sbdcsierra Chapter 1717 1 Upon hearing that an old ox had died, I immediately thought of Zhao Youcai
Chapter 1717 1 Upon hearing that an old ox had died, I immediately thought of Zhao Youcai
Chapter 1717 Upon hearing of the death of an old ox, he immediately thought of Zhao Youcai.
A woman who isn't ruthless won't have a stable position.
I don't know who Wei Xiaojuan learned it from, but she actually said something about sending her own flesh and blood to a temple.
But judging from Wang Dalong's expression, Wei Xiaojuan's move seemed to have hit him where it hurt.
After saying a few more polite words, Wei Xiaojuan left with Wang Dalong. Wang Dalong carefully supported Wei Xiaojuan, and the couple had only taken two steps when Wei Xiaojuan suddenly stopped and turned to Wang Meilan, saying, "Fifth Aunt, please give my regards to that old lady."
"Huh?" Wang Meilan was taken aback upon hearing this.
She understood. Wei Xiaojuan was asking her to send her regards to someone, and who was that "auntie" Wei Xiaojuan was referring to?
While Wang Meilan was still in a daze, Zhao Jun whispered in her ear, "She asked you to give my regards to Aunt Sun."
"Ah!" Wang Meilan realized that they were talking about Xie Sunshi.
"What's going on?" Seeing that there must be some excitement here, Ma Ling asked Zhao Jun curiously.
"Wasn't that the time?" Zhao Jun said, "Wei Xiaojuan acted recklessly, and Aunt Sun gave her a lecture."
Hearing Zhao Jun say this, Ma Ling recalled Xie Sunshi's glorious achievements. She had just arrived in Yong'an Village and had started two major battles in three days, which established Xie Sunshi's status as an outsider that no one dared to bully her.
After locking the gate, the six people got into the car. Ma Ling looked out the window and asked, "Where did Xiao Hong and Xiao Na go?"
"They left first," Li Ruhai said with a smile. "Sister-in-law, don't worry, they won't get lost."
Sure enough, when the jeep arrived at the old lady's house, they saw Zhao Hong fighting with two little boys not far away.
Zhao Hong wielded a wooden stick, her moves wide and sweeping, leaving the two little boys only able to parry and utterly powerless to retaliate.
This time, however, it wasn't Zhao Hong bullying anyone. The two little boys also fought back against Zhao Hong with wooden sticks, which was clearly a side effect of watching "The Legend of Huo Yuanjia".
Seeing this, Zhao Jun quickly honked his horn. Li Xiaoqiao, who was watching from the sidelines, turned around and quickly pulled Zhao Na into the old lady's yard.
Hearing the commotion, the two boys were distracted. Zhao Hong swung her stick, knocking one of their weapons away, and kicked the other.
Zhao Jun drove, Xing San sat in the passenger seat, and Li Ruhai, Zhao Youcai, Wang Meilan, and Ma Ling sat in the back row from left to right.
Wang Meilan couldn't easily get off the bus in the middle, but seeing her second daughter kick someone else's child, she hurriedly urged Ma Ling, saying, "Quick, young lady, get off the bus now."
At that moment, Zhao Hong saw her car approaching and instantly recalled the pain of the shoe sole hitting her buttocks. Zhao Hong immediately threw down the wooden stick she was holding and turned to run towards the old lady's house, but Zhao Jun, who had gotten out of the car first, grabbed her by the back of the collar.
"Brother!" Zhao Hong called out, but Zhao Jun retorted irritably, "Brother what? Why did you hit him?"
“Brother, we’re having a fight!” Zhao Hong said, and Zhao Jun looked at the two little boys. Unsurprisingly, the one who had just been kicked was none other than his second sister’s husband from his previous life, Sun Ruihai.
"You didn't fight?" Zhao Jun asked. Sun Ruihai, clutching his hip joint, replied, "Brother Zhao Jun, we were just playing around. We didn't fight."
Zhao Jun was speechless. This kid was such a jerk. He'd been bullied by Zhao Hong so many times, yet he still played along with her.
Seeing Wang Meilan approaching aggressively, Zhao Hong quickly explained, "Mom, we were just playing, we weren't fighting!"
"You can't play with sticks!" Zhao Youcai said. Then he walked over to Sun Ruihai, touched Sun Ruihai's hip joint, and asked, "Kid, did you hurt yourself?"
"It's alright, Uncle Zhao." Sun Ruihai was quite resilient, or rather, kids these days are all resilient.
"And you?" Zhao Youcai asked the other child, who also shook his head and said, "I'm fine too, Uncle."
Hearing the two children say this, Zhao Youcai's face darkened, and he said, "Playing is fine, but if you don't like it, then use a stick to fight! If you don't know the proper limits, who might get hurt? Or what if someone gets hurt in the eye?"
After saying this, Zhao Youcai raised his hand and gestured, saying, "If you keep covering your mouths with sticks, I'll beat you up!"
If this were thirty or forty years from now, and Zhao Youcai said those things about other people's children, those parents would all come looking for him.
But that won't happen these days. If Zhao Youcai is right, then the parents of those two children will agree.
"Understood, Uncle Zhao, we won't do anything more." Sun Ruihai was quite sensible. Hearing him say that, Zhao Youcai reached out and patted Zhao Hong's head, saying, "Let's go, let's go inside."
Wang Meilan waved to the two children and said, "Go on, kids, go play."
Whether it was a joke or not, Wang Meilan decided to let Zhao Hong take her away.
As Zhao Jun and his group entered the Jiang family's courtyard, Zhao Jun suddenly turned around when they were almost in front of the house. He saw that the two little boys hadn't left and were standing outside the courtyard, looking on expectantly.
"What's up?" Zhao Jun asked, turning around. Sun Ruihai replied, "Zhao Hong promised to give us both candy."
As soon as he said this, Zhao Jun and the others all looked at Zhao Hong. Zhao Hong's small eyes darted around, and when she opened her small hand, you could see that she was holding two small, mischievous toys in her palm.
"Go!" Wang Meilan shoved Zhao Hong aside and said, "Hurry up and send it over! You promised them, so you have to keep your word!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Hong quickly ran towards the courtyard gate.
At this moment, Xing San and Li Ruhai walked into the Jiang family's house, leaving the Zhao family of four to wait for Zhao Hong.
"Oh dear!" Zhao Youcai suddenly sighed and said, "At such a young age, your hands are already loose."
Upon hearing this, Wang Meilan glared fiercely at Zhao Youcai, who, after finishing tending the fire, walked into the house with his hands behind his back.
The Jiang family's courtyard wasn't very big, and Zhao Hong could run back and forth quickly, so Zhao Jun and the others followed Zhao Youcai into the house.
As soon as Zhao Jun entered the house, Xie Chen asked, "Brother Jun, why did you bring a Jeep?"
"There are so many of you today," Zhao Jun said with a smile. "When we were driving the Liberation Jeep, the eldest brother and sister-in-law had to sit in the back. You can all sit in this jeep with Liu Tiezui."
“Yeah, Brother Chen.” At this moment, Li Ruhai chimed in, “Last time you and Liu Tiezui went, but this time there are more people.”
"Kid!" Xing San said to Xie Chen as he took the cigarette Xie Zhong offered, "You'll get into some trouble when you get there."
"Hey!" Xie Chen chuckled in response, then scratched his head and said, "Why do I feel a little uneasy?"
"You coward!" Zhao Youcai pointed at Xie Chen and laughed, "You weren't cowardly on the blind date last time, so why are you being cowardly at our engagement today?"
“That’s right.” Zhao Jun had just finished speaking when Li Ruhai interrupted with a laugh, saying, “Isn’t Aunt Sun going with us today?”
As soon as Li Ruhai said this, the room fell silent instantly, and Xing Sandu, who was about to light a cigarette, stopped in his tracks.
"Well..." Seeing that things were not going well, the old lady quickly tugged at Xie Sunshi and said, "It's almost nine o'clock, you should go, you still have to pick up the matchmaker."
Xie Sunshi suddenly stood up, startling Li Ruhai, who quickly dodged to the side. Xie Sunshi glared at Li Ruhai and said, "Go!"
As she spoke, Xie Sunshi walked towards the outer room.
"You brat!" Xie Zhong patted Li Ruhai on the back. Xie Chen didn't say anything, but pointed at Li Ruhai. Then the two brothers and Liu Lanying walked out together.
Zhao Jun and the others saw them off, and Wang Meilan, as usual, reminded them, "Xiao Chen, drive carefully."
"Okay, Auntie." After saying that, Jie Chen suddenly stopped and turned to Zhao Youcai, saying, "By the way, Uncle Zhao, did you hear them talking about you?"
"What?" Zhao Youcai was taken aback, and then he heard Jie Chen continue, "This morning my sister-in-law went to get some tofu, and I heard them talking about how someone in Yongfu killed a cow while running around in the mountains, and they all said it was you who did it?"
After Xie Chen said this, the atmosphere in the room fell silent again, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Zhao Youcai's face was gloomy, and his cheeks and the hand holding the cigarette were trembling slightly, clearly indicating that his anger had reached its peak.
"Who said that?" Surprisingly, the first to speak up was Ma Ling, who shouted angrily, "Who spread such lies? My dad hasn't gone out these past few days, so why are they saying things about us!"
Ma Ling's reaction was unexpected by everyone. His daughter-in-law speaking up for him warmed Zhao Youcai's heart. Zhao Youcai gave Ma Ling a deep look, but when his gaze shifted to Zhao Jun's face and he saw that Zhao Jun's expression was normal, Zhao Youcai suddenly felt uneasy again.
“That’s what I said too!” Liu Lanying said indignantly, “I said it had nothing to do with my Uncle Zhao, and they just laughed!”
As soon as Liu Lanying finished speaking, Xie Zhong said, "You're all just talking nonsense! You're all so bored you've got nothing better to do!"
After saying that, Xie Zhong secretly pulled Xie Chen aside, and then said to Zhao Youcai, "Uncle, let's ignore them and let them stink like dog shit."
"Alright! Let's not bother them." At this moment, Wang Meilan spoke up, raising her hand to Xie Zhong and saying, "Boss, you guys hurry up and go. My business is the most important today. After that... come back for lunch, we'll make dumplings!"
That's the custom here: on the engagement day, the bride doesn't eat at the bride's house, but on the day of the betrothal gifts, they eat at the groom's house.
“Okay, Auntie.” Xie Zhong thought the matter of the rumor was over and immediately said, “Then we’re off!”
As he spoke, Xie Zhong raised his chin in greeting to Zhao Youcai, Zhao Jun, and the others.
Zhao Jun raised his hand in response, but as soon as Xie Zhong and his wife and Xie Chen came out of the house, Zhao Youcai's face instantly darkened again.
"What's going on, Ru Hai?" Zhao Youcai asked Li Ru Hai, "Do you know?"
"Ah!" Li Ruhai nodded and said, "Grandpa, they're just spouting nonsense, don't pay them any mind."
"Who said anything, Ru Hai?" Xing San asked. Li Ru Hai replied, "It seems like it's been quite a while. They said that in Yongfu, near the foot of the northern mountain, someone's old ox was shot and killed. After that, they couldn't find him, so they said it was my uncle who did it."
Without Li Ruhai acting as an intermediary, the news wouldn't spread as quickly.
"Fuck you!" Zhao Youcai roared in fury, waving his arm and shouting, "Who the hell said that? I'm going to find him!"
No one dared to utter a sound. They all looked at Li Ruhai, who frowned and said, "I don't know who said it first? Anyway, that cow belongs to Hu Zhenzhong, the son of Old Hu."
It happened quite a while ago; the snow on the mountain hadn't completely melted yet. He was driving his ox up the mountain to pull the cane branches, and he was cutting the branches with a sickle when suddenly, "Bang!"—and then his old ox bellowed loudly.
Li Ruhai described it vividly, but such incidents are actually quite common in the forest area. Many people travel through the mountains, and there are also many herding horses and cattle. It's not uncommon for old cattle or horses to mistake them for deer and kill them. However, it's rare for one person to kill two in one winter…
At this point, Li Ruhai continued, "This man ran away after beating the cow, and Hu Zhenzhong couldn't find him. When he got back, the villagers said, 'Could it be that my uncle beat him...?'"
As Li Ruhai spoke, his voice grew softer and softer. Seeing Zhao Youcai's face turn red and his cheeks twitching, Li Ruhai quickly said, "Brother Hu Zhenzhong said it's impossible. He said my uncle was scratched by a black bear and his injury hasn't healed yet, so it definitely couldn't have been him!"
Zhao Youcai: "..."
This cleared the suspect of suspicion, but being scratched by a black bear is not a good thing!
Hu Zhenzhong is Hu Mantang's son. They separated from the family and lived separately in Yongfu Village. When Zhao Jun got married, Hu Mantang and his wife, along with their sons, all came. Seeing that Zhao Youcai was having some difficulty moving around, they asked him what was wrong. Zhao Youcai thought they were all family, so he told them about his injury.
"No?" the old lady suddenly interjected, asking Li Ruhai, "We've already said we didn't do it, so how can someone be blaming us?"
The old lady had hit the nail on the head, and at that moment, Li Ruhai glanced at Zhao Youcai with a troubled expression, then whispered, "These people in our village are all just gossiping and talking nonsense. As soon as they heard about the old ox being killed, they started arguing with my uncle."
"Damn it!" Zhao Youcai roared, "Aren't you all afraid of your foul mouths?!"
Hearing Zhao Youcai's words, Li Ruhai swallowed hard, thinking to himself, "Before I spread gossip about others, did they also talk about me like this behind my back?"
"Alright, alright!" Wang Meilan reassured Zhao Youcai, "We didn't do it, so what can we do if we don't say anything?"
Wang Meilan knew that it must have been someone talking about killing a cow in Yongfu that morning, and then some jerk brought up things like the cow-slaughtering cannon.
In the countryside these days, people don't gossip about national affairs or world events. They just chat about this family's business and that family's business, and nobody cares.
Zhao Youcai understood the situation perfectly well, but he was furious. Why was he being blamed for this? Was he being arrested once and then treated like a hundred times? He'd only hit the bull once, twice… twice… and the other time it was a motorcycle accident, that shouldn't count!
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Zhao Youcai strode out of the Jiang family's house. When Zhao Jun and the others saw that he was angry, they quickly followed him home.
As they neared home, the group ran into Li Dayong and Jin Xiaomei. Early that morning, the Li family had split into three groups: Li Ruhai and Li Xiaoqiao were with Zhao Jun and his group, while Li Baoyu had gone to see his girlfriend.
When Zhao Youcai saw Li Dayong, it was like seeing a relative. Seeing that Zhao Youcai was in a bad mood, Li Dayong accompanied him for a walk around the village to help him calm down.
"MLGB!" With his good brother by his side, Zhao Youcai felt much more at ease, but he still cursed, "Why do they only think of me when they talk about beating up the old ox? When some big-clawed guy in the mountains dies, why don't they think of me?"
"Big Brother!" Upon hearing Zhao Youcai's words, Li Dayong quickly stopped him, saying, "Big Claw is dead, we can't be there for him now."
Seeing Zhao Youcai looking at him, Li Dayong hurriedly said, "You can't just hit Big Claws randomly. If you hit him without permission, you'll end up in jail, which isn't a good thing!"
Zhao Youcai's lips twitched, and seeing that he was unhappy, Li Dayong quickly said, "Alright, brother, calm down. Let me tell you something: 'Heaven will entrust great responsibilities to those who are destined for them, and will first test their will and strengthen their bodies!' Your injury is almost healed, so let's regain our former glory and get our reputation back, isn't that all?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Youcai's small eyes gleamed. Just then, Wu Dalin and Qin Hongzhi, their cotton-padded jackets and trousers torn and their faces covered in bloodstains, stumbled into Yong'an Village!
(End of this chapter)