Chapter 106: Where Has Zhang Xiaohui Gone? (1)
Old Madam Zhang was still cursing and swearing, unwilling to move!
She was an ignorant old woman. She had behaved herself when Gu Conghua first arrived, but the moment her darling son yelled, her true colors were revealed!
Gu Conghua did not say anything. He used to be a landlord. The less he said, the better.
Wang Mingtao was a reasonable man. He kept watch and allowed Gu Conghua to treat Zhang Jianguo.
Gu Qingyao stood obediently at the side. Although she looked like a good little girl, she handed her grandfather things with a grown-up air. Of course, she also added something to the medicine when no one was watching.
Old Madam Zhang had scolded her grandfather. She might as well let Zhang Jianguo suffer a little more. See how I deal with them!
Gu Conghua’s medical skills were pretty good. Besides his broken leg, Zhang Jianguo’s other injuries were all superficial and would not cause much problem. With several people holding him down, these were swiftly dealt with.
Of course, Zhang Jianguo continued to shriek and howl wildly all the while!
The pain!
The agonizing pain!
Everyone could understand him screaming from the pain of a broken leg. But they could not stand it when he screamed so loudly and continually!
Everyone shook their heads!
“His screaming is just too absurd!”
“He’s still screaming. This… a big man like him…”
…
Zhang Jianguo did not care. He only knew that his wounds were terribly, excruciatingly painful!
“Ah Ah Ah… Mother… I’m about to die of pain. It hurts…”
Old Madam Zhang’s heart ached to hear these heartrending words. But she was infuriated when she heard the others discussing her son!
“What nonsense are you spouting? It’s my son who’s injured, not you. Of course, you don’t think it’s painful. His leg is broken! Broken! How can it not hurt?
“My Jianguo is in such terrible pain, but you’re still passing sarcastic remarks. Aren’t you heartless? Be careful. Someday, someone might break your leg too. Then I’ll see whether you scream!”
Everyone’s expression turned ugly when faced with the irascible Old Madam Zhang.
How could they afford to be ill?
An ordinary small illness might already be fatal, but this old woman was cursing them to fall and break a leg. It was tantamount to cursing them with bad luck. Who wanted to hear words like these?
When he saw that a quarrel was about to erupt, Wang Mingtao immediately said, “Shut up. What are you saying? We’re all part of the brigade and should help each other. We need to unite in friendship and goodwill. How can you wish ill on others?
“Take good care of your son. There’s nothing more we can do here. Everyone, you can leave!”
Everyone listened to Wang Mingtao. Since he had said so, everyone just pursed their lips and prepared to leave.
Gu Conghua also had no wish to linger. He hurriedly packed his things and prepared to leave.
Gu Qingyao was helping Gu Conghua to pack his things. Then she glanced at Old Madam Zhang and suddenly said, “Grandmother, Eldest Uncle has been badly injured. He must be carefully nursed or he might suffer some lingering effects. Eldest Uncle is so young, he must not acquire any chronic illnesses!
“It’s not easy to take care of an adult and you might not be able to manage. Do you want my mother to come over and lend a hand? If you need her, I’ll tell my mother when she gets home.
“She went to town today and doesn’t know that Eldest Uncle has been injured. Otherwise, she would surely have been the first to rush over and check on Eldest Uncle. Please don’t be angry with her!”
Old Madam Zhang was taken aback. Only then did she remember Zhang Xiaohui!
Chapter 107: Where Has Zhang Xiaohui Gone? (2)
Old Madam Zhang was infuriated when she glanced at the crowd and realized that her daughter was really absent!
“Where’s your mother? Where has that damn girl gone? Her elder brother is so badly injured, but she doesn’t even come to check on him. Where is she?”
Gu Qingyao immediately replied, “Grandmother, don’t be angry. My mother doesn’t even know that Eldest Uncle was injured! She’s so filial. If she knew, she would certainly have rushed over immediately to check on Eldest Uncle and take care of you.
“Mother and my elder sister headed for town early this morning. She doesn’t know what happened to Eldest Uncle.”
When Gu Qingyao said that, everyone present frowned and exchanged glances as they whispered among themselves.
Zhang Xiaohui had been frequenting the town recently. Every visit lasted the whole day and more recently, even two to three days without her coming back in between. Many people had observed this and were puzzling over it!
They were even more curious when they heard Gu Qingyao’s words!
Old Madam Zhang was rather brainless. She was a typical village woman who was illiterate and uneducated. She was arrogant and domineering, but not calculative.
She was even angrier when she heard Gu Qingyao’s words!
“Gone to town? What is she doing in town? Her elder brother is so badly injured, but she ran off to town instead of coming back to take care of him? Who gave her permission to go?”
Gu Qingyao looked innocent. “No… no one in the family gave her permission! But Father has been away and my grandparents need to work in the cowshed. There’s no one else at home. Perhaps Mother felt bored and went to town?
“She’s gone there frequently of late, and every trip lasts a few days. I’m used to it now. Today, she left early in the morning. We didn’t expect Eldest Uncle to be injured today. I’ll tell Mother the moment she gets back so that she can come over to take care of you. Is that alright, Grandmother?”
Gu Qingyao had spoken cleverly. Some people had noticed that Zhang Xiaohui had recently been going out quite often, but were not certain if it was so.
Now that she said this, everyone was certain that after Gu Yunshen left, she frequently went out, and each trip lasted two or three days.
Why would a woman with no relatives and friends in the town go there so frequently?
Old Madam Zhang bellowed in rage, “Wait for her to come back? Why wait? Summon her back immediately! Go!”
Old Madam Zhang was used to treating the Gu Family nastily. She had no respect for them and now she turned on Gu Qingyao fiercely.
Gu Qingyao shrank back, looking pitiful, as if Old Madam Zhang had frightened her. “I… I don’t know where Mother went…”
When Wen Ruyu saw that old woman was terrorizing her precious granddaughter, she immediately drew Gu Qingyao into her arms. Gu Qingyao hid in Wen Ruyu’s arms, her eyes glistening with tears.
Old Madam Zhang said angrily, “What do you mean you don’t know where she went? She’s your mother, how can you not know? She has no friends or relatives in town. Why would she go to town for no reason?”
Gu Qingyao was so frightened that she started to cry.
“Speak!” Old Madam Zhang bellowed.
Gu Qingyao began to quiver in fear. “I really don’t know. My mother didn’t tell me, and doesn’t allow me to ask her questions. She likes my elder sister, but not me. Yesterday, I saw my elder sister wearing new clothes and she said Mother bought them for her. I was so envious that I asked Mother to buy me new clothes too, but she gave me a terrible scolding instead. I don’t dare to look for her…”
Chapter 108: Where Has Zhang Xiaohui Gone? (3)
New clothes!
To the villagers, this was something extremely precious. Everyone’s clothes were old. Even the city folk seldom had new clothes to wear.
Siblings handed their clothes down, from the older to the younger sibling, and then to the next youngest child. Otherwise, the clothes were converted into something else.
In fact, many of the children in the brigade did not have clothes!
But Zhang Xiaohui had bought new clothes for Gu Ruoqing? And she had bought them in town?
Gu Qingyao’s words divulged too much information. The more they heard, the more puzzled everyone felt!
When Old Madam Zhang heard that Zhang Xiaohui had bought new clothes for Gu Ruoqing, but not for the grandchildren in the family, or for her son, she lost her temper. “That heartless creature. She has money to buy new clothes, but doesn’t give it to me. Tell her to buy new clothes for me, her elder brother and Dabao!”
Gu Qingyao was shocked!
“Grandmother, Father didn’t give us much money before he left. We have no money and no cloth coupons! Mother has no money…”
“Shut up! If she has no money and no coupons, where did she get the new clothes from?”
Gu Qingyao was so frightened she hid behind Wen Ruyu and did not dare to speak anymore.
Old Madam Zhang was so fierce that many children were afraid of her. She was infamous in the brigade for being difficult to deal with, and it was normal for the children to be terrified of her.
In the past, Gu Qingyao had given the impression of being obedient and mature. She worked quietly without saying much, and was a shy young girl. Now that Old Madam Zhang shouted at her a few times, it was normal for her to be frightened into tears, and be too afraid to speak.
Gu Qingyao did not dare to say anymore. When Wen Ruyu saw that her precious granddaughter was so frightened, she tried to protect Gu Qingyao. She looked very angry, but did not dare to openly quarrel with Old Madam Zhang in front of so many others.
With her background, she had to be cautious. Quarreling with someone like Old Madam Zhang would only bring trouble to herself.
Wen Ruyu nudged her husband. Gu Conghua also thoroughly despised this fellow, so he hurriedly packed his things and left with Wen Ruyu and Gu Qingyao.
They left, but the surrounding crowd discussed Zhang Xiaohui even more fervently.
Where had she gotten the money?
Where had she gotten the cloth coupons?
Why did she go to town every day?
What was she doing there?
How could she afford it?
All these were inexplicable!
But Old Madam Zhang did not realize what was going on. Zhang Jianguo was screaming and crying terribly and her heart ached for her son. She continued to scold and curse Zhang Xiaohui for being unfilial, and so on.
This time, Zhang Jianguo’s incident caused the entire brigade to notice Zhang Xiaohui’s absence. Even the Southern Lake Brigade and several of the other neighboring brigades noticed.
Because Zhang Xiaohui left for three days.
Of course, she did not return. Gu Qingyao had secretly run off to town and allowed Wang Guozhu to pick up a hundred dollars. Then she had sought out Zhang Xiaohui, and allowed her to pick up fifty dollars, and some coupons. This guaranteed that Zhang Xiaohui would bring Gu Ruoqing to enjoy themselves in town for a while.
Wang Guozhu did not lack coupons, so giving him money was enough.
The two of them did not have any lofty moral principles. When they saw that someone had dropped something, they would not wait there for the owner to come looking for it. After they picked up the money, they immediately tucked it into their own pockets.
Chapter 109: Where Has Zhang Xiaohui Gone? (4)
With money, Wang Guozhu could pretend to be freehanded in front of the woman he loved, and enjoy Zhang Xiaohui’s admiring gaze. Her worshipful expression caused Wang Guozhu, who was a male chauvinist, to feel particularly satisfied.
In his years with Zhou Hong, who was a domineering woman, she had never looked at him like that. This lovely feeling caused him to like Zhang Xiaohui even more.
On Zhang Xiaohui’s part, she had received money and some other things from Wang Guozhu. Together with the money and coupons that Gu Qingyao had allowed her to pick up, the days passed swiftly and happily and she had no desire to return home.
The entire brigade was discussing the fact that Zhang Xiaohui had not returned home for three days.
On the fifth day, Zhang Xiaohui was still not back, and everyone in the brigade felt that something was amiss!
When Zhang Xiaohui failed to return by the eighth day, Gu Qingyao pretended to be anxious and purposely made a big show of asking for news from the Zhang family. She asked her dear grandmother if she had news of her mother!
Everyone in the brigade heard of it!
Not only that, Gu Conghua, Wen Ruyu and Gu Qingyao went to the brigade leader, Wang Mingtao’s house, and explained the situation. A woman with a young girl had disappeared for many days, with no news. They were worried.
They also made it clear that they had searched the town, but had found no trace of Zhang Xiaohui.
The entire family had gone to town on the fifth day. Everyone in the brigade had seen them and asked what was going on! The family said that they were worried about their daughter-in-law, and were going to town to look for her.
Now, everyone knew the situation. Zhang Xiaohui had not yet returned after eight days and Wang Mingtao was looking grim!
Because he knew that it was not normal for a woman to suddenly act like that. Within the brigade, rumors were spreading, but they did not dare to gossip too openly.
But as time went by and Zhang Xiaohui still did not return, he would not be able to suppress the rumors any longer!
Gu Conghua said anxiously, “Brigade Leader, my… my daughter-in-law has been gone for so long. In the past, she left for two or three days at the most. She wanted to have fun, so we just let it go. But we have not had news of her for such a long time now, and I’m worried that something might have happened to her?
“Perhaps she has spent all her money or coupons, and was so hungry she fainted somewhere. What should we do? My son did not give us much money when he left. As villagers, we have enough to eat and don’t need much money. My daughter-in-law definitely does not have much cash on hand. She’s somewhere out there… this…
“Brigade leader, can you help us look for her? Our family has tried searching for her, but no one has seen her. I… We can’t help worrying as long as she’s away!”
This matter had become of great interest in the brigade. Many people had seen the entire Gu family seeking out the brigade leader, and they all came over to watch the show!
At that moment, Wang Mingtao was also worried. The truth was that he was inwardly praying that nothing had happened to that Zhang Xiaohui!
This was not some accident, but… his own mistake!
“Alright! Let me get organized and I’ll bring some men to search for her.”
“Ai Ai! Thank you, brigade leader! Thank you, brigade leader!”
Wang Mingtao organized some men and brought them to town to ask for news.
Although they did not find Zhang Xiaohui, two or three people claimed to have seen them. One of them knew Zhang Xiaohui, and was sure that it was her. The other two were not certain, but felt that the description fit the mother and daughter!
“They’re really rich and bought lots of nice things! I saw them buying meat in their new clothes.”
Everyone was mystified by this news. But they did not find Zhang Xiaohui in the town.
Even Gu Qingyao was rather surprised by the results!
Chapter 110: They Were Rich (1)
Actually, what Gu Qingyao did not know was that while she had been acting, Mo Beihan had also been acting!
In matters like these, Mo Beihan was more merciless.
Gu Qingyao was just a delicate young girl. She had been well taught from young, and was obedient and quiet. Later, after the incident, she grew even more timid and hid at home.
As she grew older, the Gu family became richer. She was a pampered young girl from an important family, who had to put up with rumors and gossip about herself. She was hardhearted enough to deal with these matters, but her methods lacked viciousness.
Also, the reborn Gu Qingyao was only fifteen. She did not have many connections or much power.
But Mo Beihan was different.
He had plenty of experience. He had been a powerful and important man in his previous life. In this life, he was still a successful man. His methods were much more vicious than those of Gu Qingyao.
Of course, he knew what was going on in the Gu family. In his previous life, Zhang Xiaohui had caused him and Yao Yao to suffer deeply. In this life, he certainly would not allow the girl he liked to be bullied.
He had already noticed that something was amiss when Zhang Xiaohui continually made trips to town. He also knew about Wang Guozhu.
During this period, Zhang Xiaohui and Wang Guozhu’s resources were provided, not just by Gu Qingyao, but also by Mo Beihan.
Mo Beihan had devised a way to give Wang Guozhu and Zhang Xiaohui even more money. He also found someone to deliberately lure them to the city to have even more fun. So, at that moment, Zhang Xiaohui and Wang Guozhu were in the city!
Wang Guozhu had been transferred there for work, and would return in a few days. Zhang Xiaohui had plenty of cash and coupons and wanted to go too, so they went together.
They had not found Zhang Xiaohui, but people had seen her and she seemed to be especially flush with cash. This news was even juicier.
That day, Mo Beihan was returning on his bicycle. He was deliberately making a trip to the Qing River Brigade. At that moment, Gu Qingyao and her grandparents were at Wang Mingtao’s house. Zhang Xiaohui had not been found, so everyone was discussing the matter.
Wang Mingtao in particular sensed that things were about to go awry. He wanted to swiftly conclude the matter. If things were as he suspected, it would reflect badly on the entire brigade.
In these times, the relationships between men and women were governed by strict rules, so Wang Mingtao was very worried.
Mo Beihan entered and greeted everyone. He looked at Gu Qingyao and said, “Haven’t you been searching for your mother lately? You don’t need to search any further. She’s in the city!”
City!
Everyone was stunned.
Before they could recover their wits, Mo Beihan continued to say to Gu Qingyao, “I had some errands to run in the city and saw her from afar. I was in the middle of something and had someone with me, so I did not have a chance to call out to her.
“By the time I was done and went looking for her, I couldn’t find her any longer. I don’t know where she is.”
“When I saw her, she and your elder sister were emerging from a department store. They were wearing new clothes and carrying many parcels. They looked like they had bought many things! Did your father give her a lot of money before he left? She bought so many things, she must have spent a lot of money!”
Gu Qingyao was shocked!
Really?
Elder Brother Beihan had really seen her?
But she had no time to think about that. She hurriedly said, “No, my father did not give us much money. In fact, he doesn’t have that much money at all.
“My older uncles and cousins live outside the village and their living expenses are very high. My older cousins are growing up. Their last letter said that my aunts are all pinching and saving so they can get married. The last time they sent some things over, they were all things they had saved to get. There is no money at home at all.”