're not the one who bullied the child. Why are you arguing? Whoever did it should apologize to our child right here."
"Yeah, maybe they'll let it go because you're all so pitiful sleeping in pigsties."
"Qing'er is still young, it's my fault for not teaching her properly, I should take responsibility for her mistakes..."
Zheng Quchi angrily interjected, "Brother, they clearly planned to cause trouble. It's no use for you to compromise."
"That's enough. I know what I'm doing. Don't interrupt." He sternly reprimanded her.
Seeing more and more villagers gathering around to watch the commotion, Brother Sang just wanted to calm things down as soon as possible. He knew that the villagers had never liked them, so he couldn't let them find an excuse to drive his family out of Hegou Village.
“On behalf of Qing-ge, I apologize to you. We are willing to pay, please help our family. If you are still not satisfied…” He had no other choice, lowered his head, and trembled as he gritted his teeth, saying, “I can kneel down and beg—”
This is absolutely outrageous!
At this point, Zheng Quchi could no longer tolerate it.
She grabbed Brother Sang and pulled him up, saying in a confident and arrogant tone, "An apology is out of the question. If you don't want to help, then don't. I, Sang Xuanqing, don't need your scoundrels. I have my own people to help me!"
Brother Sang was taken aback. After listening, the others were stunned for a long time before bursting into laughter.
"Hahahaha... A down-on-his-luck fellow, and an outsider at that. I'd like to see which one you, Sang Xuanqing, can get. I'm afraid even if you beg and plead, none of the blind or lame men in the village will come."
"What if someone comes?" Her light brown eyes held a hint of something sinister.
The mockery on the village women's faces deepened; they simply didn't believe she had that ability.
“Great! If someone can really come and help you build your house, the five major families in our Hegou Village will avoid you Sang family from now on. We will respond respectfully at your call. How about that?”
Zheng Quchi said in a deep voice, "Okay, but in addition to that, you also have to sincerely apologize to my eldest brother and youngest sister."
The village women were utterly amused by her delusional fantasies.
"Alright, if someone comes to help you tomorrow, we'll go along with it. But if no one comes, your Sang family has to get out of our Hegou Village."
These five families in Hegou Village are highly respected and well-connected in the surrounding villages. As long as the men of these families make prior arrangements, they can see who will come to help the Sang family repair their house.
Seeing that the situation was out of control, Brother Sang was burning with anxiety. But when he saw Brother Qing standing tall and straight in the face of malice, neither humble nor arrogant, his heart felt as if it were stuffed with a wet cotton ball.
well!
He sighed heavily.
Let her be, let her do as she pleases.
His bones had long been broken by the hardships of life, but his little Qingge refused to give in. She even tried to protect them with her tender wings. This affection was sincere and beautiful, and should not be betrayed.
However, their situation will likely become even more difficult in the future.
——
Brother Sang always thought that Zheng Quchi's bold words in front of everyone were just a lie to maintain appearances.
He knew that they had offended these five families and had no place to stand in Hegou Village, but he was at a loss and uneasy about what to do next.
What made him even more uneasy was that Zheng Quchi said he had something to do and had to go out for a while, and then mysteriously disappeared for a day, only returning exhausted after nightfall.
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