Chapter 62 Unable to Calm Down "It's just too noisy."
Led by Huang Dashan, who was wielding a rake, almost all of his family members, young and old, as well as more than ten relatives, came to the door. Each of them grabbed a handy farm tool as a weapon and stormed over.
When Xiao Dinggua saw the group of people carrying hammers, hoes, carrying poles, and other tools, his face turned pale: "Oh no, oh no, something terrible is about to happen."
Bai Yuan observed that the newcomer exuded a menacing aura and was not someone to be trifled with, and he also sensed that today's events would likely not end well.
Huang Dashan, the leader, had a face full of scars. He gritted his teeth, his eyes fierce, and he shouted at the group of people blocking the Zhang family's door, "Get out of my way!"
"Oh dear, oh dear," said Grandpa Sheng, who could read and write, "Dashan, oh dear, what are you doing? Don't be impulsive! We're all fellow villagers. Look at you, you should talk things out. What are you doing carrying those weapons?"
"Uncle Sheng, move aside a bit, don't block my way."
Grandpa Sheng's attempts to persuade him were futile, and he couldn't afford to offend this fierce man, especially since the other party was in a fit of anger. He didn't want innocent people to get caught in the crossfire if things really escalated, so he had no choice but to stand aside.
Zhou Yaren, who was standing next to Grandpa Sheng, also quietly stepped aside.
Huang Dashan went up and pounded on the door with his rake, cursing loudly, "Zhang Wencai, you son of a bitch, get out here!"
The gate was pounded so hard it shook the heavens. Old Zhang had never seen anything like it before, and he was too scared to open the gate or utter a sound.
Huang Dashan had a bad temper. Seeing that no amount of banging on the door and shouting could get him anywhere, he yelled and ordered several strong young men to take action and push down the two dilapidated gates of the Zhang family's courtyard.
A villager nearby tried to dissuade him, saying, "Dashan, what you're doing is inappropriate."
"What's wrong with it? So it's okay for them to dig up my daughter's grave?! Zhang Wencai didn't even manage to dig up your family's grave, so stop talking nonsense without knowing what's going on!"
Old Zhang watched as the front door crashed to the ground and a group of menacing-looking men rushed in, wielding weapons. Terrified, he retreated, trying to hide inside. In his panic, he tripped over a piece of firewood and fell to the ground with a thud, crying out in fear, "What are you doing?!"
"What are you doing? What do you think we're doing?! I didn't agree to have my bones matched with your son's, so you went and dug up my daughter's grave and stole her remains. You're a real scoundrel."
Upon hearing that everyone had rushed inside, Zhou Yaren whispered to Bai Yuan, "Go in and keep an eye on things, make sure no one gets killed."
Old Zhang collapsed to the ground, staring at the menacing group. His face turned from white to red, and finally, he glared hatefully at Bai Yuan and Zhou Yaren, who had followed him into the courtyard, almost spitting blood with hatred: "It was you, it was you who summoned them, you..."
He pointed at Zhou Yaren and Bai Yuan, his fingers trembling violently as he clenched his fist: "I have no grudges against you, what are you up to? Have I offended you? Why are you trying to harm me like this, trying to kill me!"
Zhou Yaren tried to step forward to explain, "Brother, I'm so sorry, this isn't our..."
Bai Yuan grabbed his arm and took responsibility: "This is my responsibility."
"A wrongful accusation..."
“The news was leaked from me, so there’s no excuse,” she said, looking at Old Zhang, who was trembling with anger on the ground. “If you have a grudge, take it out on me.”
"You think I wouldn't dare?!"
"Zhang Wencai, I'm here to settle accounts with you, don't even think about talking nonsense with me." Huang Dashan, a tall and burly man, stood in front of Lao Zhang and said fiercely, "You dare to do such a thing, keeping me in the dark, and you still have resentment, and you even dare to blame others for leaking it to me, right? Have you no shame!"
Old Zhang was so provoked that he jumped up from the ground: "Have you no shame? Your daughter has been dead for two years, and you actually want ten taels of silver from me? How dare you ask for that? Even if she were alive, she wouldn't fetch that price."
“She’s my own daughter, and whatever I say she’s worth, that’s what she’s worth. Even if I ask for a hundred taels, if you can’t come up with that, your short-lived son can forget about marrying her!”
"You!" Old Zhang was so angry that he was panting heavily, his eyes bulging with rage.
Huang Dashan's rake was almost shoved into Old Zhang's face: "You old bastard, you couldn't just tell me directly, so you secretly stole my daughter's remains to arrange a ghost marriage for your short-lived son. If I hadn't found out today, wouldn't your family have gotten away with it for nothing!"
Old Zhang shoved the rake away forcefully, his blood boiling: "I didn't get any advantage whatsoever..."
Huang Dashan threw the ghost marriage document he got from the villagers at Old Zhang's face: "You've got a good plan, haven't you? This way, your Zhang family doesn't have to spend a single penny to marry my daughter to your son. You think you can get away with it without anyone knowing!"
Grandpa Sheng, who was standing nearby, spoke up fairly: "Old Zhang, it's wrong of you to do this."
Old Zhang hurriedly denied it: "I...I didn't! I'm not worthy..."
Huang Dashan was about to swat his rake at the other man: "The facts are right in front of you, you dog, and you still won't admit it! I'm not finished with you today!"
Old Zhang took a step back in fright: "You—what do you want to do?!"
"If you dare to do this behind my back, you should bear the consequences and pay the price!"
Old Zhang gritted his teeth: "What price do you want me to pay?"
Huang Dashan demanded an exorbitant price: "One hundred taels."
"What?!" Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked and gasped. Those present were all peasant women and men who toiled in the fields for a living. It was not easy for them to have enough to eat and wear. They probably didn't have many copper coins in their pockets and had never seen so much silver as one hundred taels in their lives.
Old Zhang jumped up and down: "Why don't you just rob it!"
Huang Dashan snorted, "Aren't you robbing too? Oh no, you're stealing. Don't you even know who you're stealing from? If you steal from me, you'll pay ten times or a hundred times the price! If you can't come up with this hundred taels of silver, you can steal or rob it."
"You!" Old Zhang nearly had a stroke.
Grandpa Sheng couldn't stand listening any longer and couldn't help but speak up for justice: "Dashan, you can't say that. One hundred taels is no small amount. Even if you sold Old Zhang's whole family, he still wouldn't be able to come up with that much silver. Since things have come to this, I think we should just do what you discussed before: ten taels of silver, and we'll call it even."
Huang Dashan was unyielding and determined: "This was the price before, but it's not going to be settled now. If he can't come up with one hundred taels, this matter isn't over!"
The woman next to him had never liked Huang Dashan's character and had often quarreled with his family. At this moment, she spoke up, "You just throw around a hundred taels of silver. Even if what Old Zhang did was not fair, you can't extort people like this."
"I'm trying to extort money?" Huang Dashan seemed to have heard something unbelievable. "You're not the one who got involved, are you? Fine, I won't extort him. I'll take the couple to see the magistrate right now!"
As he spoke, he grabbed Old Zhang by the collar and dragged him outside.
Old Zhang was horrified and fought back fiercely: "Why! I only wrote a ghost marriage contract, I didn't do anything else, I didn't even have bones matched for the two children, why are you arresting me, why are you making me pay a hundred taels of silver, Huang Dashan, you beast, let me go!"
Seeing that Huang Dashan was about to lose control of him, several young men he brought immediately went to help and quickly pinned the resisting Lao Zhang to the ground.
Huang Dashan was panting heavily: "You've already done it, and you still won't admit it. You won't shed a tear until you see the coffin. My daughter's bones should already be in your family's ancestral grave by now! If you can't come up with the money, I'll drag you to the yamen. And what about your wife? What are you doing hiding in the house? Neither of you will escape today!"
Old Zhang was restrained by several hands, his legs kicking wildly on the ground as he struggled: "Huang Dashan, you bastard, I didn't dig up your daughter's grave! Her bones are still buried properly in the mass grave! You son of a bitch, go see for yourself if you don't believe me! If you drag me to the authorities, you're making a false accusation! The county magistrate will definitely investigate thoroughly. Then we'll see if I get imprisoned or if you get a beating!"
Upon hearing this, the young men who were subduing Old Zhang looked at each other in bewilderment, and even Huang Dashan hesitated.
Upon hearing this, Bai Yuan and Zhou Yaren exchanged a glance. Actually, when they entered with the ghost marriage document and questioned Old Zhang, he had never admitted to stealing Huang Xiaoyun's remains. Because Old Zhang's eyes darted around and his expression was unusually flustered, Bai Yuan suspected he wasn't telling the truth. So, it really was as he said—that he hadn't succeeded?
The woman who had spoken up earlier hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "Old Zhang, are you sure you didn't find Xiaoyun's remains?"
"I didn't get up! I didn't get up! I swear to God!" Old Zhang said repeatedly, almost shouting. "If you don't believe me, go and see for yourselves right now, see if Huang Xiaoyun's grave is still intact, see if I dug it up! Otherwise, drag me to the magistrate's office and let him convict you of false accusation!"
So Grandpa Sheng spoke up again: "Why don't we go and take a look? Dashan, don't wrong Old Zhang."
"The ghost marriage document is right here, written clearly in red ink and black paper. I can't wrong him!"
"So what if it's a ghost marriage certificate? It's just a piece of waste paper. I haven't touched your daughter. She's still a wandering ghost in that mass grave." Old Zhang's face was almost pressed into the mud, and he struggled until his face turned red and his neck bulged. "You, you'd better let me go! Do you want to kill me?!"
The able-bodied young men held him down with all their might, and did not let go easily.
"Go ahead and look. You can't run away anyway. Take him away with you." Huang Dashan directed the young men he brought to pull Old Zhang up from the ground. "Where's your wife? What are you hiding for? Are you ashamed of what you did?" He had an unusually loud voice, making sure all the villagers could hear him. Then he waved to his wife and relatives, "Go in and take his wife with you. Take them both away together. No one can escape."
Three or four women immediately went into the house to arrest the person.
Hearing the chaotic footsteps of the group, Zhou Yaren thought about Tie Zhu's mother's condition and how she might not be able to withstand the shock. He was about to step forward to stop them when Bai Yuan stopped him and whispered, "Wait a little longer. Now is not the time for you to interfere."
"So we're just going to wait and see what happens?"
"Otherwise what?" Bai Yuan retorted. "Do you know where Huang Xiaoyun's remains are buried?"
The mass graves were filled with piles of bones, most hastily buried without even a tombstone. Especially for those who died young and were buried in the wilderness, without a tombstone, where could outsiders find them except for their families or those who knew the situation?
Even if all the graves in the mass grave were dug up, it would be difficult to confirm which skeleton belonged to Huang Xiaoyun.
Therefore, it is necessary for a member of the Huang family to lead the way and confirm.
Zhou Yaren remained silent.
Bai Yuan said, "Let's wait and see, and not disturb the process."
"clear."
Old Zhang, with mud smeared on one side of his face and covered in dirt from head to toe, roared angrily, "Huang Dashan, don't push your luck!"
Immediately afterwards, a scream rang out from inside the room.
"Ah...ah...go away, go away...let me go, go away, don't come looking for me, don't catch me...ahhh...go away, don't catch me..."
"Where do you think you're going? What are you hiding for... Ah, you actually dared to scratch me... Are you crazy?!"
"Grab her, drag her out from under the table! You think you can hide today? Come with us!"
"Ah! Let go! I told you to let go! You crazy woman, you're pulling my hair! Hold her down and pry her hands off me!"
Bang bang bang, crack crack crack, chaos erupted inside the room.
The villagers outside the courtyard couldn't help but gather around, only to be stunned by the scene inside. The first thing they saw was the walls covered with yellow talismans, bloodstains on the ground, and seven or eight dead chickens. The women who were wrestling with each other bumped into the dead chickens hanging in the main room.
The dead chicken hanging from the beam swayed from side to side, nearly hitting the faces of the villagers who had come to watch, causing them to retreat in fright.
"Oh my god, that scared me to death."
"What are you doing?"
"How did you manage to make such a mess of the house?"
Before the crowd could get a reply, their attention was diverted by the fighting women.
Everyone rushed to stop the fight: "Stop fighting! Stop fighting! They're bleeding!"
“Look at Tiezhu’s mother, it’s terrible, her face is covered in blood.”
Bai Yuan had just seen Tie Zhu's mother in the wardrobe; her face was indeed smeared with blood, which should have been chicken blood.
In no time, the three or four fierce women subdued Tiezhu's mother and dragged her out of the house.
Tie Zhu's mother was disheveled, her face covered in blood, and her clothes were torn and tattered. She was being dragged back by the crowd, muttering something unintelligible, and her eyes rolled back as if she would collapse at any moment.
The shrew dragged her forcefully, snarling, "You've already pretended to be crazy, and now you want to pretend to be unconscious? Don't try to fool me. Pretending to be dead won't work today. I won't let you get away with this!"
The villagers couldn't bear to watch any longer: "Oh, Sister-in-law Huang, please be gentle, she really doesn't seem to be feeling well."
Sister-in-law Huang ignored her and grabbed Tiezhu's mother's hair, roughly pulling her away: "You dare pull my hair? I'll show you!"
Perhaps due to the excruciating pain, Tie Zhu's mother let out a heart-wrenching scream as she was dragged along: "Ahhh..."
"Let her go!" Old Zhang in the yard saw this and wanted to rush over, but he was held back by several strong young men and could only wail helplessly, "You wicked woman, you're bullying us too much!"
Although Zhou Yaren couldn't see, she knew how bullying was happening in front of her.
The couple were outnumbered and could only endure the violence inflicted by the Huang family.
Xiao Dinggua clenched his fists, finally unable to hold back any longer, and recklessly rushed forward: "Bullying the few with numbers, this is too much!"
With a sharp "smack," Sister-in-law Huang slapped Tiezhu's mother hard across the left cheek: "Stop yelling! If you yell again... ouch..."
Suddenly, Sister-in-law Huang, who was in a fit of rage, tripped over a stone, lost her balance, and fell backward into the yard.
Xiao Dinggua suddenly stopped. He hadn't been seeing things; he had clearly seen a small pebble thrown from his side and land at Huang Dasao's feet. So Xiao Dinggua stopped rushing over and turned to look at Bai Yuan, who was "watching coldly."
Bai Yuan seemed to notice the little brat's gaze and glanced at him indifferently.
Zhou Yaren asked softly from close range, "You made your move?"
Bai Yuan did not deny it: "It's really too noisy."
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