Chapter 59 [VIP]
Both of them were aiming for a proper life, and it was better to get married sooner rather than later.
Old Liang picked out several auspicious dates and finally chose the closest one, the sixth day of next month. There are still more than half a month to go, so we can take this time to have Dunzi clean up the house.
Because he helped raise the mules, Dunzi had always lived in the separate courtyard with Uncle Chen.
Now that they are getting married, they naturally can no longer live in the host's house. They cleaned up their own three small mud houses, found someone to re-roof them, and replaced the doors and windows. They also built two large kang beds in the house, following the style of the other courtyard.
Cuihong has two children, and it's inconvenient for them to live together, so the west room is perfect for the children.
Out of respect for the landlord, the villagers all came to help. With many people, the work was done quickly. Occasionally, someone would make a few teasing remarks, but no one dared to go too far, after all, Shi Dunzi was working for the landlord. If they really angered someone and they complained to the landlord, they would probably be in deep trouble.
The house was almost ready, and the wedding was fast approaching. While delivering some things to town, Dunzi spent money to buy two bolts of coarse cloth and asked Cuihong to make two new outfits for him and the children.
The last time I saw them, the mother and daughter were wearing pudding-colored clothes; they were wearing new clothes for their wedding.
The thought of having a wife and children soon gave me boundless energy, and I became much more cheerful. On my way back by train, I even started singing.
He wasn't from Qingshui Town. He had come here with his parents when they fled famine. His parents died early, and he didn't even know where his hometown was. He only knew how to sing a folk song from his hometown.
"The mountains are so high, the waters so green—I was born amidst these mountains and waters, tilling the fields and weaving cloth—"
When he arrived at Zhengzhuang, he could see a large crowd gathered around Cuihong's house from a distance, so he cracked his whip a few times and quickly stopped.
After getting off the bus and squeezing into the courtyard, I saw Cuihong with disheveled hair, torn clothes, and a swollen face. She was sitting in the courtyard crying, holding two children.
Shi Dunzi was startled and quickly asked, "What's going on?!"
A fierce-looking woman nearby spat and said, "This shameless widow dares to seduce my man! I'll beat her to a pulp!"
"I didn't! It was your man who tried to bully my daughter, that's why I fought with him!"
Standing to the side, Zheng Youtian angrily retorted, "Bullshit! Do you think I'm that kind of person? You were the one who tried to seduce me, and when I disagreed, you started fighting with me."
The onlookers were gossiping, and Xiao Ni was so frightened that she kept crying. Da Ni was a little braver and stammered out what had happened.
"He was the one who was trying to bully my little sister. He lured her out with candy, took her behind the woodpile, and even tried to take off her pants... I was so scared that I called my mother, and we started fighting."
Upon hearing this, the onlookers all turned to look at the village head, never expecting him to be this kind of person.
Enraged, Zheng Youtian picked up a large stick from the ground and was about to hit the mother and her two children, yelling, "I'll teach you to talk nonsense!"
Shi Dunzi quickly stepped in front of him, shouting, "Don't hit her!"
"Get lost, mind your own business!"
Dunzi exerted all his strength and angrily rammed into Zheng Youtian, knocking him flat on his back.
Seeing this, the relatives of Zheng Zhuangtou nearby were furious. They all raised their fists and surrounded Dunzi, beating him for a long time until someone shouted, "If you keep hitting him, he'll die!" The group then dispersed. By then, Dunzi was covered in blood and unconscious.
Zhang Cuihong screamed in terror, "Someone, go get a doctor! Someone come and help!"
*
Wang Ying was unaware of the magnitude of the event and was wondering why Dunzi hadn't returned so late when there was a knock on the door.
Uncle Chen opened the door and saw several strangers carrying a stone block covered in blood into the yard. He exclaimed in shock, "My God, what happened?"
The people inside rushed out upon hearing the noise, and they were all quite frightened.
Uncle Chen called out to Dunzi a few times, but there was no response. He put his hand to Dunzi's nose and found a faint breath. "He's not dead!"
Chen Qingyan said, "Quickly go and call the doctor over!"
Uncle Chen immediately ran to call the village doctor. One of the young men in charge of carrying the person was a relative of the Zhang family, and he recounted the whole story from beginning to end.
"Outrageous!" Wang Ying was furious. They were bullying him! Even when beating a dog, you have to consider its owner. They were so blatantly beating him, they didn't take him seriously at all!
"Qingyan, go and call Uncle Chen Xi here quickly!"
"Don't get angry, I'll go right away."
Before long, Chen Xi and his son Chen Dashun arrived. They were both furious when they heard about the incident on the way. They decided to have their son gather all the villagers, young and old, to go to Zhengzhuangzi and demand justice!
Uncle Chen also invited the doctor over, who gave the man two acupuncture treatments and woke him up, but his nose was broken and he had a bump the size of an egg on his forehead.
Dunzi struggled to his feet and wanted to go find Zhang Cuihong, but Wang Ying quickly stopped him, saying, "You should stay home and rest. This matter can't be left unresolved!"
Ignoring Chen Qingyan's objections, he boarded a mule cart and went to Zhengjiazhuang with the villagers.
On the other hand, Zheng Youtian didn't take the matter seriously. He had been a bully in the village for years and thought that he had gotten away with the beating, since the man didn't look like a powerful figure.
Not long after she got home, she heard a rapid knocking at the door. Mrs. Zheng asked in surprise, "Who is it?"
Chen Xi said, "Open the door, I need to see Chief Zheng about something!"
As soon as the gate opened, twenty or thirty men rushed in, cursing and shouting, "Where is Zheng Youtian? Come out here!"
"What, what are you going to do?"
Chen Xi rushed into the house and dragged Zheng Youtian, who was about to hide, out.
Wang Ying got out of the car and stepped forward, saying, "So it was you who bullied my servant?"
Zheng Youtian looked puzzled and said, "Who are you? I don't know what you're talking about..."
Chen Xi kicked him and said, "This is the master of our Chen Family Village, and the person you hit is our master's servant!"
"Oh dear, this is a misunderstanding. Look at the mess this has made! I didn't know he was one of Mr. Chen's men, otherwise I wouldn't have dared to hit him even if I had the guts of a bear! How about I compensate him and get him treated? Please forgive me, sir." Zheng Youtian thought he could settle things with a few kind words, but Wang Ying didn't buy it at all.
"I have plenty of money, I don't need your pittance. Beat Dunzi to a pulp!"
Several young men, having received their orders, began punching him. Zheng Youtian shouted, "I'm the head of the gang! Our boss is the Zheng family, a powerful official! If you hurt me, we're not done with this!"
Wang Ying spat, "Fine, let's see if the Zheng family will make an enemy of our Chen family for a mere village head like you!"
Master Zheng is just a local gentry who donated money to build his family fortune. His family is not as wealthy as the Chen family. Madam Zheng and Madam Li are also friends, so even if they complain, they wouldn't dare to do anything.
The commotion attracted many people from Zhengzhuang to come and watch. Some of the men who had been fighting earlier fled in terror when they heard that people from Chenjia Village had arrived. These men were bullies who relied on their power; if they were to face a strong, young man, no one would dare to step forward.
After striking for half an hour, the person on the ground was barely breathing, so Wang Ying ordered them to stop.
"Next time you bully someone, ask around beforehand. Tell them who you can bully and who you can't. Let's go!"
Chen Qingyan quickly followed him into the car, feeling that Aying's temper had worsened since she became pregnant.
When she returned home, Zhang Cuihong, accompanied by two maids, was waiting at the gate. Upon seeing Wang Ying, she kowtowed and said, "Thank you, mistress! Thank you, mistress!"
"Get up quickly, Uncle Dunzi is badly injured. I'm sorry to have troubled you to take care of him these days."
Zhang Cuihong choked up as she said, "It's only right. If it weren't for protecting us, he wouldn't have been beaten like this..."
The mother and her two children moved directly to Chenjiazhuang. With someone taking care of them, Shidunzi recovered quickly. When he learned that his employer had stood up for him, he was extremely grateful and vowed to work like a slave for the rest of his life to repay his employer!
News of what happened in Zhengzhuang quickly reached the town. Not only did the Zheng family not cause trouble, they even sent ten strings of cash as an apology. As for Zheng Youtian, he was dismissed from his position as head of the estate and made a tenant farmer. They didn't want to make enemies with the Chen family over a servant.
On the sixth day of the ninth lunar month, an auspicious day for weddings, sacrifices, consecration ceremonies, and engagements, Shi Dunzi and Zhang Cuihong got married with the blessings of relatives and friends.
The wedding was very simple; they only had two tables of food and set off a string of firecrackers.
Wang Ying and Chen Qingyan, as the hosts, were naturally present, as were Liang Lao, Qingsong, and Qinghuai, who also joined in the fun. Then there were Uncle Chen and Chen Xi's family, and Aunt Zhang's family.
The meal was simple, consisting of three plates of meat dishes, three plates of vegetable dishes, and a staple food of wontons filled with chives and eggs.
No one looked down on them; it wasn't easy for these two to get together, especially after that incident, and Dunzi's facial injury hadn't fully healed yet. Fortunately, he was alright, and they could finally live a peaceful life.
The two girls, Da Ni and Er Ni, were the happiest of the couple on their wedding day. Dressed in the new clothes their mother had made for them, they ran around happily, their faces flushed.
Mother said that now that they have a father, they will be able to eat their fill and stay warm, and they will no longer be afraid of being bullied!
*
After finishing Dunzi's wedding, it will soon be Lin Qiu's wedding time.
Wang Ying's belly grew bigger day by day. Now she was more than four months pregnant and her belly was starting to show. Her old pants were no longer a good fit. That night, she took out the new pants made by her aunt from the trunk and tried them on. They were loose and fit her perfectly.
After taking a bath, the two went into the experimental field to pick some peaches to take back to town the next day.
This time, the peaches were more plentiful than last time, and each one was round and plump, looking delicious. Wang Ying caught them in a basket below, while Chen Qingyan climbed the tree to pick them. The two worked together quite well, and in no time, they had picked a full basket.
As Wang Ying bent down to pick up the peaches, she suddenly exclaimed, "Ah!"
"What's wrong?" Chen Qingyan quickly jumped down from the tree and helped him sit down.
"It's nothing, I just felt like something moved inside my stomach just now."
"Let me see!" Chen Qingyan lifted his shirt and pressed his face against his protruding belly, but after waiting for a long time, there was still no movement.
"Perhaps I was mistaken..." Before he could finish speaking, his lower abdomen trembled slightly again.
This time, both of them were stunned.
After a while, Chen Qingyan came to his senses and said, "Is...is the baby moving?"
"I think so."
Becoming a father for the first time was a novel experience for both of them. "Does it hurt?"
Wang Ying shook her head. "It doesn't hurt, but it's a bit strange, like a kitten gently scratching me."
Chen Qingyan gently kissed his belly, "Be good, move for your father again."
As if understanding, the little one inside kicked again, making the two of them burst into laughter.
A note from the author:
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