Chapter 256

·

·

·

Protagonist:

Chai Mi

In the Northeast countryside, the business of one crying, two making trouble, and three hanging oneself isn't exactly rare, especially in impoverished times.

As the saying goes, a poor and lowly couple faces a hundred sorrows; when there's no money, a husband and wife fighting is something everyone has long since ceased to find strange.

However, an old lady making trouble like this is indeed a minority.

The kind that's almost negligible.

Wang Huirong is old in years and an elder, so with her making trouble like this, the people who can persuade her are actually few and far between.

Of course, the main reason is that Wang Huirong has terrible social connections; hardly anyone is willing to deal with her, so hardly anyone steps in to break up a fight.

But, things having come to this pass...

Many old men and old ladies from the Chai clan have all come out... whether it's the amiable "Lao Liutou," or the specially statused "Old Principal" Chai Zhongliang, even Chai Peifang, the Chai family's oldest living elder who has been paralyzed for eight long years with only her eyes still able to move, has been brought out...

Everyone's attitude is unanimous — Wang Huirong, you'd better fucking stop making trouble. You've been a mother-in-law for decades now, you're about to be holding great-grandchildren, so how the fuck can you want to hang yourself?

Right now Wang Huirong's hair is disheveled, she's wearing a large white undershirt and black cotton trousers, one shoe kicked off. She stands on a small wooden stool, left hand holding a gray hemp rope prepared for hanging, right hand waving a pair of scissors back and forth: "No use whoever persuades me. Today I must die right here..."

Wang Huirong's momentum is full, her voice loud, directly shouting back the people who wanted to step forward...

While the crowd was stunned, Chai Mi squeezed in from the back, with Chai You Fu and Song Qiuping beside her.

Chai Mi first frowned at the small wooden stool, then at that hemp rope, sinking into thought...

It's very obvious: this rope has elasticity, and the stool is too low. If she hangs, with Wang Huirong's weight she'd quickly "land safely."

She wouldn't die that way either...

Actually, everyone can see Wang Huirong fundamentally can't die, but she makes trouble...

She makes trouble stubbornly; others have no way. They can't exactly have someone walk up and say: Wang Huirong, hurry up and hang yourself, or you'll miss the banquet later...

Wouldn't that be pouring oil on the fire?

The whole village knows Wang Huirong is too poor to live; who has nothing better to do than invite trouble and force Wang Huirong to extort them?

By custom, you persuade life not death, persuade reconciliation not separation. Even if Wang Huirong has a thousand faults, no one will come out at this moment to urge her to die.

Wang Huirong has made trouble for over an hour, nearly two hours, and right now only her one good son — Chai You Fu — has come. The rest is just Chai Mi this granddaughter.

It seems everyone doesn't care much about Wang Huirong's life or death.

Wang Huirong is merely rather brain-damaged, but not a fool. She naturally sees it too — she isn't very favored by her eldest and second sons, but right now she doesn't want any face either. She comforts herself — ginger's still hottest when old; as long as she achieves her goal, it's good.

"Chai You Fu, you still have the face to come? I raised you with hardship, got you a wife, built you a house. You gave birth to a girl, I didn't say anything. All these years, have you done a single day's work for the family? Have you bought me a single mooncake? Have you given me a single cent on holidays? When you started your family, the house was destitute. Getting you a wife even dragged in a famine. Now your dad and I can't get off the kang, and you don't pluck a single hair. How do you have the face to live..."

Wang Huirong opens full fire, speaking so directly Chai You Fu doesn't know how to respond.

"Grandma, come on. You talk about my family too..." Chai Mi said with barbs in her words: "My dad and mom farmed for you and Grandpa for over ten years. When the house was built, you two didn't put in a cent. When we split the family, you didn't give a cent. You owe us eight thousand yuan; we've demanded it how many times and you never paid in full. Not to mention far back — just the other day at my little sister's full-month banquet, you two didn't put in a cent either. My family split off twenty-odd years ago. If my dad and mom's labor were converted to wages, would it be enough to cover what you spent birthing him, raising him, and marrying him off?"

Wang Huirong's face turned iron-green. She naturally knows that if these things are tallied up, Chai Mi naturally holds the right. That's why she just now aimed her fire at Chai You Fu first — because if Wang Huirong aimed at Chai Mi, she'd discover she fundamentally has nothing to say.

But, although she knows clearly in her heart that if Chai Mi's parents' labor is counted, the old house not only wouldn't pay out money, it might even end up owing...

"A son, a daughter-in-law farming a bit of land for parents, doing a bit of work, they need wages too? What did I raise a son for? If my son works for me, I still have to pay to hire him? Then I might as well have strangled him at birth."

Wang Huirong paused, then said: "Chai Mi, don't be sharp-tongued. You don't have a bit of a junior's bearing. Don't think you know where your money comes from. You didn't just seduce other men to get it..."

Chai Mi instantly felt her head, as if an atomic bomb had exploded, burning hot.

Her originally clean past, her clean identity, slandered by Wang Huirong's nonsense.

This Wang Huirong is simply shameless to the extreme. Things that never happened, all splashed with dirty water by her.

Chai Mi indeed originally had no money. These days it's just farming a bit of land, reclaiming a bit of wasteland, most time spent in the fields. This autumn hasn't arrived yet, no harvest. As for other business plans, they're still in planning, not put into action. Her money all came from the full-month banquet's share money. But that's share money — social reciprocity, needs to be returned. Although a few people gave especially large gifts, those all had special reasons. Like Liu Zhanggui, grateful Chai Mi helped him once and his wife returned to remarry. Like Song Qiushui, the two originally had a good relationship. Like Zhou Fang... that counts as a childhood friend.

Every penny is social reciprocity, all must be returned. It's not like someone secretly gave it. On what grounds does Wang Huirong say this?

"If your mouth doesn't accumulate virtue, don't blame me for not treating you as human today." Chai Mi coldly stared at Wang Huirong: "Don't think just because you're old and about to die, you're awesome. Old and not afraid of death means you can spout nonsense at will? If you have the guts, really die. Running here to extort people. If you don't die today, I'll strangle you to death. It's just one life for one life. I don't lose... I've suffered forty-odd years less than you..."

"Ai ya ya... everyone listen, is what Chai Mi says human speech? What's this 'if I don't die today she'll strangle me'? Look, this is my good granddaughter, even wants to strangle her grandma... hehe..." Wang Huirong cursed hysterically: "No upbringing at all. All day hooking up with this and that, just wanting to earn ill-gotten wealth. Everyone's watching. You're this unfilial. Later if you have children, your children will treat you the same!!!"

"You're filial! You're filial and you're about to die, yet still can't live and come here to commit suicide by hanging? That's a fine example you set. If I'm unfilial, I learned it from you." Chai Mi said word by word: "Besides, I don't have such a shameless grandma. Old but not venerable, seventy or eighty using hanging to scare people. One cry, two troubles, three hangings — who can't do it? Right now no one's stopping you. Come on, come on, you die one for me to see..."

"I..." Wang Huirong flew into a rage: "You're just a yellow-haired girl. What right do you have to lecture me? You want me to die, I'll die? I just won't die..."

"Too late." Chai Mi kicked that small wooden stool flying with one foot. Wang Huirong's neck hung directly on the rope, starting to swing.

However, because the rope had elasticity, much as Chai Mi had thought, she'd barely hung for a moment before Wang Huirong directly dropped to the ground, falling down.

But Wang Huirong didn't fall over; she landed steadily.

"You've turned against me! You really want to hang me to death!!!" Wang Huirong cursed loudly, then moved to fight Chai Mi.

Chai Mi easily dodged. Wang Huirong went Ordinary and fell to the ground.

Afterwards the crowd pulled them apart.

Most went to help Wang Huirong up...

Chai Mi brought the stool again, then retied the rope, raised it twenty or thirty centimeters, then pointed at Wang Huirong and said: "Come, continue hanging. This time it's high enough, and the rope knot is mine — absolutely firm. Guaranteed one drop and you're hanged dead. Come on..."

The crowd panicked, all persuading Chai Mi: "Chai Mi, you'd better say a few words less. Your grandma's old and muddled, she's in a rage. Don't provoke her. If she really hangs herself, what a bad reputation..."

"Yeah yeah, everyone say a few words less. Can't have a death. Our village already produced a Chai Chunfang. If Wang Huirong hangs herself too, our village is finished. I don't even dare go out at midnight now, afraid I'll open the door and bump into someone hanging themselves at my gate..."

"Chai Mi, you calm down too. Nothing major. Let today's matter pass. Everyone go back to their own homes. Don't all make trouble. Your Old Chai Family isn't afraid of losing face, but us outsiders are busy too... who has nothing better than to watch excitement all day? It's not like she's really hanging herself..."

The crowd had all kinds of things to say.

But Chai Mi squeezed through the crowd, faced Wang Huirong directly, grabbed her hand and dragged her: "No. Today if you don't hang yourself to death, didn't I fucking come for nothing? Can it work if you don't die? I even bought the wine, ready to celebrate. Now you say not dying means not dying? Can that work? Are you worthy of all these people watching the excitement? You hurry up and go hang yourself..."

The crowd was all dumbfounded.

This is insisting Wang Huiro

Just...

She must die!!!

"Chai Mi... don't be impulsive. Calm down..." Even Song Qiuping couldn't help but advise Chai Mi: "Isn't it better if Wang Huirong doesn't die? Saves her from cheating us."

"Right. Since your Grandmother has come down, let it go..." Chai You Fu also persuaded: "This... let's make a major event small, a small event nothing..."

"Cut the fucking crap, let go of me. She Wang Huirong wants to hang herself? Come come come, I'll help her..." Chai Mi pushed away several people, dragging Wang Huirong toward the wooden stool, then gave a push, directly pushing Wang Huirong to sit on the stool: "Wang Huirong, hurry up and hang. The rope I've already tied for you."

Seeing Chai Mi was for real, the crowd hurriedly pulled at Chai Mi.

Chai Mi loudly questioned: "Wang Huirong, with your conduct, you still want to scare people? You're so afraid of death, you still hang yourself? Who the fuck are you scaring? If you had this face, when your daughter hung herself at your doorway, you shouldn't have had the face to live. You're quite old, don't want a damn face, even your own son you want to trap, a mother like you, dead is just right. It's just my dad that blind thing, indulging your stinking habits, who else the fuck indulges you. You two pulled famine to build Chai You De a house, now you pretend to be a grandson? Who the fuck let you pull famine, you go fucking find them. Isn't the whole world supposed to owe you..."

"Chai Mi, you turtle bastard, no big no small, actually dare curse me..." Wang Huirong said in a flustered, exasperated voice.

Chai Mi kicked out, but because there were too many people pulling the fight apart, Chai Mi was directly held aloft by the crowd, and kicked empty air.

"Old age means you sell your seniority? What thing are you." Chai Mi then viciously looked at the crowd holding her, deliberately glanced at Song Qiuping: "Second Aunt, don't fucking block me, today I'll beat this old codger to death... if she won't die herself, I'll help her..."

Shouting like this, Chai Mi said in a low voice to Song Qiuping: "Go get a kitchen knife..."

Before coming, Chai Mi had actually told Song Qiuping to hold her back a bit.

Result, now Chai Mi even wants a kitchen knife, Song Qiuping hurriedly said in a low voice: "Alright, that undying old thing is scared and dares not get up. Quit while you're ahead..."

Chai Mi gave her a sideways glance: "Let go of me."

Seeing Chai Mi's murderous eyes, Song Qiuping was scared and immediately let go of Chai Mi.

Chai Mi ran into the small shop next door, searched for half a day, but where would there be a kitchen knife.

Just at a loss, she saw a crate of eggs...

Chai Mi picked up the eggs, then rushed back into the crowd.

Crash—

Over ten catties of eggs all smashed onto Wang Huirong's body.

Instantly Wang Huirong from head to toe, no longer looked human, even more miserable than the scene in Water Margin where Wang Po sees the prisoner off to the execution ground.

Chai Mi then picked up the crate to smash Wang Huirong...

The crate is plastic...

But the crowd was quick-eyed and quick-handed, already intercepting Chai Mi again.

Chai Mi threw the crate, lowered her head and saw a brick, picked it up, pointed at Wang Huirong: "Today if I don't beat you to death, I'll be sorry to you."

Wang Huirong's face changed greatly, a few days ago Chai You De's head had just been split open by Sun Yuguang's two girls... a brick was used then too.

Wang Huirong knew deeply her own head definitely wasn't as hard as Chai You De's head, even if it was... it couldn't block this brick's direct physical attack, now she was finally afraid.

Originally, Wang Huirong just came to act a play, didn't expect Chai Mi really wanted to kill her...

Of course, it's also possible Chai Mi was bluffing, after all so many people blocking...

But...

Wang Huirong dared not gamble.

What if the big fellows couldn't block Chai Mi, really let Chai Mi split her head open, then she Wang Huirong would really be dead...

"Chai Mi, you're crazy. I fucking won't lower myself to your level. I'm an adult who doesn't hold children's faults... I'm going home to find your Grandfather, let your Grandfather teach you a good lesson!!!"

Wang Huirong spoke, and ran off.

The brick in Chai Mi's hand was thrown just right, hit the ground, two or three meters from Wang Huirong.

"If you have the guts don't fucking run, watch me not kill you..."