Translator: Lonelytree
Ever since Xiao Zhengyang's family returned to the village, the atmosphere was different.
Someone build a free road for Taoyuan village. Everyone was happy.
Then, the rumors came that the Xiao Family wouldn't allow the people who fanned the flames that night to come to the Little Cattle King's pen anymore. If they were found out, they would be treated as thieves and sent to the police station.
Then, another piece of news came from the Chen and Lan family villages. Those who participated in the fight were detained for 15 days. They were fined 500 RMB and had to give 200 RMB to Xiao Zhengyang as compensation. As people returned from the police station, some of them paid the money, and Xiao Zhengyang accepted it.
However, there were some who refused to pay. Xiao Lingyu immediately reported them. The officers came, and these people were so scared they coughed up the money immediately.
Many people said that Xiao Lingyu was very scary. She would go to the police for the smallest thing. They wouldn't dare to do something like that.
However, Chen Sanhua, Lan Hongxing, Chen Dahua, and Lan Erying were still locked up since they were masterminds. They were fined and would be sentenced in court. If they didn't pay the money, their personal property would be confiscated and turned into money to compensate the Xiao Family. As for their sentence, there was news that the four would be imprisoned for at least three years.
There were four criminals from two villages. It didn't take long for the reputation of these two villages to be ruined, especially the Chen family village. People started to call them the Criminal Village.
The people of the Chen Family were furious. They went to Chen Dahua and Chen Sanhua's places and smashed them into pieces. Everyone related to Chen Dahua was criticized and mocked. People related to Chen Dahua wouldn't even dare to go out.
As for Chen Ran, the officers decided to return him to Chen Dahua's mother or Chen Ran's grandmother. However, when they arrived, Old Madam Chen barred the door. She was still waiting for her children to take care of her! She could barely look after herself, so how could she take care of a cripple?
Since Old Madam Chen refused to take Chen Ran, the officers had to find the other relatives. However, no one from the Chen Family or the Lan Family was willing to take him. Chen Erhua said directly, "You might as well let me strangle him to death. It'll save us the trouble."
Chen Ran was the source of their trouble. If he didn't betray Xiao Lingyu, she wouldn't need to retaliate, and the two villages wouldn't suffer.
How much they tried to curry favor with Chen Ran in the past was how much they hated him now. They hated him so much they wanted to cut him into pieces so he wouldn't be around to harm people again. He was a real troublemaker.
In the end, the officers had no choice but to drop Chen Ran off at the rescue station. There were many mentally deranged patients there. When they saw Chen Ran, they saw a new toy. The admin there was too busy to care about one cripple. As long as they didn't kill Chen Ran, they turned their eyes away from what the other patients did to Chen Ran.
They stuck Chen Ran with pins and needles. They fed him chili water and hot peppers...
Chen Ran was unable to resist. The former favored child of heaven became a toy for mental patients. Then again, he was only paying for the sins he committed in his previous life.
...
Xiao Lingyu made a call. When the call was picked up, she showed a grateful smile. "Brother Jiang, thank you so much."
Jiang Tao, in a white robe, lay on the sofa and smiled, "I didn't help much. Chen Dahua and the others did commit horrible crimes. I merely made sure they were punished." Jiang Tao wouldn't break the law for anyone, not even Xiao Lingyu.
Thankfully, Xiao Lingyu didn't ask him to do anything that violated his principles. She only asked him to pay more attention to this case.
Xiao Lingyu smiled, "Regardless, Brother Jiang, I need to thank you. If not for you, a few of them would have escaped the punishment of the law."
Xiao Lingyu knew that Lan Hongxing's father, Lan Chongcai, was a junior high school classmate of the town police station's deputy director. In her previous life, the Lan Family relied on this relationship to plunder the Xiao Family. However, this time, Xiao Lingyu had a more powerful connection!
Jiang Tao frowned when he heard Xiao Lingyu. There were always one or two worms in every unit. Jiang Tao said, "Lingyu if you really want to thank me, treat me to a meal."
"No problem!" Xiao Lingyu agreed readily, "You can decide the time and place!"
Jiang Tao opened his mouth. He wanted to say, 'Come to my place to cook for me.' But in the end, he said, "We'll go to Uncle Chen's. You can decide the time."
Xiao Lingyu replied, "I'm fine with any time. I will go to the county town every day anyway."
"Oh, you've bought a car. I just remembered!" Jiang Tao smiled. "That means it'll be more convenient for you to come to the county town."
"That's right." Xiao Lingyu said, "Brother Jiang, how about tomorrow morning? Are you free?"
"It's fine with me!" Jiang Tao agreed.
After hanging up, Xiao Lingyu went to check on the fields. According to her plan, the strawberries should have been transplanted a few days ago. However, many incidents had delayed it.
Xiao Lingyu hired people to dig up the soil, and she started to transplant the strawberries.
Due to the delay, the strawberry seedlings had grown larger. However, their stems were slender due to a lack of space and nutrients. Xiao Lingyu told everyone to be careful as they moved the seedlings. The villagers had seen strawberries but not their seedlings.
When they saw the strawberry seedlings, they exclaimed, "They look like raspberry seedlings!"
"They do!" Someone chimed in. "This is the first time I'm dealing with a strawberry seedling. It's quite novel. Normally, we can't even afford to buy one strawberry. If Lingyu manages to grow the strawberries, she promises to sell some to us at a low price. Then, we'll finally get to taste strawberries!"
"Yes. I will buy some too!"
Xiao Lingyu naturally would sell the villagers at a lower price than the market.
"Lingyu is such a good girl. That Chen kid is awful. He deserves to end up like this."
"What will happen to Lingyu in the future? Will she still find a good husband?"
"Why not? Did you not see Lingyu's friends? They are all young and talented. The girl is so nice. She'll find a good man. Plus, we're entering a new age. Even widows can remarry, so why not Lingyu?"
...
Ever since Xiao Lingyu's rape was exposed, many felt pity for her. They berated Chen Ran. If he didn't like Lingyu, he should just break up with her. However, he did such a despicable thing. He drugged his girlfriend and then gifted her to an old man to ruin her reputation. This was shocking to the simple villagers. They had not seen someone as evil as Chen Ran.
Of course, there were also people who mocked Xiao Lingyu. A raped woman would be drowned in the olden days. Even now, many rape survivors committed suicide. As Zhang Chunjiao said, there was an example in a nearby village.
However, Xiao Lingyu lived her life like nothing was wrong. No one knew her miserable situation in her previous life.
Xiao Lingyu hired a lot of people since she planned to have all the strawberries planted in one day. There were 18 people, including her fourth uncle and aunt. The six Mu of land was planted.
After that, Xiao Lingyu helped water the strawberries. Xiao Lingyu prepared the water with the spring water.
All the strawberries were planted around dusk. Xiao Lingyu had some strawberry seedlings left. She planned to plant them in her family's backyard. They would be decorative, and she could see the effects different locations had on the berries.
However, there was a small interlude. It was about the two families who refused to rent Xiao Lingyu their land after being persuaded by Zhang Chunjiao. They wanted to start their own strawberry fields. When they heard that Xiao Lingyu had some leftover seedlings, they directly asked her for them.
"Lingyu, I heard that you still have some strawberry seedlings left. I also want to plant some. Why don't you give them to me?" Zhang Xiaoqiu asked with a smile.
Xiao Lingyu said with a fake smile, "I'm sorry, Auntie Zhang. I really don't have any leftover strawberry seedlings."
"But... what about those?" Zhang Xiaoqiu pointed at the pile of strawberry seedlings. She was already a bit angry about being refused.
"Oh, you're talking about these. These aren't the leftovers," Xiao Lingyu said coldly, "I plan to grow them in my backyard. Auntie Zhang, if you want strawberry seedlings, you need to go to the county town. See if anyone sells them."
Zhang Xiaoqiu snarled, "Just say that you're stingy. Why give me so many excuses?!"
Xiao Lingyu nodded. "Fine, I would rather let them rot than give them to you. Are you satisfied now?"
Everyone, "...."