The Farmer’s Wife has a Magical Spiritual Spring
The Farmer’s Wife has a Magical Spiritual Spring Chapter 106

Chapter 106: Aunt Hua and Niu Dabao

Zhao Dazhu’s wife shouted loudly, her eyes burning with envy at the sudden wealth of Shen Zi’an’s family. First, it was the ox cart, then the big house and large garden. These were all things she coveted, but they ended up in the hands of the former sickly jinx whom she had once looked down upon. It felt like a fire was burning in her heart, turning her eyes red.

Oh, how wonderful it would be if it were all hers!

This thought crossed Zhao Dazhu’s wife’s mind more than once. Living next to the Shen family, every time she saw them, she was reminded of Shen Zi’an and Su Zhi, and of the good life they led.

Originally, Zhao Dazhu’s wife only wanted to please Su Zhi and Shen Zi’an, improve their relationship, and get some benefits from them later. After all, they were not relatives, not even neighbors anymore, just fellow villagers. There wasn’t much reason to take advantage of them. But now, she saw this as an opportunity. At this moment, she wasn’t thinking about her son Tiedan’s safety; all she cared about was the chance for her own wealth given by the heavens!

“My son Tiedan really had a close call, but he also lost half his life. He’s so young, falling into an icy hole on such a cold day, he’s bound to have lingering health issues. You all have to support him for the rest of his life!”

Zhao Dazhu’s wife finally revealed her plan, glaring at Su Zhi with her bulging toad-like eyes. She didn’t dare to glare at Shen Zi’an; after all, he was someone who had killed a tiger. And thinking back to how he had just shaken her off, she felt a lingering fear in her heart. Naturally, she had to target Su Zhi, whom she saw as an easy target. This woman had been called a jinx before, and she had brought that wolf here. As long as she blamed her, Shen Zi’an and Su Zhi would definitely be implicated!

Li Qing’s wife chuckled when she heard this, mocking, “Zhao Dazhu’s wife, are you not only hoping for Su Zhi to raise Tiedan, but also thinking about having them support your whole family?”

Zhao Dazhu interjected, “I only have one son. If he can’t even support himself, how can he support us? Naturally, they have to take care of us too.”

Zhao Dazhu was just as envious of Shen Zi’an’s family’s good fortune. When he went to the house-warming that day and saw the furniture and decorations inside, and tasted the delicious food that seemed to flow endlessly, served in three rounds, he calculated how much money it must have cost. Without even counting, he knew that Shen Zi’an was truly wealthy. He had also dreamed of such days, enjoying fish and meat every day, living in a good house. Now, he couldn’t afford to miss this opportunity!

Inside the Zhao family’s house, there were quite a few people who had just rushed in when Zhao Dazhu and his wife hurried back with their son. They had taken advantage of the chaos to follow inside and hadn’t left since. Now, listening to Zhao Dazhu and his wife’s words, they were all stunned, thinking that this couple was shameless!

Zhao Feng had also followed along by now. Standing aside, she said, “Oh my! Zhao family, you’re quite calculating, aren’t you? Your son Tiedan fell into the river, but it wasn’t Shen brothers and Su Zhi who threw him in. Why do you blame them? He’s not even dead yet, nor did he lose any limbs. Why should others take care of him? And why should they take care of your whole family? Are you still dreaming?”

Zhao Feng was good-looking and outspoken. Her words were crisp and loud, ringing out in the room. Although she didn’t show any signs of mockery on her face, her words were laced with sarcasm.

The bystanders also chimed in, feeling that Zhao Dazhu and his wife were being too much. They were all from farming families, and although some were envious of Shen Zi’an’s sudden prosperity, none had resorted to the level of mooching that Zhao Dazhu and his wife had. They felt embarrassed for this couple.

Li Qing frowned and said, “Dazhu, Dazhu’s wife, let’s not jump to conclusions about the Sacred Beast chasing Tiedan into the river. The Sacred Beast can do no wrong. If the brother Shen don’t want to compensate, you can take them to court, but even the authorities would side with the Sacred Beast. If brother Shen and his wife are willing to pay for medical expenses and some compensation for Tiedan’s recovery, that would already be going above and beyond. Don’t be too greedy.”

Shen Shugen, Shen Zifu, and Shen Zigui also added their opinions from the side.

“You’re all favoring Shen Zi’an and his wife because you have good relations with them! You’re all teaming up to bully us! I can’t go on living!”

Zhao Dazhu’s wife immediately started crying when she saw everyone siding with Shen Zi’an and his wife.

Auntie Li shouted from the side, “What are you crying for?! My grandson isn’t dead yet! If you keep crying, you’ll cry yourself to death! Shut up! This matter is settled. Even if they want to blame us, they can’t escape!”

Zhao Xiaohua also chimed in, “That’s right. Sister-in-law, now everyone speaking up for them is on their side. What are you afraid of? If they want to bully us because we have fewer people, they’re dreaming.”

Zhao Dazhu’s wife immediately grabbed Zhao Xiaohua’s hand and said, “Mother-in-law, sister, you have to help me! Tiedan is the only hope of our Zhao family now. We can’t let him bear this accident for nothing. Just thinking about him suffering for the rest of his life breaks my heart—”

Zhao Xiaohua wanted to pull her hand away in disgust. She had just seen her sister-in-law wiping her nose with her hand, so dirty!

Shugen’s Wife had been silent on the sidelines the whole time. Now, she looked at this family, with such deep bonds between mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, sisters-in-law, and said, “Auntie Li, I remember Zhao Dazhu was adopted out, right? Technically, he’s your nephew, and Tiedan is your great-nephew. Zhao Dazhu’s wife shouldn’t be calling you mother-in-law; she should be calling you aunt-in-law. Calling each other all this mess is really disrespectful to Old Uncle Zhao.”

“In this village, once a child is adopted out, they belong to someone else, and the titles must change accordingly. Although some people have good relationships with their biological parents and may call them ‘father’ and ‘mother’ in private, it’s only acceptable when no one else is around to judge. If people start to take notice, it can lead to gossip.”

Su Zhi observed the expressions of Auntie Li and the others, as well as the faces of the people around them, and couldn’t help but think that Shugen Wife’s sudden intervention was quite remarkable. She was no less impressive than Li Qing’s wife and Zhao Feng.

Auntie Li said, “Our great-nephew is also a member of the Zhao family, and I must speak up for him! Li Zheng, you’re here too. What do you think we should do about this? Our village has always been peaceful. If it weren’t for Shen Zi’an’s wife inviting the Sacred Beast, how could this have happened? The Sacred Beast stayed in the mountains without causing any trouble, but as soon as she invited it down, this happened. They are entirely to blame for this incident. You have to take our side!”

Li Zheng replied, “The Sacred Beast has never disturbed the villagers while it was in the mountains. Since it came down, everyone has seen its spirituality. But we need to investigate this incident thoroughly. We can’t just rely on one side of the story. I heard that the first people to see Tiedan fall into the ice hole were Auntie Hua and Dabao. Let them explain what happened.”

“Dabao, can you tell us what happened?”

Shen Shugen asked Brother Dabao, who was a straightforward person unlike his mother, and was sure not to lie. He wanted to know if his account was reliable compared to Auntie Hua’s.

Auntie Hua wanted to speak but was stopped by Auntie Jinhua.

Dabao was tall and sturdy, clearly an honest man. He scratched his head and said, “I was gathering firewood when I heard the kids shouting that someone had fallen into the ice hole. I knew we needed a stick to pull them out, so I ran home to get one. When I came back and reached the riverbank, I saw an ice hole in the middle of the river. The Sacred Beast was holding Tiedan’s clothes and pulling him up. When it saw me, it dropped Tiedan on the side and left.”

Dabao’s eyes lit up at the thought of the Sacred Beast. He had never seen such a beautiful wolf before.

Su Zhi and Shen Zi’an had remained silent all along. As the parties involved, Su Zhi felt that speaking too much would only deepen the conflict, so she stayed quiet. Moreover, listening to the Zhao family talk, she felt they were living in a dreamland. Trying to reason with them would be futile, so she waited for them to embarrass themselves before speaking up. Now that Li Zheng had started investigating the matter, she decided to speak.

“Brother Dabao, are you saying that when you returned home, your mother came out with you? Did both of you see the Sacred Beast pulling Tiedan out of the ice hole?”

When Su Zhi called him “Brother Dabao” with a smile, Dabao’s face turned red. Thankfully, he had a dark complexion; otherwise, he would have been embarrassed. He had gone to help Shen Zi’an’s family build their house and had known Su Zhi was a gentle person. After tasting her cooking, he thought she was a good woman. He even wished to marry someone like her in the future. Realizing that he had caused trouble for Su Zhi today, Dabao was determined to answer her questions truthfully, hoping not to upset Shen Zi’an and Su Zhi.

“Yes, my mother and I saw the Sacred Beast pull Tiedan out of the ice hole. It wasn’t me who said the Sacred Beast chased Tiedan into the river. Really, it wasn’t me,” Dabao said anxiously, his face reddening.

Shen Shugen interjected, “It was your mother who said it.”

“Yeah, it was Auntie Hua who said it. She said the Sacred Beast chased Tiedan into the river and that you pulled him out!”

“That’s right, Auntie Hua said the same to me.”

“If the Sacred Beast chased Tiedan into the river, why didn’t anyone see the Sacred Beast there? It turns out the Sacred Beast left after pulling him out!”

“Was it really the Sacred Beast that chased Tiedan into the river?”

Upon learning this truth, the crowd looked at Auntie Hua with disdain while discussing whether it was indeed the Sacred Beast that chased Tiedan into the river.

Upon hearing that it was the white wolf who pulled Tiedan out of the river, Su Zhi became even more certain that the white wolf didn’t chase Tiedan into the river. Initially, Tiedan was quite scared of the Sacred Beast, but later, he wasn’t as afraid. At least he wouldn’t turn and run away immediately. As long as the white wolf didn’t chase him, he wouldn’t have fallen into the river. And if it was indeed chased by the white wolf, in anger, the white wolf wouldn’t have rescued him. Wolves are smart but also ruthless creatures, even the Sacred Beast is no exception.

Leave A Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

@

error: Content is protected !!