Chapter 96

96. Chapter 96: The Dog That Bites Doesn't Bark

After reaching an agreement, the village head immediately wrote the mutual divorce document.

Zhao Dasao looked at the dense script on the fresh Xuan Paper; she couldn't read, but she trusted the village head's character, so she stepped forward and pressed her fingerprint.

Zhao Wulai, seeing this, reluctantly stepped forward to press his fingerprint.

But his posture—one hand covering his groin, the other pressing his fingerprint—was absurdly ridiculous, and the crowd burst out laughing without mercy.

He was furious and humiliated, but dared not rage at the crowd, so he snarled at Zhao Dasao: "Now are you satisfied? Take those two brats and get out of my Zhao family's house!"

Zhao Dasao turned and walked away.

The village head chased after her and said: "Chunmiao's mother, it's late at night—where will you go to live?"

Zhao Dasao fell silent.

She didn't know where to go, but since she had made up her mind, she wouldn't beg to stay in Zhao Wulai's house anymore—even if she had to sleep on the street with her two daughters, she was willing.

The village head said: "There's a broken thatched hut at the village head—unless you mind…"

Zhao Dasao shook her head vigorously: "I don't mind—I'll take my daughters there tonight."

After speaking, she solemnly thanked the village head.

She knew that if the village head hadn't stood up for her tonight, her divorce from Zhao Wulai wouldn't have succeeded so smoothly.

"No need to thank me—go home and pack up. If you need help later, just come find me." The village head carefully rolled up the mutual divorce document, "Don't worry about this matter—I'll register it at the County Yamen tomorrow."

"Mm, okay." After thanking the village head, Zhao Dasao hurried back home.

Chunmiao and Chunya hadn't slept; they sat on the bed, trembling with fear.

The moment they saw Zhao Dasao push open the door, they rushed toward her, nearly crying.

Zhao Dasao hugged her two daughters tightly, only then realizing her hands were shaking.

"Mama, is Dad… okay?" Chunmiao asked cautiously, lifting her head, "That fire…"

"He's fine—the fire was put out."

Chunmiao had just sighed in relief when she saw her mother's face harden with an expression she'd never seen before: "Chunmiao, Chunya—remember this: from now on, he is not your father. You must never call him father again! And that fire—you must bury it deep. Not a word to anyone!"

Chunmiao opened her mouth, but Chunya pulled her back instantly: "Yes, Mama."

Chunya's clear, young voice sounded especially calm in the night.

As a result of Zhao Dasao's outburst, no one pursued the fire incident further.

Jiang Xiaoxiao heard about it the next day from Auntie who came to work at her house.

At the time, her mother was still outside checking the dixiao dug by Liu Dagang and the others—the dixiao was designed to be six meters underground, deep and unusually large.

The four of them finished digging after four days.

Jiang Wei inspected it and was very satisfied, paying them promptly.

The pay had been agreed upon in advance: thirty wen per day.

Digging the dixiao was physical labor, no easier than carrying heavy sacks in Town, but since it was hired during farming season, the pay was slightly higher than Town wages.

The men took their pay and left, thoroughly satisfied.

The moment they left, Chunmiao arrived right after.

But today, she came alone.

"Chunmiao-jie, why didn't Chunya come?" Jiang Xiaoxiao glanced behind her, her eyes bright with unhidden delight—Zhao Dasao's divorce from Zhao Wulai meant her plan had worked, and she was thrilled.

She had planned to settle the pay for the past few days with the sisters, but now Chunya hadn't shown up.

Chunmiao's face looked uneasy: "Chunya isn't feeling well—she's resting at home today."

"Oh? Unwell?" Jiang Xiaoxiao paused, quickly asking: "Where does she hurt? Should we call a doctor?"

But Chunmiao lowered her head and said nothing.

Last night's incident had become common knowledge; as soon as she entered the courtyard, many women's eyes fixed on her.

Chunmiao was already guilty, and under their stares, she buried her head even lower.

Jiang Wei walked over with a bag of glutinous rice flour and shoved it into her hands: "Stop daydreaming—get to work."

Then she swept a stern gaze across the surrounding women.

The women immediately averted their eyes and returned to their tasks.

They all knew: the women working here were the least tolerated for gossip—if anyone spoke out of turn, this easy half-day job paying twenty wen would vanish.

Jiang Xiaoxiao wanted to ask about Chunya, but her mother pulled her inside.

"Did you do it?" Jiang Wei asked bluntly.

"Huh? What… what?" Jiang Xiaoxiao feigned ignorance.

Jiang Wei gave her a sidelong glance: "When did I ever hear that whetstone water cures illness?"

Jiang Xiaoxiao: "..."

Of course nothing could hide from her mother.

Jiang Xiaoxiao forced a weak smile and stammered: "I… I just thought of it randomly—I only wanted to scare Zhao Wulai, make him dare not lay a hand on Chunmiao-jie again…"

She was anxious, fearing her mother would scold her for having such wicked thoughts at such a young age.

But the next moment, Jiang Wei's words left her stunned.

"You were too lenient on him—you should learn from Chunya."

Jiang Xiaoxiao: "... What??"

She froze for two seconds before realizing: "So that fire… was actually…"

She cut herself off mid-sentence, glancing warily outside the door—only the women bent over their work in the courtyard, no one else.

She exhaled in relief, gazing at her mother's approving expression, puzzled—how did her mother know everything?

Still, she never imagined that last night's fire had been set by Chunya—the quiet, gentle girl.

She must be the one who truly pushed Zhao Dasao and Zhao Wulai into a successful mutual divorce.

Sure enough, the dog that bites never barks.

At this instant, Jiang Xiaoxiao also began to look at Chunya with new eyes.

Jiang Wei took out the money pouch and said, "Go call Chunmiao in."

The moment Jiang Xiaoxiao saw that money pouch, she knew her mother was going to settle the wages of the past several days with the Chunmiao sisters, so she immediately ran out happily and called Chunmiao in shortly after.

Chunmiao was a little timid at first, but seeing Jiang Wei counting the money, she realized what was happening. Just as she was about to wave her hand and refuse, Jiang Wei pressed her down and said, "Since you've already left that Zhao Wulai, he certainly won't give you mother and daughter a single coin. If you still want to live well in this Village, don't be polite with your Auntie. Take this wage properly, and if you're short on anything, go buy it."

Chunmiao fell silent.

When they left last night, they didn't even take a single piece of clothing with them, penniless, and truly short on everything.

The broken Thatched Hut the village head had pointed out was barely livable, but there wasn't a single piece of furniture inside, and even the window was broken. Right now in the height of summer it was barely habitable, but once Autumn came and the weather turned cold, it would probably be very hard to keep living there.