Chapter 342 - 342: Fighting (Missing Episode 339)
Chapter 342 - 342: Fighting (Missing Episode 339)
After the seeds were distributed, the villagers had to start working again. As Jiang Chuan had to work, he didn’t have time to go to the fields to farm. Therefore, the farming tasks at home were all left to Zhou Lan.
Every morning, Zhou Lan would prepare the food for the day and put it in the pot. At noon, Jiang Chuan would come home, heat up the food, and feed their two children. The leftover food would then be packed in a lunch box and delivered to Zhou Lan in the fields.
That afternoon, Jiang Chuan couldn’t deliver food to Zhou Lan because he had something on, so he let Jiang Gu do it.
It was already one o’clock in the afternoon. While other villagers had finished their meal, Zhou Lan was still waiting for her food. She grew impatient, vowing to give Jiang Chuan a piece of her mind for his tardiness when she got home tonight.
Just as she was growing restless, a villager came rushing in, shouting, “Zhou Lan, your young daughter is fighting with someone!”
Hearing this, Zhou Lan, in a panic, dropped her hoe and followed the villager out.
They ran for about half a mile and around a bend in the road. There, Zhou Lan saw her daughter, Jiang Gu, fighting with a girl who was much taller than her. Their fight was intense; their hair disheveled from all the pulling and tugging.
Jiang Gu eventually managed to pin the girl down, distorting her face as she pulled at her cheeks. “I’ll teach you for spreading lies! 1’11 ruin your face!”
Zhou Lan observed the scene for a moment before rushing in to separate the two when she saw the other girl trying to pull Jiang Gu’s hair. The villager who had alerted her pulled the other girl away. Both girls were struggling, tears streaming down their faces.
With a pitiful look, Jiang Gu said to Zhou Lan, “Mom, Wang Niu was bullying others! She was spreading lies about dad, so I had to beat her!”
Zhou Lan knew her daughter’s temperament well. For Jiang Gu to start a fight, Wang Niu must have said something incredibly offensive. Normally, Jiang Gu wasn’t the type to resort to violence.
Wang Niu, a 13-year-old who was twice the size of Jiang Gu, was the daughter of Wang Xing. She was always seen running around the village with two braided pigtails, picking on the smaller children. Moreover, she had inherited her mother’s tendency to gossip and was disliked by many for her loose lips.
First, Zhou Lan checked Jiang Gu for injuries, then tucked the stray strands of her hair behind her ears. “What did Wang Niu say?” Zhou Lan asked.
Jiang Gu replied with a pout, “Wang Niu claimed that dad became the village accountant because he bribed the chief captain. She also said that when dad bought one thousand kilos of seeds, he profited from it at the expense of the village.”
Not to be outdone, Wang Niu retorted, “That’s the truth! Why act on it if you fear it being spoken? My mother also said that your husband shared the money with the chief captain. Otherwise, why would he allow those seeds into the village?”
Zhou Lan was infuriated. So, her husband’s efforts to ensure the villagers had seeds to plant were now being painted as a scheme for personal gain? She knew Wang Xing would be envious of her husband’s position, but she never expected he’d spread such harmful rumors, especially when his daughter was so gossipy.
Zhou Lan looked around, picked up a thick wooden stick, and waved it in the air a few times. Pointing it at Wang Niu, she asked, “Did your father tell you all this?”
Although frightened by the stick, Wang Niu bravely said, “Yes! My mother also said your family is two-faced.”
Zhou Lan laughed sarcastically, “Oh? And how exactly are we two-faced?”
Wang Niu was at a loss for words but stubbornly said, “I don’t know the specifics, I’m just repeating what my mother said.. Your daughter started the fight, she’s no better!”