Chapter 206 My Heart Is Rotten
As per usual practice, the police station will not come to clear the area today; this is the internally agreed-upon "rest day."
But who could have imagined that, in the midst of the commotion, Wu Qinghai and his men would barge in.
He gave the order: "Don't move! Investigate the transactions!"
Before he could finish speaking, the crowd erupted in uproar.
The vendors reacted very quickly; some grabbed their cloth bags and ran.
In just over ten seconds, half of the once bustling market was emptied.
Zhou Shufen's heart sank when she realized something was wrong.
She moved very quickly, pretending to squat down to pick something up.
The next second, the handkerchief that had fallen to the ground next to Zhou Shufen's stall suddenly moved.
Wu Qinghai glanced at the scene and immediately kicked the auxiliary police officer next to him.
"Let's go take a look!"
Two men grumbled and huddled closer.
I had barely poked half my body in when I was startled by a sweet, cloying fragrance.
Zhou Shufen held her breath and, taking advantage of the moment when they were rubbing their noses, suddenly brought the porcelain bottle to their noses.
Less than three seconds later, their legs suddenly gave way and they collapsed to the ground.
System: [Two remaining.]
Zhou Shufen's eyes narrowed, and she grabbed her comrade, forcefully dragging him in front of her.
I had just straightened up and was not even fully steady when I heard footsteps outside the door.
Immediately afterwards, Wu Qinghai and Yang, the clerk, slowly walked into the house, one after the other.
Where are they?
Clerk Yang spoke first, grinning from ear to ear.
"Could he be hiding somewhere, spying on us? He's a real master of hide-and-seek."
Before the words were even finished, Zhou Shufen emerged from the shadows in the corner.
She suddenly raised her right hand, and the remaining powder in her palm flew straight at their faces!
Wu Qinghai reacted very quickly, instinctively raising his hand to block, but a small amount of powder still entered his nasal cavity through his breathing.
His pupils contracted, his throat tightened, and his body swayed twice.
Clerk Yang was a beat too slow and had no time to react before the powder was all over his face.
He didn't even have time to utter a cry of alarm before he collapsed to the ground.
"Done."
Zhou Shufen muttered to herself.
Zhou Shufen took a deep breath.
She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, the scene before her had changed.
Sure enough, they were already on their way back to Li Huachen's house.
She stopped, straightened her clothes, and tried to appear calm and composed.
Then he took out the things he had prepared beforehand from his spatial storage.
A piece of pork with skin on, a few fresh eggs, and a live fish that is still thrashing about.
She walked back to the Li family home step by step.
Later, she would need to find out the whole story herself.
Once home, Zhou Shufen turned around and went straight into the kitchen without saying a word.
Zhou Yufan went to the station to buy a ticket early in the morning, but hasn't returned yet.
Zhou Shufen felt uneasy, sensing that something was amiss today.
Zhou Shufen was stewing meat when suddenly, Li Rongkai's heart-wrenching screams came from outside.
"Mother! Mother! Quickly, save Father! They're going to kill him!"
Li Huachen was squatting inside the house folding clothes.
The moment the shout was heard, the bundle fell to the ground with a "thud".
She froze for a moment, then suddenly stood up, rushed into the yard, and grabbed her son's wrist.
"Your dad? What happened to your dad?! Who hurt him?!"
"Pan... Pan Ming's father, brought some men, and blocked my dad on the road."
Li Rongkai cried so hard he could barely breathe, his face covered in tears and snot.
“They…they said my dad caused trouble and they’re going to push him off the bridge.”
He believes he is a jinx, and that he has never had a peaceful day since he was a child.
After finally finding her father, she was surrounded and bullied again because of him.
If he hadn't argued with Pan Ming and exposed the kid for stealing, things wouldn't have escalated.
"Rong Kai, where was your father stopped?"
Zhou Shufen hugged the child tightly.
"It's right there by the bridge!"
Li Rongkai's voice was hoarse, and his lips were trembling.
"They...they pushed him to the edge of the bridge, where there was a river flowing rapidly, and said they were going to...they were going to throw him in!"
He sobbed as he spoke.
Li Huachen didn't even change her shoes before turning around and rushing out.
Zhou Shufen was still simmering meat in the pot.
He casually poured a ladle of water into the stove, and the flames were extinguished with a "hiss".
She took off chasing after him without even taking off her apron.
He caught up with Li Huachen in just a few steps.
A crowd had already gathered at the bridgehead, three or four deep.
"These people from out of town are shameless! They're bullying us on our own turf! They even dare to talk back to Clerk Yang!"
"I heard that yesterday at the hospital, he slammed his fist on the table and yelled at Clerk Yang, his voice so loud that the whole floor could hear it!"
"Hey, that child calls him dad? But didn't Li Huachen's husband die a long time ago? Everyone says she's been a widow for ten years, where did this man come from?"
Zhou Shufen listened to these rumors and shouted at the women who were gossiping.
"Shut up, all of you! You can't even keep your mouths shut. Aren't you afraid that a ghost will sneak in at night and bite off your tongues?!"
The women she pointed at involuntarily shrank back.
“We’re telling the truth… Is there really nothing between Li Huachen and that man? Who would believe that?”
"truth?"
Zhou Shufen suddenly took a step forward.
"Open your dog eyes and see clearly! In her entire life, Li Huachen has only ever recognized this one man in her heart! From the time she was eighteen until now, fifteen years have passed, when has she ever given a second glance to any other man?"
"During the day, she carried rolls of cloth in the textile factory, each roll weighing dozens of kilograms, until her shoulders were chafed raw; at night, she would return to that dilapidated house, mending and doing chores under the oil lamp, staying up until dawn before finally closing her eyes. For so many years, how easy was it for a woman to raise a child alone?"
"Now that the child's father is back, what do you all do? You're all hiding behind her back gossiping, saying she's a lover? Seducing a stranger? Are you blind? Can't you see how hard she's worked all these years? Or are your hearts rotten, without a shred of humanity left?!"
The women who had been watching the spectacle all lowered their heads.
Zhou Shufen had no time to waste arguing with these gossipy women.
She glanced at it, and her brows furrowed instantly.
On the other side of the bridge, several burly men were surrounding a young man.
The man was pushed around and swayed from side to side. He slipped and almost fell into the river.
Seeing this, Li Huachen suddenly tried to go up, but was violently bumped by a burly man next to her and fell heavily onto the stone slab by the bridge.
"stop!"
Zhou Shufen roared angrily.
She grabbed a broken wooden stick from the side of the bridge, rushed forward without saying a word, and swung the stick at him.
"To assault someone in broad daylight and push them into the river? Do you really think there's no law in this world?! Don't you have any humanity left?"
Pan Ming's father was caught off guard and his back ached from the blow.
"Who do you think you are? You old codger, get out of my way! Mind your own business!"
He pointed at Zhou Yufan.
"You injured my son. Today I'm going to make him kneel down and admit his mistake, or this isn't over!"
"Why didn't you mention when your son was swearing? Why didn't you mention when he pushed people and smashed things? Just because he outnumbered us, he bullies outsiders. Does he really think we're easy to bully?"
Zhou Shufen refused to back down.
"I'm telling you right now, if any of you dare touch him again, I'll expose the shameful secrets of your family for three generations, making sure your whole family can never hold their heads up in front of the neighbors again! Nobody here will ever have a place to stand!"
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