Chapter 755 - 389: The Yang Family is Outraged

Chapter 755: Chapter 389: The Yang Family is Outraged

In mid-February, Juhua’s fishpond was the first to be dug. It was slowly filled with water, and at the same time, lotus roots were transplanted over from the old pond. The only difficulty was acquiring fish fry, so she made arrangements with the fishing families in Xiatang Market to send over any live ones they had.

Fifty mu of wasteland on the mountain had also been cleared, and they began transplanting mature bamboo. Then, a shallow layer of purchased rice and wheat husks was spread over the surface.

Amidst the bustle, the matter of the schoolhouse finally erupted into a dispute. So, Scholar Zhou, Li Gengtian, and some village elders gathered the heads of each household at the ancestral hall to discuss it. Zheng Changhe and Zhang Dashuan went.

Around noon, the two men returned, both with grim expressions. They sat down in the Zheng Family Courtyard, took the tea Liu Yunlan served them, and gulped down a couple of mouthfuls without saying a word.

"Dad, what did Scholar Zhou say?" Qingmu asked Zheng Changhe. He had wanted to go himself, but he couldn’t have people gossiping that a son of the Zheng Family had overstepped his father to be the family representative. Thus, he had no choice but to let his dad go.

Mrs. Wang sat under the eaves of the corridor, clutching a half-sewn shoe sole. She stared anxiously at her son-in-law—this matter concerned the future of her grandson, Laishou. For the past few days, she had been so on edge she couldn’t even sleep well, terrified that Laishou would be forced out of the school.

Zheng Changhe spat. "A bunch of heartless bastards—their consciences have all been eaten by dogs! When have our families ever done the village wrong? Now we want to send just one child to school, and we’re being scorned for it. Ungrateful scum!"

Qingmu frowned. ’Dad’s just throwing a tantrum instead of getting to the point. Isn’t this just holding things up?’

Juhua, who was also anxious about the matter, had been waiting at the Zheng home. Seeing how things were, she turned to Zhang Dashuan. "Father-in-law, let’s skip the griping. What was Scholar Zhou’s verdict?"

’She and Qingmu were on the same page: what anyone else said was irrelevant. Only Scholar Zhou’s decision mattered. If you asked her, the villagers should never have been allowed to get involved at all. Mr. Zhou used to be so decisive, accepting students he approved of and rejecting others no matter how much money they offered.’

Zhang Dashuan sighed. "Scholar Zhou didn’t say much of anything. He just told everyone to keep discussing it and come to a firm decision, and then he would act on it."

Qingmu and Juhua exchanged a look, both frowning simultaneously.

Zhang Dashuan added, "How could they come to a decision? It was just a big shouting match. They’re all against having a child from outside the village study here, and even the village head couldn’t say anything. Only Zhao San and Fatty Liu spoke up for us. The rest, well, the ones with a conscience were too scared to talk, and the heartless ones spouted that nonsense about ’not letting good fortune flow to outsiders,’ just parroting the Sun Family and Li Mingtang."

A member of the Yang Family cursed through gritted teeth, "That black-hearted, rotten-livered bitch! She’ll get what’s coming to her! Her daughter should just drop dead..."

She glanced at Juhua and ultimately swallowed the rest of her words, stopping short of blaming her.

How could Juhua not know of her mother’s resentment?

She sighed, and after a moment’s thought, said to Qingmu, "Brother, you and Huai Zi should go this afternoon. Just say that our father fell ill from anger—he only just recovered a couple of days ago, so he’s still weak. And say that something came up at Huai Zi’s maternal grandmother’s place, and my father-in-law was called over to help." She then turned to Zhang Dashuan. "Dad, why don’t you go stay at our uncle’s house for the night? Have a few drinks and chat with Third Uncle and the others. Treat it like a family visit."

Zheng Changhe and Zhang Dashuan looked at each other and burst out laughing, seeing how she had sent them off with just a few sentences.

Zheng Changhe laughed. "Juhua, this old dad of yours is useless with words, so it’s fine for you to have me pretend to be sick. But how can you treat your father-in-law the same way? Aren’t you worried he’ll get angry and hold a grudge?"

Zhang Dashuan shot him a glare. "What are you talking about? Why would I hold a grudge? It’s my own son going in my place, not some stranger. You have to accept when you’re outmatched. Besides, there’s no shame in a father being surpassed by his son."

Juhua laughed. "Who said the sons have surpassed the fathers? Weren’t they raised and taught by the two of you? For each generation to be stronger than the last is a blessing many people could only dream of. I don’t want you two to go because I’m worried Dad here is too forthright and will get so angry he’ll make himself sick. Besides, this isn’t a problem that can be solved with shouting. Brother, when you and Huai Zi go, don’t get into arguments about who’s from the village and who isn’t—that’s all pointless. Just tell Scholar Zhou that you’ll follow whatever arrangements Mr. Zhou makes. Tonight, Huai Zi and I will pay him a visit."

Qingmu nodded. "It should have been Mr. Zhou’s decision all along. It’s just this particular teacher..." ’He found it incredible that Scholar Zhou would actually let a bunch of farmers kick up such a fuss.’

Juhua felt the same; her impression of Scholar Zhou had soured considerably. Still, she reminded Qingmu, "No matter what, do not argue with anyone in his presence. Make your points calmly and rationally. We’ll have to find another path to solve this. A noisy confrontation won’t work."