"You know what kind of misfortune has befallen the Fu family? Their daughter-in-law was killed in a fall. Then they married another wife, only to lose their granddaughter. Then even their son disappeared. It's been one bad luck after another. And now the daughter-in-law who ran away has returned! But she's gone crazy again, burning real money as ghost money."
This villager was also bored and had nothing to do after eating. He was talking to himself and lamenting about other people's affairs.
"The daughter-in-law who ran away? Are you talking about my elder sister-in-law Zhang Xiaoqin?"
"Isn't it her? Otherwise, why would I have nothing to do after eating and ask you to go and see her?"
Shumei was stunned for a moment, with a thoughtful expression.
Zhang Xiaoqin is Ji Zong's biological sister after all. She has gone crazy. It seems that there is no reason for her not to go and see her.
Thinking of this, she threw down the shovel, took off her gloves, washed her hands, locked the door of the chicken coop, and hurried to the big willow tree by the river.
Burning money was really a strange thing. There were many villagers gathered around. Shumei rushed there, squeezed in from the crowd, snatched the money from Zhang Xiaoqin's hand, grabbed some fresh grass to cover the fire, and stomped out the fire with a few kicks.
"Sister, what are you doing? Why are you burning all this money for no reason? You've been gone for several years, and there's been no news from you. Mother has even sent messages several times to inquire about you."
"Do you like this money? If you like it, take it all! I don't have the life to spend it anyway."
Zhang Xiaoqin still looked half dead. She said a few words weakly to Shumei and walked towards the river with heavy steps.
Shumei squatted down and packed up the little money she had left and put it in her bag. As she packed, she said, "What are you worried about? Even if you're worried, you can't be mean to money. You're fine, why are you saying such depressing things?"
Zhang Xiaoqin jumped into the icy river.
"Jumped into the river, jumped into the river..."
The shouts of the villagers and the splash of Zhang Xiaoqin falling into the water caught Shumei off guard. She stood up from the ground in a panic, holding her bag and looking anxiously into the river.
"Help! Help! Who among you can swim? Come and save them!"
Shumei asked the onlookers for help. She couldn't swim. If she could, she would have jumped in without hesitation.
Most of the onlookers were elderly and weak women, not many of whom could swim. In addition, Zhang Xiaoqin had made too many enemies in the village before, so even if some people could swim, they were unwilling to jump into the icy river to save her in such a cold weather.
A man heard the shouting and ran over. Without saying a word, he took off some of his clothes and prepared to jump into the water.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, his wife came forward, grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
His wife whispered to him, "You are such a pushover. Have you forgotten how she treated me before? It's not your turn to save her."
"Human lives are at stake. Just for such trivial matters, can we just stand by and watch them die?"
"I don't care. Whoever wants to rescue them can go, but you are not allowed to go."
"Women are petty and narrow-minded. Let's put this aside. How can a personal grudge be linked to a human life? Let go. If you delay any longer, the person really can't be saved."
The two of them argued back and forth, their faces flushed. The woman refused to give in and held on to her husband's arm tightly, refusing to let go.
Shumei saw it all and was worried.
She looked at Zhang Xiaoqin, who was not struggling much in the river, and then at the quarreling couple, with anxiety written all over her face.
At this moment, she thought of the money she had just picked up from the ground and put it in her bag. She suddenly had an idea and reached out to grab a handful of money and stuffed it into the woman's hand.
"Sister, let me go and save him! Consider this as your reward. This is a matter of life and death, so just consider it a good deed! Please, sister, saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda."
The woman finally gave in reluctantly for the sake of the money.
"Oh! Forget it, we are just kind-hearted and too soft-hearted. He treated me like that, and at the critical moment we still repay evil with kindness. Boss, you go! Be careful."
As she said this, she let go of her man's hand and hid aside to secretly count the money.
The man jumped into the river at lightning speed, dragging the dying Zhang Xiaoqin with one hand, and swam to the shore with great effort. He placed the soaking wet Zhang Xiaoqin on the lawn, where she had lost consciousness.
"Sister, sister, wake up! Sister, sister..."
Shumei kept slapping Zhang Xiaoqin's face, pinching her philtrum with her hands, and calling out to her loudly.
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