"You've broken the village rules. If there's any trouble in the village, it'll all be blamed on you! You're the one who brought dirt back from the mountains!"
"I've always said that the eldest daughter of the Hua family is a scoundrel and doesn't do anything. Now she even dares not to worship the mountain god and runs off to the mountains! My little girl told me that the eldest daughter of the Hua family is lazy and gluttonous. She stays at home all day, eating and waiting to die. She also often bullies her younger brothers and sisters. Look at her younger brothers and sisters, they are so skinny..."
Once this guy with a bad reputation opens his mouth, things that normally no one would say openly will start pouring out like beans, word for word.
"My Erya also said that the eldest daughter of the Hua family is extraordinary, but she is still a virgin, like a shrew... She often bullies her younger siblings at home. That young boy is beaten by her until his nose and face are swollen all day long..."
“That’s right…”
The group of people were talking in unison, pointing at the flowers and speaking without caring whether they were true or false.
Hua Shi stood at the center of the incident and felt for the first time the horror of rumors.
It was also the first time she realized that she had such a bad reputation in the village.
Lazy and idle, doing nothing, despised and abandoned by everyone...
No wonder she had felt before that whenever she passed by villagers and greeted them, they looked at her strangely.
She had thought it was because she had lost her way in the mountains last time and a large group of people from the village had gone out to look for her, causing such a commotion and people were talking about it, that was why it happened. But it turned out not to be the case...
Moreover, she never knew that Shoushan Village had these rules. She was careless and neglected them.
Going into the mountains and worshipping at the temple shrine is something that even a three-year-old child knows. When others see you entering the mountains, they will assume that you have already worshipped the mountain god and will naturally not think too much about it.
She was just stupid and didn't know...
She naturally didn't believe in anything. The idea that entering the mountains without worshipping at the temple's shrine would bring bad luck was a feudal superstition that only deceived the secluded mountain dwellers...
Hua Shi's thoughts were racing. He was being criticized by thousands of people and was thinking about how to get away with it.
Mrs. Li, who was standing beside her, reacted faster than her. She said with a calm face,
"Who said my daughter went straight into the mountains without paying respects to the temple shrine? I knew she would sneak into the mountains, so I paid respects before she went in! My daughter fell on her head a month ago, and I knew she definitely didn't remember it. It's just unfortunate that I paid respects to her, so the mountain god naturally wouldn't be angry. Such a dirty thing doesn't exist! What nonsense!"
The woman, who had just been so loud and wanted to parade Hua Shi through the streets as a warning to the public, became a little more frightened after hearing Li's explanation, but she still had some doubts.
"Are you telling the truth?"
Li frowned and said every word with certainty, "How else could I lie? That's the mountain god! How dare I lie!"
The woman who had been clenching her fists finally breathed a sigh of relief and let go of Hua Shi's hand.
The women who were accusing Li along with them didn't know whether they believed what she said or not. They looked at each other in confusion. Someone asked again,
"Aunt Li, are you telling the truth? If you lied, deceived everyone, fooled the mountain god, and something terrible happened..."
Before she could finish her question, Li frowned and interrupted her, "How could I possibly lie? What's there to lie about? If you don't believe me, you can go ask on the ridge over there. I went to the temple shrine at the foot of the mountain this morning and they all saw it."
Li's tone was full of certainty. The woman who was still questioning him closed her mouth slightly and muttered a few words to herself, which were not very clear.
Li frowned, glared, and put her hands on her hips, looking domineering. "I'm not that kind of person, and I haven't broken the village rules. If I hear what you said today again, and you gossip about me behind my back, I'll pull out your tongues!"
Everyone in Shoushan Village knew that Li was a notoriously aggressive and aggressive person. She could scold people to death just by putting her hands on her hips.
People in the village generally don't dare to provoke her easily, for fear that they will not only not gain any benefits but also get into trouble.
Li's voice was so loud that the other person was afraid to speak. Then she relaxed her brows a little, felt relieved, turned around, grabbed the flowers beside her, and left.
Hua Shi was pulled so hard that he staggered and almost fell.
Li was obviously very angry, and Hua Shi did not dare to resist at all.
As for Li's story about going to worship the mountain god in advance, it was obviously a lie, something she said to fool those women and let her get away with it...
She looked at the women, not entirely convinced, but because of Li's aggressive attitude, she didn't dare to refute.
Gossip behind people's backs is inevitable...
Whether for her or for her own face, Li would not allow her to lose face in public.
Besides, this matter is not a big deal, but it is not a small matter either. If it really gets out of hand, she will be the one who suffers.
She just shut up and let Li be intimidated...
As for whether those women believed it or not, at most they would talk about it behind his back. As long as it was not reported to the village chief or the clan leader, it would be a small matter.
Besides, she didn't believe that not worshipping the mountain god would bring bad luck or disaster...
As long as nothing goes wrong, today's incident will be over.
Just as Li dragged Hua Shi away, the women under the big banyan tree, who were suppressed by Li and dared not speak out, spat in the direction where Li left and cursed,
"You old hag, you really think you're so great! Your son is incompetent, and your beloved granddaughter is also useless. I don't know what you're showing off all day long..."
"That's right. Just now she was saying she didn't know her daughter would run away, and then she said someone had worshipped the mountain god. I don't know if these words are true or not..."
"What does it matter whether it's true or not? If it's true, it's fine. If it's false, it's still her family that's in trouble. We can't do anything about it. Even if the mountain god gets angry, he can't vent his anger on us..."
The women cursed and swore for a long time, still indignant. Before they had calmed down, they saw someone coming from a distance along the ridge of the field.
It seemed to be the eldest grandson of the Xie family. As I got closer, I could vaguely see who he was carrying on his back...
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