Chapter 811 - 417: Punishment for Liu’er’s Mother

Chapter 811: Chapter 417: Punishment for Liu’er’s Mother

Juhua smiled bitterly when she heard this. This was a typical scholar’s mindset!

Hadn’t she thought the same way originally? Her maiden family, the Zhao family, and her husband’s family, the Zhang family, had completely ignored Liu’er’s mother’s idle gossip in the past. When it came to Laishou’s schooling last time, they found a different way to resolve it without ever confronting the Sun Family. But didn’t trouble still find them today?

Wherever there were people, there were conflicts. Qingnan Village was now quite complex, much harder to manage than in the past when it was poor. If one relied on having read a few books and knowing some principles to look down on these people at the bottom, thinking they were ignorant and easy to manage, they would be gravely mistaken. Fighting was certainly wrong, but reasoning might not necessarily solve the problem. The intricacies of human relations, etiquette, daily customs, and the commoners’ mindset involved here would probably give even capable ministers and excellent officials a headache. Instead, Wang Feng from *Dream of the Red Chamber* would be the most adept at managing this.

Seeing her lost in thought, Huai Zi didn’t want her to overthink. He chuckled softly and said, "That Zhao Feng is quite something. Usually, when he was perfectly fine, Third Uncle and Third Aunt would discipline him strictly. Now that he has a head injury, they don’t dare let him throw tantrums and yield to his every whim. It has completely worn out his sister."

Recalling that brat’s behavior today, Juhua shook her head and said, "He’s truly a little tyrant!"

Huai Zi said, "Isn’t he just a little tyrant? He dragged Zhao Qing all over the clinic. Good thing the courtyard is large and there’s an orchard in the back, or else he wouldn’t have been able to stay put and would have headed for the streets. With such a hot temper, I’m afraid Hulu and Banli will be bullied by him in the future."

Upon hearing this, Juhua burst into laughter with a PFFT. Then, rolling her eyes at him, she said, "You worry too much. Why are you thinking about something so far in the future? You’re just like Liu Sanshun. Last time, when Xiu brought her son over to play, Sanshun came to pick them up and said to Banli, ’Hurry up and grow. You grew up on the mountain, and my Ni Qiu grew up in the water. You two should have a fight to see who’s tougher, you or my Ni Qiu.’"

Huai Zi also laughed. "He originally named his son Shuisheng as his formal name. Hearing that our son is named Banli and our daughter is Cong, he also gave his son a nickname, Ni Qiu. He even said that since I look for my children’s names in the vegetable garden, he would look for his in the pond, just to see who runs out of ideas first."

At this, Juhua almost laughed out loud. Looking at her sleeping children, she took a lot of effort to hold it in, then said indignantly, "No matter how many kids we have, they won’t run out of names. Do they think we women are giving birth to piglets? How could we possibly have that many?"

Huai Zi smiled. Just as he was about to speak, his mother, He, called him from outside to take a bath, so he got up and left.

When he returned, Juhua told him that their ox had almost been stolen that evening, recounting the entire incident to him.

Huai Zi frowned. "We need to be more vigilant at home from now on, otherwise we’ll suffer for nothing when trouble strikes. Take today, for instance. Even if you caught him, what could you do? Beating him to death would do no good. If he got gored by the ox, we’d still have to help pay for his treatment."

Juhua nodded. "That’s exactly what I said. These thieves aren’t habitual criminals. They’re just poor farmers who can’t survive anymore and resort to stealing. Although detestable, we can’t drive them to a dead end. Our family consists of kindhearted people; we could never do anything so ruthless and vicious. If we met someone truly pitiful, I’m afraid Dad and Mom would even give them things for free. Isn’t tonight’s incident a perfect example? Mom packed quite a few flatbreads for that man to take with him."

Huai Zi sighed. "It can’t be helped. Even if it were you or me, we couldn’t just ignore it."

After chatting for a bit longer, the couple went to sleep.

The next day.

Zhao San returned from the market town. Leaving Shi Tou’s mother at the clinic to look after Zhao Feng, he brought Shi Tou’s grandmother over to help with the household chores. The Sun Family also left Sun Tiezhu’s wife, Mrs. Wang, at the market town to take care of Liu’er’s mother.

Three days later.

Li Gengtian gathered the village elders to announce the resolution of the matter. Liu’er’s mother causing trouble with her gossip was secondary; the fact that she dared to slander the village’s Scholar was absolutely intolerable. As punishment, she was sentenced to twenty lashes with a cane in the ancestral hall. Since she was injured from the fight, her son, Sun Tiezhu, would take the punishment on her behalf. Both the Zhao family and the Sun Family had injured members, so they were even. The Zhang family was ordered to compensate the Sun Family with two taels of silver as a penalty for causing a fight.

Zhang Dashuan, despite having prepared himself to pay the silver, felt he still had to argue his case. He spoke up, stating that if Liu’er’s mother hadn’t spouted nonsense first and dropped Zhao Feng later, Shi Tou’s mother and He wouldn’t have beaten her so mercilessly.

Li Gengtian replied with authority that this was exactly why the village was punishing her with the cane. But if everyone resorted to fighting over every issue, would there still be any order left? He added that if Zhang Dashuan was dissatisfied, he could just write a letter to Yangzi and see what he had to say about it.

Zhang Dashuan closed his mouth resentfully. He thought to himself that his youngest son had already gone to Capital City, so why would he bother him with such trivial matters? Before coming here, Huai Zi had reminded him not to say too much and just accept Li Gengtian’s decision. However, seeing Sun Jinshan had angered him, so he couldn’t help but say a few more words.

Li Gengtian then sternly reprimanded Sun Jinshan, warning him that if he let Liu’er’s mother continue like this, she would cause a major disaster sooner or later. When that time came, he shouldn’t blame Li Gengtian for not showing any mercy.

Upon returning home, Zhang Dashuan told He about the village’s decision. Huai Zi’s Third Uncle happened to be visiting, and upon hearing this, he jumped up in anger and shouted, "Getting beaten is worth two taels of silver? Let him come and beat me, then! I’m looking for money everywhere and am out of ideas."

He rolled her eyes at him. "You’re just talking nonsense! That shrew got beaten quite severely this time. According to what Huai Zi heard from Doctor Qin, she won’t be able to do heavy physical labor ever again. HMPH, I’m happy to pay this money. Let’s see if she still dares to wag her tongue blindly in the future! Third Brother, don’t say such shallow-minded things. Is money better, or is a person’s health better? I’d rather eat wild vegetables than ruin my health."

Zhang Dashuan agreed, "That’s exactly it. She even has to be lashed with a cane, though her son will take the punishment in her place."

As he spoke, he suddenly felt that something was off. The courtyard was entirely too quiet. Where had the babies gone? He looked around and asked in confusion, "Where’s Huai Zi and the others? Why is everyone gone? Even my grandchildren aren’t home."

He smiled and said, "Huai Zi and Heizi went to cast nets in the river. It’ll be time to plant rice seedlings in another two days, so he wants to take advantage of his free time to catch more fish and put them in the pond. Last year’s drought caused all the fish to die out. Juhua, the young woman from the Liu Family, and Pu Pao took the three little ones along to watch the fun."

Zhang Dashuan nodded and asked, "Didn’t we ask the fishermen at the market town to deliver quite a few? Is it still not enough?"

While washing vegetables, He replied, "How could that be enough? Juhua’s pond is a full five or six mu in size. It wouldn’t be worth it if we only put in a few."

Zhang Dashuan didn’t say anything more. He took Third Uncle to the backyard to see the ox and told him about the attempted theft from the other night. The two of them led the ox out for some fresh air and took a stroll through the wheat fields while they were at it.