NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 32
Chapter 32: Don’t Bully My Sister
Xu Dahu happily drove the donkey cart with Xu Zhizhi on board, while Third Uncle drove the ox cart ahead. They chatted and laughed as they made their way home.
As they neared their house, they heard shouting and the sound of someone being beaten. Old Lady Wang was chasing Wang Daya with a large broom, yelling viciously:
“I’ll beat you to death, you worthless girl! You troublemaker! I’ll kill you today!”
“What are you doing?” Xu Dahu, seeing his fiancée being chased and cursed at by her vicious grandmother, quickly jumped off the donkey cart and pulled Wang Daya to his side to protect her.
The crazed old woman swung her broom at the two of them, hitting them hard.
Xu Zhizhi couldn’t stand it anymore. Her cousin was so tall—why didn’t he just grab the broom? Why was he letting himself be beaten like this?
She jumped off the donkey cart and snatched the broom from Old Lady Wang.
“You’re killing me! Everyone, come and see! The Xu family’s old spinster is killing me!” Old Lady Wang immediately sat on the ground.
Xu Zhizhi was dumbfounded. She had only taken the broom—she hadn’t touched the old woman. How had she ended up on the ground?
“Grandma Wang, I… I didn’t touch you!”
“If you didn’t push me, how did I fall? And you hit me with the broom! You’re lying through your teeth! Everyone, come and see!” Old Lady Wang wailed.
“Ouch! Ouch! My back is broken!”
[This is clearly a setup!]
Xu Zhizhi thought to herself: So this is why Old Lady Wang was chasing her granddaughter all the way to their doorstep.
She was curious about what the old woman wanted from her.
The Wang family had already received their share of sweet potatoes—two portions, in fact.
A few women and children who didn’t usually work in the fields had gathered to watch the commotion.
Xu Zhizhi asked, “Grandma Wang, what do you want?”
“We heard your family has been selling bean sprouts in town recently?” Old Lady Wang’s eyes gleamed with greed. “I heard you make over a hundred coins a day.”
A hundred coins a day! If they planted more, it could be over two hundred coins. What was this? A dream come true!
For the villagers, this was an unimaginable fortune.
Xu Zhizhi hummed noncommittally.
Her silence was taken as confirmation.
The matter had been kept secret because the method was so simple that it needed to be hidden for now.
Xu Dahu definitely wouldn’t have told anyone, so the Wang family must have found out through Wang Shishi, who had likely heard it from someone.
The women watching all had expressions that said:
[Is this true?]
[If it’s true, they’re going to be rich!]
[This must also be a gift from the gods.]
Xu Zhizhi realized the secret was out.
“Yes, that’s true. But what does that have to do with you lying on the ground crying about back pain?”
Old Lady Wang said to Xu Zhizhi, “Zhizhi, if you give me the method for growing bean sprouts, I’ll let this go.”
This was what Wang Shishi had told her—that if they could pin something on Xu Zhizhi, they could get the method for growing bean sprouts, and the Wang family would become rich.
“No,” Xu Zhizhi said, now understanding the old woman’s scheme.
“Ouch! Ouch! It hurts so much! Is there no justice in this world? This poisonous woman is trying to kill me! Someone, save me!”
Old Lady Wang sat on the ground, kicking her legs and wailing, snot and tears streaming down her face.
“Help! Murder! The Xu family’s rejected spinster is trying to kill me!” The old woman rolled on the ground, acting like a shrew.
Good heavens! How shameless.
It was clear she had come prepared and was determined to get what she wanted.
Just then, the Wang brothers, who had just returned from working in the fields, heard their mother’s cries and rushed over with their farming tools.
What they saw shocked them. Their mother was covered in mud, her face streaked with tears and snot, looking utterly pitiful.
Hearing her cries and seeing Xu Zhizhi standing nearby with the broom, Wang Third Brother raised his carrying pole and swung it at Xu Zhizhi.
“You little wretch! How dare you hit an old woman! You’re so vicious—I’ll kill you today!”
Fortunately, Xu Zhizhi reacted quickly and dodged to the side. Wang Third Brother’s pole hit the ground with a loud thud.
“You little wretch, you dare dodge? You bullied my mother, and today I’ll kill you, and no one will dare say a word!” Wang Third Brother was furious and swung the pole again.
Xu Zhizhi dodged while saying, “Uncle Wang, why don’t you ask your mother what really happened? Isn’t it too unreasonable to hit someone without asking?”
“Reason? Killing you is reason enough!” Wang Third Brother roared.
“Let’s see where you can dodge!” Wang Eldest Brother, his face dark, reached out to grab Xu Zhizhi.
Wang Second Brother, Wang Daya’s father, didn’t join in but stood there with a grim expression.
Xu Zhizhi was speechless. The Wang family was truly a piece of work. Like attracts like, as they say.
“Stop! Wang Eldest, Wang Third, what are you doing?”
Third Uncle, who had gone to park the ox cart, called his second brother over. They arrived just in time to see this scene.
They quickly ran over and pulled the two men apart.
Second Uncle said angrily, “You’re elders. How can you bully Zhizhi like this?”
“We’re bullying her?” Wang Third Brother said, hands on his hips. “Why don’t you look at my mother? If we hadn’t arrived in time, she might have been beaten to death by this little wretch!”
“So young and already so vicious,” Wang Eldest Brother said furiously.
Third Uncle shouted, “Everyone here saw what happened. When we arrived, your mother was chasing Daya and hitting her.”
Xu Daniu ran over with his younger brother. “Don’t bully my sister!”
By now, the women and children who had been watching had also figured out what was going on.
“That’s right. It’s not what you think. Sister Zhizhi didn’t hit your mother,” a clever child said.
“Your mother was chasing Daya and hitting her. When Dahu arrived in the donkey cart, he saw what was happening and pulled Daya away. Your mother then started hitting Dahu with the broom.”
“Sister Zhizhi couldn’t stand it anymore, so she took the broom.”
Xu Zhizhi looked at Wang Eldest Brother and said, “Uncle Wang, your mother said our family has been making money selling bean sprouts and demanded that I give her the method.”
A woman chimed in, “Didn’t you know? Your mother wanted Zhizhi’s money-making method, so she rolled on the ground and made a scene to get it.”
[Wasn’t your mother deliberately chasing Daya toward the Xu family’s house?]
By now, more villagers who had been working in the fields had returned. The village wasn’t large, and as soon as they heard there was a commotion, they all came to watch.
Once the truth came out, even the thick-skinned Wang brothers couldn’t say much.
Xu Zhizhi had just secured a 20% profit share today. There was no way she would give away the method for growing bean sprouts so quickly.
Since everyone already knew, it wouldn’t be long before the secret was out. But she wanted to wait a while before making it public, out of respect for Drunken Fragrance Pavilion.
She decided to take this opportunity to tell everyone that they could learn how to grow bean sprouts together. Even if they couldn’t sell them later, they could still use them for cooking at home.
(End of Chapter)