Chapter 18: Chapter 18 Old Events_1
Translator: 549690339
Thinking back to what Old Madam Wang had done in the past, Nanzhi shivered. She was slightly suspicious that Li Zhu was not Old Madam Wang's own child, as a tiger does not eat its cub. Could a birth mother do such a thing?
"Mother, eat this, it's delicious."
Seeing Nanzhi shivering, Gougou thought her mother was hungry, stretching out her little hand to feed Nanzhi lard scraps.
"Sweet Gougou, mother doesn't want to eat, you have eaten your portion for today after having these." Nanzhi said with a smile.
"Alright, I will save it for later." Gougou nodded her head, every time she ate, she would nibble piece by piece, afraid that big bites would finish today's portion all at once.
Fortunately, the courtyard walls were high, so Nanzhi didn't worry that they would climb over. She asked Gougou to stay well-behaved in the room, she moved all the grain into a small cellar in the backyard, only leaving a bag of hundred pounds of black flour and a portion sufficient for five to six days.
Tomorrow she needs to take Gougou back to her mother's house.
With a plan, Nanzhi began to prepare dinner. Thinking of the purchased condiments, Nanzhi felt her mouth watering.
Ever since she moved here, she had been eating food with only salt and oil every day, which was even more unbearable than the diet foods she had before. Now that the home situation was better, she had to reward herself.
Thinking about the people outside the door, Nanzhi gave up on the idea of cooking with lard scraps.
The dishes cooked with lard scraps would have a far-reaching aroma. If Old Madam Wang knew she had these ingredients at home, she might try to snatch them away.
She had originally planned to treat herself and Gougou today, but given the current situation, she gave up the idea. She only planned to steam a pot of dry rice and braised some potatoes.
Ms. Wu and Old Madam Wang had been yelling outside the door for a while, their mouths already dry and their tongues parched. Combined with the current hot weather, both of them were sweaty.
Normally, not many people in the village took baths. If they didn't sweat, it was acceptable, but once they did, a stale smell could waft around.
It was getting dark, Li Zheng, fearing the darkness would bring danger, ordered the villagers to pack up and leave. The crowd of about a hundred households was quite spectacular.
Nanzhi's yard was at the end of the village, when everyone was chatting and laughing on their way back, they saw Ms. Wu and her mother-in-law panting heavily.
"Ms. Wu, instead of cooking at home with your mother-in-law, what are you doing at Ms. Lin's house?"
Seeing that Ms. Wu and Old Madam Wang's faces had turned a few degrees darker, Li Zheng thought to himself that this mother-daughter pair were a handful. He didn't know what kind of bad karma the Li Family had accumulated in their past life to have ended up with such women.
"Li Zheng, Li Zheng, you're back, you must stand up for us." As soon as Old Madam Wang saw Shen Dashan leading the villagers back, her eyes brightened. Suddenly, she started to cry out about her grievances. There was no trace of her former fiery temper.
"Stand up for you? Stand up for what?" Li Zheng gave a sarcastic smile as he watched Old Madam Wang's act.
"What kind of injustice do you need a lowly village head like me to stand up for?"
After hearing Shen Dashan's words, the crowd fell silent.
Who didn't know about what happened to Li Zhu?
Old Madam Wang not only forced her daughter into a marriage in a neighboring village but also caused trouble every now and then. After her daughter killed herself in despair, Old Madam Wang demanded compensation. Back then Li Zheng had tried to persuade her to calm down, but instead she slapped him in front of many people from the neighboring village.
Afterwards, she even claimed that Shen Dashan as a village head neither had the qualification nor the ability to intervene in her affairs.
Ever since then, word had spread that brides from Lihua Village were unwanted. Naturally, local families with unmarried daughters resented Old Madam Wang, but what could be done about it?
This issue had faded after four years, and everyone tacitly pretended as if it had never happened.
Now, Li Zheng's words had brought this issue back to light. Those who were intelligent enough knew this meant that Li Zheng was fed up with the Li family.
Wang Pozi's face also stiffened. She had lost count of how many people she had offended in her lifetime. Back then, it was Shen Dashan who had stopped her from seeking compensation. But her daughter that she had raised for nineteen years was gone for nothing, and she had not reaped any benefits. How could she bear this?
Thinking about the silver that couldn't get into her own pocket, she was driven to desperation and did those things.
Afterwards, she was worried that Shen Dashan would give their family a hard time, but nothing happened as the days went by. She thought the matter had passed.
Who knew Shen Dashan would bring it up suddenly today.
Thinking about the consequences, Wang Pozi's face gradually turned paler and she didn't say anything anymore.
"Li Zheng, you can't cover for that little widow this time!" Ms. Wu seemed oblivious to the change in the atmosphere around her, her face twisted with agitation, like that of a raging demon.
"Everyone listen! That little widow has brought great harm upon us." Ms. Wu yelled at the people around her, pointing at the tightly shut door.
"It was that little widow who found something good on East Mountain and didn't tell us! Because of her, my father-in-law was bitten by a snake on the mountain and is still laying in bed at home! The doctor from Jishitang said that it would take five tael of silver to cure his leg!"
Ms. Wu even pretended to be in great distress while saying this.
Shen Dashan glanced at the silent Wang Pozi, then turned to look at the fervently performing Ms. Wu, "So, what did Ms. Lin find?"
"Well…" Ms. Wu's eyes flickered. She coveted the chestnuts on the mountain. If everyone in the village knew about them, wouldn't that mean fewer for her to pick up?
"She found a patch of wild vegetables on the mountain! These days, who isn't struggling? There's just her and Gougou, they can't eat that much, but they still won't tell us. If they had told us, my father-in-law wouldn't have been bitten by a snake."
The villagers had all followed Li Zheng back, those who were behind discovered that Li Zheng had stopped at Ms. Lin's door, and they all quickly gathered around. Upon hearing Ms. Wu's words, they all felt a sinking feeling in their hearts.
Everyone had gathered at the entrance of the village at noon. In front of everybody, Li Zheng had told them about Ms. Lin and Gougou accidentally discovering the Chestnut Forest on the East Mountain while foraging for wild vegetables yesterday afternoon.
All the edible things on West Mountain were already picked clean, but nobody dared to go to East Mountain.
Wasn't it because a person had been bitten to death by a wolf on East Mountain?
Now that Ms. Lin was a widow with an orphaned child, the first thing she did upon finding the Chestnut Forest was to tell the villagers. Who could with a clear conscience speak ill of her?
Looking at Ms. Wu's behavior, it seemed like the Li Family had come to know about the Chestnut Forest, ventured up East Mountain at night, and accidentally encountered a snake. From Ms. Wu's words, it sounded like Mr. Li's injury was severe.
Before Shen Dashan could say something, Qin Da Niang beat him to it, "You really are funny, weren't you the one who saw Shi Tou picking up bird eggs a few days ago and didn't give any to Ms. Lin? Now you're expecting them to tell you when they find a patch of wild edibles."
"Everyone who gets hurt or bumped on the mountain has to bear it themselves. But your family is interesting. You get bitten by a snake on the mountain and blame Ms. Lin, demanding she compensate you. You and your mother-in-law certainly have thick skins. Tomorrow, if you choke on water, are you going to demand compensation from the well digger?"
The sensible aunties in the village were also querying. This time, the villagers owed Nanzhi some gratitude. If they sided with Wang Pozi, that would make them heartless.
If their men couldn't speak up, then it was up to them — the women.
"You, you all!" Ms. Wu was trembling as she pointed at everyone. She wasn't able to understand why the people who usually mind their own business were standing up for the widow.
Looking again at her speechless mother-in-law behind her, Ms. Wu tugged at her sleeve, "Mother, say something! Last time, Gougou was only slightly injured by Shi Tou, and that widow made us cough up a hundred wen. Now Father's leg is hanging by a thread! Mother!"
Wang Pozi seemed to snap back into reality. Ignoring Ms. Wu, she looked at Shen Dashan and hesitated, "Li Zheng, I'm going home now."
Hearing this, Ms. Wu was flabbergasted. When had her mother-in-law ever been afraid? Why would she want to leave at such a perfect opportunity?
"Mother…"
Before Ms. Wu could finish, Wang Pozi had already rushed back to her house in a fluster. Ms. Wu wanted to say more, but upon seeing Shen Dashan's icy gaze, she shivered in fear and hurriedly followed Wang Pozi inside.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone