Chapter 45

With Meng Xuan’s departure, people in the brigade started openly discussing the matters involving Lu Chen, Lu Dashan, and Meng Yinyin.

Before, people had been afraid to gossip because of Meng Xuan’s presence. Everyone was scared that if they spoke behind his back, Meng Xuan would find out and cause trouble.

They had all seen how Meng Xuan helped Lu Chen and made sure Lu Dashan was stripped of everything. Everyone respected Meng Xuan and feared him.

But people are naturally curious, and now that Meng Xuan had left, they couldn’t hold back anymore.

“Now, Lu Chen really has turned his life around. He got the nice house back, and now he has a beautiful partner. His brother-in-law is even in the army. Tsk tsk, who would have thought that the Lu Chen everyone used to look down on would end up like this?”

“I don’t envy other things, but I really envy that house. I heard that Lu Dashan and his wife even paid him several hundred yuan in cash. I can’t even imagine how he’s going to spend all that money!”

Some people lamented that there was too much money to spend, while others retorted.

“How could you not spend it? That money will probably mostly go toward their wedding.”

“Wedding?”

“Of course, now that Meng Yinyin is living with Lu Chen and her brother has already agreed to their relationship, don’t you think their wedding is just around the corner?”

They were already living together. If they didn’t get married, how could things be explained later?

Upon hearing this, the others agreed, saying it made sense. They also started to praise Meng Yinyin for having good taste. They had originally thought she would live a life of hard work with Lu Chen, but who would have thought that so soon, Lu Chen had reclaimed everything.

With such a nice house and so much money, even if Meng Yinyin didn’t work anymore, or even if Lu Chen didn’t work, the money they had would still be enough for them both.

As the conversation continued, envy, jealousy, and hatred grew stronger.

The group of women gossiping were doing laundry by the river, chatting as they passed the time.

Not far from them, a tired-looking woman was hunched over, washing clothes. If someone got closer, they might notice the incredulous look in her eyes as she stared at the clothes in her hands.

Lu Chen and Meng Yinyin were together?

And now they were getting married!?

How could this be possible?

What was going on here?

Wasn’t Lu Chen supposed to like “Lin Xiuzhi” in the original story?

How could he like another woman!

The key issue is that this woman is actually Meng Yinyin, the female supporting character who liked the male lead, Dou Zhengrong, in the original novel!

However, there weren’t many scenes with Meng Yinyin in the original work. Moreover, when Lin Xiuzhi was reading the novel, she was focused on the plot involving the infatuated male supporting character, Lu Chen. She barely paid attention to Meng Yinyin’s storyline and mostly ignored it when it appeared.

The only thing she clearly remembered was that Meng Yinyin was a beautiful woman from a good family, and she also liked the male lead.

A good family and good looks?

Isn’t that the typical setup for a villainous female character in TV shows and novels?

So, even though Lin Xiuzhi hadn’t paid much attention to Meng Yinyin’s story, she didn’t think much of her. Lin Xiuzhi believed that dealing with Meng Yinyin would be easy.

She even thought that if Meng Yinyin, this villainous character, tried to steal Dou Zhengrong from her, she wouldn’t stop her. In fact, she might even be happy to get rid of Dou Zhengrong, who she saw as a hindrance, by letting Meng Yinyin take him.

But what she didn’t expect was that Meng Yinyin, this villainous character, didn’t try to take Dou Zhengrong at all. Instead, she ended up with Lu Chen!

What was going on here?

Lin Xiuzhi had thought that the story hadn’t reached that part yet and kept waiting for Meng Yinyin to make a move, but who would have guessed things would turn out like this!

Feeling agitated, Lin Xiuzhi didn’t even want to continue washing the clothes in her hands. She carelessly wrinkled them and tossed them into the basket before getting up and leaving for home.

Just as she left, the group of women who had been talking about Meng Yinyin and Lu Chen suddenly shifted their conversation. Their gazes unconsciously landed on Lin Xiuzhi, and they began to speak in hushed tones.

“Do you all think Lin Xiuzhi has changed a bit lately?”

“I don’t know, what happened to her?”

“Ah, it’s hard to say. She still looks the same, but there’s something different about her, like she’s become a different person!”

The person who said this lived not far from the Dou family. The sound insulation of the country house was not very good, so once it was quiet around, the neighbors could hear what they said.

Seeing that the neighbor seemed to know something, the people nearby couldn’t help but ask hurriedly.

The neighbor didn’t hold back and quickly shared what she had noticed recently.

Ever since Dou Zhengrong had come back with a limp and Lin Xiuzhi had fallen ill and stayed in bed, the neighbors had noticed that their family seemed to be going through tough times. As a result, they had been giving the couple more attention.

Fortunately, Lin Xiuzhi had recovered quickly from her illness and started to regain her energy. Just as everyone thought that Lin Xiuzhi and Dou Zhengrong’s life would gradually improve, they began to hear complaints from Lin Xiuzhi, who was known in the village for being the most gentle and well-behaved.

Her complaints weren’t too excessive, but she would occasionally say she was tired, that she couldn’t go on much longer, and sometimes she would cry or lose her temper.

“Now that I think about it, it makes sense. After all, if anyone were in Dou Zhengrong’s situation, they’d have a hard time too,” one of the neighbors commented.

Her husband had a limp, their two children were still young, and her in-laws didn’t help out at all. She had to take care of everything by herself. Who wouldn’t feel overwhelmed in that situation?

The neighbor nodded but didn’t say much more. She furrowed her brow.

“At first, I thought she was just venting, maybe just angry for a bit, but listen to this… I even heard her say she wanted to divorce Dou Zhengrong!”

“What? Divorce?”

Divorce was a big deal!

In these times, divorces were extremely rare, especially when it was the woman wanting to leave.

Of course, hearing this from Lin Xiuzhi made it even more shocking.

At that moment, everyone finally understood what the neighbor meant when she said Lin Xiuzhi had changed.

Given Lin Xiuzhi’s usual soft temperament, she would never have brought up divorce, no matter how upset or sad she was. But now, she was talking about divorce, which meant either life with Dou Zhengrong had truly become unbearable, or…

“Could it be that she has someone else?” someone ventured.

Though no one dared to confirm this openly, they all speculated.

“Maybe she was just saying it in anger. Come on, they’ve been through so much. I’m sure they’ll work it out soon.”

The others didn’t take it seriously, but the neighbor couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t something Lin Xiuzhi had just said in passing. She had been very serious when she spoke.

But then again, it wasn’t their business. If Lin Xiuzhi and Dou Zhengrong really got a divorce, what would happen to the two kids? That would be a real tragedy.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiuzhi had no idea that her departure had sparked such gossip. All she could think about was Lu Chen!

Lu Chen was the man she had decided to spend the rest of her life with. How could he possibly be with someone else?

Lu Chen was hers!

The reason she hadn’t gone to find him earlier wasn’t just because she couldn’t leave her current situation. She also wanted to see how far the plot had progressed. Furthermore, she hadn’t felt like herself after recovering from a serious illness. Her spirit was still not quite back. She had planned to take good care of herself and show up in front of Lu Chen with a fresh appearance, hoping to captivate him all over again.

But before she could fully recover, this mess happened.

This Meng Yinyin was indeed a villainous character who loved stealing other people’s things. She was shameless!

When Lin Xiuzhi returned home, unable to suppress her anger, she threw the wooden basin full of clothes onto the ground, nearly spilling everything out.

Inside the house, Dou Zhengrong heard the noise and quickly hobbled out with his crutches. As he walked, he anxiously asked, “What’s wrong, Xiuzhi? What happened?”

His voice was filled with worry, thinking that something had happened to Lin Xiuzhi.

When he came out, he saw that Lin Xiuzhi was standing there unharmed, but her face looked awful.

Lin Xiuzhi was already angry, and seeing Dou Zhengrong limp out made her even more disgusted. If it weren’t for him being a cripple, would she be able to wash clothes, do housework, and be busy every day, leaving herself no time to recuperate properly?

If she had taken the time to rest earlier, she might have met Lu Chen by now and been with him. Instead, Meng Yinyin took him from her.

When Dou Zhengrong saw the disdain in Lin Xiuzhi’s eyes, he paused and then slowly lowered his gaze. He knew Lin Xiuzhi was dissatisfied with him, and he understood that she might not want to live with him anymore.

But he still had two children, and he received some retirement compensation. If he rested a little longer and took care of his health and legs, he would be able to give Lin Xiuzhi and the children a better life one day.

Even if his legs never fully recovered, he wouldn’t give up.

He had told Lin Xiuzhi all of this, but every time they talked seriously, she would respond impatiently, as if she didn’t care what happened to him or whether their future would improve.

Gradually, Dou Zhengrong got used to not talking to Lin Xiuzhi. His personality became quieter, and even when she mocked him, he silently endured it.

Even now, as Lin Xiuzhi looked at him with disgust, as if he was a burden, a useless person, he silently took it.

Sadly, his tolerance and patience only led to Lin Xiuzhi’s increasing anger.

Seeing Dou Zhengrong’s useless appearance, Lin Xiuzhi couldn’t hold back any longer and started to mock him bitterly.

“What’s wrong with me? I’m like an old maid, serving everyone, doing all the work in this house. Do you think I don’t have anything to worry about?”

“Dou Zhengrong, look at yourself! You’re useless, can’t do anything, and I’m the one doing all the work around here. Am I your wife or your servant?”

“I married you, and I haven’t had a single day of peace. A man like you can get a wife? I must have been blind to marry you in the first place!”

“Then there are your two children, so big now, and they don’t help at all. They only run around outside, completely useless. Just seeing them makes me angry!”

At that moment, Dabao and Erbao, carrying two baskets of wild vegetables, had just returned home. They had hoped to let their mother rest and not have to gather vegetables, but as soon as they reached the door, they heard their mother’s angry words, saying she was annoyed just by looking at them.

The two children’s faces changed. They stood at the door, pale, too afraid to enter.

Dou Zhengrong had been silently listening to Lin Xiuzhi’s words, planning to endure until she was finished with her anger. After all, he was a big man with tough skin, and a few harsh words didn’t matter. For the sake of the children and family, he could endure.

The only thing he was grateful for was that the children weren’t home and didn’t hear Lin Xiuzhi scolding him, let alone her disgust for them.

But, unfortunately, the children had returned just in time and overheard their mother’s harsh words.

Seeing the two children standing at the door, their eyes red from tears, Dou Zhengrong’s expression changed. He immediately turned to Lin Xiuzhi and said, “Enough, Xiuzhi, don’t say anymore.”