Chapter 36
What a Lame Excuse
The people who seemed to be trying to break the fight were actually taking sides. Old Mrs. Chen was being grabbed and pushed around.
The men simply stood at one side and look on with interest.
Some of the villagers took the opportunity to beat up Old Mrs. Chen’s two daughters-in-law as well. They both looked very miserable.
Zhao Chuchu strode up to the group. She tugged and pulled them out one by one.
Soon, she pulled Old lady Chen out of the group of women.
The old lady’s hair was a mess. Her face, neck, and hands were covered with bruises.
Madam Yang did not look any better.
“Old bitch, I’ll kill you today!” Madam Yang yelled at Old Mrs. Chen.
Zhao Chuchu gave her a cold smile. “I dare you to do that.”
When Madam Ma saw Zhao Chuchu, she felt pain all over her body and instinctively hid behind Madam Yang.
At that instant, Madam Yang felt a flash of irritation. She rebuked Madam Ma harshly, “Useless fool. How dare you hide behind your mother-in-law? Are you going to make your mother-in-law die in your place? What a jinx!”
Madam Ma did not dare utter a single word.
Niu Tongsheng hollered, “Shut up! Madam Yang, I will get someone to beat you up if you use force again. Mister Zhao, control your wife. What kind of behavior is that?”
Mister Zhao Tou said in a low, muffled voice, “Darling, stop fighting.”
“Get lost!” Madam Yang rebuked her husband.
Mister Zhao cowered away and did not say anything further.
Zhao Chuchu asked, “What’s going on here?”
Old Mrs. Chen spoke up as she fixed her hair. “Your grandmother said that the plague will return if you build a wall. She told the others not to allow you to build the wall. I argued with her, and she started to hit me.”
Niu Tongsheng added, “Chuchu, I will help you get the workers. Don’t bother with these ignorant women.”
Zhao Chuchu let out a laugh as she looked at Madam Yang. “You’re saying that I want to build a wall so the plague will return? Does that mean that you were infected with the virus because I don’t have a wall around my yard? If that’s the case, then you should tear down the wall at your house!”
She then continued, “Oh, and you, you, you… all your walls should be torn down too. Otherwise, you’ll become the cause of the plague at Lengshui Village. I will get the fortune-teller to burn joss papers to our ancestors and tell them that all of you have little regard for human lives. You are all animals!”
In ancient times, people believed in ghosts and gods, especially the spirits of their dead ancestors.
Otherwise, they were afraid that they could not be buried in their ancestral graves after they passed on.
The people who had agreed with Madam Yang started to feel anxious.
“What nonsense are you saying? What does this have to do with us?”
“Zhao Chuchu, don’t talk nonsense. We didn’t say anything.”
“It’s all Madam Yang’s fault. She’s the one who’s telling tales. We did not say you did anything.”
Zhao Chuchu’s gaze fell on Madam Yang. “Is that so? Have I been too respectful to you?”
“Zhao Chuchu, I’m your grandmother!”
“What kind of grandmother is that? You call yourself my grandmother when you come to my house to steal my grains every day? That’s a thief. How will my plan to build a wall cause the plague to return to the village? You just don’t want me to build a wall around my yard so you can come and steal from me. Just spit it out. Don’t you find your reason laughable?”
“How can you accuse me of such a thing?”
“Why don’t we go and see the official together? How much grains have the Zhao family stolen from us? I need to check thoroughly. Oh, other than grains, there’s also oil, salt, sauce, and vinegar. I wonder how the magistrate will pass the judgment.”
“Zhao Chuchu, you are making a mountain out of a molehill. I am your elder. It’s only right that you show your respect to me with…”
Madam Yang suddenly stopped talking. ‘
Zhao Chuchu was holding a knife in her hand. It was pressed against Madam Yang’s throat.
Madam Yang screamed as the cold blade touched her skin. “Ah—“