Da Bao, exuding an imposing aura, glared at Chen Zhancai. "How do you know that my sister Qingqing committed a capital crime? You are so certain, could it be that this case is related to you?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? I don't even know the person who was poisoned, how could it have anything to do with me?" Chen Zhancai immediately retorted. He didn't want to get involved in a murder case, as it could land him in jail. In jail, there are plenty of innocent souls who have been tortured into confessing under duress.
"Since it has nothing to do with you, shut up and go somewhere cool. Don't talk nonsense and scare people."
"You brat, how dare you talk like that? As your third uncle, can't I even show some concern for Qing'er? You're really ungrateful for my kindness!"
"Alright, stop with your hypocritical act. You don't need to meddle in Qingqing's affairs. Instead of wasting your time, you should be thinking about how to make money to support your family. Don't be like a scoundrel, living off the meager money from selling his wife."
Having said that, Chen Dabao's lips curled slightly, revealing a meaningful smile.
"You're so concerned about my sister Qingqing's affairs, could it be that you've already spent all the money from selling your wife? So you're trying to fool my uncle into destroying the severance agreement while my sister Qingqing is away, and then openly seize their family property?"
You're supposed to be a scholar, at least. Anything you do is better than cheating and swindling. What you're doing is a disgrace to scholars!
Old Mrs. Chen's face was as black as iron. "Da Bao, what nonsense are you spouting? Your third uncle is being made to look like a complete idiot by you. Shut up now!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the villagers burst into laughter, their faces full of mockery.
"Auntie, it's rare for you to tell the truth."
"Yes, your son is spoiled rotten by you because of his status as a scholar. He's worse than an animal."
"Who says otherwise? He even sold his wife without feeling ashamed. Now he even has the audacity to try and trick Zhanshan into tearing up the severance agreement. Your third son is truly despicable."
Old Mrs. Chen was so angry that she almost fainted. She steadied herself and said, "Shut up, all of you! If you dare to slander my son again, I'll sue you for defamation!"
Da Bao's words struck a nerve with Chen Zhancai, and the comments from the crowd made him lose face.
Chen Zhancai was immediately enraged and ashamed. "You, you bastard, how dare you insult my innocence! I'll teach you a lesson!"
He completely lost his temper and raised his hand to strike.
Da Bao didn't want to spoil him. He had suffered a lot from Chen Zhancai in the past. Chen Zhancai used to boss the whole family around and act like a tyrant just because he was studying. Now that they had finally separated from the family, if he let Chen Zhancai bully him again, wouldn't he become a coward?
Seeing the fist swinging towards him, Da Bao dodged it, quickly grabbed Chen Zhancai's wrist, swung his other arm, and slapped Chen Zhancai across the face several times.
The slap was powerful and the sound was extremely loud.
Chen Zhancai screamed in pain as he was being beaten, but Da Bao showed no sign of stopping.
Grandma Chen was stunned for a moment, then quickly ran over to stop Da Bao, shouting, "Da Bao, stop right there!"
The people working around were dumbfounded. Da Bao was too fierce. He actually dared to hit Xiucai. This was going to cause a big disaster!
Seeing this, Chen Zhanshan felt relieved. He had long wanted to teach this good-for-nothing a lesson, but he had never dared to do it because of his pride. Seeing Da Bao beat up Chen Zhancai was even more satisfying than if he had done it himself.
Chen Zhanliang looked at the slap Da Bao landed on Chen Zhancai's face and felt sorry for him.
Mrs. Sun was terrified and rushed over to stop Da Bao, who still didn't want to stop.
Da Bao stopped, still not satisfied, and shook his hand with a look of disgust. "Chen Zhancai, you're really shameless. My hand hurts from hitting you."
Chen Zhancai was dizzy from the slaps, and his cheeks felt burning painful.
He clutched his face, wincing in pain, and it took him a while to recover. He then pointed a trembling finger at Da Bao.
"You, you rebellious beast, you have the audacity to beat up a scholar! If I don't go to the county government to report you, I'll be doing myself a disservice!"
Old Mrs. Chen wanted to rush forward to avenge her son, but then she thought again that wantonly beating a scholar was a grave offense of disrespect.
If the matter is taken to the county government, this brat will not only get a beating, but he'll also definitely have to pay some compensation.
If they could extort a few hundred taels of silver, even if they didn't reconcile with the first wife, they could still live a good life in the future.
She glared at him, gritted her teeth, and shouted angrily.
"You little rascal, how dare you hit a scholar like yourself! You're in big trouble now!"
After saying that, she grabbed Chen Zhancai's wrist and said, "Come on, Zhancai, let's go to the county government to file a complaint. With just these two mouths, they won't be able to settle this matter without three or five hundred taels of silver."
"Yes, let's sue them." Chen Zhancai was furious. He felt he had lost face. If he didn't teach Da Bao a lesson, he would definitely get beaten up again in the future.
He didn't have time to think about anything else and started to walk away.
Da Bao scoffed dismissively, saying disdainfully, "Do you think the county government is yours to sue whomever you want? Do you have any witnesses?"
Chen Zhancai stopped and pointed at the crowd around him, "These people all saw it just now. They are the witnesses. If you're scared, you'd better kneel down and kowtow to apologize. Otherwise, you'll be in trouble when we get to the county government."
Old Mrs. Chen gritted her teeth and said, "Yes, if you don't want to suffer, quickly kowtow and admit your mistake, and then give us some compensation. Otherwise, you little brat, you'd better wait to be beaten!"
"Witnesses, where are the witnesses?" Chen Dabao asked with a grin, looking at everyone. "Uncles and aunts, did any of you see me hit someone?"
Upon hearing this, Da Longzi shook his head repeatedly, "I didn't see it. I only saw someone trying to bully others by taking advantage of their power."
The workers in the sugar mill had long disliked Old Lady Chen and Chen Zhancai, but given what had just happened, they didn't dare say anything.
Now that they've finally seized the opportunity, they're all starting to criticize.
"Yes, I didn't see it either."
"Don't worry, Da Bao. If anyone tries to falsely accuse you, we'll all go to the county government to testify for you and see who the magistrate believes."
"That's right, what kind of person would do this, coming here to cry like a crocodile and pretend to be kind? If they really cared, they would have gone to the county government to inquire about Qing'er's affairs long ago, instead of having the time to negotiate with you here."
“That’s right, Brother Zhanshan. I wanted to stop you earlier, but I didn’t dare to speak up because I saw how anxious you were. Now that Dabao is back, you must not fall for other people’s tricks. I believe that Qingya is a lucky child and will surely turn bad luck into good and return safely.”
"Yes, it's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature. Some people are like dogs that can't stop eating shit. Don't expect them to have any good intentions. In my opinion, they're probably up to something bad!"
......
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