Chapter 6 Isn’t this too similar?

Liang Mancang was about to agree wholeheartedly, but then suddenly paused. His eyes twinkled with a sly thought, and he chuckled, “Sister Xiu, since you want me to help, don’t you think you should give a little in return?”

Ji Xixi was furious. She hadn’t expected Liang Mancang to be so opportunistic. No wonder, at his age, no woman was willing to marry him—he wasn’t a good guy.

【001, does Liang Mancang have any gossip? Give me something funny.】
【Let me check… Ah, got it. Liang Mancang has a serious habit of sleepwalking. Just the night before last, he ran to the commune pigsty and slept hugging a sow all night, snoring soundly. In the morning, the pigsty manager, Old Li, had to wake him up. Fearing that Old Li would spread the story, he blocked Old Li’s mouth with a cigarette.】

【Hahaha… he snored, the sow snored—so they basically had a duet all night! That’s hilarious.】

Zhang Xiu struggled to suppress a smirk and leaned close to Liang Mancang’s ear. “Brother Mancang, I can keep quiet about the night you slept hugging the sow in the pigsty.”

Liang Mancang, whose smile had just been smug, immediately dropped his jaw, looking at her in disbelief. “You… how did you know?”

Zhang Xiu said, “Brother Mancang, I just happened to get up early in the morning and saw it by chance. Don’t worry, I won’t say a word.”

Caught in the act, Liang Mancang had no choice but to help her, though he was very annoyed inside.

Su Qing, noticing Zhang Xiu talking with a man for a while, impatiently urged, “Zhang Xiu, what are you doing? Stop dawdling—we’re all waiting for your apology.”

Zhang Xiu turned back. “Apologize for what? I didn’t do anything wrong. You should apologize to me instead.”

Su Qing was so angry she laughed. “Me apologize? You stole my wallet and want me to apologize? Are you crazy?”

Zhang Xiu replied, “You think no one saw it back then?”

Su Qing’s eyes widened. “Nonsense! There was no one on the road at that time.”

Zhang Xiu said, “No one on the road doesn’t mean no one elsewhere.”

Liang Mancang stepped forward weakly. “Our house is higher up, and the toilet faces that road. When I came out of the toilet, I saw Zhang Xiu pick up your wallet to return it, but you grabbed her and dragged her to the main road.”

Wu Youqian rushed over, speaking sharply, “You two must be in cahoots, conspiring just now!”

Su Qing echoed him, “Right! How convenient that you just happened to see it!”

Zhang Xiu said, “See? You say you have a witness, I say I have a witness—why don’t you believe me?”

Du Yushu came out holding a tea cup and looked at them. “Since you both have witnesses, why don’t you report it to the public security?”
(I really don’t want to judge this case!)

Su Qing said, “No way. She and her witness must be working together. I don’t recognize this witness.”

Zhang Xiu replied, “Fine, I don’t recognize your witness either.”

The crowd murmured again.

“Liang Mancang once wanted to marry Zhang Xiu. Could he really be lying to help her this time?”
“I think that stranger woman is lying. Why should her claim that Zhang Xiu stole the wallet be true? Her witness is her fiancé, he can say whatever she wants.”
“But Zhang Xiu has always stayed in the village. She has no connection with that person. Why would someone frame her out of the blue? Flies don’t bite seamless eggs—she must be guilty herself.”
“Just now Zhang Xiu was whispering to Liang Mancang. She’s pretty, so she loves seducing people, don’t you remember? Maybe she agreed to some condition just now.”

“—Liang Mancang, the audacity! An ugly toad trying to eat a swan—looks awful but thinks big.”

A sharp voice came from the back of the crowd. Wan Chunhua angrily pushed through, her claw-like hand grabbing Zhang Xiu’s wrist. With a scowl, she yelled, “Zhang Xiu, you flirtatious girl! How dare you seduce people? I’ll beat you when we get home!”

She wanted a high bride price for her daughter—if Zhang Xiu lost her virginity, her value would drop. She had just been notified that Zhang Xiu caused trouble, so she came running while scolding her. Hearing that Zhang Xiu wanted to seduce Liang Mancang, a bald man, infuriated her.

But Zhang Xiu didn’t act scared or obedient like before. She forcefully broke free from Wan Chunhua’s grip and stepped aside. Wan Chunhua rushed forward to hit her.

“Stop! Trying to hit someone at the entrance of the team office? Wan Chunhua, I think you need ideological education,” Du Yushu said sternly.

“No, I didn’t mean to hit anyone! I just wanted to pull my daughter away so she wouldn’t be deceived.” Wan Chunhua waved her hands. She was bold at home and in the village, but still feared the team leader.

“Just stand there. We’re judging the case here; don’t interfere.”

“All right, all right, I’ll stand here.”

Su Qing looked at Wan Chunhua and felt increasingly familiar. —This old woman… why does she look somewhat like her?

Not just her; the surrounding crowd also noticed, glancing back and forth between their faces.

“That flat nose, those drooping eyes—so ugly, yet so similar?”
“Exactly! I just thought this woman looked familiar, and now that Wan Chunhua is here, I know why.”

“Wan Chunhua’s drooping eyes are truly one of a kind in the village. If these two don’t have some connection, not even a ghost would believe it.”

Wan Chunhua’s head was boiling from hearing the gossip. She looked up at Su Qing, her eyes wide and bright like light bulbs. —My goodness! Su Qing had perfectly inherited all her features—the flat nose and drooping eyes, perfectly replicated. Even the way she rolled her eyes was identical; so small eyes, yet such a dramatic roll—impressive! Wan Chunhua recognized her at a glance.

Su Qing looked exactly like Wan Chunhua when she was young—both so beautiful. Seeing Su Qing dressed so elegantly, she must be living very well in the city. Indeed, the child swap back then was the right choice. Now Su Qing was a wife in the city. When the time came, she could help Wan Chunhua’s son Zhang Lang find a good job, and perhaps their family could move to the city to live well too.

Thinking this, Wan Chunhua’s heart bubbled with excitement, her gaze toward Su Qing filled with greed, like she had spotted a treasure mountain.

Su Qing, however, was disgusted by her gaze. The old woman in front of her was dirty, smelly, dark-skinned, overweight, with yellow teeth, grinning at her in a flattering way. The thought that this old woman might be her biological mother made her want to vomit. She could never compare to Madam Su.

Wan Chunhua, trying to leave a good impression in front of Su Qing, spoke first: “No matter what happens, it’s definitely our Zhang Xiu, that wretched girl’s fault. I apologize to you on her behalf.”

Wu Youqian followed up, “See, her mother admits it herself, so the wallet theft must be hers.”

Wan Chunhua tried hard to widen her eyes and shouted loudly, “Stole a wallet? That wretched girl Zhang Xiu is always stealing things at home, and now she dares to steal a wallet outside? I’ll teach her a lesson when we get home.”