Ugly girl only wants to farm

Chapter 303 The Calm Lake (43)

Xu Chaoyan looked at her: "Why don't you dare to swear now? Didn't you just say you dared? You're chickening out now because you have a guilty conscience."

Meng Xiuzhi was speechless for a long time after being confronted by her words. As the saying goes, one should not lose face, even if one loses the other. How could Meng Xiuzhi swallow this insult, having lost face in front of a junior?

"Why wouldn't I dare? It's just a solemn oath, what's the big deal?"

As she spoke, she raised her hand, looking at the sky with an extremely serious expression. I, I stammered for a long time but couldn't get a "I" out.

Meng Jiuhe tried to explain to Xu Chaoyan again that he had indeed acted rashly today, and that his wife's scolding was justified. After being pushed away by Xu Chaoyan again, he glared at Meng Xiuzhi with resentment.

"Aunt, what are you really up to? You just can't stand to see me doing well, can you? You'd be happy if I were to be separated from my wife and children."

Meng Xiuzhi muttered to herself, "At most, it's just a matter of the wife leaving, not the children. This Xu woman has been married for over a year and hasn't uttered a single word. In my opinion, she should have been divorced long ago. You and Qiao'er are childhood sweethearts. It's a kind of fate that you two can rekindle your relationship."

Before she could finish speaking, a loud "bang" startled Meng Xiuzhi, who retreated in panic. Her eyes widened as she pounded her chest and screamed.

“Meng Jiu, this is disobedience and unfilial piety. How dare you lay a hand on your elders? Let me tell you, don’t be arrogant. If I were…”

This was the first time Xu Chaoyan had ever seen Meng Jiuhe lose his temper. He smashed a ceramic pot at Meng Xiuzhi's feet, shattering it into pieces, with several small fragments flying directly to her feet.

She was pale and stammering, unable to finish her sentence.

“Aunt, no matter what, you and my father are blood relatives. For his sake, I haven't been completely ruthless towards you and Grandmother. You should be grateful. You instigated Grandmother to do such a thing back then, and now you still have the nerve to shout here. Do you really think I'm easy to bully? Even a clay figure has some temper. If you push me too far, I'll expose everything you've done. Let's see if Uncle will still tolerate you then, and how your children will view you.”

Meng Xiuzhi was so frightened that she shrank to the side, not daring to speak. She had indeed been a bit unruly in the village before, all because of that stinky man in her family.

Now that she's finally able to enjoy a few days of peace in this county, she doesn't want to go back to suffer. Besides, those old bachelors are much more caring than her own husbands; although they can be a bit rough, they're generous.

She still wanted to get some benefits from those people so she could raise a dowry for her son. She couldn't afford to be sent back now.

After scolding Meng Xiuzhi, Meng Jiuhe looked at the Zhang family with icy eyes and a cold tone: "Uncle Zhang, you surely know everything that happened today. I only had a couple of drinks; I couldn't possibly be so drunk as to be unconscious. What are your intentions? I don't know, but please make one thing clear. I will not divorce my wife to marry your daughter. The annulment of the engagement between our two families was so unpleasant that everyone in the surrounding villages knew about it. Now that your daughter is a widow, are you trying to cling to me? Are you so desperate for a husband?"

Meng Jiuhe always spoke politely and never showed such ruthlessness.

Mr. Zhang's face darkened; he couldn't swallow his anger at being belittled like that towards his daughter. Enraged, he raised his hands, the slap about to fall.

Zhang's mother quickly pulled the old man aside and scolded him, "Just talk, don't get physical. This man is a scholar, after all."

Finally, she steadied her trembling body and met Meng Jiuhe's gaze: "Meng boy, no matter what, my daughter lost her chastity because of you. Although she is a widow, she hasn't had any bad reputation. How is she supposed to live the rest of her life? It's your own fault for not controlling yourself. You're a grown man, do you think my daughter would force you? Today you must give my daughter an explanation, you must marry her with proper betrothal, or I'll make sure you can't stay in the county school."

Xu Chaoyan finally understood that this family was planning to cling to Meng Jiuhe.

She looked at the angry husband and the crying daughter of the family of three, and Zhang's shameless mother couldn't help but sneer.

"So this is what you three have been up to all this time. If you had just said you were interested in my husband, I would have made room for you. Why make such a fuss? He's just a man; you can find plenty of them on the street. I won't allow anyone to covet what's mine. Anything that's been touched by someone else is considered dirty to me."

Meng Jiuhe was initially secretly pleased when he heard her say that no one was allowed to covet what belonged to her; at least his wife still cared about him.

She was just jealous. If he could explain things to her properly, she would surely forgive him. But after hearing the last sentence, his face immediately fell, and he looked at her with a pitiful expression.

“My wife, I am clean, not dirty. I am loyal to you and will never allow any other woman to come near me. I wouldn’t even look at a widow like her, let alone be so desperate.”

Before he could finish speaking, Xu Chaoyan snorted twice at him.

"She's a widow, and you look down on her but still come to her house. You're always looking for something better than what you have. Why can't the wildflowers smell as sweet as the garden flowers? Is the widow's waist particularly supple? That's why you're so deeply infatuated with her."

Seeing that she was going too far, Meng Jiuhe disregarded the presence of outsiders, went over and grabbed her hand, his face serious as ever: "My wife, I really have nothing to do with her. I swear to God, if I really have anything to do with her, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death."

Zhang Qiao'er looked at him with a heartbroken expression: "Brother Meng, how can you say that? Just now you were the one who wouldn't let go. You said so many sweet words and promised that you would divorce me and marry someone else. How can you turn your back on me so quickly?"

Meng Xiuzhi remained huddled in the back, not daring to utter a sound.

Xu Chaoyan felt her head buzzing from the noise: "I don't want to talk to you right now. Meng Jiuhe is a man, go back and write me a divorce agreement right away. I don't care about things that have been touched by others. Sister-in-law, let's go now."

The butcher's wife had been watching from the doorway, afraid of attracting onlookers. Hearing Xu Chaoyan's angry voice, she quickly responded.

"Hey, girl, I'm coming right now."

She sighed and couldn't help but add, "Don't you think there's some misunderstanding here? Your husband is such an honest and kind man, how could he do such a thing? This widow must have ill intentions. She's deliberately seducing people because she's lonely and can't help but act horny."

After cursing, he spat on the person several times.

She spat a few times, and her saliva splashed directly onto Zhang's mother's face.

Zhang's mother spat back, wiped her face with her sleeve, and yelled at her, "You old hag, who are you calling names? You're always meddling in other people's business. Instead of going home to slaughter your pigs, what are you doing here making a fuss? So what if she's a widow? My daughter is gentle and virtuous and has never caused any trouble. How have you all come to call her this? What will become of her in the future? You must apologize to her today, or don't even think about leaving my house."

Xu Chaoyan pulled the butcher's wife up and started walking outside.

Meng Jiu quickly grabbed her hem and wouldn't let go: "Wife, don't be angry, don't go. I'll explain it to you now, there really is nothing between me and her. Can you please not write a divorce agreement?"

Xu Chaoyan was furious and kicked him. Meng Jiuhe didn't dodge and took the kick head-on.

Then, Xu Chaoyan took a pair of scissors from the side, and with a "snip," cut off the hem of the dress, then walked out without a second thought.

"I'll count to three, and you have half an hour to crawl back and write the divorce papers, or you'll face the consequences."

Meng Jiuhe tried to chase after her, but Xu Chaoyan slammed the door shut as soon as she left, nearly knocking his nose out of shape.

Zhang's mother plopped down on the ground and held onto his legs tightly, refusing to let go: "Don't even think about leaving this house today if you don't give me an explanation. I'll hang myself at the county school gate and see how you'll face anyone then."

Meng Jiuhe tried to shake it off several times but couldn't let go, and looked at Zhang Qiao'er with a cold expression.

"I don't want to make a big fuss about this, but I'm doing this because of the favor you did for my family. Those who have nothing to lose are not afraid of those who have something to lose. Go ahead and make a scene if you want."

"Father, you must stand up for your daughter!"

Zhang's father picked up a stick to hit someone, but Meng Jiuhe met his feigned fierce gaze directly.

"Go ahead and hit me? I was just thinking of reporting this to the authorities. Zhang Qiao'er, let me ask you, did I really take off your clothes?"

Zhang Qiao'er looked at him shyly and said, "Yes. You took the initiative."

Meng Jiuhe looked at her and said, "I'm not a good drinker. Once I get drunk, I'll drag my wife into writing poems. I've written one for you too."