Chapter 764 - 393: A Two-Pronged Approach (Part 2)

Chapter 764: Chapter 393: A Two-Pronged Approach (Part 2)

Juhua nodded. "Let’s deal with this matter concerning Laishou first. If she knows what’s good for her and keeps her mouth shut, everything will be fine. But if she dares to stir up trouble in the village again, or block the water to our fields, and we run into her, we’ll teach her a harsh lesson. No holding back this time. We’ll beat her until she’s too scared to try anything again."

Sometimes, there was no reasoning with country folk. They relied on brute strength and a willingness to fight. Otherwise, why was it that no one dared to bully families with many sons? Here, clan and kin were truly important.

Zheng Changhe rubbed his large palms together, his fighting spirit soaring. "That turtle’s grandson, Sun Jinshan! The scar heals, and he forgets the pain. If he loves causing trouble so much, then we’ll give him a fight."

Yang Family nodded. "I’m not angry. You be careful when you go out tonight. We’ll wait for you to come home."

Qingmu nodded and turned to leave.

At Li Changliang’s house.

Huai Zi sat across from Li Changliang, his expression stern. "Brother Changliang, don’t give me any of that talk about being grateful. Liu’er was able to get her life back because she herself is blessed—her luck turned around. And it’s also thanks to Doctor Qin’s efforts. Juhua and I have never gone around saying we saved Liu’er’s life. Some people are narrow-minded and have foul mouths, spouting nonsense everywhere, but that has nothing to do with us. I’ll just ask you one thing: based on everything the Zheng Family has done for the villagers in the past, don’t we deserve to have a nephew from the family study at the village school? Besides, he already passed Mr. Zhou’s test and has been studying for half a year."

Li Changliang’s face was taut, his heart filled with bitterness. He had never felt so humbled.

Huai Zi stared at him intently and continued, "I respect you for being a man. Like that time at my doorstep, when you had the guts to curse out those unreasonable people until they were speechless. You never bothered with roundabout schemes. So I’ll ask you again: are you still that same Li Changliang? If you don’t dare to answer, fine. From now on, we’ll never mention this again. But our friendship will be over. It’s not like we can’t afford the silver; it’s just disheartening. And I also want to see just how many people like that there are in this village, and whether you’re one of them."

Li Changliang’s face flushed red. He shot to his feet and yelled, "I’m not afraid of a damn thing! I’ve had enough of this torment! From now on, nobody tells me what to do. Huai Zi, you can rest assured. Just watch me tomorrow. I, Li Changliang, am going to be a scoundrel to the end this time!"

’Huai Zi asked a good question. Was he still that same Li Changliang? He often asked himself the same thing. Living such a stifled life, he was going to go mad sooner or later!’

With Liu’er pregnant, his life should have been going smoothly. But Liu’er’s mother kept coming over, bossing him around and making his heart heavy. No matter how angry Liu’er got, she couldn’t disown her own mother. And as for him, it was just like the saying goes: "a gentle land is a hero’s tomb." He felt for Liu’er, who had escaped death by a hair’s breadth. So, no matter how much he detested her mother, he didn’t want to put Liu’er in a difficult position. At most, he would just slip out whenever she came over.

So Liu’er’s mother took an inch and demanded a mile, growing more and more presumptuous. In the last few days, she had even been using his father’s name to rally Li Mingtang and others to make trouble for the Zheng Family. And his father, Li Laoda, had also sided with them because the Sun Family were his in-laws.

Now, spurred on by Huai Zi’s words, he had thought things through and rediscovered that defiant streak. He instantly felt a sense of relief.

Having gotten his answer, Huai Zi gave him a punch on the shoulder and turned to leave. He felt there was no need for pleasantries; Li Changliang wasn’t one to appreciate them anyway.

After leaving Li Changliang’s house, Huai Zi went to Big Mouth Zhao’s.

It took almost no persuasion. Big Mouth Zhao slapped his chest and said to him, "Huai Zi, don’t you worry. I wasn’t home this morning, but when the village head gathers everyone to ask about this tomorrow, I’ll definitely speak up for Qingmu. These people’s consciences have been eaten by dogs! They’ve forgotten how Uncle Zheng used to treat everyone. They may have no conscience, but I, Big Mouth Zhao, can’t do something like that. Tomorrow, I’m going to ask them straight—have you no shame?"

His wife, Guizhi, who was feeding their son congee, muttered, "Isn’t this all the Sun Family’s doing? It’s strange. Liu’er’s mother has always been an aggressive and unyielding person, but why is Sun Jinshan acting so muddle-headed this time?"

Big Mouth Zhao’s face hardened. "He’s always been muddle-headed. When has he ever been clear? Otherwise, would he have let Liu’er suffer like that? Hmph. I don’t care what he’s thinking. In any case, we’re not on the same side as him."

Huai Zi chuckled. "Brother Big Mouth, we can’t share pants with you either—that’d look pretty shabby, wouldn’t it?"

Guizhi burst out laughing at his words.

Zhang Huai exchanged a few more pleasantries with Big Mouth Zhao, then took his leave and headed for the next house.

Qingmu had left later and went first to Liu Sanshun’s house.

Likewise, Liu Sanshun readily slapped his chest and assured Qingmu that he would be there to back him up tomorrow.

"Qingmu, my second brother and I weren’t here this morning. My dad and my eldest brother went. My dad did speak up for Uncle Zheng, but my eldest brother stayed silent. Dad gave him a real tongue-lashing when he got back. You go find whoever else you need to. I’ll go talk to my brothers, and I’ll even get my brothers-in-law on board for you. Tomorrow, we of the younger generation will all show up to support you."

Qingmu thanked him sincerely. "Sanshun, I won’t say any sentimental stuff. I’ll treat you to a drink later."

Liu Sanshun chuckled. "What’s with all the thanks? That’s treating me like a stranger. Besides, Laishou is our Mei’s brother-in-law. Who else would we help? That’s why my dad was so angry he kicked my eldest brother."

Qingmu smiled. "Brother Dashun didn’t mean it. He’s just the type who’s used to not sticking his neck out."

Indeed, the situation had blown up not because the entire village had turned against the Zheng Family, but because most villagers preferred not to stick their necks out when trouble arose. They were used to going with the flow. The truly shameless people were, after all, in the minority.

That was why he, Huai Zi, and Juhua had decided to go door-to-door, visiting these honest and good-natured families to lay everything out in the open. With the Zheng Family’s standing in the village, they were sure to win the support of the majority. Then the matter would be easy to handle. In addition, with Huai Zi and Juhua putting in a good word with Scholar Zhou, exerting pressure from two sides, Laishou’s schooling would be all but guaranteed.