Chapter 118: Chapter 117
Everyone looked at Luo Zhi’er’s fat figure disappearing into Li family’s main hall with doubt, exchanging glances.
That person just now had made a big show of inquiring all the way here!
Li Ergou’s Wife even pointed out the way for him. At first, seeing a middle-aged man driving a horse carriage asking her for directions, looking so imposing, Li Ergou’s Wife was quite excited!
She had been taking care of Li Ergou at home, who had been beaten and crippled, handling his eating, drinking, shitting, and pissing; it was truly hard to express her bitterness. Although she had indeed been heartbroken and upset for a while before.
But recently these past few days had already made her impatient! Anyway, it wasn’t like he hadn’t had his legs broken by someone before. For her, it just meant one less person in the home earning money, but Er Gouzi’s temper had become especially volatile after this leg was broken!
She even felt a bit relieved that luckily both legs couldn’t move; at most he would curse and smash things, but he wouldn’t actually stand up to hit anyone!
Before, when his temper flared up, he would often beat her until her face was bruised and swollen.
Today she finally had a chance to get out and breathe some fresh air, and she ran into someone like this.
She even deliberately leaned forward to probe: “Hehe, oldest brother, what are you looking for Luo Zhi’er for?”
That oldest brother originally wanted to be polite, but suddenly he smelled a foul odor coming from her body, seemingly faintly carrying the smell of cow dung, mixed with a sour rotten stench!
He thought to himself that even a rural woman wouldn’t be this unsanitary, making herself stink to high heaven! Seeing her slender fishbelly-white eyes gleaming with cunning, he, who had seen much of the world, felt a slight doubt about her character.
He gave her a cold look, furrowed his brow, didn’t say much more, kept his distance and said: “Thanks, auntie, Second Brother has business and will go ahead first!”
“Hey! Oldest brother, you don’t know? Everyone in her family has committed crimes, all thrown into the big prison. Luo Zhi’er just got out of jail too; you mustn’t get too close to her!”
She reached out to grab his sleeve but caught nothing!
“You’d best stay as far away from her as possible, hehe! If you have any business, you can tell me, I can help you!”
She even threw him a flirtatious wink friendly-like, but unfortunately that oldest brother didn’t listen, got on the horse carriage, shouted “Giddyup!”, and decisively clip-clopped straight to Luo Zhi’er’s home doorway.
They followed behind all the way, and on the road they ran into Zhao Er’s Wife and others, who also followed to see what was going on.
Standing outside watching for a while, they hesitated in their hearts. Old Li Tou’s House was poor as dirt; it was said all the family’s money had been taken clean by Li Lei, and the whole family had gone to the big prison again because of Li Lei. What was he coming to find her for?
Shouldn’t he keep his distance from her? Why was his attitude so polite and friendly?
The group left dejectedly. Li Ergou’s Wife, walking at the back, rolled her eyes; the others didn’t know Luo Zhi’er’s tricks, but she knew some.
“Tell me, what exactly is that man from just now? He looks pretty well-dressed, has a horse carriage. When did Luo Zhi’er hook up with a family like that?”
Zhao Er’s Wife said to Luo Zhi’er’s Second Aunt Zhao Xiaomei.
“Hmph! I already said it’s not like you think. How much is Zhou Meizhen worth? I know damn well; as if she could know someone like that! It must be that little slut Luo Zhi’er planning to run away, hehe!”
“No way, I gotta go back and tip off Zheng Sen!”
“I don’t think so. Could it be Luo Zhi’er’s lover?”
“Gou Sheng’s Mother, what do you think?”
“Gou Sheng’s Mother, what are you doing, acting all sneaky?” Zhao Er’s Wife turned back and gave a glance at the inscrutable Li Ergou’s Wife.
“Nothin’, nothin’? You tell me what sneaky means, you woman with a mouth like a gate off its hinges. If you keep spoutin’ nonsense, Juhua ain’t done with you!” Juhua shrieked shrilly.
Zhao Er’s Wife immediately didn’t want to deal with it anymore. After all, lately she had always suspected that the corn in that cornfield by the riverside at home was stolen by Li Ergou and his bunch, but unfortunately there was no evidence!
So she put hands on hips and cursed indirectly: “Hmph! Some people are thieves, always stealing and trickery in the village. Don’t think I don’t know; stealing my family’s corn will bring down heaven’s thunder!”
“Wh-what? Zhao Er’s Wife, don’t curse indirectly. Catch the thief and get the stolen goods; my family is clean as can be.”
“Well, you Juhua! Clean as can be? Hahaha! Laughable, knocks out big teeth! Your family’s affairs, three days and nights wouldn’t finish telling! Not to mention others, what about Li Ergou’s two legs?”
“Last time I clearly heard, when Er Gouzi was getting beat, you cursed me and my man for a good long while. I only lost my temper out of pity for you and spoke carelessly; this time I wanna ask clearly—what right do you have to curse us, saying we beat Li Ergou? Tell me, isn’t this a thief’s guilty conscience?”
“You, talkin’ nonsense, how could it be? I get it, you’re bullying people, bullying my man can’t move now. You wait for me.”
Zhao Er’s Wife looked at her playing rogue. “I see you’re not that worried about your man’s injuries either. Luo Zhi’er wasn’t entirely wrong; your man is crippled, and you still have thoughts to run around outside?”
“You, if you keep talkin’ nonsense, watch out I’ll go to the yamen to sue!”
Juhua finished and ran off like smoke!
“Hmph! Have the guts not to run! Some people at their age don’t learn right, the old ones steal, the young ones steal, the wife steals too. Watch out for stealing the nest!”
“Forget it, Zhao Er’s Wife, don’t you know what kind of person she is? Why get worked up with her?”
“Hmph! Wait and see, I’m definitely gonna catch her in the act and make her shut her mouth!”
Juhua got home and told Li Ergou what happened just now. Li Ergou automatically ignored the part about her being bullied by Zhao Er’s Wife and only said,
“Horse carriage? You said horse carriage?”
The half-dead man lying on the bed didn’t even move his eyes, just smacked his lips!
“Yeah, I saw that guy wasn’t fierce to her at all, even very polite. They loaded some things onto the carriage!”
Juhua felt a bit sour inside.
“Things? Did you see clearly what they were?”
“Was a bit far; isn’t she bad luck? Nobody dared get close to her!”
“You useless stinking woman who spoils things, outta the house early mornin’ runnin’ around, gone wild, run stupid you!”
“Can’t even handle this little thing. Saying she’s bad luck—wasn’t that us deliberately ruining her reputation? How’d you go and act dumb too?”
Li Ergou’s eyes flashed with ferocity, and he said menacingly.
“Yang Juhua, if you keep being so brainless, watch out or I’ll kill you!”
Juhua shrank her neck, scalp tingling. Ever since the head of the household had his other leg broken, in just a short month or so, she didn’t know how many scoldings she’d taken. Last time, the money from selling the black bear meat had all been spent by him, and it was only just enough to save his life!
She was worried about not having money for treatment next, so she was racking her brains for ways.
He had only perked up with a bit of human spirit after hearing about Luo Zhi’er’s family affairs—how to ruin their family, how to get silver!
“Hey! Didn’t I go out to find a way to earn silver? You know it, this leg injury of yours cost a big pile of silver, and our home doesn’t have any extra silver!”
“Hmph! It had better be!”
“Besides, don’t I think that by doing it together with everyone, they’ll believe it? I’m scared too. What if it really brings bad luck—won’t it harm our only precious treasure Gou Sheng?”
“Mom, what?”
Gou Sheng came in from outside, spraying bits of corn far away with his mouth, eating so satisfyingly. “Ouch! Where’s my little ancestor? How did you take this thing out to gnaw on? Didn’t Mom tell you to shut the door at home and eat?”
“Did anyone see?”
“Mom, I just went out for a breath of air, no one saw!”
Gou Sheng saw his mom making a big fuss, slyly saying with his eyes.
This was what he himself had swiped from that cornfield, no one knew.
“That’s good!”
Juhua patted her own chest fussily.
“Eat eat eat, I ain’t dead yet. I’ve figured you two out, mother and son—you’re just wishing I’d die soon so no one controls you, and you can do whatever you want?”
“Wah wah wah, Mom, Dad’s cursing me! Why curse me for eating corn I swiped myself!” Gou Sheng burst into loud tears!
“Get lost far away, out of sight out of mind. Crying all day—look at your cowardly wimp sample, blubbering away. I ain’t dead yet!”
“Head of the house, calm down, calm down. How could that be?”
She hurried forward to soothe him. This period had nearly exhausted her to death—serving him wasn’t enough, his explosive temper was life-threatening!
In her heart, she thought of that middle-aged man driving the horse carriage on the road earlier; compared to this stinking man on the bed, there was no contest!
Even if Gou Sheng was a coward, he was still Li Ergou’s seed!
“Pah!”
A mouthful of old phlegm with clotted blood suddenly spat onto her face. “Hmph! Don’t think I don’t know what you this stinking woman are thinking?”
“No way in hell. If you dare sneak other men behind my back, watch your little life! Don’t think I’ve got no way just ’cause I’m paralyzed. I’ve got plenty of brothers—if you do that deed, not just you Yang Juhua, Gou Sheng too, all your maternal family folks, they’ll all wait for me!”
“Hehe, head of the house, what are you saying? Gou Sheng is your kid, don’t you know what kind of person I am?”
Juhua felt bitter inside. One hand wiped the disgusting phlegm from her face, one hand soothed the man!
“Ouch, ouch, my leg. Hurts like hell.”
“Hehe, probably the flesh is stuck to the cloth again. Let me take a look.”
“Enough, let’s talk business first!”
Thinking of how his knee was only connected by a bit of skin and flesh, his lower leg dangling and starting to atrophy, it annoyed him no end!
“Hey! Hey!”
Li Ergou looked at his wife’s sallow ugly face gazing at him fawningly, a surge of inexplicable disgust rising in his heart!
He thought of those watery big eyes and swallowed saliva!
Then thought of his own leg, instantly full of regret!
Whatever, for now he still had to rely on this stinking woman to bring shit and piss, to serve him. Too bad, right now he could only think about it!
When he got silver in the future, he’d definitely swap her out!
“Anyway, I reckon it’s that Luo Zhi’er pulling some wild trick again. Head of the house, we absolutely can’t let this livelihood slip!”
Thinking of last time’s black bear meat, his eyes lit up—this was a business opportunity!
“Do I need you to tell me? Looks like this matter still needs me to give you ideas!”
“Yes yes yes, this home can’t do without you!”
A ruthless glint flashed in Li Ergou’s eyes! “Hmph!”
The matter of the horse carriage coming to the village to find Luo Zhi’er spread to everyone that afternoon. Anyway, what they specifically thought of Luo Zhi’er, she didn’t know.
The rural area was like this—some were simple and honest, but most had complicated hearts, each with their own little thoughts, playing their own little abacus.
