Zhenniang, The Three of Us (Thirteen)
Everything changed in an instant. Uncle Zhao immediately let out a scream that was not human, and lay on the ground looking at his precious son's treasure.
But how could something that's been cut in two possibly regenerate?
Uncle Zhao instantly lost his temper and, disregarding everything else, pointed at Ye Xiqing and angrily cursed, "Poisonous woman! Poisonous woman!"
Ye Xiqing looked up under the torchlight, her face full of surprise: "Uncle, what are you saying? I kindly saved your young master, why are you complaining about me?"
"Oh, I see. Your uncle thinks that your son has done such a disgraceful thing, that he has disgraced the family and ruined the family's reputation, and he wants him to die in the mouth of a dog, right?"
“That won’t do, Uncle. This is a new era. Killing for one’s reputation is no longer acceptable.”
"Even if your son is a bit unruly, a tiger won't eat its own cub. How can you let him die over something like this?"
Uncle Zhao's chest heaved, unable to speak. Anyone with eyes could see what had happened.
But Uncle Zhao suddenly remembered that what he had done wasn't a good thing either, so he couldn't say a word about it!
Even if he doesn't say it, others already know.
It was so dark outside, and the mother and daughter were talking behind closed doors. You, a mere boy, barged into their house. What were you thinking? Do I even need to say it?
If things were really made clear, Zhenniang's reputation would definitely be ruined. Even if the Song family, a high-ranking and wealthy family, didn't succeed, they would still make Zhenniang die for her principles.
The villagers all depended on Zhao Zhenniang for their livelihood, and seeing this, they were enraged. They rushed over, grabbed the father and son, and started beating them: "You two are inhuman! You've done all sorts of beastly things!"
The Zhao family's son was first knocked unconscious by the pain, then woken up by the beating, crying and begging for mercy.
After everyone had their fill of beating, they sprinkled some ashes into the crotch of the Zhao family boy to stop the bleeding, and then made the two of them kneel in the courtyard to await their fate.
Such a serious matter deserves to be punished by drowning the two of them in a pig cage, but Ye Xiqing is a kind-hearted girl.
Take out a piece of paper and write down the agreement.
“We’re all from the same village, so I won’t make things difficult for you.”
“If you have done something that disgraces your family, then donate a thousand silver dollars to the village to repair the graves, to apologize to your ancestors, and to ask them to forgive you.”
"If this gets out, the ancestors of our Zhao family village, a dozen or so people, will never be able to hold their heads up in the afterlife."
"Making you pay to atone for your sins is too lenient on you."
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately realized: Yes, we can't let them get away with this! We have to pay them compensation!
When people gather in a group, they become bolder, and at this point, the atmosphere that Uncle Zhao had before completely disappears.
A thousand yuan is too much, the father and son were about to argue.
A man went up, swiftly chopped off Uncle Zhao's little finger, and forced him to sign the document.
Uncle Zhao had never been treated like this before, and he immediately wailed, "I'll draw it! I'll draw it!"
The villagers beat people out of righteous indignation, but after they got money, everyone was overjoyed and eagerly handed the contract to Ye Xiqing.
Ye Xiqing retrieved the signed book with her fingerprint on it, spread it out, and blew on the bloodstains.
Bandits make money faster; I should have become a bandit.
...
Upon receiving the extra funds, Aunt Wang immediately sent them to her second sister, who had been talking about opening the shop for so long and was now finally rich!
While handing the contract to her second sister, she explained how the contract came about and praised her highly.
No wonder my third aunt always says you are resourceful and have a knack for making money.
If it weren't for your idea, I don't know where I would have gotten so much money!
Jian Yu'an: ...
Is that her idea?
It was indeed her idea to plant her own people on Old Man Zhao's side.
As Zhao Zhenniang was the Song family's fiancée, she still held some sway in the village, so Old Man Zhao probably couldn't openly cause her trouble.
Instead of just going on the defensive, it's better to create an opening for him.
Jian Yu'an informed those around her in advance that if Uncle Zhao needed their help, they should agree to do whatever it was, and if they were offered any benefits, they should keep them for themselves, while she would refuse.
But later, I'll also tell her what Uncle Zhao told them.
These people are happy to run around both ways, since they can make money without causing any trouble.
To be honest, when Uncle Zhao said, "How did our family treat you in the past?" they were filled with anger and wanted to help Auntie for free.
The man who stole the oil gourd was clearly using a ruse to trick Old Zhao, but no one expected that old man to be so wicked.
In this day and age, what's the difference between ruining a woman's reputation and wishing her death?
Jian Yu'an was also angry and wanted to take this opportunity to teach him a lesson, expose his secrets in front of the whole village, and send him to the authorities to solve the problem once and for all.
But why did "Third Aunt" castrate Old Man Zhao's son?
Putting aside the deadly enmity that would result from castrating someone's precious child, just consider the reputation a girl could have in this day and age after castrating a man!
Jian Yu'an once again wrote furiously, asking Ye Xiqing: Why did you castrate the third son of the Zhao family!
Ye Xiqing replied, utterly puzzled: Didn't you say you needed money to open a shop? I'll get you some money.
Jian Yu'an almost roared: "You can't make money this way! Old Zhao has two sons in the city. What if they get angry and come back for revenge!"
Ye Xiqing immediately replied with a cute emoji: It's okay, leave it to me.
Looking at that unusually cute expression, why did Jian Yu'an suddenly have a bad feeling?
...
There is an effect called the broken windows theory.
In an abandoned house, intact glass can last a long time, but as soon as a hole appears, more and more people will throw stones at the window, and the window will break faster and faster.
All legal principles recognize the legitimacy of women being deprived of their assets, so women are naturally a broken window, and anyone who sees a woman will want to break this already broken window.
Now, Uncle Zhao, who had been throwing stones at others, has himself become that broken window.
Having obtained leverage over Uncle Zhao, the villagers were filled with both old and new grudges, and went to his house every day to demand repayment.
One thousand silver dollars, not a penny less. If you can't pay, we'll settle the debt with land!
Uncle Zhao lost another finger and was harassed by people every day. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and took his family to his son's house in the city.
His eldest son works in the military police camp. When his eldest son returns, he will make sure all these troublemakers die!
The idea was good, but they first had to escape from the troublemakers, and the villagers had already sent people to guard the intersection.
Upon seeing him emerge, they immediately searched his body for all the valuables he had hidden, even prying out his gold teeth.
After he finished picking at it, he waved his hand dismissively and said, "Go on, go on. Consider your yard and land as payment for the debt. I won't hold it against you."
Uncle Zhao: ...
He had brought a lot of valuables with him when he fled, but they were all taken from him this time.
Fortunately, the loss was averted from further disaster, and the group still arrived at the eldest son's house. Uncle Zhao immediately burst into tears and poured out his grievances to his son, saying that the unruly people in his family had rebelled!
But what he said only made things worse. His eldest son's face turned green as he looked at the group of people in the house and exclaimed, "So this is the trouble you all caused!"
Uncle Zhao and his third son were taken aback. The eldest son had heard about this and hadn't stood up for them, so why was he blaming them?
Zhao Da's lips were trembling, and he didn't know how to say anything, so he could only close his eyes and take off his pants.
Uncle Zhao's gaze fell down. Something was wrong. Why was his eldest son missing a part down there too?
Zhao Da turned his head away, unable to recall what had happened that night.
That day, he went home drunk and saw a woman on the roadside giving him flirty looks.
The woman wasn't particularly pretty, but who wouldn't take advantage of an opportunity? Zhao Da instantly understood and followed her into the alley.
He thought he could get a free meal, but as soon as he went in, he was swarmed by a group of people, gagged, and pinned against the wall.
If it were just a regular robbery, that would be one thing, but I didn't expect those people to even take off his pants.
After a sharp pain, Zhao Da lost something.
Realizing what had happened, Zhao Da instantly screamed in despair.
The "woman" in front of him threw off her wig and looked at him with a wicked grin: "Go ahead and shout, shout, call everyone over and enjoy the sight of Captain Zhao."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Da immediately stopped shouting.
What is the most precious thing a man has? Isn't it that little thing? If others see it, how can he face others?
Seeing that he was honest, the crowd happily stripped him of all his valuables, figuring he wouldn't dare report it to the authorities.
Zhao Da put on his pants in humiliation and secretly went back to his room. His wife came over and asked him what was wrong, but he scolded her and sent her away.
I initially thought it was some despicable scoundrel who did such a thing, but it turns out it was caused by someone from my hometown!
Upon hearing this, Uncle Zhao felt as if the sky had fallen, and he cried and wailed, demanding that Zhao Zhenniang, that wicked woman, pay with her life!
Zhao Da covered his mouth, telling him to shut up: "You'd better say less, what if they expose my secrets!"
In this day and age, there's no such thing as not condemning the victim. If this were exposed, Zhao Zhenniang would indeed top the list of the most wicked women throughout history, but Zhao Da would also become a laughing stock.
The Zhao family now relies entirely on his work in the military police to make a living. If word gets out that he has become a eunuch, who will respect him anymore?
Uncle Zhao cried and wailed, unable to understand how things had turned out this way.
He just wanted to teach a little girl a lesson, how did he end up causing such a big disaster!
...
In an era that values reputation, destroying someone's reputation is the easiest way to manipulate them.
The man named Gou'er returned excitedly to tell Ye Xiqing the good news: he was also the one who "stole the gourd".
The Zhao family has three sons: one works in the military police camp, another is a teacher, and the eldest is the most troublesome. Once you get him under control, the second son won't cause any trouble.
Now we have completely seized control of the Zhao family, and they dare not complain even if they have grievances!
Ye Xiqing was very satisfied. He took the money from Zhao Da and let them keep it themselves, giving each of them two yuan. The people below were immediately happy.
After rewarding her for her contributions, Ye Xiqing obediently replied to her second sister: It's all settled.
Jian Yu'an: ...
So that's how you did it!
Jian Yu'an was about to explode, but Ye Xiqing attached a list of the huge fortune confiscated from the Zhao family at the end of the letter.
Since Uncle Zhao has run away, his house and land will naturally belong to the village.
Before he left, the villagers had squeezed a full three hundred silver dollars out of the Zhao family!
They knew he was rich before, but they never imagined he was this rich. The villagers gritted their teeth with hatred when they thought about how he got all that money.
With so much money, it's impossible to divide it equally, so we might as well hand it all over to Zhao Zhenniang. The villagers only trust her now.
Jian Yu'an usually enjoys reading novels about housewives who manage household affairs, but she never imagined that one day she would be in charge of "village affairs".
This is outrageous! Ever since I transmigrated to this world, more and more outrageous things have happened.
Is this a case of village self-governance, where they declare themselves kings?
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