"What do you mean, stealing a house?" Aunt Tian asked in surprise. Old Gen's wife and the others were also shocked. Even Yang Jihong and He Juan stared at Song Qing and the other two in astonishment.
Zhou Lian never told them about this matter; she only spoke ill of Song Qing to them.
She said that her husband and Song Qing's husband were indeed good brothers for many years. Song Qing's family had a lot of timber from the military region, but they had taken it all. Even though there was still a lot left, they refused to share any with Zhou Lian's family.
"You'll have to ask my good friend about that."
Zhou Lian blushed. "Don't talk nonsense. When did I ever take your house? You clearly said you didn't want it anymore before we moved in."
“When did we say we didn’t want it? The original agreement was that if we didn’t come to accompany the military, the house would be given to your family. But we didn’t expect you to move in right away. Not only did you refuse to return it, you also took the matter to the Women’s Federation leaders.”
Even after repeated persuasion from superiors, he still refused to come out.
They stopped causing trouble because they had jobs, but Zhou Lian was quite shameless at first. Song Qing was annoyed by her; she was like a fly, always around.
Zhou Lian stammered, "I...I...I..." but quickly regained her composure.
"You dare say you didn't benefit from this? Otherwise, why would you have moved over there? We both benefited from this, so what are you pretending for?"
"Yes, Director Zhang must have promised you other benefits. You were originally adamant about not changing it, but you eventually accepted it."
Zhou Lian truly didn't understand why Song Qing was still clinging to this matter, even though she had clearly benefited from it as well.
Song Qing scoffed, "Bullshit, don't try to smear us. If I didn't move, you would have run into the Women's Federation and killed yourself. In order to keep the families calm and prevent things from escalating, we had no choice but to accept Director Zhang's suggestion."
Director Zhang said that work-related matters should be kept confidential, so Song Qing could not possibly reveal this to the public.
"No matter how things develop, you seized our house from the very beginning. Who gave you the audacity to try and claim ties with me?"
Aunt Tian's face turned red with anger when she heard this. This was bullying! She grabbed the broom next to her and was about to swing it at Zhou Lian's face when Song Qing quickly stopped her.
Just kidding, Zhou Lian's belly is so big, it's hard to say what might happen if something goes wrong.
"Fine, so shameless, you actually dare to say that you and Song Qing are good sisters who help each other. Where's your face? You've used it all to pave your way out? No wonder you dare to walk around with your head held high after doing such a despicable thing."
Old Gen's wife and the others realized what was going on. This person was shameless. They put their hands on their hips and were about to start cursing when Zhou Lian quickly ran out.
Yang Jihong and He Juan were a step too slow and got sprayed with spittle. They had no idea about this beforehand; it was a completely undeserved misfortune.
On the road outside, Zhou Lian pinched Er Ya hard.
"What use are you, you brat? All you do is stand here. Didn't you see your mother being insulted? You didn't even talk back."
Er Ya touched her bruised arm and didn't dare to say a word.
Yang Jihong and Zhou Lian were still in a daze standing outside. After calming down, Zhou Lian started scolding Song Qing again.
"Pah! If she didn't accept this result, she would have come to make a scene at me long ago. She got the benefit and is still acting innocent. She even teamed up with others to curse me. Just wait, I'm going to report them when I get back."
Let's go ask around again; I refuse to believe we can't find anyone in such a big village.
Yang Jihong and Zhou Lian exchanged a glance and dared not follow her any longer. This woman had taken over someone else's house and was still so self-righteous. She was clearly someone who took advantage of others and should not be trusted. They quickly said goodbye and left.
Zhou Lian snorted coldly, "Two cowards."
However, after going through this ordeal, she didn't want to continue looking for someone to exchange things; she wanted to go back first.
In the courtyard, Song Qing was trying to calm them down. "She actually made a good point. We're not stupid; we're not going to let ourselves be taken advantage of."
"That's good, but you really should stay away from people like that."
“We thought she really knew you, but we never expected that she would dare to lie to us after doing something like this.”
"She was thinking of using my name to buy things from you, but she didn't expect that I would happen to be here today."
“I need to tell the others not to trade with this kind of person. What if they trade with you and then go back to report you? What a heartless bastard.”
Zhou Liancai didn't dare to report it. She was going to live here for many years, which meant she would need to exchange grain and vegetables with the village. What if she offended someone?
Besides, she has no evidence at all. Does she think people will believe her just because she makes empty claims?
She had to think it over. If Yanghe Village really refused to trade with her because of Song Qing, she would have to go find other villages.
Yang Jihong and her companion were filled with shame and practically fled in disarray. Back in the family compound, they became increasingly angry, realizing that everything that had happened today was because of Zhou Lian.
How can this person be such a hypocrite? Yesterday he acted like he was considering the bigger picture, but behind the scenes he actually stole someone else's house.
She not only stole the house, but she also took a fancy to the wood in the house and shamelessly wanted it to be given to her.
They didn't give it to me and then started talking badly about me. I've had such bad luck today. I made a wasted trip and got yelled at.
Yanghe Village is the closest village to them. Song Qing's relatives are still there. If those villagers hate them along with Zhou Lian, where will they go to exchange things in the future?
The two women grumbled as they carried their baskets back home. When they got downstairs, someone asked them if it was easy to exchange things in Yanghe Village. The two women looked annoyed and decided to pour out their grievances to the person who asked them.
After Zhou Lian left, Song Qing didn't take the matter to heart and even comforted Aunt Tian for a while.
Seeing her attitude, Aunt Tian guessed that she hadn't suffered any loss, so she put the matter out of her mind, and the two began preparing dinner for the day.
“An’an is still sleeping on the kang. You stay home and watch over her. I’ll go find the hunters in the village to see if there’s any wild game.”
Aunt Tian went out with her basket. After eating her lunch, An'an played for a while but then got sleepy and went to sleep on the kang (a heated brick bed) until now.
Song Qing was watching the goose in the yard. Aunt Tian said that it should be tied up for a few more days, and if it really didn't work, it should be allowed to hatch the eggs it laid first.
Just then, a boy in his early teens rushed in carrying meat, shouting "Mom!" He paused for a moment when he saw Song Qing.
He turned his head and looked around the yard to make sure it was his home before smiling and looking at her.
"Are you my cousin Song Qing? Where's my mom?"
It turned out to be Aunt Tian's youngest son, Liu Jiandong, who was in junior high school in the county. Nowadays, schools basically only have half a day of regular classes in the morning, and the afternoons are for labor and agricultural learning.
So he simply took the day off this afternoon and came back.
Song Qing nodded. "You must be Jian Dong. You do look very handsome."
Liu Jiandong scratched his head, feeling a little embarrassed. He thought his mother was inside and quickly ran in, only to find An'an sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), pouting and about to cry.
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