Chapter 388: Human Greed Is Like a Snake Swallowing an Elephant
Bai Ruozhu finished speaking and no longer paid any attention to Zhou’s wife. But instead, she turned her head toward her father and said, "Dad, let’s go to the Yang Family."
"Alright." Bai Yihong responded. The two of them turned to leave, but Zhou’s wife darted after them like a terrified rabbit, grabbing onto Bai Ruozhu’s sleeve and refusing to let her go.
"Miss, Miss, I beg you, you can’t provoke the Yang family. Isn’t this harming us?" Zhou’s wife burst into tears, her sobs forlorn and pitiful, exactly like the time she had gone crying to Bai Ruozhu in the west courtyard, complaining that Young Yang had been sabotaging their fields.
"If you leave, we’re the ones who have to face the consequences. Wouldn’t Young Yang give us trouble every day? I beg you not to stir up trouble, or how will we live our lives?" Zhou’s wife clung onto Bai Ruozhu’s arm, almost hanging off of her.
Bai Ruozhu, even more annoyed by Zhou’s wife’s display, shook her arm and said, "Don’t worry, we’ll shoulder the responsibility for this. It’s Young Yang who’s in the wrong, not you. What do you have to be afraid of?"
Zhou’s wife twitched, her grip on Bai Ruozhu’s arm threatening to loosen.
Bai Yihong looked at her with cold eyes and said, "Don’t hold onto my daughter. It’d look like we’re bullying you if someone didn’t know the situation. This is a matter between us and Young Yang. You’re just there to confirm what you’ve said."
Zhou’s wife was dragged a few meters away and the villagers had already noticed, quietly approaching to see the commotion.
Seeing people coming over, Bai Ruozhu intentionally spoke loudly, "Don’t hold me back. I’ve just noticed that over the past two or three days, some crops have been stolen from our fields. Surely there’s no such theft in Linjiang Village? I need to talk to the Village Chief about this."
Zhou’s wife naturally knew about this; it was her husband who had stealthily extracted the crops at night. Her husband had insisted on doing it, saying it was a waste not to after they had been growing there for so long. Gently taking some to replant in other plots they had rented would increase their yield.
She had heard her husband say that he had been very careful, refilling the holes they had dug, ensuring that no one would find out. But now Bai Ruozhu suddenly mentioned it, Zhou’s wife was shocked, her grip on Bai Ruozhu’s hand involuntarily loosening.
Bai Ruozhu and her father took this opportunity to quickly leave.
"They seem quite pitiful. I didn’t expect them to be so scheming." Once they had moved some distance away, Bai Yihong couldn’t help but sigh.
Bai Ruozhu snorted coldly, "Those deserving of pity often have some blameworthy aspect. Today I finally understood that. Dad, you mustn’t be soft-hearted. We have to teach them a lesson today. Because of their selfishness, they almost made us enemies with Young Yang. Imagine if we had gone to the Government Office to file a complaint against Young Yang, we would have ended up being falsely accused!"
"Don’t worry. Whatever you decide, I promise not to object. People like them who are untrustworthy, tell lies, and steal crops deserve punishment." Bai Yihong said, sighing. He knew it was probably because he had been so soft-hearted during his first encounter with the Zhou Family that they had decided to scheme against their family.
Bai Ruozhu told her father to go to Young Yang’s house and call him out for a confrontation, while she herself went to the Village Chief’s house in Linjiang Village.
When Bai Ruozhu met the Village Chief and explained her reason for coming, The Village Chief furrowed his brows and showed a troubled expression, saying, "I don’t want you to think I’m not helping you. I’ve tried to mediate this issue before, but Young Yang just won’t reason. I’m too old for his antics."
"Village Chief, I just need you to bear witness. Also, I suspect that this has less to do with Young Yang and more to do with the Zhou Family..." Bai Ruozhu paused.
The Village Chief was visibly surprised and looked at Bai Ruozhu, asking, "What could be the matter with the Zhou family? They are a timid lot. Surely you are overthinking?"
Bai Ruozhu smiled, told the Village Chief about Zhou’s trip to the town and their claims about Young Yang being a constant vandal, when in reality Young Yang had only played tricks once. She then asked, "Do you know if the Zhou family has rented any other fields?"
"Yes, they’ve rented a few acres of land from the Liu Family in the west of the village. I’ve heard the young Zhou found a part-time job, their family is poor, but he’s hardworking." The Village Chief appreciated this and appeared to think well of the Zhou family.
"Please come with me, Village Chief, so we can find out what’s really going on. I need your help to bear witness. We won’t let ourselves be bullied for no reason, nor wrongfully accuse innocent people." Bai Ruozhu stated seriously.
The Village Chief nodded approval, "You’re right. Let’s go."
Bai Ruozhu followed the Village Chief toward the Zhou family home. Before long, they spotted her father and Young Yang, the latter still looking arrogant. Seeing the Village Chief, he greeted him with disdain, obviously not respecting the Chief of their village.
The Village Chief disapproved of Young Yang and gave a noncommittal acknowledgment before continuing toward the Zhou Family home.
As they approached, they saw Zhou’s elderly mother sitting at the entrance, crying, with a few neighbors trying to console her.
Bai Ruozhu smirked, eager to see what tricks the Zhou family would pull.
"My poor Chun Sheng, he has fallen ill, what am I to do?" Zhou’s mother cried and lamented. "I have been such a burden, spending all the family’s money. Now Chun Sheng is ill, and I don’t know how to survive."
Neighbors asked sympathetically, "How did he fall ill?"
"Who knows? He was fine before, but I guess he’d been bullied and scared these past few days, leading to an overactive heart. Plus, he caught a chill while working." Zhou’s mother replied with a groan.
Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help rolling her eyes. Was she trying to gain sympathy?
The Village Chief ignored her and stepped forward, asking, "Where is Chun Sheng? Has he seen a doctor?"
Zhou’s mother hastily tried to get up from the ground and respectfully said to the Village Chief, "His wife has taken him to the doctor. I am too frail, and they didn’t want me to follow."
Bai Ruozhu looked coldly at her and said, "Ma’am, if your health is poor, you shouldn’t sit outside on the ground. It’s not warm, isn’t it cold sitting here? You should be resting inside, in a warm bed, not crying outside."
Zhou’s mother blushed at her words, faltering, "I’m... I’m just worried about Chun Sheng. I’m so distressed." At that, she started crying again.
"Ma’am, I just saw your daughter-in-law, she said it was just a touch of rheumatism? Your wailing makes it seem like your son has had a serious accident. You should stop crying. It’s like you’re cursing your own son." Bai Ruozhu was increasingly annoyed at Zhou’s mother’s performative distress, clearly designed to solicit pity.
Bai Yihong tugged at Bai Ruozhu’s sleeve and said, "Daughter, you know about medicine. Let’s go treat Chun Sheng— we can’t let a sickness go untreated."
Bai Ruozhu gave her father an approving look. He was certainly catching on.