一夜情

“Could it have something to do with those people again?”

Xie Heng smiled but didn’t answer.

Zhao Chuchu understood.

!!

It made sense. The Yuan clan was a giant in the salt industry. They were so rich that they could probably buy a country. Who wouldn’t want to be as wealthy as them?

Especially for those royal descendants, there are many areas where they might need money.

The Yuan clan was too wealthy. They were equivalent to plump, well-fed goats waiting to be slaughtered and eaten!

“Never mind then. We shouldn’t tell Yuan Hui about this, lest it brings us trouble. Ignoring other things, I’d rather let Junjun have the Yuan clan than become someone else’s cash cow,” Zhao Chuchu said. “Junjun doesn’t have a strong foundation since the Yuan clan is already involved. So we should help Junjun rather than outsiders.”

“You can head to Guangqing Province this time, but don’t tell Yuan Hui the truth. It’s best for her and her mother to continue with this misunderstanding because that’s what those people want,” Xie Heng said softly.

“Okay, I’ll listen to you.”

When the two of them finished washing the vegetables and returned, the fish and chickens had already been delivered to the Xie family.

Xie Heng looked at the groceries that took up half of the courtyard and felt a little troubled. Finally, he said, “Chuchu, take a look. We’ll leave the ones that we can use and give the rest to the other villagers.”

“These are all gifts from Yuan Hui. Can we really just give them away like that?”

“Our house can’t fit this much stuff.”

Chuchu laughed out loud.

“Okay, stop laughing and go pick out the groceries. I’ll go prepare the fish and chicken for cooking.”

Xie Heng touched Zhao Chuchu’s head, then walked into the kitchen to start the fire and boil some water.

Zhao Chuchu called Xie Jun out of his room.

Yuan Hui had sent over way too many things.

Other than rice, noodles, and other common foods, there were also textiles, supplements, candies, and sweets, among other items. There was so much of it that it couldn’t fit in the Xie clan’s house.

Zhao Chuchu picked out everything that she and the Xie brothers could use, as well as the expensive supplements. Then, she distributed the rest to the villagers with whom she had good relationships.

The Zhao clan once again couldn’t do anything but watch as other people benefited from Zhao Chuchu.

The chief of the clan was infuriated, yet he didn’t dare say a single word.

No one dared demand anything from Zhao Chuchu unless they had a death wish.

The chief of the Zhao clan pondered for a long time and decided to speak to old man Zhao.

He said, “I’m not scolding you or anything, but Zhao Chuchu is your granddaughter. Are you just going to watch as she gets close to those outsiders and completely ignores her clan? Do you think this is right? Regardless of what happened, we’re still related by blood. Go find Zhao Chuchu and talk to her.”

Old Man Zhao was befuddled and said, “What am I supposed to say?”

“Tell Zhao Chuchu that as a woman, she can’t be married without her own native family! She has already been mad at us, and I think it’s time for us to put this behind us and reconcile with each other. Otherwise, she’s being unfilial! You and your son raised her. Therefore, it’s her duty to be filial to you and give back to the clan.”

“She has already severed ties with the Zhao clan. How can I speak to her now? That kid is quite a ruthless one. I don’t want to get my leg broken and end up suffering!”

Old Man Zhao rejected the clan chief’s request without a second thought.

So many disasters have happened in the past six months. Old Man Zhao simply wanted to stay as far away as possible from Zhao Chuchu and not get into any trouble.

“You, you’re such a hopeless person. You can’t even control your granddaughter. Are you still a man?” The clan chief was very frustrated by Old Man Zhao’s response. Finally, he said, “Look how well Zhao Chuchu treats outsiders! This should all belong to the Zhao clan, and now, it’s all going into other people’s pockets!”

“Those things belong to her. So what has it got to do with us?” Old Man Zhao spoke in a husky voice. “Besides, Xie Heng was the one who taught her all those things. So she has a good fate!”

“What do you mean, fate? Those things could have belonged to the Zhao clan. Do you want your descendants to continue making a meager living as farmers? As long as you can convince Zhao Chuchu to return, the Zhao clan will never have to live in such hardship anymore.”

“Our ancestors all lived like this and survived just fine, didn’t they? Besides, who can guarantee that Zhao Chuchu’s business ideas can sustain them and let them live a good life forever? So please listen to me. Don’t go and look for her. If you agitate her, she might break your leg too.”

Old Man Zhao tried to convince the clan chief to give up.

The clan chief was infuriated.

“Hopeless, you’re absolutely hopeless! I’m telling you right now. If you don’t get Zhao Chuchu back from today onward, you don’t belong to the Zhao clan either!”

The clan chief stood up and left immediately after saying that.

Old Man Zhao’s expression changed, and he hurriedly ran out and tried to call the clan chief back.

Yet, although the clan chief was quite old, he ran faster than a bunny.

Old Man Zhao returned home, almost wanting to cry.

When Madam Yang saw his expression, she couldn’t help but yell at him. “What’s with that crybaby’s face? Do I owe you something? To whom are you trying to show attitude?”

Old Man Zhao hurriedly explained, “Wife, I wasn’t trying to show you an attitude. It’s just that the clan chief spoke to me just now.”

“Why did that old geezer speak to you? He wants something from our family again?” Madam Yang’s expression turned ugly as she said, “Every time he looks for us, nothing good happens.”

“He…he said that Chuchu helped the other people in the village improve their lives so much, but the Zhao clan received absolutely nothing from her. He said that the Zhao clan deserves those things. He told me to convince Chuchu to come back; otherwise, he’ll chase us out as well.”

“Did that old geezer really say that to you?” Madam Yang suddenly stood up.

“Yeah, but how can I possibly talk to Chuchu? What if she breaks my legs as well?”

“That old useless idiot. Can’t he speak to that demon himself if he wants something from her? Why is he asking us to do it? And then? They’re going to get all the benefits from it? I’m going to go reason with them right now. If it weren’t for that rotten idiot giving us all those disastrous ideas back then, Chuchu wouldn’t be so distant from us now.”

Madam Yang pushed all the blame onto the clan chief, then walked toward the door, intending to reason with him.

Old Man Zhao hurriedly stopped her. “But that’s what everyone is thinking now. They might chase us out if we try to argue with him.”

Old Man Zhao was scared too.

A family without its clan is like a tree without its roots. No one will help them if they get bullied.

“How dare he? I’m going to reason with him. Who does he think he is?”

...

Madam Yang was extremely cowardly in front of Zhao Chuchu, but she didn’t know fear in front of anyone else.

Her two sons stood at the side and didn’t dare say anything.

Madam Yang got even madder. She shoved Old Man Zhao aside and dashed out of the door.

“I’m going to ask that old geezer what he’s trying to do!”

“Wait, don’t go!”

Old Man Zhao ran after her as he called out to his sons, “Come and help stop your mother!”

But Madam Yang had already disappeared when Old Man Zhao ran out of the door.

He had no choice but to run toward the clan chief’s house.

Before he reached the clan chief’s house, he heard Madam Yang yelling. “You old geezer. If you want Zhao Chuchu’s things, why don’t you talk to her yourself? What gives you the right to order our family to do it for you? Oh, so you get all the good stuff while we suffer all the bad consequences?

“I’m telling you, I’ve been putting up with you for a very long time, you rotten old idiot. You were the one who severed ties with Zhao Chuchu back then, and now you’re asking us to convince her to come back? Why don’t you do it yourself if you’re so smart and capable? Why are you hiding behind us like a coward?”

Old Man Zhao gasped. This was really bad.

...

The chief clan’s wife was a very loud and brazen woman when she was young.

When she heard Madam Yang coming to their door and scolding them, she wouldn’t just sit and listen. She immediately dashed out and started fighting with Madam Yang.

For a while, the shrieks and screams of the two women echoed throughout Lengshui village.

By the time Niu Tongsheng arrived, the two families were in an all-out war. No one could separate them.