"That killer is back?" Old Mrs. Chen was startled. Her first thought was, "What heinous thing has he done this time?"
What exactly did he do to make the villagers so anxious and flustered?
"That scoundrel with a heart full of malice actually wants to poison the well!"
"What?! Poisoning?!"
The Chen family of four was stunned.
"Shanhe's wife, this matter is actually related to you. You must not come. Someone has already called the village head, and we are here too. We can handle her. You must not come, lest she bully you."
After giving a few words of advice, "Don't come," Aunt Song hurriedly left, heading straight for the well at the west end of the village.
"What does this have to do with me?" Su Yun'er murmured repeatedly. She and Ma Tiannian had two conflicts. The first time was when he tried to flirt with her but failed, and the second time was when their children got into a fight a few days ago.
"Hey! He dares to use this as a pretext to cause trouble!"
Su Yun'er slammed her hand on the table, startling the three of them, including Old Lady Chen.
As a result, Su Yun'er got up, got off the kang (a heated brick bed), and put on her shoes.
Old Mrs. Chen got anxious: "Little Tree's mother, where are you going?"
"Mom, I'm going to see what that bastard Ma Tiannian is up to now." Su Yun'er took off her apron from her waist, swung it around with a thud, casually tossed it aside, and stepped out the door.
On her way to the west end of the village, Su Yun'er encountered many villagers. Some were angry, while others were unaware of what had happened. They simply followed the crowd. When they saw familiar faces, they stopped them to ask what was going on. After hearing the stories, they were first surprised and then angry. Filled with righteous indignation, they followed the crowd toward the well.
Daliushu Village has more than 200 households. There used to be several wells in the village, but two years ago there was a severe drought, and the other wells dried up one after another, leaving only the well at the west end of the village. The whole village relies on this well for drinking water.
Although there is a small river near the village, it is outside the village, and it would take about an hour to fetch water from there and fill a water tank.
Moreover, the water there doesn't taste as good as well water, and the river water contains fish, shrimp, and seaweed, unlike well water which can be stored for longer once a vat is filled.
So Ma Tiannian poisoned the well, which was tantamount to cutting off the entire village's livelihood!
How can anyone not be angry or hateful!
The well at the west end of the village was already packed with people.
The earthen platform, the roof of the platform, and the surrounding trees were all filled with people.
All eyes were focused on the open space in the middle.
There, Ma Tiannian sat by the well, holding a wooden bucket in his arms, his arm resting on the bucket, and turning a yellow paper package back and forth in his hand.
A row of men stood in front of him, all the strongest men in the village, each gritting their teeth and clenching their fists, wanting to beat Ma Tiannian to death with one punch.
"You can hit me, but if you dare to hit me, I'll just throw this poison into the well and see who's stronger."
He gave a provocative smile and shook the yellow paper packet in his hand.
"Why didn't anyone go and snatch that package?" someone among the onlookers asked quietly.
"No, this guy is very alert. Someone tried to snatch it just now, but he managed to dodge it. He almost threw the package down. That was terrifying."
Therefore, the two sides reached a stalemate.
"The village head is here! The village head is here!"
Someone shouted excitedly, and everyone looked back and made way for the village head to come to the center and stand in front of Ma Tiannian.
"Ma Tiannian, what's wrong with you now?"
"Village head, I'm not going crazy, I'm negotiating." Ma Tiannian said lazily, with a hint of grievance in his expression.
"Conditions? What are your conditions?"
That bastard Ma Tiannian either had trouble paying for his drinks today, and the restaurant staff chased him all the way to the village to collect the debt; or he didn't pay for prostitution, and people came to the village to collect the debt; or he robbed someone, and people came to the village to recover the stolen money.
"I'll make that widow from the Chen family pay me back!"
Ma Tiannian shouted it out loudly, word by word.
The crowd immediately began to stir. Someone noticed Su Yun'er next to them and looked at her with complicated expressions. They even nudged the people next to them, urging them to look at Su Yun'er as well.
Soon, everyone noticed that Su Yun'er was on the outer perimeter.
Su Yun'er didn't hide; she parted the crowd and walked into the encirclement.
"Ma Tiannian, what money do you want me to pay you?" Su Yun'er asked in a cold voice.
"My son's medical expenses! Your son blinded my son, you have to pay for it!"
"I don't think it's your son who's blind, it's you. Your son is right there beside you, isn't he?"
Su Yun'er pointed to a spot, and everyone followed suit, peering over their necks. Sure enough, behind the wall of the earthen platform, they saw a small head quickly retracting.
It was Ma Xiaolan who had come to peek.
Someone immediately stepped forward, grabbed Ma Xiaolan by the collar, and dragged him over.
Throwing Ma Xiaolan forward with little force won't hurt her.
Ma Xiaolan lowered her head, not daring to look at the people around her, let alone her own father, a far cry from the way she had been when she was waving her fist at the little tree.
Among the crowd, the children who had been bullied by Ma Xiaolan covered their mouths and stole the food.
I never expected this! You, Ma Xiaolan, who bullies us every day, have actually met your end!
Painful, yet so exhilarating!
"Ma Xiaolan, how are your eyes?" The village head, with a solemn and dignified expression, called out Ma Xiaolan's name. Su Yun'er saw Ma Xiaolan tremble slightly.
"...It's alright." Ma Xiaolan lowered her head, her voice barely louder than a mosquito's hum.
"What did you say?" The village head frowned.
"I said... it's alright." Her voice trailed off as she spoke.
"Have you seen a doctor?" the village head asked again.
Ma Xiaolan shook her head.
"Cough!" Ma Tiannian suddenly coughed.
Ma Xiaolan nodded quickly.
The village head pursed his lips and glared at Ma Tiannian with displeasure. Ma Tiannian shrugged and pouted, acting as if it was none of his business.
The village head withdrew his gaze, cleared his throat, and asked again, "Ma Xiaolan, tell the truth, have you seen a doctor?"
Before Ma Xiaolan could make another move, he quickly added, "How big is the village? Everyone knows each other's affairs. Do you think you can fool us?"
Sure enough, Ma Xiaolan wanted to nod, but hesitated and then shook her head.
"You didn't see a doctor, and your eyes are fine. Is this what you call blindness?" The village head felt exhausted. Ma Tiannian's lying skills were so poor. "You even want the Chen family to compensate you? How can you be so shameless?"
"My child is better now, but what if... what if he gets worse again later!"
"Bullshit! What do you want?" The village head was losing his patience.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
