Chapter 121:
On the way back, Luo Zhi’er hurried along with Miaomiao, she was really too afraid of being linked with Li Daniu!
Miaomiao was also afraid Li Erniu would catch up, thinking of Li Daniu made her inexplicably panic, and in her haste her toe kicked a stone.
Just as she was about to sprawl on the ground, Miaomiao pulled her, “Mother, be careful.”
Luckily she had enough strength herself to steady them, though the pose was a bit comical.
The bucket lid fell off too!
Enemies meet on a narrow road, they ran right into Zhao Er’s Wife coming back gathering pig feed.
“Yo! San Mao’s Wife, what are you carrying there?”
“Hahaha! You didn’t do anything shady again, why are you running, look at that fat blubber on you, almost fell flat on your face!”
Letting you stop my man from going hunting with Li Sanmao! Eating all oily and greasy yourself, this is retribution!
Zhao Er’s Wife hadn’t even gotten close yet, her voice arrived first.
Seeing her mysteriously carrying a wooden bucket, she wanted to go up and look.
Luo Zhi’er hadn’t had time to hide it yet, when Miaomiao picked up the lid and smartly covered it right away.
“Yo, you little girl, just like your mother, full of wiles! Auntie just wants to look, you won’t even let me?”
“Second Grandmother, this is crabs and loaches Mother and I caught in the gully this morning, nothing else.”
Miaomiao said crisply.
“Nothing else, then why cover it? Tell me, do you have some grudge against your auntie?”
Zhao Er’s Wife sneered sarcastically.
Luo Zhi’er didn’t chime in, what grudge could a little girl have against this Zhao Er’s Wife?
She said nothing, watching how Miaomiao would handle it.
“Second Grandmother, just now Mother almost fell and the lid flew off, so Miaomiao picked it up and covered them again, it’s not guarding against you, otherwise the crabs would crawl out and run away!”
Miaomiao spoke innocently, no hint of any opinion about her!
Luo Zhi’er thought coldly, if she spoke bluntly, so what if we’re guarding against you?
Still, her little Miaomiao was kind!
Zhao Er’s Wife knew arguing with a little child would make her seem petty, so she changed her facial expression, “Oh, I see. By the way, Miaomiao, what are you catching these crabs and small fish for?”
“Second Grandmother, we have no food at home, Grandma locked up all the grain in the house, Mother was afraid I’d go hungry, no other choice so she took me to catch crabs.”
Zhao Er’s Wife looked contemptuous, inwardly delighted, secretly cursing: “Serves you right! Luo Zhi’er, for being so arrogant, last time helping Li Sanmao confront me! This is retribution! Retribution!”
Her face smugly smiling, “Like that, huh, alright then. This early in the morning, must be starving, quick have your mother take you back to cook and eat!”
“See you then, Second Grandmother!”
Luo Zhi’er and Miaomiao walked on, she now looked at Miaomiao with new eyes, this girl had just been hiding behind her saying she was scared!
Back home, Luo Zhi’er separated the frogs and eels into a wooden basin, put them in the bamboo forest on the backyard slope, covered them with something and started raising them.
The rest of the crabs, small fish and such, she got flour and eggs, cleaned the crabs, and fried them for Miaomiao with lard.
She had just picked two small fish for Miaomiao who was eating, when she heard someone cursing in the yard outside the door.
Luo Zhi’er puzzled ran out, saw it was Li Erdan’s Wife, cursing obliquely at the yard entrance!
“Luo Zhi’er, come out! Explain yourself to me!”
Li Erdan behind her was a bit embarrassed, tugged her sleeve.
“Wife, forget it, let’s go home!”
“Go home? Li Erdan, do you have a lot of silver? Is corn that easy to grow? I endured wind and sun to plant it, you just give it away like that, how did she treat us?”
“Don’t say it!”
“Not say? Why not? Tell me, why are you protecting this woman?”
“Huh? Nothing like that, I just have a good relationship with Old Li Tou! Every time that pig tail, deer tail you eat too!”
“Better be! Otherwise, watch your hide!”
“I was just being kind, wife!”
“Heh, you are kind, but what about them? Why are you staring at me with those big eyeballs?”
“Grew such big eyeballs for nothing! Heavens! Truly no good deed goes unpunished, look at what this fat woman did to our corn field!”
“Were you rolling around building a nest in there?”
Li Erdan’s Wife talking got worked up and wanted to go slap Luo Zhi’er, but Li Erdan desperately held her back, his wife in rage sat down on the ground with a thud wailing!
This immediately drew quite a few people to watch the excitement.
“Uncle Erdan, what’s wrong with Auntie?” Luo Zhi’er looked at him blankly.
How did she spoil their corn field?
She hadn’t broken their corn, and when catching frogs she was careful not to step on radishes, how could it be?
“Heh, Luo Zhi’er, keep pretending! Everyone come look, this Luo Zhi’er is truly heartless!”
“Our Erdan kindly let her break a few corn to eat, she took the chance to break dozens or hundreds, and hoed the field like a wild boar trampled it!”
“Even a black bear couldn’t make such a mess!”
“Our Erdan saw how pitiful the mother and daughter were, and since Old Li Tou usually gave some scraps of wild game, he didn’t let me come trouble her!”
She patted her palm on the ground,
“But I can’t figure it, this corn I reclaimed enduring wind and sun, you eat for free fine, but why destroy it all?”
“You’re just jealous!”
She shrieked.
“My field still has a big patch of radishes, trampled beyond recognition, I needed those leaves for pickled mustard greens, pickled cabbage!”
Li Sanpo watching confused said: “I see, no wonder Erdan’s Wife is angry!”
“Luo Zhi’er, compensate me!”
“She should compensate!” Li Daniu’s Mother said.
“Can’t connive her messing around, these crops are everyone’s lifeblood!” Another said.
“This sets a precedent, then our farmland won’t be messed up by her?”
“Hmph! This Luo Zhi’er really is a jinx, whoever meets her is out of luck, Li Erdan said he let her break a few, besides her going to Tuqiao Gully who else?” Zhao Er’s Wife said.
Zhao Xiaomei snorted coldly, inwardly full of contempt and scorn.
Li Ergou’s Wife Yang Juhua had long heard the commotion here.
She had been boiling a few corn for Li Ergou to eat, now knowing what the fuss was about, felt a bit guilty.
How was it discovered so fast?
But thinking again, to catch a thief you need to catch red-handed, they didn’t see her steal with their own eyes, as long as she didn’t say, no one would know.
She ran over and glanced from afar, then stealthily shrank back and slipped away from the crowd.
Went back and told Li Ergou about it.
Li Ergou didn’t say anything.
Anyway, he’d already eaten it, what happened next wasn’t his business.
He just needed to figure out what Luo Zhi’er was catching frogs and eels for, and linking to yesterday when Luo Zhi’er moved things to the horse carriage, he had some idea!
Luo Zhi’er outwardly expressionless, faintly listening to Li Erdan’s Wife wailing and complaining, deep down seething
“How so coincidental? Exactly when Uncle Erdan let her break corn, someone stole?”
“Really such a coincidence?” She didn’t believe it, this was no mere probability!
“Was this person following her all along?”
Linking to last time’s black bear stolen incident, heh, she’d see who was so bold to frame her?
“Looks like she’s being stalked, tailing her?”
Her eyes scanned around, the person she suspected wasn’t there.
Heh! Looks like scared, either slipped away or didn’t dare come!
“I say, in this village, some people existing is like a thunderbolt, always stirring up trouble, how about we ask the Village Chief to say how to handle this Luo Zhi’er!”
Zhao Er’s Wife’s gloating voice rang out.
Seeing Luo Zhi’er coldly looking at her, she quickly said: “San Mao’s Wife, don’t look at me like that, you always target me, it’s scary!”
“Second Auntie, to catch a thief take the spoils, I remember running into you on the way back at noon, did you see me Luo Zhi’er carrying corn?”
“Uh, your wooden bucket had the lid on, maybe it was in the wooden bucket!”
“Oh, now I get it, no wonder you mother and daughter were sneaky, afraid of being chased, wouldn’t let me see what’s in the wooden bucket?”
This instead pinned it on Luo Zhi’er!
“And this bit too!”
“Yo! Doesn’t this make Zhao Er’s Wife a witness!”
“Heh, right, I also saw her mother and daughter carrying the bucket past my house at noon!”
Li Daniu’s Mother suddenly chimed in.
Zheng Da Niang contemptuously glanced at her, passing by is one thing, she didn’t see Luo Zhi’er carrying corn, better watch more.
Zhao Er’s Wife continued,
“You can’t blame me, blame your Old Li Family’s Li Lei, and your own dirty hands, why steal when hungry?”
“Uncle Erdan, what do you say?”
Luo Zhi’er turned her gaze to Li Erdan.
Li Erdan awkwardly coughed, “This, this, San Mao’s Wife, I didn’t mean that, I just, just”
His wife was right, he just felt bad, for a farmer crops in the field are his life, otherwise he wouldn’t rush to irrigate.
Seeing corn about to harvest, he was joyful inside.
Half a year’s hard work!
Just now going to the field with his wife, the destruction was awful, at least hundreds of corn stalks broken.
Not to mention, some corn were just growing kernels!
Wasted alive, field radishes trampled like wild boar rooted them!
Truly infuriating!
“Uncle Erdan, I know you’re angry, believe it or not, I really didn’t break your family’s corn!”
Li Erdan saw her calm as water, tone sincere not like lying!
“This”
“Don’t believe, you can search my home, after all if I did it, there’d still be some corn left uneaten!”
“This”
Li Erdan saw her serious face, somewhat believed her, “That wouldn’t be good!”
“Li Erdan, what are you standing there for? Go! She told you to search, still standing like a wooden post, what for?”
Li Erdan’s Wife jumped up and down.
“Wife, but”
Old Li Tou not home, searching their house isn’t good, if not San Mao’s Wife, isn’t that bullying?
“You old thing, are you trying to anger me to death?”
