Chen Chu grinned, wondering how he had managed to blurt out the truth. After cursing, he felt a little regretful. Why was he, a grown man, arguing with a girl like Zhu Na?
He'd really angered the person; would they ever talk to him again? Chen Chu wanted to catch up and apologize, but with so many people watching, he felt a little embarrassed.
Wang Xiaoyan, however, was so angry that he was panting heavily. He walked up and pointed at Chen Chu, saying, "You...you...I, I'll let you..."
"Hmm?" Chen Chu said with a grin, "Uncle Wang... what do you mean by that? What kind of gesture is that?"
"You? I'm going to beat you up!" Wang Xiaoyan clenched his fist and was about to call his son behind him to join in.
Chen Chu sneered, "Wang Xiaoyan, stop trying to act tough with me! I'm calling you Uncle Wang because you're so old, don't be so shameless! You just want to extort money, huh? Fine, try touching me! I'll kill you, I'll make sure you have the life to extort money but not the life to spend it!" Chen Chu was just repeating Jin Xing's words.
"Fine! Kid, I didn't expect you to get so cocky! Fine, I'll see how you're going to kill me today! If you don't kill me, I'll beat you up and I'll take your surname, Wang Xiaoyan!"
As Wang Xiaoyan spoke, just like when he fought with Xu Guozhong last time, he lowered his head and bumped into Chen Chu. Everyone rushed forward to break up the fight.
Xu Guozhong also tried to break up the fight: "Wang Xiaoyan, what are you arguing with about a little kid?"
"Exactly, how old is he? He doesn't know any better..."
Wang Xiaoyan started crying, and this time she was really crying. She had just been shot, and her face was still covered in black soot. As the tears flowed down, they left streaks of black on her face, making her look like a big, dirty face.
"Don't hold me back, he, he Chen Chu is bullying people like that! You little brat, I'll fucking kill you today..."
"Hmph!" Chen Chu laughed: "Wang Xiaoyan, stop talking the hell out of it! If you've got the guts, come at me with your son! Don't think you two are so tough. I don't even put Yan San in my eyes, let alone you! Damn it! Come on, you bastard!"
Chen Chu shook his arm, making his bones crack. Wang Xiaoyan squinted, clearly somewhat afraid. Wang Dasheng, with his tiger-like head, seemed to want to move forward. Chen Chu was confident he could take down Wang Dasheng in two or three rounds.
But this kid is strong, so we have to fight him fast; if we're too slow, we'll easily get hurt.
"Fine! Chen Chu, we'll fight you to the death today! You seduced my daughter-in-law, and you already said that you and my daughter-in-law did... you know..."
Chen Chu's eyes flickered, and he suddenly changed his mind. These people were nominally trying to hold Wang Xiaoyan back, but they weren't really sincere. The few people who were holding Wang Xiaoyan's arms had already let go, as if they were just hoping to see them fight.
Wang Xiaoyan is easily beaten; his old arms and legs are frail. If I were to throw a few punches at him, and he fell to the ground, I'd be in big trouble!
These people all want them to fight like dogs! If they're going to make a move, they should do it secretly. If they really hurt someone in front of so many people, they won't pay for the person's medical treatment. As soon as the person calls the police, the police station will come and take them away immediately.
Sixteen years old isn't old enough, but he could still go to a juvenile detention center, right? Besides, his family has to spend money on this old man's medical treatment… Chen Chu felt increasingly uneasy. He had to endure it today, no matter what, even if he had to wait a few days and then secretly take a knife and chop Wang Xiaoyan up, damn it.
Where the hell are you going to find evidence?!
Chen Chu suddenly laughed at this thought: "Hehe... Uncle Wang, I was wrong just now. I was young and ignorant, but you are so old, you can't be ignorant either, can you?"
"What...what do you mean?" Wang Xiaoyan was also scared. He was afraid of both sides, like trying to fight a wolf with a bamboo pole. Chen Chu had already sent Yan San to the hospital with several broken ribs and he was still not out. He and his son had been killed for nothing.
This kid has a fierce streak. If he were to brazenly beat up the father and son, Wang Xiaoyan would be utterly humiliated. Besides, extortion? He only knows how to target people; he might extort others, but he wouldn't dare to extort a truly ruthless person…
"What do I mean?" Chen Chu chuckled. "I don't mean anything. Did I just say that your daughter-in-law and I went to the county hotel? Do you have any proof? Do you believe everything I say? I also just said that Accountant Xu Guozhong went to the county hotel with Zhu Na's mother! You asked Xu Guozhong if that happened?"
As Chen Chu spoke, he glanced at Xu Guozhong, who immediately coughed twice and said, "Pah! What nonsense! Everyone knows what kind of person I am, Xu Guozhong. I'm a respectable man, how could I do such a thing? Chen Chu was just talking nonsense!"
"Yeah! I was just kidding, Uncle Wang. Don't think so badly of me, and don't blame everything on me. You blame me for your house fire, you blame me for your daughter-in-law leaving, and you blame me for the explosion at your house just now. Was it because I planted a landmine in your stove?"
Everyone laughed when Chen Chuyi said that, and Wang Dasheng muttered, "More or less!"
Zhang Cai then laughed and scolded, "Get lost! Wang Dasheng, don't you think about it? If Chen Chuzhen planted landmines in your yard, would you still be alive? It's just that some naughty kid forgot to take the firecrackers out of the firewood..."
Wang Xiao's face turned red; this was shameful, after all, he had stolen someone's firewood to burn...
Zhang Cai casually called out, "Everyone, disperse! Don't crowd around here, it's making a mess. The sky has cleared up, everyone should go back to what they're doing! Don't you all have farm work to do back home..."
The villagers, seeing the dark-skinned appearance of Wang Xiaoyan and his son, laughed and went home. Chen Chu also headed home when Sun Wu patted him on the shoulder from behind and chuckled, "Hey bro, got two sets!"
"What?"
"Hehe! I saw it all just now, that was pretty hard! That kiss on Zhu Na, haha! You're awesome!" Sun Wu said, licking his lips with an envious expression.
Chen Chu wanted to go home, but after thinking about it, he decided to take a detour and go to Old Zhang's place first. He hadn't been there for several days, and he had a lot to do these days, so he wanted to chat with Old Zhang.
As soon as they entered the house, they saw that Old Zhang's room was filled with black smoke, which made him cough. Chen Chu couldn't help but curl his lips and say, "Pah! You call yourself an expert! How come you can't even handle a fire!"
Old Zhang coughed twice and cursed, "You damn donkey, it rained so hard yesterday, I'm lucky my stove even caught fire, the wood is all soaked..."
Chen Chu chuckled and said, "You can tell fortunes, right? Just cast a divination for yourself, and if it predicts a downpour, just bring extra firewood inside, okay?"
"Pah! Who plays with divination for fun? This thing is either divination or not divination. The hexagrams are ever-changing. Qian above and Kun below, it's possible that the Qian hexagram represents a dragon soaring in the sky, or it's possible that extreme joy turns to sorrow and a different hexagram appears, and you're stuck in a rut. But as long as you keep working hard and don't slack off, you can turn things around. Who knows, things might turn from bad to good... By the way, how's your Qi cultivation going lately?"
Chen Chu yawned, said he didn't need to practice anymore, took the old lady in, and then recounted what had happened.
Old Zhang sighed, "Alas, she's a pitiful person too... but there are just too many injustices to be done. Never mind, let's not talk about it..."
Chen Chu chuckled and said, "Old man, you told me last time that a man's eyes are the most attractive feature, and I've thought about it for a while. It seems to really have some effect. Take Shao Xiaodong, for example. When his eyes are bright, other women are particularly fascinated by them and take the initiative to go to him..."
"Yes, that's the higher level. Relying on money, power, or a silver tongue to pester women is all low-class. It's about attracting women with your own charisma; that's the right way..."
...
Chen Chu sat with Old Zhang for a while, but something was still on his mind. It was mainly about Zhu Na. He still wanted to smooth things over with her, since he had kissed her and their mouths were still sweet.
It was almost noon, and wisps of smoke were rising from the chimneys of every household in the village. Just as Chen Chu arrived at Zhu Na's house and was hesitating whether to go in, he heard arguing coming from inside.
It sounded like Juna was arguing with her mother, and there was also a man's voice.
It turned out that Zhu Na ran home crying because her mother had suddenly received a job and went to the county town. It was a half-hour taxi ride back and forth. She was played by someone for half an hour and earned 100 yuan. She returned home happily.
It's stopped raining now, and Huo Zihao has come to her house to tutor Zhu Na. Huo Zihao just wants to sleep with Zhu Na's mother, but he doesn't have the money, so he tutors Zhu Na. He'll let her have sex with him three times a month, and they'll settle accounts every ten days. Today is the ninth day.
Huo Zihao was incredibly itchy inside. Zhu Na's mother had him hard all day, but it would cost a hundred yuan to have sex with her! Huo Zihao didn't have the money, so he took extra classes to make up for it. Today was the ninth day, and one more day would be the tenth day, just enough for him to have sex with Zhu Na's mother once.
This kid is really excited today. He changed into a new outfit and combed his hair back, just like Xu Zhimo's hairstyle from the 1920s.
The two had almost arrived home when they started arguing. Zhu Na shouted, "Mom, why did you... People are saying you didn't go to Hancheng to work, you went there to sell yourself..."
Huo Zihao coughed twice and said he was going to the restroom. Just as he stepped out, Zhu Na quietly said, "Selling for 13."
Zhu Mengmeng felt her head spin for a moment, and her dazed body leaned against the wall, almost fainting.
"Zhu, Zhu Na...who, who told you? You...you..." Zhu Mengmeng trembled slightly, her eyes moist, tears welling up in front of her.
"Never mind that! Is that true or not? Every time I ask you why you're not at work, you always say you are. But when I ask you why you're still working at night, you say you're working overtime. You're always carrying a bag. Let me see what's in your bag?"
Zhu Na took a step forward and grabbed her mother's bag. Zhu Mengmeng was startled and hurriedly tried to take it back. The two of them pulled back and forth, and the zipper of the bag was torn open, and the contents fell to the ground with a clatter.
A dozen shiny condom packages lay on the ground, along with tissues and various slippery medications...
"Huh?" Zhu Na was stunned for a moment, then grabbed the stack of condoms: "What, what's this?"
"Give it to me!" Zhu Mengmeng stepped forward, snatched the condom from her daughter's hand, and put it in her bag.
"You...you are, are you really a prostitute? Did you sleep with Xu Guozhong once, and even have him pay for your company for a night?"
"Slap!" Zhu Mengmeng raised her hand and slapped her across the face. This was the first time she had ever hit her daughter. She had always been spoiled and pampered and she couldn't bear to lay a hand on her.
"Mom, you hit me?" Zhu Na started crying, and Zhu Mengmeng cried too: "Mom, Mom didn't mean it, Mom, it wasn't..."
"Tell me the truth, did you sell yourself? Tell me you didn't… They lied to me…" Juna's eyes were filled with tears. She longed to hear her mother say that those people were lying.
Zhu Mengmeng closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face. When she opened them again, tears were flowing freely. "Yes, I was sold, but who was it for? Your father, you don't even have a father. How can I, a woman, support you? You need food, clothes, and school. I'll support you through high school and university. I want you to be no worse off than the kids in the city. Nana, I want you to live the same life as the kids in the city. I want you to have a good life..."
"Get out! I don't need it! I don't want the things you bought for me! I don't eat dumplings! I think they're dirty..." Zhu Na cried and made a scene, overturning all the dumplings her mother had just made on the ground and stomping on them repeatedly.
It felt as if these feet were stepping on her heart, causing her even greater pain. Thinking about how she had raised Zhu Na alone from when she was just a few months old until now, it all felt like a dream.
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