Chapter 23
Chapter 23
A villager called Chu Ping thought for a moment and said, “Ever since Chu Qingzhi returned, the drought in the village seems to be getting worse.”
Chu Rong retorted, “Chu Ping, don’t talk nonsense. How can someone be blamed for the drought? Moreover, it hasn’t rained for a long time before Qingzhi returned. Is this her fault?”
Chu Ping was not afraid of Chu Rong and said unreasonably, “Perhaps that was a prophecy that a jinx was coming to our village.”
Chu Rong gritted his teeth. “Nonsense!”
Zhao Xiuhua wished she could pin all the blame on Chu Qingzhi. “It’s Chu Qingzhi who harmed everyone. Ever since she returned, the village has been in chaos. It’s her fault. She shouldn’t have returned to the village. She was given away. Why did you take her back at all?”
Tang Jinghong glanced at Zhao Xiuhua sharply and spoke up for Chu Qingzhi. “Don’t you think what you said is too harsh? I feel that whoever did something evil in the village recently is the cause of the drought.”
Zhao Xiuhua immediately felt guilty and said fiercely, “Tang Jinghong, shut up. You disrespect your stepmother and are lazy.. What right do you have to speak?”
Tang Jinghong’s face darkened. “When did I disrespect my stepmother? When was I lazy?”
The villagers looked at Zhao Xiuhua in disapproval. They had all seen Tang Jinghong working under the hot sun. How could he be lazy?
As for being disrespectful to his stepmother, that was even more ridiculous. Everyone knew Zhang Xiuqin’s personality. She was always making things difficult for him!
Chu Qingzhi said coldly, “Old witch, if you don’t have evidence, don’t spout nonsense.”
Zhao Xiuhua hated Chu Qingzhi to death. “Chu Qingzhi, you deserve this. Who asked you to urge my daughter-in-law to divorce my son?”
Chu Qingzhi was disgusted. “You hit Fu Haiyan like she’s an animal. Do you treat her as your daughter-in-law at all?”
Zhao Xiuhua looked away. Even though she felt guilty, she did not feel that she should be blamed for this.
In the past, she had also hit Fu Haiyan, but Fu Haiyan had never resisted. It was only because of Chu Qingzhi’s support that Fu Haiyan dared to resist and divorce her husband. In the end, it was Chu Qingzhi’s fault!
“If not for you, Haiyan wouldn’t have left. It’s all because of you. You were the one who destroyed my family. You’re vicious.”
Chu Qingzhi couldn’t help but want to roll her eyes. This was the first time she had seen such an unreasonable person.
“If you treated Haiyan better, she wouldn’t have wanted to leave your family. At this point, instead of repenting, you actually thought you did right.”
Zhao Xiuhua said righteously, “Why should I repent? It’s clearly your fault!”
Chu Qingzhi was speechless.
Seeing that the topic was off the track, Chu Ping quickly changed the topic. “Let’s talk about the drought now. Let’s put the personal grudge between your two families aside for the time being.”
At this moment, the village chief shouted. He could tell who was the troublemaker now. “What I want to say is that the thing about the jinx is all nonsense. Don’t believe it…”
Chu Qi suddenly stepped forward and said, “I think there’s a way to solve this drought.”
Chu Tai’s heart skipped a beat and he felt vaguely uneasy.
The village chief looked at Chu Qi with a serious expression. “Tell me, what way?”
Chu Qi said with a smile, “Let Chu Qingzhi tell everyone how to make ice. As long as we earn money, won’t the drought problem be resolved?”
Then, he said to Chu Qingzhi righteously, “Qingzhi, as long as you tell us how to make ice, the entire village will treat you as our benefactor. How about that?”
Chu Qingzhi was surprised. She turned around and looked at the Chu family, wondering who revealed this secret.
When Chu Tai met Chu Qingzhi’s gaze, he lowered his head guiltily.
“So the Chu family is secretly making ice at home.”
“Ice is something only the nobles and ministers can enjoy in the summer. It’s very expensive.”
“If we master the method to make ice, we’ll be rich.”
The villagers discussed animatedly. The more they talked, the more excited they became. They wished they could immediately make a fortune and become rich.
As they spoke, their eyes were focused on Chu Qingzhi, as if she was a gold ingot.
Chu Qingzhi’s face was cold as she mocked, “How about taking out your money and sharing it with everyone? The villagers will also treat you as their benefactor.”
Chu Qi’s face stiffened. How could he take out his money?!
Chu Qi threatened, “Chu Qingzhi, if you don’t tell us how to make ice, we’ll tell your adoptive parents that you stole the formula from them to make ice. At that time, they’ll send you to jail.”
Chu Qingzhi was puzzled. When did she steal anything from her adoptive parents?
Chu Tai quickly said, “Qingzhi, he was just guessing.”
Chu Qingzhi was extremely speechless. “Are you stupid? If my adoptive parents know how to make ice, why didn’t they make it and sell it?”
When Chu Qi heard this, he felt that Chu Qingzhi was right. No one in the county sold ice!
However, he would not admit it. He only thought that Chu Qingzhi was quibbling. “They might have sold it to the city. The county people are too poor to buy ice.”
Chu Qingzhi thought to herself that now that the matter of making ice had been exposed, it was impossible to cover it up. In that case, she could only come up with another plan.
Chu Qingzhi looked around at everyone. “Do you all want the formula to make ice?”
Everyone nodded in unison.