Chapter 432: Slander

Bai Da, the village gossip, saw the situation and immediately ran toward the Liu family's old house.

She was called Bai Da because no matter whose business it was, once she knew, she would make the whole village know.

Because of her mouth, she had caused no small amount of conflict in the village; her family had been angry with her countless times, yet she could not change her habit of gossiping. Although her husband's family was an outsider, they were truly prolific from top to bottom.

Her mother-in-law had given birth to seven sons, all boys. Her husband was the fourth. Except for the youngest brother-in-law, who had just married and had no children yet, the other six families each had at least three sons. This was the confidence behind her refusal to change her ways; after all, that entire family had not yet divided their household.

As soon as she entered the courtyard, she shouted loudly: "Uncle Liu Wu, it's terrible! Your second son's daughter, Liu Chuxue, is getting engaged today. A brand-new 'three turns and one sound'! She has truly married into a fine family."

With that shout, the few people in the old house who had not gone to work all came out of their rooms.

Old Man Liu had actually seen the three cars heading toward the end of the village and had heard people say that Liu Chuxue from the second son's family was getting engaged today. Fearing others would come up and discuss these awkward matters with him, he had hurriedly retreated indoors.

He never expected someone to come specifically to his home to say these things; his face looked very displeased.

Liu Pozi, already angry because the second son had refused to adopt Dongzi, felt even more upset upon hearing this. She stepped out the door and said directly: "With such good conditions, who knows what problems that man has? Otherwise, why would he ignore the girls in the city and come down to the countryside to find one?"

Seeing Seeing Seeing Ge Xiulan, who had been beaten by her natal family and dared not show her face, was no longer afraid of others laughing at her: "Exactly. Don't just look good on the surface; if life turns out badly later, that will be the real shame."

Aunt Li, the second wife from the neighboring Li family, heard her words, leaned over the wall, and retorted: "You're jealous but dare not admit it, yet you must still be foul-mouthed and chatter there. You are truly a black-hearted, rotten-lunged creature."

Hearing these words, Seeing Seeing Seeing Ge Xiulan would not let it go. She placed her hands on her hips: "What I do is none of your damn business. You're a dog catching a rat, meddling in affairs that don't concern you."

"Who do you think you are calling 'old mother'? You shameless creature! Day after day, you do nothing but scheme against others and insult them. If you chatter again, I will call the village cadres over to judge the matter."

It was only when Liu Jiandong, who had been resting indoors to recover his health, feared the matter would escalate that he came out leaning on his cane: "Enough. Everyone, say a little less."

The reason he came out to stop them was that he still harbored hopes of adoption. His grandmother had told him that even if there were no other reason, for the sake of Liu Chuxue's job, they must hold onto the second uncle.

Therefore, the words his mother had spoken today could not be made public; he feared it would drag him down.

With so many things happening in the family, he had long wanted to leave the village. If his grandmother could truly secure Liu Chuxue's job, that would be even better. Although his studies were not good, he was at least a junior high school graduate. Just thinking about sitting in an office where the wind couldn't blow and the rain couldn't strike, working there in the future, made him so excited he could hardly express it.

Qu Aihua, who had separated her household and was staying home to rest during her pregnancy, also came out with a very unhappy face. She walked to Seeing Seeing Seeing Ge Xiulan's side: "Mom, did you completely forget what Qiangzi said to you that day? Must you make the relationship so broken that we never speak again?"

Seeing Seeing Seeing Ge Xiulan was already furious. Hearing her eldest daughter-in-law's words, she said directly: "How I do things is none of your business to instruct. If you have nothing to do, stay away from my sight and stop being an eyesore."

Qu Aihua did not expect her mother-in-law to not only ignore her advice but also scold her in front of so many people; her eyes immediately turned red.

Bai Da had originally come just to chat idly, but she never expected to stir up such a big incident. Taking advantage of the distraction, she quickly slipped away.