Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 363

As for the so-called renovation workers, Zhao Tingming did not ask Zhao Dage to go to the county town to find renovation workers. These were all Dage's own connections. But Zhao Tingming thought that if he said that he asked Dage to go to the county town to find people, more people would probably believe it. On the contrary, who would believe that a seven-year-old child would have such connections?

Upon hearing Zhao Tingming's explanation, Zhao Tiesheng's eyes lit up instantly, and he asked in surprise, "Uncle, is everything you're saying true?"

It seems Jinxiang didn't betray me! And she didn't squander the money on others!

Zhao Tingming snorted coldly. Seeing his good-for-nothing nephew, he was furious. He kicked him and cursed, "Don't blame me for not reminding you. Your wife will be working herself to the bone tomorrow building the house, and you'll be here speculating and suspecting her of cheating. Do you even deserve to be called a man?"

Zhao Tingming's kick was no light one; Zhao Tiesheng cried out in pain.

Cheng Jinxiang looked coldly at Zhao Tiesheng, feeling no sympathy whatsoever. Instead, she turned to Zhao Tingming and thanked him, saying, "Uncle, thank you so much for today. If you hadn't come, who knows what kind of rumors would have spread."

Zhao Tingming didn't think much of it, but he felt sorry for Cheng Jinxiang. She was so hardworking and capable, how could she have married that brat Zhao Tiesheng? Look at what this guy did today, was he even human? His mother suspected his wife of cheating, and Cheng Jinxiang was busy building a new house all day long. Zhao Tingming felt that if he didn't step in, the two of them would definitely end up getting a divorce.

On the other hand, Cheng Jinxiang had cleared up the misunderstanding and didn't want to stay there any longer. She found Zhao Tiesheng annoying and grabbed Zhao Da'e's hand, wanting to leave.

Seeing that Cheng Jinxiang was about to leave, Zhao Tiesheng hurriedly went over to explain, "Jinxiang, let me explain. I never believed that you would cheat on me. Don't be angry with me for no reason."

Zhao Tiesheng said he didn't believe Cheng Jinxiang's affair, but in his heart he believed Wang Guixiang's words. However, if he didn't say it, Zhao Tiesheng felt that Cheng Jinxiang would be angry with him and might ignore him in a few days.

Wang Guixiang watched as Zhao Tiesheng pleaded with Cheng Jinxiang for forgiveness, thinking how unfortunate the family was. Even if it was a misunderstanding, so what? Tiesheng was a man; how could he bend down and apologize to his wife? Both of them were afraid of their wives!

Wang Guixiang gave her a cold look. "Tiesheng, why are you admitting your mistake? This slut's lover might just be a construction worker in the city, and she's using the excuse of building a new house to bring her lover here for a legitimate date."

Don't blame Wang Guixiang for having such thoughts; it's just that there are many shameless things like this in the village. Under such influence, Wang Guixiang is also prone to thinking the wrong way. Besides, Wang Guixiang really doesn't like Cheng Jinxiang.

Zhao Tiesheng was furious. His old mother kept nagging him all day long about Jinxiang having an affair, but after all that nagging, she hadn't provided any evidence. Even his uncle had come out to explain that it was just a worker who came to the city to build a house, but Wang Guixiang insisted on calling him her lover who couldn't be seen in public. Where did this leave Jinxiang?

"Mom, you've really gone too far! No matter what, Jinxiang is my wife and your daughter-in-law. I won't allow you to talk about her like that! Besides, what you're saying is baseless. So many people heard Jinxiang talking to that person about building a new house, but you still don't believe it. Even my uncle came out to explain, but you still keep saying that Jinxiang cheated on me. Where do you think you're putting Jinxiang? Where do you think you're putting me?"

Zhao Tiesheng was furious. Had his mother ever considered how her words would affect his reputation and how others would perceive him?

If others actually believed this baseless rumor, wouldn't he be unjustly cuckolded? And by his own mother no less!

Wang Guixiang looked at her son in disbelief. She had thought so much about him, but in the end, her son was blaming her!

Despite Zhao Tiesheng's attempt to persuade her to stay, Cheng Jinxiang showed no reluctance and simply pulled the goose away. She felt disgusted by Zhao Tiesheng and didn't want to share any space with him.

She had given him chances, but Zhao Tiesheng hesitated and stood there stammering, not speaking up for her, but instead questioning her about where the money had gone. Wasn't that a tactic to accuse her of cheating?

No matter how good you are to a man like that, it's all in vain.

Seeing that Cheng Jinxiang was about to leave, Zhao Tiesheng quickly stepped forward to persuade her, "Jinxiang, I wasn't the one who slandered you just now, why are you getting angry at me? Hey! Jinxiang, wait for me, tell me what you talked about with that renovation worker, okay?"

Cheng Jinxiang didn't want to pay attention to Zhao Tiesheng, but she was getting impatient with his constant pestering. So she stopped, frowned, and threatened, "If you keep shamelessly following me like this, we're getting a divorce!"

This wasn't the first time Cheng Jinxiang had brought up divorce. When she returned to her parents' home after giving birth to Xiaojuan, Zhao Tiesheng had also mentioned divorce when he came to see her, but he hadn't said it so seriously. It seemed that Cheng Jinxiang had lost her temper and was serious about it. Rather than living with a man, she felt it was better to live alone.

Zhao Tiesheng was frightened by Cheng Jinxiang's words and stopped going forward. Instead, he looked at Cheng Jinxiang with some grievance and said, "Fine, fine, I won't follow you. Jinxiang, don't mention divorce."

Zhao Tiesheng stopped following, and Wang Guixiang walked exceptionally fast, showing no intention of turning back, leaving Zhao Tiesheng behind and ignoring him.

Zhao Tiesheng stood there, rubbing his hair in frustration, wondering how he had made things worse.

Seeing Zhao Tiesheng's troubled expression, Zhao Tingming went over and reminded him, "You kid, don't blame your uncle for not reminding you. If you want to win back your wife, you'll have to put in more effort and show your sincerity. You have to make Jinxiang feel your sincerity. The way you are today, hesitating and doubting whether Jinxiang has cheated on you, I want to slap you. Everyone in the village knows what kind of person Jinxiang is. If Jinxiang were my daughter, I would definitely take her away and not let her suffer here!"

Having said that, Zhao Tingming had nothing more to say. As for Wang Guixiang?

Zhao Tingming felt annoyed at the sight of his second brother's wife; she had turned his family into a complete mess! But he couldn't say anything, after all, he had to save face for his sister-in-law.

After Zhao Tingming left, the onlookers around him began to whisper among themselves.

"Tsk tsk tsk, I heard that Tiesheng's wife has been staying at her parents' home for several months now. With spring just around the corner, she hasn't shown any intention of going back."

“Go back? Can’t you see? This Zhao family has a mother-in-law who slanders people without any reason. If I go back, I might not have a good time.”

"Besides, divorce isn't impossible; it's not like we can't get a divorce."

The whispers of others were the most deadly. Zhao Tiesheng clenched his fists, his face pale, clearly afraid of what would happen if Jinxiang really divorced him.

Wang Guixiang waved her hand impatiently and scolded the gossipers, "What are you talking about? Have you had enough of the show? Why aren't you leaving? Everyone has their own troubles. All you do all day is gossip about other people's family affairs. You must have a lot of free time!"

The villagers nearby stopped watching. With Wang Guixiang's fierce appearance, they knew that staying any longer would only result in being scolded. Several old women who didn't usually get along with Wang Guixiang rolled their eyes and cursed, "Who wants to meddle in your family affairs? Whoever does is doomed. I wonder who was caught in the fence twice the other day."

Wang Guixiang entered the fence twice. The first time was when Zhao Xiaojuan was just born. She wanted to send Zhao Xiaojuan away, but Zhao Da'e accused her of being a human trafficker. Because of the misunderstanding, she was sent to the fence.

Another time, he tried to frame Zhao Da'e for stealing his savings account containing two thousand yuan, but he was exposed instead and ended up in jail.

Thinking of this, Wang Guixiang was furious. This Zhao Da'e was just there to bring her bad luck. Nothing ever went smoothly when she was around Zhao Da'e!

Wang Guixiang disliked Zhao Tiesheng as well, but she still had to drag him home so that others wouldn't laugh at them.

Wang Guixiang tried to pull Zhao Tiesheng away, but Zhao Tiesheng shook her off. He blamed everything on Wang Guixiang and shouted angrily, "Mom, can you be nicer to Jinxiang in the future? Stop targeting her!"

If it weren't for Wang Guixiang's instigation, how could I have gotten pregnant and had an affair with Jinxiang? How could I have made Jinxiang angry and even made her consider divorce?

Seeing Zhao Tiesheng lash out at her, Wang Guixiang was completely enraged. She slapped Zhao Tiesheng across the face and yelled, "Why are you taking it out on me? I only said a few words, and you believed me. If you really believed your wife, you wouldn't be afraid to provoke me no matter what I say. In the end, it's because you don't believe your own wife. Don't blame everything on me. Do I owe you anything?!"

Just because a tiger doesn't show its power doesn't mean it's a sick cat!

Zhao Tiesheng was stunned by the slap and didn't react. Wang Guixiang didn't indulge Zhao Tiesheng or rush to take him back to the Zhao family. Instead, she left him there and went back alone.

As soon as Wang Guixiang left, Zhao Tiesheng's momentum instantly deflated, and he was filled with regret. If he had stood firmly on Jinxiang's side back then, perhaps things wouldn't have turned out this way.

Originally, there was a lot of trouble because of the house construction and the money that Mom lent to my younger sister. But we got the money back and the construction of the new house was on track. But now this new thing has happened. Jinxiang looks angry with me and I guess it will be hard to coax her.

Too many worries, and just now Wang Guixiang slapped him, saying it was his own fault. Zhao Tiesheng felt very depressed. If his mother hadn't instigated him, how could he have had such a bad falling out with Jinxiang?

Zhao Tiesheng was annoyed by everything, but he didn't want others to laugh at him, so he decided to leave. However, when he saw a stone blocking his way on the roadside, which seemed to be mocking him, it made Zhao Tiesheng even more irritable. He kicked the stone, which went a little further, but it also hurt his toes.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! This little stone hurts so much!" Zhao Tiesheng couldn't help but complain as he went home, grumbling.

Neither Zhao Dage nor Cheng Jinxiang knew anything about what happened afterward.

Wang, who was bedridden, overheard what happened today. She was so angry that she trembled all over. Her face, which was already pale, looked even worse now.

Wang's face was full of anger, and she shouted in a hoarse voice, "What a Zhao family! How dare they bully my daughter like this! Do they really think my Cheng family has no one left?"

As Wang spoke, she became agitated and couldn't help but cough. Cheng Jinxiao, who was standing next to her, saw this and kept patting Wang's back, saying, "Mom, calm down, don't get upset."

Also present were Cheng Jinxiang, Zhao Da'e, and Zhu Yufeng.

Looking at her mother's frail body, Cheng Jinxiang felt a pang of sadness. Her mother's illness hadn't improved, and she had been bedridden for almost a month, barely able to get out of bed. Now, she was causing her mother more worry and distress, and Cheng Jinxiang felt guilty. Sometimes she felt that she was too old to be so temperamental, and instead, she was making her mother worry.

Wang noticed the self-reproach on Cheng Jinxiang's face and couldn't help but sigh. After all, she was her own daughter, and she could tell what Cheng Jinxiang meant from any expression on her face.

Wang Shi, supporting herself, slowly raised her hand and patted Cheng Jinxiang's hand, sighing, "Jinxiang, if you're really unhappy here and want a divorce, Mom will support you. Now that Mom is old and her health isn't good, I've become more open-minded about everything. In the past, Mom valued her daughters' marriages, husbands, sons, and daughters more than herself. Your grandmother, who is my mother-in-law, also liked to scold and order me around, but your father, who died young, never took the initiative to help me and let me be bullied. Even when I was pregnant and gave birth, I still had to get out of bed to do farm work during my postpartum period. It was the dead of winter, and that's when I ruined my health and developed a lot of illnesses, and I'm still bedridden now."

So when Cheng Jinxiang insisted on going back to her parents' home to recuperate after giving birth, Wang Shi strongly supported her. She didn't want her daughter to suffer the same hardships she had endured. If postpartum care caused any health problems, it would be a lifelong issue. Her back would ache terribly whenever the weather got cold, and no amount of medicine could help. If Jinxiang suffered like she did, being mistreated during her postpartum confinement at her husband's home, she would be riddled with illnesses in her old age.

She blamed herself for not realizing Wang Guixiang's temperament when her second daughter was getting married, and for letting her daughter marry into that family. Now, seeing her daughter unhappy, Wang was filled with remorse.

Poor daughter! If her health allowed, she would definitely get up and go to the Zhao family to give Wang Guixiang a good scolding. How could her perfectly good daughter be called a slut who seduces wild men in Wang Guixiang's mouth?

The Zhao family is really going too far, and Zhao Tiesheng is truly incompetent and cowardly.