At that moment, the commotion was so loud that it immediately drew all the neighbors nearby.
When the neighbors on either side saw such a scene at the Wang family’s house, they understood what had happened and were instantly filled with righteous indignation, discussing it among themselves:
“Wang Daniu is back again? Seriously, does he even have a conscience? He even hit his wife!”
“How did our Xinghua Village produce such a scoundrel!”
“This is too much. Jinhua, you should go find the Village Chief and have her bring justice!”
“Come on, how many times has the Village Chief already scolded him? Have you seen him change?”
“Sigh, Daniu was good when he was little. How did he become like this now? It’s all because his parents died early, and nobody raised him!”
…
Lu Zhaozhao had been in the yard washing clothes for the little ones when she suddenly heard them rushing in from outside, trembling as they spoke:
“Little Aunt, the aunt who delivers eggs just now… her house was in chaos.”
“A man went in and started hitting people! Little Aunt, should we go in to help?”
Though the two little ones didn’t understand much, they could recognize someone being beaten. Earlier, while playing outside, they had accidentally seen the commotion and hurried home to tell Little Aunt.
Little Aunt had always said that if anything happened, they should inform her first and not go on their own. They were too young; no matter what, they needed to seek adults first.
Hearing this, Lu Zhaozhao was startled. That “aunt” from earlier—wasn’t that Sister-in-law Zheng? What had happened to her?
Thinking that she had just received so many eggs from her, Lu Zhaozhao quickly stood up, told the two little ones to stay and play with Grandmother, and rushed toward the Zheng family.
Just as she reached the door, she ran into Gu Yan carrying a bucket of water.
When Lu Zhaozhao mentioned the matter, Gu Yan turned and ran toward the Zheng family, so Lu Zhaozhao had no choice but to chase after him.
When they arrived at the Zheng family’s house, they saw Sister-in-law Zheng sitting on the ground, holding her three daughters and crying. The yard was a mess, and neighbors had gathered around, talking animatedly, with a few kind neighbors trying to comfort her.
But Sister-in-law Zheng seemed deaf to them, completely immersed in her own world, crying endlessly.
At that moment, Lu Zhaozhao got the gist of what had happened.
It turned out that Sister-in-law Zheng had been so unfortunate to marry a drunkard husband, and one who liked to beat her! She had only seen such things on television before, never imagining she would witness it in real life. Seeing Sister-in-law Zheng so heartbroken, she truly felt sorry for her.
Remembering Sister-in-law Zheng’s earlier kindness, Lu Zhaozhao could not just stand by.
She hurried to her side, helped her up, and sat her on a nearby bench.
“Sister-in-law Zheng, calm down. Crying won’t solve anything. Don’t get too agitated. Think about your three daughters—how would they feel seeing you like this?”
“My life is just too bitter. My daughters’ lives are also too bitter!”
After saying this, the mother and daughters held each other and cried bitterly.
Gu Yan, not skilled at comforting people, helped by tidying up the house a bit so it didn’t look like a complete mess. Other neighbors pitched in as well, and a few other women joined in trying to reason with her.
Lu Zhaozhao asked, confused:
“This man is so terrible. Can’t she just get a divorce?”
“Oh, you girl, why do you speak out like that? Women in our situation, even if they divorce, life isn’t any better. They’ll be looked down upon, facing countless hardships. A divorced woman has a bad reputation. How would Jinhua, Yinhua, and Linghua ever marry in the future?”
“Are you the new wife Gu Yan just married? From the east end of the village? Our village is big, I haven’t seen you before. But your stepmother, her reputation in the village is well-known! Hehe…”
“Oh, so you’re that Lu family girl, married to Gu Yan. That’s fine. Little Gu doesn’t speak much, but he’s reliable.”
“Exactly. Divorced women or those discarded by their husbands have no future. Look, there was a wife in our village who was thrown out because she couldn’t have children. I heard she hanged herself after returning to her parents. What a tragedy!”
…
Lu Zhaozhao couldn’t believe people in this era were so feudal. Divorce isn’t being cast aside—what’s so shameful about it? Could pride really be more important than life? If this kept happening, how could Sister-in-law Zheng endure it?
But Lu Zhaozhao didn’t dare speak these thoughts aloud. She feared her words would shock people so much that they’d treat her as a monster and burn her.
After comforting Sister-in-law Zheng and the three girls, their emotions gradually eased.
Everyone helped tidy up a bit before slowly leaving. It was a family matter, and as outsiders, they could only hope that Wang Daniu wouldn’t keep returning, so that the mother and daughters could have a few days of peace.
After finishing, Lu Zhaozhao and Gu Yan headed home.
“You knew that Wang Daniu had been hitting people all along?”
Seeing how calm he was, Lu Zhaozhao guessed that Gu Yan had known about this for some time.
“Yes. He had hit Sister-in-law Zheng before. This wasn’t the first time. Women left in such a situation truly suffer.”
Gu Yan felt sympathy but was helpless. In this era, a woman’s reputation after divorce seriously affected her daughters’ prospects.
Lu Zhaozhao sighed: “It’s really unbelievable. Such a terrible man—may the heavens open its eyes and let him die outside, so he won’t disturb Sister-in-law Zheng’s life anymore.”
Seeing her childlike side, Gu Yan could only chuckle. He had never seen anyone pray to heaven in this way. If heaven did open its eyes, how could there be so much injustice in the world? His father and elder brother and sister-in-law wouldn’t have ended up so badly either. What a childlike wish!
The next day.
A major event occurred in Xinghua Village.
Wang Daniu had gotten drunk the night before, fallen into a ditch, and died!
The ditch wasn’t deep enough to normally cause death, but there happened to be a large rock underneath. His head struck it perfectly, killing him instantly!
Since a villager had died, officials were quickly notified. Constables and a coroner arrived, examined the body, and confirmed it was an accidental death. The family was informed, and the case was closed.
So, Sister-in-law Zheng had just finished breakfast with her children when she received the news of Wang Daniu’s death.
The event was so sudden that she didn’t quite know how to react. That brute was really dead? Would no one ever hit her daughters and her again?
Thinking this, they couldn’t help but laugh.
It was truly wonderful! He had died well!