Font Size:
“Today, I’ll show you whether I dare or not,” Xie Dazhu said, pushing the woman out without giving her any room to maneuver.
The woman stood outside, unable to believe what had just happened. “Xie Dazhu, are you even human? How could you treat me like this?”
Xie Dazhu stood at the doorway, looking at the woman’s unpleasant expression. “I’ve been talking to the village chief for the past two years about buying melon seedlings and seeds. But recently, the village chief told me the truth. It turns out that you’ve been sabotaging other people’s fruit trees and vegetables for the past two years.”
The woman hadn’t expected Xie Dazhu to find out about these things and felt a bit flustered. “She hasn’t said anything, and besides, I haven’t caused any significant losses to their family. What are you talking about?”
Disappointed, Xie Dazhu looked at the woman. “You still don’t realize what you’ve done wrong.”
“Has their family really suffered no losses? It’s just that the losses were minimal, and out of respect for the village chief, they didn’t hold us accountable. Are you still self-satisfied, thinking that they don’t know anything about this?”
The woman didn’t say anything, but she did indeed feel this way, believing that Wang Jinhe’s family was unaware of everything. If they knew, how could they let her off? That’s why she would periodically go and destroy things.
“Have you ever thought about what will happen to our children in the future when you do these things?”
“The other children in the village go to school, but our son has to stay at home and help with work because we can’t afford it. Do you know how envious he is of the other children in the village?”
“While others can have meat every other day, we struggle to have enough to eat. When other children wear new clothes, our kids can only wear patched ones. Why do our children stay at home all the time and not go out? Because they are too embarrassed to go out,” the three children told him.
It was at this moment that he realized how serious the problem was. While the other children in the village were doing better and better, their family was still in the same situation. How could his son play with others? Even if he did, would they still accept him?
“Dazhu, I know I was wrong. I’ll change,” she said, realizing that Xie Dazhu was serious this time. She was truly afraid. If she were sent back to her parents’ home, she would surely be kicked out directly. Her sister-in-law didn’t like her at all, and if she went back, she wouldn’t have such a good life anymore.
However, this time Xie Dazhu didn’t listen to her. “Chai Shi, get out.”
Chai Shi was completely panicked. “Dazhu, please forgive me for the sake of our three children. I promise I won’t do it again.”
Xie Dazhu completely ignored Chai Shi and, after informing the three children, went to the village chief’s house.
Seeing Xie Dazhu, Xie Kui was not surprised at all. “What brings you here today?”
Xie Dazhu looked at Xie Kui with a wry smile. “Village chief, can you still not guess why I’m here?”
“I only recently found out about the things that woman has been doing. It’s all my fault. If I had known earlier, things wouldn’t have come to this,” Xie Dazhu said.
“What do you plan to do?” Xie Kui asked.
Xie Dazhu hesitated for a moment, but then spoke up. “I’ve sent her back.”
“You want to divorce her?” Xie Kui asked in surprise.
Xie Dazhu ran his hand through his hair and said with a bitter smile, “I don’t know. My parents passed away a few years ago, and the children were still young. I…”
“All your children are good and can help with simple tasks. If you want to see her attitude, continue like this. If she truly realizes her mistake, that’s good. But if she only pays lip service and continues to act this way, do you think Xiao He will provide for you?” Wang Jinhe had already helped the village as much as he could, but although she didn’t say much about Chai Shi, Xiao He’s actions had already spoken volumes.
After a long silence, Xie Dazhu nodded. “Village chief, I know what to do now.”
“I’ll talk to Xiao He for you and get some vegetable seeds for your family. While there’s still some time, you can earn some money and send the children to school next year,” Xie Kui said. He knew that Xie Dazhu had already apologized to Wang Jinhe, but he hadn’t realized that Chai Shi was still causing trouble behind his back.
“Thank you, Village Chief.”
After seeing off Xie Dazhu, Xie Kui went to Wang Jinhe’s house.
Wang Jinhe was playing with the two children.
The children were almost four months old, and they were awake for longer periods each day, becoming more fun to be around.
With so many people in the house, there wasn’t much time for her to spend with Su Yu.
“Xiao He, have you been looking after the children? It’s been a while since I’ve seen them, and they’ve grown quite a bit,” Xie Kui said, smiling at the children in the stroller.
“The children are growing fast. Uncle, did you come to see me for something today?” Wang Jinhe asked, surprised.
Xie Kui nodded helplessly. “I can’t hide anything from you. Xie Dazhu found out about what Chai Shi did, and he made her pay the price.”
“He wants to buy some vegetable seeds from you and maybe some melon seedlings next year. He’s talked to me about it many times already,” Xie Kui added.
Wang Jinhe looked at Xie Kui in surprise. “This is the first time you’ve mentioned this to me, isn’t it?”
“Indeed, Chai Shi has been out of line all along, so naturally, I wouldn’t help. I wanted Xie Dazhu to see what kind of person Chai Shi is. Now that he realizes it, I’m willing to come and put in a good word for him,” Xie Kui said apologetically.
Wang Jinhe looked at Xie Kui with a wry smile. “Uncle, you could have told me earlier.”
“I couldn’t allow such troublemakers to cause problems, especially since Chai Shi has repeatedly damaged your property, and it was your generosity that spared their family. I couldn’t let such troublemakers stir up more trouble,” Xie Kui explained.
“Then, as you wish. Since you’ve spoken up, I won’t say much more,” Wang Jinhe said with a smile.
Wang Jinhe asked Qiu Yi to bring over some seeds. “When the time comes, have him send the money over, and as for the melon seedlings, we’ll talk about that next year.”
“Alright, I’ll go and let him know,” Xie Kui said.
Xie Kui took the vegetable seeds to Xie Dazhu’s house. When he arrived, Chai Shi was at the door, crying and causing a scene. Her behavior made Xie Kui feel extremely repulsed.
“What’s all this commotion about?” Xie Kui asked.
“Village Chief, Dazhu insists on sending me back. Please help me persuade him,” Chai Shi said, looking at the Village Chief as if he were her last hope.
Xie Kui squinted at Chai Shi. He couldn’t tell if she truly recognized her mistake or if she simply didn’t want to be sent away.
“What did you do wrong?” Xie Kui asked Chai Shi coldly.
Chai Shi hesitated before speaking. “I… I shouldn’t have sabotaged the fruits and vegetables at Wang Jinhe’s house, but… but their family didn’t suffer much from it, did they?”
Seeing Xie Kui’s silence, Chai Shi spoke again. “Besides, she’s already so wealthy. Does it really matter to her?”
Chai Shi felt that Wang Jinhe was making a big deal out of nothing.