Chapter 25
25.
Qu Niang and Lao He were both stunned, speechless.
Old He suddenly woke up, ran to the inner room to pour tea, and brought it up to Cheng Lingjun.
"Thank you, Uncle He," Cheng Lingjun said, taking the cup and taking a sip. The taste of the coarse tea lingered in his mouth. He put down the cup, and the couple looked at him with worried expressions.
Qu Niang opened her mouth, but only managed to utter the word "you" before shutting up. She nudged Lao He beside her with her elbow and winked at him, urging him to speak.
Old He knew that Qu Niang's words were not flowing smoothly, and she was also impatient, so the more impatient she was, the worse she would speak. Therefore, in such situations, he would often speak for her. Old He cleared his throat and cautiously asked, "Ling Jun, where...where did you go?"
“I moved to another place,” Cheng Lingjun said, without mentioning his current address. He didn’t want his old acquaintances to know, even though he knew that Qu Niang and Lao He were good people. Even if he told them and asked them to keep it a secret, they wouldn’t tell anyone else. But he still didn’t want to say.
Old He, however, thought that he was treating them like outsiders and was afraid that they would tell others, so he quickly said, "We will never tell anyone. We just want to know where you two went and whether you are doing well. Don't worry, Qu Niang and I can swear on our oath!"
Qu Niang nodded repeatedly, her eyes wide, looking at Cheng Lingjun with utmost sincerity.
Cheng Lingjun said, "Aunt Qu, Uncle He, I know you want to help me. I'm fine now, so you really don't need to worry. I'll come to you if I need anything. I came to you today because I want your help."
Cheng Lingjun didn't want to tell them where he was staying because he was afraid they would come looking for him. The distance between Dahuai Village and Guping Town wasn't that far. If they really came to Dahuai Village to find him, it would be a burden for him. He just wanted to live a quiet life and didn't want to be disturbed by anyone.
Qu Niang wanted to ask more, but Lao He patted her hand and shook his head. He looked at Cheng Lingjun and said, "My husband and I are both indebted to you. Without you, we wouldn't be where we are today. Whatever you ask us to do, we will do our best."
Cheng Lingjun nodded, "I know, I know Uncle He, you are all people I trust, that's why I came to find you."
Uncle He's eyes were a little moist. He wiped his eyes and gestured for Qu Niang to cheer up before asking, "Are you in trouble now? Or do you need money? Although Qu Niang and I can't compare to your wife's family, we've saved some money this year. We can give it to you if you want."
Cheng Lingjun gave a bitter smile. "That doesn't count as my wife's family anymore. I've divorced the Li family, and we have no connection anymore. I'm not here to see you because I'm short of money."
Qu Niang and Uncle He exchanged a glance, and both asked cautiously, "Really? They're divorced?"
Cheng Lingjun nodded, "Yes."
"Oh, oh," Qu Niang and Lao He weren't actually surprised by this. If it weren't for the divorce, why would Cheng Lingjun have disappeared from the Li family? If it weren't for the divorce, why would the Li family have a new male head of the household...
However, it wasn't a big celebration at the time. Qu Niang and Lao He only found out about it through rumors. At first, they didn't believe it at all. As time went on, and Cheng Lingjun still didn't show up, they became half-believing and half-doubting. Now, they only got confirmation from Cheng Lingjun herself.
Old He and his companion didn't have a good impression of the Li family, but since this matter involved Cheng Lingjun, they couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
"Is it really impossible to go back?" Old He asked.
“Hmm,” Cheng Lingjun simply replied with a single word.
Old He and Qu Niang could tell that he didn't want to talk about this anymore, and knew that it was over, but they still couldn't help but ask, "So you went back to the Cheng family?"
"The Cheng family can't go back either."
A look of surprise appeared on their faces. "Then you...you and Xiaoguang didn't...you didn't have nowhere to go?"
“Naturally, I found a new place to live. It’s quite comfortable there, much more comfortable than here,” Cheng Lingjun said.
Qu Niang stood up, her face flushed. "The Li family... the Li family can't do this to you... nor to the Cheng family..."
Old He held her hand, trying to calm her down. After Qu Niang sat down, he said, "If you don't want to say where you live now, then we won't ask. As for the Li family, it's better to divorce them..."
When Lao He and Qu Niang thought of the Li family, they both felt that Cheng Lingjun was a flower stuck in cow dung, and the Cheng family was similar. Cheng Lingjun was a good bamboo shoot emerging from bad bamboo. In short, in their eyes, the Li family and the Cheng family were the same kind of silt in different pits, while Cheng Lingjun was a pure white flower that emerged from the silt unsullied.
The Cheng family is a mess, no need to even mention them. As for the Li family, they're a bit more familiar with them. That family isn't easy to deal with either. Everyone in Guping Town knows about Guping Yongfu Grain Store, the largest grain store in the town. Although it used to be the largest, it's still considered one of the top grain stores in Guping Town.
As fellow business partners, Qu Niang and Lao He had also been ostracized by large grain stores, but that was nothing compared to what happened with Yongfu Grain Store – it was truly disgusting.
Looking at the indignant expressions on Qu Niang's and Lao He's faces, Cheng Lingjun knew that they were thinking about the past.
At that time, Li Guang had just been born. Cheng Lingjun was taking a walk on the street with the child in her arms when she saw a farce unfolding on the street. Many people had gathered together and were discussing it.
Cheng Lingjun didn't want to go forward. He didn't like watching and was afraid of crowding Li Guang. But suddenly a huge conflict broke out in the center. He heard someone with a hoarse voice, constantly arguing, like a broken zither.
The sound was heartbreaking. Cheng Lingjun endured for a while, but still couldn't help but step forward.
He saw Lao He lying on the ground, covered in rice grains. Qu Niang was clutching someone's clothes, muttering something and gesturing with her other hand, her eyes empty and helpless.
Since Qu Niang couldn't speak clearly, Cheng Lingjun only understood what had happened after listening to the various comments from those around her.
The incident began when a customer said he bought a bag of rice from Qu Niang's shop, only to find it was stale and infested with insects. His family members even got sick from eating it, and he wanted to confront Qu Niang in court.
Qu Niang and Lao He were honest people and wanted to compensate the customer, but the customer was relentless and insisted that they go to the magistrate's office and pay them a sum of money they could not afford. Qu Niang and Lao He were afraid and begged for mercy, so the customer threw rice directly on them and continued to insult them.
Cheng Lingjun did not know Qu Niang and her husband, but he knew that a new grain store had opened in town. He had heard it from his ex-wife, who had already divorced him. At that time, he also heard her say that the store was run by country bumpkins, and her face was full of contempt and sarcasm when she said that.
Seeing their pitiful state, Cheng Lingjun figured they weren't the type to cheat or cheat, so he went to help them. He asked Qu Niang to open the rice bag so everyone could see if any bad or inferior rice was mixed in. When Qu Niang opened it, it was all good rice. He then asked Qu Niang to explain where she got the rice from and to find those people to testify. In the end, Cheng Lingjun added his own money to compensate the customer, and the commotion finally subsided.
However, Qu Niang later made up for the money. They insisted on returning it to Cheng Lingjun, so Cheng Lingjun didn't refuse. They were afraid they wouldn't be able to sleep well at night if they owed him a favor. After returning the money, they were as happy as children.
Originally, this matter should have ended there, and Cheng Lingjun's interactions with Qu Niang and her husband had also come to an end. Apart from these past few days, his ex-wife, Li Guifang, had been in a bad mood. He initially thought she had encountered some business problems, so when she inexplicably lashed out at him, Cheng Lingjun patiently accepted it and comforted her. However, after the matter at Qu Niang's shop was resolved, Li Guifang suddenly flew into a rage at him. He was puzzled, and after their argument, Cheng Lingjun learned a shocking piece of information: the customer who had humiliated Qu Niang and her husband was sent by his ex-wife.
Cheng Lingjun found it hard to believe and questioned her, "Qu Niang's shop is just a small shop and poses no threat to your shop. Besides, they haven't done anything bad to you, so why are you framing them like this?"
Li Guifang just sneered, "It's wrong for them to open a shop there. These country bumpkins dare to compete with me for business. They're poor and an eyesore. I just hate looking at them."
Cheng Lingjun hadn't expected her to be such an unreasonable person. She would come up with such a vicious idea just because she didn't like him. He was both angry and amused, and impulsively said, "You call them bumpkins? I think you're even worse than a bumpkin. You're a piece of dog shit!"
As soon as Cheng Lingjun uttered the words, he wanted to slap himself twice. It wasn't because he had insulted his wife, but because he had been raised in a scholarly family and had received a good education. How could he say such uncultured things? However, it did feel good to slap himself. Li Guifang's hands trembled, and she couldn't say a word for a long time.
In the end, all she could say was how could she have married such a foul-mouthed man? After saying that, she turned and left, leaving him to his own devices for a few days.
Cheng Lingjun was never good at arguing, and these few words were ones he had heard from the market. He had never used them before, and he never expected to use them on his wife for the first time. He felt guilty for a long time. Although he deeply abhorred Li Guifang's actions, he thought of Li Guang and their years of marriage, and he also felt that he was also at fault. As the saying goes, a good husband is a virtuous one. If his wife was wrong, he should have advised her gently, instead of cursing like a shrew in the market, which was uncivilized.
Therefore, Cheng Lingjun spent several days making soup and bringing water to the couple, and took Li Guang to try to appease them. Only then did the couple reconcile and stop talking about the matter.
He didn't talk about it at home, but Cheng Lingjun couldn't help feeling guilty. Every time he passed by Qu Niang's shop and saw the couple greeting him warmly, he could only run away in panic. After a while, Cheng Lingjun finally couldn't help but tell Qu Niang and Lao He the truth and handed them his savings as compensation. After Qu Niang and Lao He were angry, they didn't take his money and said that they had forgiven the Li family and that it had nothing to do with Cheng Lingjun.
Cheng Lingjun was deeply moved and would occasionally visit Qu Niang's shop. The two got along very well, but of course, they had to keep everything a secret from the Li family. They simply cared about each other, and it was a rare friendship between them.
The Qu family's business continued smoothly, albeit with modest success, while Cheng Lingjun's marriage fell apart midway, leaving behind only a sorrowful and heartbreaking ending.
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