Farm Tough Girl

Chapter 28: Chapter 028 Pitiful Chu Chu_1 Chapter 28: Chapter 028 Pitiful Chu Chu_1 “I’ve heard about yesterday’s matter, and I’ve come to understand the gist of it. To clearly say who is right and who is wrong is difficult, but we are all fellow villagers, and it’s not good for relations to become so strained, not to mention, Muniang, you are after all a granddaughter of the Qiao family, aren’t you?” the village chief said.

Muniang nodded, looking obediently.

The village chief, seeing Muniang’s innocent and harmless appearance, felt that Qiao Dazhi was too lacking in generosity, bearing a grudge against a child and rattling off a list of her supposedly bad traits early in the morning. The girl was clearly so well-behaved, nowhere near the wretchedness he described!

Qiao Dazhi said coldly, “She is not my granddaughter; our family does not raise such beasts!”

“Old Mr. Qiao, mind your words; at least in my presence, you don’t have the liberty to talk nonsense,” the village chief said sternly.

Muniang smiled, “Village chief, it’s alright. I was driven out two years ago; naturally, I’m not a member of the Qiao family anymore. There’s no need for you to stand up for me.”

The village chief, seeing how sensible Muniang was, felt a pain in his heart. Such a good girl, and yet she was bullied like this!

Muniang stole a glance at Qiao Dazhi’s face, which was indeed more colorful than a palette, and with a mocking smile, she looked at him, infuriating Qiao Dazhi so much he nearly spat blood. How deep were this woman’s scheming ways!

“Alright, I’ve always been fair. Muniang did wrong by speaking ill of Qiao Yuanzhen yesterday, but it was Mrs. Ji of the Qiao family who started the rumor about Muniang and Li Cheng. Although Erliang injured Qiao Yuanzhen, your family’s Mrs. Ji also hurt Erliang’s hand. If we were to talk about who is right and who is not, it was all started by the Qiao family first!” the village chief declared loudly.

Qiao Dazhi’s face changed color. “But Yuanzhen is a man studying for his official exams; how important are his reputation and hands?”

Of course, the village chief couldn’t match Qiao Muniang’s modern thinking and didn’t consider the equality of all beings. Hearing what Qiao Dazhi said, he found it quite reasonable.

Seeing the village chief wavering, Muniang quickly squeezed out two tears, looking pitifully vulnerable, “Compared to Uncle Four’s reputation, the talk of the town about a little village girl like me certainly doesn’t matter much. After all, the man I married is a fool; no matter how nasty the words others say, my husband won’t understand. I alone silently take it all. However, I’m shortsighted and thin-skinned. People say a couple of harsh words and I dare not even leave my house. Although my husband is a fool, he is being wronged for no reason, being laughed at and pointed at everywhere. I, I, I just can’t stand it.”

The village chief, watching Muniang sob and wipe her tears in such an aggrieved manner, melted inside, thinking how much the child must have suffered, keeping it all to herself. Marrying a fool was already a misfortune, but now her reputation was destroyed as well, how bitter it must be for her.

Erliang had never seen Muniang cry before and was suddenly at a loss, clumsily using his sleeve to wipe her face, “Wife, don’t cry, don’t cry, I…”

“Muniang, don’t cry. I will ensure justice for you,” the village chief quickly said.

Then he turned his head and said sternly to Qiao Dazhi, “Your son’s reputation is valuable, and a woman’s reputation isn’t? And everything started from your Mrs. Ji. Are you, the Qiao family, now bullying a widow and an orphan just because you outnumber them?”

Qiao Dazhi glared fiercely at Muniang and began to say nice things to the village chief; the village chief was like the local emperor in the village, and offending him would mean never having peace for the rest of one’s life.

“If you ask me, you truly owe Muniang and her husband a sincere apology,” the village chief settled into his mood before saying.

Qiao Dazhi was stunned, how had this turned into him apologizing? He hadn’t even asked for compensation for his losses yet!

Muniang, with sobs, said, “Village chief, there’s really no need for that. It’s just Muniang’s hard fate, the hardship meant for me. I can’t accept an apology from Old Mr. Qiao, let’s just let this matter go.”

“No!” Qiao Dazhi shouted.

But the village elder immediately glared him down, “You’re old bones now and yet you still can’t match the generosity of a little girl! It seems the generations in this family are getting reversed!”

Qiao Dazhi felt such hatred inside, especially when Qiao Muniang snickered at him. He felt like rushing up and tearing her face apart! He never would have imagined that the once timid granddaughter had now become as cunning as a fox!

In the end, the matter was left unresolved, and the village elder even took some time to comfort Muniang.

Qiao Dazhi stormed back to the Qiao family home, naturally venting his spleen. Mrs. Ji had it even worse, getting scolded so much she couldn’t even lift her head.

The entire Qiao family was in utter chaos because of the whole Qiao Yuanzhen affair.

And Madam Liu, through this incident, became even more determined to extend an olive branch to Qiao Muniang.

After Muniang and Er Liang left the village elder’s house, Er Liang was still panicked and frantic. Muniang’s face had been rubbed red by him, and despite his ineptitude in offering comforting words, he kept repeating the same phrase, “My lady, don’t cry.” Seeing his silly demeanor, Muniang couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

“You fool, I’m not really crying. Why are you so worked up?”

Er Liang was taken aback, “Not really crying? But you were shedding tears.”

“For me, that’s not hard at all. If you don’t believe me, shall I cry again for you?” Muniang said with a smile.

“No, no need, my lady. Please don’t cry,” Er Liang quickly gestured with his hands.

“How can you be so silly? You don’t even know how to wipe a girl’s tears or to make her happy. Haven’t you ever seen a woman before?” Muniang teased him.

As she spoke, she suddenly felt a tinge of melancholy. What was Er Liang’s past like? Did he ever have a woman he loved? Was he just as clumsy in consoling a crying girl? Thinking about this, Muniang’s mood soured.

Er Liang scratched his head, “I don’t know, but sometimes I can do certain things very skillfully, like chopping wood, driving the ox cart, or getting up early out of habit. But when it comes to comforting you, I feel completely inept. My lady, do you think I’m too clumsy?”

Muniang burst out laughing, dispelling all prior gloom. She looped her arm through Er Liang’s, her smiling eyes creasing into curves, “I don’t mind it at all.”

Er Liang was somewhat befuddled. How could his lady switch moods faster than flipping through a book?

He had no idea of Muniang’s little schemes. His awkwardness meant he hadn’t done it before; he was hers, and his best would only be shown to her alone! Yes, she was that possessive!

After the busy ordeal, Muniang still had her big financial plans in mind and decided to head up the mountain with Er Liang carrying a carrying basket. Perhaps they would stumble upon a new discovery.

The lush trees and shrubs blanketed the mountain, wild branches and leaves obstructing the narrow pathways, some even thorny. Er Liang walked in front, clearing the path with a sickle, chopping down the obstructing foliage so that Muniang could follow with ease, scanning everywhere for anything that might be valuable.

“Eh, Muniang, Er Liang, you’re also heading up the mountain?” Li Cheng looked at them in surprise. Accompanying him was a robust man, Wang Qiang, the village’s hunter.