“How pitiful, this daughter is too pitiful. She’s never been favored by her family, treated like a wild child. Now she’s burned and become foolish, how will she live in the future? I’m afraid she won’t survive.”
Unexpectedly, a shrewish old woman said, “She’s probably pretending to be foolish to avoid losing her clothes and getting beaten.”
A few people agreed with this old woman’s words, and they all nodded, thinking that Chu Xiao might indeed be in such a situation.
Old Woman Feng glared fiercely at Feng Chuxiao, then grabbed a large wooden stick from beside the pigsty and swung it at the frail girl.
Feng Chuxiao quickly dodged behind the shrewish old woman and looked at Old Woman Feng in confusion, saying, “I don’t even know you, why are you hitting me?”
The shrewish old woman turned sideways, trying to pull Feng Chuxiao out, but she couldn’t even touch the corner of Feng Chuxiao’s clothes.
Old Woman Feng became even angrier. She swung the stick down, missing Feng Chuxiao but hitting the shrewish old woman instead.
The shrewish old woman cried out in pain, “Ouch!” then raised her withered, bark-like hand to hit Old Woman Feng, “You old, immortal, cheap slut! Why did you hit me?”
Seeing the two wicked old women fighting, Feng Chuxiao ran to the side. She grabbed a middle-aged woman and asked, “Auntie, do you know me? How old am I, and am I part of this family?”
The middle-aged woman looked at Feng Chuxiao with a complex expression and sighed, “You are their family’s child. Your name is Feng Chuxiao. You are sixteen or seventeen this year? I can’t say for sure.”
She thought for a moment but still couldn’t determine Feng Chuxiao’s age, so she changed the subject, “Although you are their family’s child… your parents and grandparents don’t treat you well. Alas, what will you do in the future?”
Another Auntie looked at Feng Chuxiao with pity, “Poor child, I am your Aunt Liu. It doesn’t matter if you recognize people or not. Just be more mindful in the future and don’t work without eating.”
Damn it! As if the original host didn’t want to eat! She definitely couldn’t get any food!
“Mhm, mhm, I’ll listen to Aunt Liu. From now on, I’ll just eat and not work,” Feng Chuxiao nodded obediently.
Aunt Liu was taken aback by her words. That wasn’t what she meant, was it?
Old Woman Feng, who had just stopped fighting, heard this and became even more furious.
She shifted her anger to Aunt Liu and cursed at her, “You slut, don’t corrupt my girl!”
Aunt Liu was not to be outdone. She slapped her thigh and said, “You heartless, dead old woman! We just helped you put out the fire, and we even used up all our water. We are your benefactors, and now you’re cursing me? I’ll rip your mouth apart!”
Old Woman Feng was at a disadvantage and was slapped several times by Aunt Liu.
At this moment, the Brigade Leader returned with over a dozen strong men from Wangjia Village. They had seen the sky ablaze from the fields and thought someone’s house must be on fire, so they rushed back to help. They didn’t expect these old women to be so capable, as the fire had already been extinguished.
However, the Brigade Leader still asked with a stern expression, “Whose house caught fire? What happened?”
Old Woman Feng immediately said, “My house caught fire!”
She then pointed at Feng Chuxiao and said hatefully, “This little cheap slut set the fire! Hurry and arrest her for a struggle session!”
The Brigade Leader looked at the girl, who was as thin as skin and bones and timidly avoided his gaze. He couldn’t believe it. If she had the guts, she would have resisted long ago instead of being tormented to this state.
Aunt Liu, who had just fought with Old Woman Feng, defended Feng Chuxiao, “Don’t listen to this dead old woman’s nonsense. Chu Xiao had a high fever today and fainted by the river. It was the Brigade Leader’s daughter who carried her back.
The Feng family left this child in the kitchen to fend for herself. She was so burned that she became foolish. If she hadn’t woken up and run out, she would have been burned to death!”
Feng Chuxiao thought to herself, I don’t want to be burned to death, please don’t curse me!
Another Auntie also said, “Old Woman Feng is indeed talking nonsense. Chu Xiao has always lived in the kitchen. Her clothes and bedding are in the kitchen. Even if she’s foolish, she couldn’t have set the fire.”
“Chu Xiao is just foolish, she doesn’t recognize anyone, she doesn’t even know who she is!”
Old Woman Feng insisted on blaming Feng Chuxiao, and she cried hoarsely, “Only she was in the kitchen at the time, if she didn’t set the fire, who did? Why wasn’t this broom star burned to death!”
The Brigade Leader looked at Feng Chuxiao again. He couldn’t tell if she was foolish or not; she still had that timid look, afraid to meet anyone’s eyes.
Did she know to resist?
He turned to Old Woman Feng and said in a deep voice, “Aunt Feng, Chu Xiao has earned quite a few work points normally. You should at least buy her some medicine. If she really becomes foolish or something happens to her in the future, your family will earn significantly fewer work points. Calculate which is more worthwhile.”
Old Woman Feng’s little brain thought about it, then calculated the accounts. This dead girl did earn more than she consumed. If she became foolish and couldn’t work in the future, it would indeed be a loss.
She glanced at the burned kitchen, cursed, and returned to the main hall. After entering the house, she closed the door from the inside, as if afraid someone would see where she hid her money.
Feng Chuxiao silently counted in her heart: One, two, three…
“Ah! Which damn person stole my money!”
Everyone at the main door heard Old Woman Feng’s sharp scream, and then they all rushed into the courtyard.
“Old Woman Feng, what are you shouting about?”
“What’s wrong, what’s wrong? Why are you wailing like that?”
The door was suddenly opened from the inside. Old Woman Feng looked at the people who had just helped put out the fire with a ferocious expression, “Who among you just stole my family’s money? Hand it over quickly, or I’ll fight you to the death!”
Everyone exchanged glances, thinking that Old Woman Feng might have truly gone mad.
“Old Woman Feng, everyone was busy putting out the fire just now, who stole your money?”
“That’s right, you old woman are too unreasonable. We kindly helped, and now we’ve gotten into trouble. This is infuriating!”
The Brigade Leader looked at Old Woman Feng’s expression and felt that she wasn’t just making a scene; it seemed she had really lost money. So he asked, “Aunt Feng, tell us properly what happened?”
Old Woman Feng’s face was uglier than if her own father had died. She staggered to the Brigade Leader, grabbed his sleeve, and said with a mournful voice, “All my money is gone! I checked it this morning, but now it’s gone. So, those people must have taken the opportunity to sneak into the house and take my money!
Brigade Leader! You must get my money back, or I won’t live! Wuwuwu… that’s several hundred yuan!”
The people who helped put out the fire were furious upon hearing Old Woman Feng’s words!
“You dead old woman, why do you slander people as soon as you open your mouth? We were all busy putting out the fire, who went into your house?”
“If I had known, I wouldn’t have helped put out the fire. It would have been better if your whole house had burned down!”
Some people cursed even more harshly, “You shameless old slut, why weren’t you burned to death first?”
“Ah! Several hundred yuan!”
“Old Woman Feng, you have so much money, yet you’re unwilling to spend it on your granddaughter’s medical treatment. You’re just too stingy!”
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