Chapter 407: Scheme Shattered

Chapter 407: Chapter 407: Scheme Shattered

Yang Jianguo was exasperated. "Second Uncle, the whole village is saying you’re going to marry Aunt Cui Lian!"

Hearing this, Yang Zhigang was dumbfounded. "Who’s spreading such nonsense? I haven’t even seen Zhao Cuilian in days. How could I be marrying her?"

Han Xiaorui asked, "Uncle Yang, do you have any intention of doing so? If not, you should clear things up quickly. If you do, then never mind. You’re divorced, so it’s fine for you to remarry."

"Remarry? What remarriage!" Yang Zhigang said irritably. "I just jumped out of one fire pit. I’m not an idiot, why would I jump into another? I admit, I was with Zhao Cuilian when we were young, but after I got married, that connection was gone."

"She got married later, too. Even though we live in the same village, there was never anything improper between us. It was just Zhang Xiufang who couldn’t keep her mouth shut and would run her mouth. I don’t know who started this rumor this time."

"Don’t you believe it for a second. I am absolutely not remarrying. All I want now is to live a quiet, stable life, raise my granddaughters, earn some more money for my retirement, and save up for their dowries. I’m not thinking about anything else."

Hearing this, Yang Jianguo breathed a sigh of relief. "Second Uncle, whatever you decide, I’ll support you."

Wu Cuicui also felt relieved.

She knew Zhao Cuilian was a good person, but her son and daughter-in-law were trouble.

If Second Uncle were to remarry, it couldn’t be to Zhao Cuilian, or there would be more family turmoil.

Yang Zhigang put down his snack. "You two eat. I’m going to the village committee. I’m going to make an announcement over the loudspeaker. I can’t let these rumors spread."

"Second Uncle, I’ll go with you." Yang Jianguo was worried, so he left with his uncle.

Watching her second uncle and husband leave, Wu Cuicui sighed in relief. "Xiao Rui, I was so worried just now that Second Uncle might have been thinking about it. Aunt Cui Lian is hardworking and a good person, but her son and daughter-in-law are insatiably greedy. They’re not good people."

Han Xiaorui smiled. "Is Uncle Yang a fool? It’s true he’s loyal and values his relationships, but that doesn’t mean he’s stupid. With so many rumors flying around, someone must have ill intentions. Let’s not rush. Just wait, and the little troublemakers will show their true colors."

About ten minutes later, Yang Zhigang’s voice came over the Jinshan Bay loudspeaker. "Good afternoon, everyone. This is Yang Zhigang. I heard some rumors in the village today, and I’m here to officially clear them up."

"I, Yang Zhigang, have just gotten divorced. I have not been, am not currently, and will not in the future be romantically involved with anyone. Furthermore, I declare that I will not remarry. I have already written a will, and all of my property will be left to my five granddaughters."

"I’m making this official statement today. If anyone continues to spread rumors, don’t blame me for calling the police to find out who’s responsible. We live in a society governed by law, and spreading rumors is illegal. We’re all neighbors here and see each other every day, so let’s not make things ugly."

"Things are developing so quickly these days. If you have the spare time to gossip about this nonsense, you’d be better off thinking of ways to earn more money and seize opportunities to get rich. Maybe you could even become a millionaire. Isn’t that better than spreading rumors and wagging your tongues?"

...

After hearing Yang Zhigang’s speech, Han Xiaorui and Wu Cuicui shook their heads and chuckled. "Uncle Yang has really figured things out."

Wu Cuicui sighed. "It’s all because of what Second Aunt—no, I should call her Zhang Xiufang now—put him through. I bet Second Uncle won’t want to remarry for the rest of his life."

After hearing Yang Zhigang’s announcement, the villagers finally understood that the previous stories were just baseless rumors.

Zhao Cuilian, however, looked bitter and disappointed when she heard Yang Zhigang’s announcement, and she lowered her head.

Her daughter-in-law, Sun Huihui, glared at her husband, Yang Meng. "I told you that you were being too hasty, but you wouldn’t listen. Now look what’s happened. He went and cleared it all up. Even if Mom wanted to get close to Yang Zhigang now, it’d be too embarrassing."

Yang Meng stomped his foot. "So I lost the gamble, didn’t I? I’m desperate for cash. I was thinking if Mom married Yang Zhigang, with his eight or nine hundred thousand, forget giving it all to me—even if he just gave me a hundred thousand, I could not only pay off my debts but also have seed money to start a business."

Hearing what her son and daughter-in-law said, Zhao Cuilian cursed, "You shameless creatures! If anyone spreads any more of this nonsense, I’ll just jump in the river and drown myself! My life has been miserable anyway. I don’t want to live anymore."

Yang Meng shrank back. "Mom, I was just thinking how hard it is for you, being a widow and all. Yang Zhigang is finally single again, and you two had feelings for each other in the past. It would be normal for you to get married."

Sun Huihui forced a smile. "Mom, Meng was just thinking of you. He didn’t mean any harm."

Zhao Cuilian wiped her eyes. "If we had waited a while, maybe it would have been possible. But now he knows what you two were up to. He made an announcement over the loudspeaker. There’s not a shred of a chance anymore."

"His property is going to his granddaughters in the future, not to an outsider like me. So you two just behave and stop embarrassing us. You may be shameless, but I still have my dignity!"

Yang Meng grew agitated and desperate. "Then what about the money I owe? If I don’t pay it back, those guys are going to break my legs! I’m your only son, can’t you think of something?"

Zhao Cuilian shook her head. "What can I do? I told you not to gamble, but you did. You made this mess, you can deal with it."

Yang Meng scratched his head. "Then... then I’m screwed. Mom, why don’t you borrow some money first, just to get those guys off my back?"

Just as he said that, several men covered in tattoos walked in, carrying clubs. They pointed at Yang Meng. "Pay up."

Sun Huihui was so scared she started to tremble. "Meng, what do we do? Mom, what do we do?"

THUD! Yang Meng dropped to his knees. "Boss, I’m begging you, can you give me just two more days?"

SLAP! The burly man smacked him across the face, leaving a red handprint on Yang Meng’s cheek and drawing blood from the corner of his mouth. "You keep delaying. You think we’re running a charity?"

A wave of despair washed over Zhao Cuilian. She stood up. "Stop hitting him! I’ll go borrow the money."

Yang Meng’s eyes lit up. "Right, my mom’s going to borrow money."

Sun Huihui quickly added, "I’ll go borrow money, too."

Seeing Yang Meng still kneeling, the burly man nodded. "I’ll give you one hour. If you don’t have the money, I’ll break Yang Meng’s legs and smash up your house."

Zhao Cuilian left the house with her daughter-in-law and went straight to the village police station.

Sun Huihui was stunned. "Mom, aren’t you going to borrow money?"

Zhao Cuilian asked, "Twenty thousand yuan. Can you borrow that much?"

Sun Huihui froze. "Mom, you can borrow it from Yang Zhigang!"

Despair filled Zhao Cuilian’s eyes. "I could borrow it, sure. But how would we pay it back? You expect me to? I can’t. Can you? Can Yang Meng? I deeply regret not sending him to jail the first time he gambled."

"It started with a few yuan, then it grew to tens, hundreds, thousands, and now it’s a full twenty thousand. How many people in our village even have twenty thousand yuan? Even if I swallow my pride and borrow the money to pay this debt, next time, he could gamble away a hundred thousand, two hundred thousand..."