Lin An Yuan’s words left everyone stunned.
Although the stout woman had heard of Lin An Yuan’s reputation, she couldn’t be bothered with it now that her daughter’s life was on the line. “Wasn’t it your woman who instigated Erniu to go to my house and break off the engagement? My La Mei couldn’t get over it and that’s why…”
“When did I ever say that? Get Zhang Erniu out here to confront me!” Ye Wan interrupted her.
Even a clay figure has a bit of a temper.
Several women began to chatter all at once.
“It’s all over the village. Someone saw Zhang Erniu stop you to talk. If you didn’t say it, would Erniu have done something like that?”
“The old Zhang family has a lot of land and is well-off. Zhang Erniu is a good young man, too. She must have gotten some crooked ideas.”
“With a face like that, you can tell she’s no good…”
The Village Chief also frowned and spoke up, “Lin An Yuan, I have no objection to you living in the village for these past three years, but this matter was stirred up by your woman. It involves a human life, after all. You have to give us an explanation.”
“So that La Mei, or Hong Mei, or whatever, is she dead? Should my family arrange the funeral?”
Lin An Yuan supported himself with his hoe, looking for all the world rather nonchalant.
“You, you…” The Village Chief was nearly angered to death.
The gossiping people around them also quieted down, pointing fingers at Ye Wan and Da Ya.
Ye Wan found it absurd. Her face cold, she raised her voice, “Zhang Erniu, if you’re a man, stand up and speak! A man’s word is his bond. When did I ever instigate you to break off your engagement!”
Zhang Erniu was pushed out, shuffling awkwardly. He didn’t dare to look up at Ye Wan and mumbled, “Auntie, you’re the one who said it!”
A fire ignited in Ye Wan. She wanted nothing more than to kill this brat.
“What did I say? You stopped me to ask if Da Ya was home and said you wanted to give her a rabbit. Didn’t I say, ‘Thank you, but don’t forget you’re engaged’?”
“Doesn’t that mean I had to break off the engagement first?”
Zhang Erniu looked up at Ye Wan, then suddenly dropped to his knees with a thud. “I like Da Ya, that’s why I went to break off the engagement! It has nothing to do with Auntie!”
“Aunt, I’ve wronged you and La Mei. I only ever saw La Mei as a little sister!”
Now that the matter was known to everyone, Zhang Erniu felt he should take responsibility like a man.
Ye Wan was thoroughly disgusted, and Da Ya was stunned as well.
“Damn you to hell! I told you so! She knows how to seduce men at such a young age. If she hadn’t deliberately seduced him, how could this have happened? Village Chief, you have to give me an explanation!”
Lin An Yuan suddenly laughed out loud, and everyone turned to look at him.
Ye Wan looked at him too, thinking that this time, Lin An Yuan would again stand by and do nothing.
“What kind of explanation do you want? Your son-in-law can’t control himself, so you want to pin the blame on my daughter?”
The stout woman spoke viciously, “It takes two to tango. If your Da Ya hadn’t deliberately seduced… Ah!”
Before she could finish, her front teeth were knocked out.
“Your own daughter is fat and stupid, so your son-in-law fancies someone else, and you have the gall to blame others? Go home, take a piss, and look at your reflection. Even your husband would be scared to death by you at night.”
After speaking, Lin An Yuan lowered his head and sneered at Zhang Erniu. “You too. Take a piss and look at your own reflection.”
Zhang Erniu couldn’t help but tremble.
Even though Lin An Yuan wasn’t much older than him and looked so frail, he was still terrified, probably because Lin An Yuan had killed people before.
“Lin An Yuan! If you want to keep living in this village, you are not allowed to hit people!”
The Village Chief’s face was red with anger. He had hit someone right in front of him. Did he want to kill someone next?
Lin An Yuan replied with a straight face, “Oh, I didn’t hit a person. I hit a fat pig.”
“Pfft.”
Someone couldn’t hold back a snort of laughter. The stout woman, clutching her mouth and whimpering, did indeed resemble a pig.
Ye Wan couldn’t help but smile either. It was indeed quite satisfying when the sharp-tongued man cursed at others. At a time like this, he was much better than a silent gourd.
Just before the Village Chief could erupt in anger, Da Ya, who had been quiet all along, suddenly spoke. “Village Chief, I don’t know where these rumors came from. Other than the time Zhang Erniu saved me, we have never had any involvement with each other.”
Kneeling on the ground, Zhang Erniu looked at Da Ya with a hint of disappointment in his eyes.
He had run into Da Ya many times. Did she only remember that one time?
“You say there was nothing, so there was nothing? If it weren’t for you, you little fox spirit, why would my La Mei try to kill herself!” The stout woman clutched her gap-toothed mouth, glaring resentfully at Da Ya.
How could Zhang Erniu possibly fall for a scrawny, dried-up girl with not an ounce of meat on her bones?
“If I cut my hair, would that prove my innocence?”
Da Ya stared back at all the people pointing fingers, her expression unchanging.
“It would! Go on, cut it then!”
“Big Sister, don’t!” Er Ya shrieked, trying to stop her.
One’s body, hair, and skin were received from one’s parents. A woman’s hair was her second face. To cut one’s hair was to ruin one’s face. How could she ever get married in the future!
But it was too late. Da Ya had already picked up the scissors. With one snip, her waist-length hair was now only shoulder-length.
The strands of black hair scattered on the ground left everyone staring in a daze.
“Ah! Big Sister! Are you satisfied now? Are you satisfied? You’re not human! Zhang Erniu, you’re not human! I’m going to kill you!”
Er Ya shrieked and cried as she started kicking the kneeling Zhang Erniu.
Everyone knew that Da Ya was finished.
It would be difficult for her to ever marry again.
“Today’s matter ends here. If anyone dares to spout nonsense again, they will be kicked out of the village.”
The Village Chief hadn’t expected it to come to this. He had originally intended for Lin An Yuan to pay some compensation money and let the matter pass.
Who would have thought that this Da Ya, who usually seemed so gentle, had such a fierce personality?
This was just great. Lin An Yuan’s eldest daughter, whose reputation was already poor because of her father, was now completely unmarriageable.
Seeing the almost murderous look in Lin An Yuan’s eyes, everyone scurried away. Even Zhang Erniu, who was still kneeling, was dragged away by his parents.
Only Er Ya’s sharp cries remained in the courtyard.
Ye Wan looked at Da Ya’s thin figure and opened her mouth, not knowing if she should be blamed for this.
“You don’t need to take it to heart. I wasn’t planning on getting married anyway.” Da Ya smiled faintly, put away the scissors, and told Er Ya to stop crying.
Er Ya couldn’t stop crying and turned her resentment on Ye Wan. “Why do you have to be so loose-tongued? It would have been fine if you just hadn’t said anything! My big sister’s hair was so beautiful, and now it’s ruined. What will she do in the future? What do you expect her to do?”
Children from poor families matured early and took on responsibilities sooner. Even though Er Ya was only eight, she knew that marrying into a good family was a woman’s only way out.
“Er Ya, stop it. You can’t blame others, and you certainly shouldn’t blame our own family. I said I won’t get married in the future. Let’s just get through the present first. Don’t think about all that other stuff.” Da Ya clutched the strands of black hair in her hand.
Did she care? Of course, she cared. She was still a young girl, after all.
But if she hadn’t done this, the family would have had to pay compensation. Their lives had only just started to get a little better; she didn’t have the heart to make Ye Wan pay.
If she didn’t prove her innocence today, Ye Wan, Er Ya, and San Ya would also have insults hurled at them whenever they went out.
That night, Ye Wan didn’t go to the three girls’ room. Lying on the same kang bed as Lin An Yuan, she was sleepless all night.
Mere rumors had pushed a person to such an extreme.
This world was unfair to women, far too unfair.