nucmednet Chapter 215 A new year begins
Chapter 215 A new year begins
Chapter 215 The New Year Begins
Aunt Zhu was carried back in completely battered, half of her body covered in blood and flesh, which made people sigh. Everyone was saying that the yamen was not a place for people to go. She went in alone and was carried out, and who knew what would happen to her in the future.
Aunt Zhu's two younger brothers from her mother's family kept a close watch on her, fearing that Boss Zhu would really divorce her, as they would not recognize such a sister. The village head saw that Boss Zhu had gone mad and Aunt Zhu was useless, and no one was taking care of Daniu's funeral, so he had to go to Aunt Zhu's mother's family.
Before I even entered, Aunt Zhu's eldest brother scolded me: "A married woman is like spilled water. The Zhu family doesn't care about it, so why should our family care? What's it got to do with us?"
The village head said, "When Boss Zhu was making a fuss about not supporting Mrs. Zhu, weren't you all supportive? Now Boss Zhu's family has long since signed a severance agreement with the Zhu family. They're not part of the Zhu family, so it's certainly not the Zhu family's turn to intervene. But you, if I remember correctly, when your mother was seriously ill four years ago, you sent her to your sister's house and didn't care about her at all. You tossed her around for two years, and only brought her back to hold the funeral after she passed away!"
The older brother rolled his eyes and said, "Isn't it her duty as a daughter to be filial? Stop threatening me! Get out of here! Get out of here!"
The village headman's beard twitched with anger. "You guys are really... you coax me when you need me, and kick me away when you don't. And I didn't ask you to do anything. It's just that Daniu is gone after all, and your sister and brother-in-law can't take care of the funeral, and you don't care?"
The eldest brother sneered: "It's just a child. Can't we just throw a straw mat up the mountain? Which family doesn't do the same?"
The village head left angrily, but everyone else in the village was talking about it.
"If you ask me, Cui'er is a fool. Why would a married woman meddle in her parents' affairs? When she married the eldest son of the Zhu family, she got the most property when the family was divided, but she used it to support her younger brothers. When her younger brothers got married and her parents got sick, it was Cui'er who took care of them. Later, Cui'er's mother became paralyzed and couldn't move. She needed help eating, drinking, defecating and urinating, and it was Cui'er who took care of her. What happened in the end?"
"That's how it was. This is retribution. Cui'er treated her husband's family harshly and subsidized her own family. Now her husband has gone crazy, she is paralyzed, and she has lost her son. Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, it's really pitiful."
"Let's stay away from them from now on. If they treat their own sister like this, who knows how they'll treat outsiders!"
……
The village head went back to gather the villagers' opinions and discuss it. In the end, he still had to trouble the other members of the Zhu family. Zhu Laoer was a responsible person. Even though his arms were tied, he didn't completely ignore it and nodded.
"Let's not talk about what happened in the past. Now that they've done this, I'd feel bad if I let someone just roll up a mat and throw the big ox into the mountains. So, please ask the village head to get the villagers to help with the funeral arrangements, and I'll pay for it."
Zhu Laosan said quickly, "Second brother can't pay for it alone. I also made money. I will share it with you."
Zhu Laosi also wanted to speak, but was stopped by Zhu Laoer: "Okay, Laosi, Laosan and I have earned some money. You didn't work in the workshop and didn't make much money, so you don't need to take this money. Besides, we still have to be busy when the new year comes. Mother and Erniu still rely on you, don't they?"
"Then... I will definitely take good care of mother." Zhu Laosi also knew that his conditions were not as good as his two brothers, so he quickly expressed his opinion.
As for Mr. Zhu and Aunt Zhu, the three of them tacitly kept silent. The village head didn't force it, but paid for the idle women in the village to visit occasionally, and gave them two meals a day.
It was the village head's aunt who ran to Si Muyan and told her about how Aunt Zhu had been beaten.
"It's not good to let others know, but I think, little girl Yan, you're not an outsider either. Well, actually, this matter is not a big deal. If she had admitted her mistake early, she would have been punished with a stick. Your uncle, the head of the village, said that the sticks for men and women in the government office are different. Besides, what she did wasn't serious. Ten strokes of the stick won't even cause any injuries. She can come back and recuperate for ten days or half a month, and it won't be a big deal."
Si Muyan nodded. She had heard from her younger sister about Aunt Zhu's condition. Her body was bloody and horrific, as if she had been beaten with more than thirty sticks.
Auntie, the village head, continued, "But she wasn't behaving well during the few days she was in jail. She cursed every day, saying the yamen was unfair, that the runners were just sitting there doing nothing, and that they should just arrest... us all. It was New Year's Day, and no one wanted to argue with her, so they ignored her. But she thought she was capable, so she challenged the officials in court, and they ordered her to be beaten with a stick. It just so happened that the two people who beat her with the stick were the runners guarding her. They were upset, so they hit her hard."
Si Muyan was speechless. Thinking about Aunt Zhu, she was indeed capable of such a thing. She was usually a bully in the village, relying on her loud voice to yell at people. No woman in the village could scold her. Women who couldn't win an argument with her could only suffer in silence. She really thought she was so capable, even when she was locked up, she still scolded people.
You're really asking for trouble.
After the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, many business partners came to the Si family to pay New Year's greetings and sign contracts for the year. The workshop had reopened, and everyone was beaming. Even Zhu Laoer, despite his injured hand, was busy chatting with everyone, his face wrinkled with laughter. Besides the usual guests, Zhu Laoer and He Laiqian, there was another person who was always there to help entertain the guests from afar.
It was Shopkeeper Yang.
He had a good relationship with the Si family and lived nearby, so they had frequent interactions. Now that the bosses from Lingnan City and other counties had arranged to come together, and the Si family was incredibly busy, he automatically assumed the role of the host and offered to lend a hand.
When everyone left in the evening, Manager Yang had not left yet.
Si Muyan invited Shopkeeper Yang to have dinner at home and said with a smile, "Shopkeeper Yang has been waiting here for a whole day. He must have something special to tell you, right?"
Shopkeeper Yang chuckled and said, "Thanks to Mr. Si, business at my Jixiang Restaurant has always been very good. However, the base of the fragrant hotpot is fixed and cannot be increased. I always feel a little regretful. I brought a few pieces back home for the New Year as gifts, and my relatives all praised the taste, saying it was amazing. I thought about it and thought there was a pungent ingredient in it that was very delicious, so I thought I would ask you..."
Before he finished speaking, Si Muyan understood and said, "Shopkeeper Yang, wait a moment. I'll make you a dish to try."
Si Muyan's base sauce contains ingredients that no one else can replicate, one of which is chili peppers. The main reason she refuses to share the chili peppers is that even without other special seasonings, the chili peppers can still create a very special flavor.
Now she simply fried some stir-fried pork with peppers and placed it in front of Shopkeeper Yang: "Shopkeeper Yang, try it."