Shen Nian laughed loudly twice, grabbed a handful of straw, and scattered it over her head, spinning around like a madwoman.
Who couldn’t pretend to be crazy? She absolutely didn’t want to marry an old bald man.
A few men stood there dumbfounded. A young girl, clean and nicely dressed, looked pretty—but clearly not very bright.
She had given Old Man Liu a stew with rat poison and potatoes, nearly ruining the whole village feast.
On the way back, Shen Nian hopped and skipped, shouting at the top of her lungs.
“小 cabbage, the field turns yellow; two or three years old, mother’s gone; dear mother, dear mother! With father, life’s bearable; but fear father, marry stepmother…”
The group exchanged glances. After more than an hour, they finally arrived at Ping’an Village.
At the village entrance, a group of children saw Shen Nian returning and bolted into the village like their feet were greased.
“Oh no! Oh no! The crazy girl from the Shen family is back!”
Shen Nian paused for a moment and looked up at the familiar yet strange earthen house at the village entrance.
Shen family, great-aunt is back!
Seeing Shen Nian, the children scattered like they’d seen a plague, screaming and running as if invaders had arrived.
Shen Nian, seeing how fast they ran, broke away from the group and chased after them like a hunting dog after a rabbit.
Those who had escorted her were caught off guard and hurriedly tried to catch up.
But none of them could match Shen Nian’s “crazy” speed. They panted heavily, watching helplessly as her figure disappeared from sight.
Old Man Liu had scraped together and borrowed the money for the bride price. If the “madwoman” escaped, wouldn’t all that money be wasted?
Thinking about losing both the woman and the money, Old Man Liu somehow found the strength to leap forward.
Mrs. Wang, sunbathing at the village entrance, saw this scene, dropped her sunflower seeds, and ran toward the Shen family home.
“Dahua! Bad news! Old Man Liu is bringing Shen Nian back!”
Mrs. Wang’s loud voice was like a thunderclap. Wang Dahua, who was at the stove sneaking a taste of chicken, flinched and dropped the meat.
The pot on the stove was bubbling with chicken, filling the air with a rich aroma.
Startled, she turned her head. “What did you say?”
“It’s true! She’s already at the village entrance.”
Wang Dahua’s heart pounded. After sending the “madwoman” away, she had finally relaxed for two days, thinking Old Man Liu had settled things with her.
She had even prepared a chicken to celebrate, but now that ill-fated girl had been returned intact.
“Impossible. She’s already married off. Bringing her back won’t work.”
Wang Dahua didn’t even take off her apron before rushing to the yard entrance, where she saw Old Man Liu leading the village chief, followed by two burly men, escorting Shen Nian.
Shen Nian swayed her head, hair messy, giggling foolishly—still the image of a madwoman.
But Wang Dahua felt her heart skip a beat and turned to rush inside.
Once inside, she shouted: “Quick! Move the pot!”
Shen Dafu, sitting in the main room smoking, quickly stubbed out his cigarette. Shen Lan also rushed out from the inner room. Father and daughter scrambled to lift the pot of chicken.
But just touching the pot handles, they yelped from the heat. The fire under the pot hadn’t been extinguished—it wasn’t something they could just lift and move.
Mrs. Wang watched anxiously.
“It’s too late. Lock the door and hide at our place first.”
Wang Dahua, afraid Old Man Liu would demand the 200-yuan bride price, grabbed Shen Dafu and Shen Lan and dragged them to Mrs. Wang’s house.
They hurriedly locked the gate. Before leaving, Shen Lan cast one last glance at the kitchen, drooling at the smell of chicken.
Just as they entered Mrs. Wang’s yard, Old Man Liu’s loud voice rang from outside.
“Shen Dafu! Wang Dahua! Come out and bring her back! That crazy girl wets the bed and breaks things at my place—I can’t handle it!”
Outside, Old Man Liu pounded the door, stomping angrily when no one answered.
“Shen Dafu is hiding on purpose, isn’t he?”
The village chief frowned, about to speak, when Shen Nian, who had kept her head lowered, suddenly lifted it.
Her gaze was sharp and clear—there was no trace of her previous foolishness.
But the look only lasted a moment before returning to a dazed state.
Her eyes scanned the base of the wall by the gate and spotted a firewood axe, the wooden handle worn smooth and shiny.
“Heh… hehe…”
Shen Nian let out a strange laugh, suddenly broke free from Old Man Liu’s grip, and snatched the axe.
Old Man Liu jumped back in fright, and the village chief also dodged aside. The two men about to intervene froze as Shen Nian swung the axe, smashing it into the gate.
With a “crack,” the copper lock fell, and the wooden gate was split open.
She waved the axe, staggered into the yard, leaving everyone at the gate staring in shock.
“This… this crazy girl is crazier than ever!”
Old Man Liu looked dazed. “Chief, we can’t go in. What if she hurts someone?”
The village chief was equally troubled and could only have everyone wait outside, occasionally peeking in.
Shen Nian entered the yard and glanced toward the kitchen. The smell of chicken wafted into her nose.
A cold smile curved on her lips. Wang Dahua really knows how to enjoy herself—first she sent me away, then cooked chicken to eat.
What a black-hearted person!
Instead of heading to the kitchen first, she went straight to Wang Dahua’s bedroom.
She remembered from the original owner’s memory that Wang Dahua had a wooden box hidden under the bed in the brick gap, containing saved private money and grain and cloth coupons.
Sure enough, she bent down and found a cold wooden box.
Opening it, there was a stack of money, some large-denomination grain coupons, a few brand-new cloth coupons, and a pair of silver bracelets.
Counting it, there were 360 yuan.
Shen Nian stuffed the money, coupons, and silver bracelets into her chest, then went to the kitchen, scooped a bowl of chicken, and hungrily devoured it under the eaves.
The aroma was irresistible—chicken was a rare treat in this era.
She ate the whole chicken in one go.
From now on, if she was to suffer, no one else would get to live comfortably either.
Outside the gate, Old Man Liu watched through the door crack, sweating coldly.
This wasn’t marrying a daughter—it was like marrying a live grenade!
No matter what, he had to return her.
Her eyes fell on the yard’s cesspit, glinting with mischief.
She grabbed a broken scoop, filled it with manure water, and first poured it over the eight-immortals table in the main room, then several scoops into Wang Dahua’s bedroom.
The pungent stench instantly filled the air, mixing with the earlier chicken aroma—utterly disgusting.
“Not good! That crazy girl is ruining things!”
Mrs. Wang, who had been watching from the gate, smelled the stench first, peeked in, and immediately shouted.
“Dahua! Come out! Your house is being soaked in manure by Shen Nian!”