Chapter 8, Section 8: The Family Secret?
The man was tall and handsome, around forty years old. Cheng Laosan and Cheng Jianye tried to smooth things over, saying, "Second Brother, Yingzi, let it go. We're all family. Why bring so many people here to argue? If there's anything, we can discuss it behind closed doors."
Cheng Jianye's wife, Huang Xiaohong, is a short, thin, and rather pretty 35-year-old woman. She is holding her baby son, who is less than a year old, and her eyes are darting back and forth between them without saying a word.
Cheng Jiantong had been brainwashed by Huang Cuizhi and her husband for many years and had a preference for sons over daughters. However, over the years, he had never neglected the two sisters, Cheng Ying and Cheng Xue, in terms of food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. He only occasionally lost his mind when it came to important matters.
When Cheng Ying returned, she told him about her dream. Cheng Jiantong initially found it absurd and didn't quite believe it. But now, seeing his mother so selflessly protecting her grandson Cheng Chunfu, disregarding his life and death, and seeing his elder brothers, whom he used to think were very good to him, trying to sow discord between him and his daughter, he suddenly realized that all the sacrifices he had made for his parents, his brothers and sisters, and his nephews and nieces were nothing but a joke.
Undeterred, he asked Cheng Chunfu, who was hiding behind Huang Cuizhi, "Chunfu, when I was with you on the top of Ayishan Mountain, I felt a force hitting me. Did you push me down the mountain?"
"No!" Cheng Chunfu immediately denied, his eyes darting around. "Second Uncle, I'm your nephew. You've always been good to me since I was a child. How could I possibly do something so heinous to you? What good would it do me to push you down the mountain? It was Da Huang who accidentally knocked you down!"
Cheng Jiantong's heart sank completely. Cheng Chunfu's words were clearly the same words Cheng Ying had said to him in the hospital. Cheng Ying's dream had actually come true!
"You killed him to pay off your gambling debts, and because my dad was delaying handing over the job to you, didn't you?"
Cheng Ying had a cold smile on her face. "My dad did say before that he would hand over the postman job, but he didn't say who he would hand it over to. Even though our grandparents, your parents and your dad tried to force him, he never gave an inch on this matter."
Cheng Chunfu, you hang out with those good-for-nothing hooligans in the village and commune every day, gambling and playing cards all the time, and you've racked up a mountain of debt. Your parents and Grandma have had to help you pay off those debts.
This time, your gambling debts are far too high. Your parents and Grandma are unwilling to bail you out any more. The other party, seeing you weren't paying back, tormented you twice to force you to repay the debt. You were terrified and developed malicious intentions towards my father, thinking that if you killed him, you could rightfully take over his job. Who knew my father was incredibly lucky; he didn't die in the fall and was even rescued by the Miao people.”
As Cheng Ying spoke, she noticed that Cheng Chunfu's face turned deathly pale. She sneered and said, "You must be wondering how I know all this, right? Let me tell you, I not only know all the bad things you've done, but I also know all the secrets hidden by the entire Cheng family. Grandpa, should I tell everyone in front of you?"
In his past life, Wei Mu used every means to keep her by his side in order to avoid divorcing her, including investigating the identities, backgrounds, and hidden secrets of the entire Cheng family in order to blackmail her.
God knows what she felt in her past life when she learned that everyone in the Cheng family had their own hidden secrets.
Cheng Yiguo, who had been silent, suddenly lifted his eyelids to look at Cheng Ying, his eyes sharp. "You came back just to stir up trouble in the family, and that's what makes you happy?"
Facing his piercing gaze, Cheng Ying met his eyes without fear and said, "Grandpa, for so many years you have favored boys over girls and mistreated me and my sister. I respect you as my elder, and I am already being magnanimous by still calling you Grandpa. What do you mean I've caused trouble in the family? If it weren't for your eldest grandson murdering my father, do you think I would want to come back and stay with this rotten Cheng family? I feel disgusted just being in the Cheng family! I'm in charge of the second branch now. If you continue to favor your eldest grandson, then I will expose all the things you've done."
Cheng Yiguo was quite respected in the village. This was not only because his ancestors had made great contributions during the War of Resistance Against Japan, and the leaders of the commune and village treated the Cheng family well, but also because the Cheng family had always had descendants serving in the army. In the eyes of ordinary people, family members who could serve in the army had a special status and deserved respect.
Cheng Yiguo himself had served in the army and participated in the war. He was lame in one leg because of the war of resistance against Japan. He also had a very irritable and gloomy temper. Everyone felt that he was not easy to mess with and dared not get too close to him. They were half afraid of him and half respected him.
Now that they heard Cheng Ying threatening Cheng Yiguo, the villagers who had gathered outside the Cheng family courtyard widened their eyes and whispered among themselves: "What secrets does the Cheng family have? How dare Cheng Ying, a mere girl, threaten her hot-tempered old man?"
"They say you can know a person's face but not their heart. Maybe Cheng Yiguo has done something like murder, arson, or harming others in the past, or maybe he was a traitor to the Japanese. The organization has been deceived by him, and he has deliberately concealed it, enjoying all kinds of preferential treatment in our village."
"That can't be right. Our Organization Department has very strict political vetting. If Cheng Yiguo really did bad things and was a traitor, how could his descendants be allowed to join the army?"
"Who knows? I bet he did something swindling or cheating. He and his wife have always treated Cheng Lao Er like dirt. Could it be that Cheng Lao Er isn't his child with Huang Cuizhi?"
......
The villagers' gossip grew increasingly skewed, until Cheng Yiguo's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot. He looked coldly at Cheng Ying and said, "You've really grown up, your wings have hardened. I really underestimated you before. Do whatever you want, I can't control you anymore!"
He is now in his seventies. Although he has worked in the fields for many years and is still in good health, he has reached the age of knowing one's destiny and no longer has the strength and energy he had in his youth.
He knew all too well that none of the Cheng family's descendants were as promising as his eldest granddaughter. The two grandsons of the eldest branch of the Cheng family had been spoiled by his wife and son and daughter-in-law; one was brave but reckless, and the other was cowardly as a mouse—neither of them were good enough.
The eldest son is only fifteen years old. He has a good personality, but he is too indecisive and not capable of handling important tasks. The youngest son is only a little over one year old and shows no promise. As for the daughter, she is negligible.
Of all the grandchildren in the Cheng family, only Cheng Ying was brave, resourceful, and strong. Whether it was her mind, physical ability, or even her ruthless and irritable temper, Cheng Ying was very much like her father. And only Cheng Ying joined the army and became a soldier.
Cheng Yiguo looked down on his granddaughter Cheng Ying. His deep-rooted preference for sons over daughters was not easily changed. Unfortunately, the grandsons he favored were all good-for-nothings, and only his granddaughter Cheng Ying brought him honor.
Cheng Yiguo naturally didn't believe that Cheng Ying knew the secret he had buried in his heart, but he knew in his heart that Cheng Ying had come with great force, bringing so many leaders from the county commune. If he didn't give her an explanation today, given her crazy personality, she might drag the entire Cheng family down with her. So he acquiesced to what Cheng Chunfu had done.
Cheng Ying curled the corners of her lips and turned to look at the county public security bureau chief standing in the courtyard: "Chief Li, did you hear that? The murderer is right in front of us. Please enforce the law impartially, arrest the murderer, bring him to justice, and give my father an explanation."
"Comrade Cheng, rest assured, our Ministry of Public Security will definitely give you a satisfactory answer and will not disappoint our military comrades." Director Li waved his hand, and more than a dozen police officers rushed forward to arrest Cheng Chunfu.
"What are you doing? How can you arrest my son without even asking what happened, just because you listened to that little slut Cheng Ying?!" Liu Guifen screamed and rushed forward to stop the police from arresting Cheng Chunfu.
Cheng Jianli and his mother Huang Cuizhi also stepped forward, trying to stop the police from arresting people, shouting: "Chunfu, what are you standing there for? Run! Do you want to be arrested?"
Cheng Chunfu was stunned for a moment, then turned around and tried to run away.
Cheng Xue, who had been silent until now, suddenly shouted, "Grandma, Uncle, Aunt, are you crazy? If you dare to obstruct the police investigation and protect criminals, you will be arrested, sentenced, and imprisoned. Do you want to go to jail?"
All three of them were stunned for a moment.
Huang Cuizhi and Liu Guifen were illiterate and knew nothing about the law. Cheng Jianli, on the other hand, had attended primary school and knew very well that Cheng Xue, a high school graduate, would not speak carelessly. He stood there stunned, unsure whether to help or not.
In the brief moment they paused, Cheng Chunfu belatedly realized he needed to run, but Cheng Ying wouldn't let him get away.
Just as Cheng Chunfu suddenly started running, intending to escape by climbing over the wall, Cheng Ying rushed forward and kicked him in the back. At the same time, she grabbed Cheng Chunfu's arms, who was struggling to climb the wall, and pulled him down hard.
With a loud thud, Cheng Chunfu's obese body crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust, and he let out another painful howl.
After being repeatedly beaten by Cheng Ying, Cheng Chunfu was furious. He knew in his heart that he would not be able to escape today, and his life would be ruined!
With so many police officers surrounding him, he couldn't escape even if he wanted to!
The culprit behind all this is none other than Cheng Ying, right in front of us!
According to his plan, Cheng Jiantong was supposed to die. Given how much his grandparents favored him, Cheng Jiantong's postman job would fall to him. He only needed to work as a postman for a few months to pay off his gambling debts. But who would have thought that Cheng Jiantong not only didn't die, but was also rescued by the Miao people.
And that damned Cheng Ying actually retired from the army and came back overnight to arrest him. If he gets caught, even if he doesn't die, he'll be in jail for decades. How could he just sit and wait to die?
Seeing that he could not escape, Cheng Chunfu became emboldened and pulled out a small sharp knife from his pocket, stabbing it straight into Cheng Ying's chest.
Even if he dies, he'll drag Cheng Ying down with him before he dies!
"Watch out!" Wan Shuhui screamed in anguish upon seeing this and rushed over to protect Cheng Ying.
Without turning her head, Cheng Ying seemed to have eyes in the back of her head, quickly dodging to the side and then spinning around behind Cheng Chunfu. She raised her strong, thin arms, crossed them, and strangled Cheng Chunfu's neck. With a forceful pull, she performed a rear naked choke.
Before Cheng Chunfu could react, she had already knocked him unconscious. She threw him to the ground like a dead dog, looked up at Liu Guifen, Cheng Jianli, and Huang Cuizhi, who were all furious and baring their teeth, ready to help Cheng Chunfu, and asked coldly, "Anyone who wants to end up like him can come up and fight me."
Huang Cuizhi and the other two, along with the rest of the Cheng family and the villagers, stared wide-eyed at Cheng Ying in disbelief. They never expected that her slender frame could so easily knock down the fat pig-like Cheng Chunfu.
Everyone realized at that moment that Cheng Ying had served in the army for four years and had risen to the position of platoon leader, which was no small feat!
Judging from how easily she subdued Cheng Chunfu, it's clear that her fighting instincts are something most people can't muster.
From now on, no one in the village will dare to touch this woman or even make a move on her!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
