Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty

Chapter 30: Chapter 29: Hurrying and Enjoying Chapter 30: Chapter 29: Hurrying and Enjoying Chen Afu bent down to pick up the small iron shovel, yelling loudly, “You still want my family to pay 1,000 cents, I’d rather kill you first.”

She originally wanted to rush at Hu Laowu, but considering that her physical strength was already drained, she certainly couldn’t beat Hu Laowu. Instead, she chose to first attack the defenseless Eralazi. She rushed towards Eralazi with the small iron shovel held high, her vacant eyes clearly abnormal, scaring Eralazi into crying for his father and mother as he rolled to the side. The spectators were also frightened and scattered.

Chen Agui and two daughters-in-law of the Chen family ran over to stop her. Chen Agui took the opportunity to snatch the shovel and whispered comfortingly, “Don’t panic, Afu, we won’t let them swindle that much money from us.”

Mrs. Chen arrived too, shouting, “Afu’s dementia had gotten better, but this time she’s had a relapse because Eralazi angered her. How do we handle this debt?” She was not afraid of Hu Laowu, and yelled at him again, “Hu Laowu, you’ve started swindling your own relatives, what a skillful man!” Seeing Mrs. Hu just standing there watching the commotion, she scolded again, “Eldest daughter-in-law, have you finished all the work at home? The pigsty and donkey shed are so dirty and you didn’t even bother cleaning up. Instead, you’re here watching the spectacle, what a lazy woman truly hard to find.”

Mrs. Hu knew that the old lady was venting her anger on her and angered yet not daring to retort publicly.

Then, Chen Ye, father and son, and some relatives of the Chen family also started talking, saying that Afu’s disease had finally gotten better, but now it had recurred because she was angered. They said that the cost of future decoctions should be compensated by Eralazi.

Apart from Hu Laowu, who spoke a few words in defense of Eralazi, there was no one to help him.

Junior Officer Gao banged the gavel and said, “Afu beat Eralazi severely, but Eralazi also angered Afu into a relapse, and Afu needs to take decoctions too. Considering both sides, as I said earlier, the Chens will pay 100 cents for the decoction. If anyone is not satisfied, go to the County Government to report.”

He then whispered to Chen Ming to go back and properly scold Chen Afu and stop her from causing trouble again. If she maimed someone or caused a death, she would have to go to jail and even pay with her life.

Chen Ming nodded in agreement and his family walked home together.

The spectators on both sides watched Chen Afu with wooden faces, and did not dare to gossip loudly. They thought to themselves, this fool’s dementia has indeed gotten better, but she is more crazy and hot-headed than before. In the future, they must keep their distance and not provoke her.

Especially some men who had plans to take advantage of the beautiful but foolish woman. Even if they had the courage, they wouldn’t dare now.

Some women quietly taught their children, “Stay away from that madwoman in the future, fighting with her is a waste…”
Among these spectators were Chen Aju and Hu Cuicui. Hearing people’s quiet discussions, they were also terrified, they should not tease the fool as they used to in the future.

Back home, Chen Ming handed the 100 cents to Junior Officer Gao’s son, who had come back with him to collect the money.

Chen Afu was feeling extremely guilty and said to Chen Ming, “Father, I’m sorry. We already have no money at home, and I wasted another 100 cents.”

Chen Ming felt much better by then. Not only was he not angry, but he felt relieved. His daughter being hot-headed might actually be a good thing. Unconsciously he straightened his spine, laughed and said, “You did the right thing, if you are bullied in the future, fight back like this. As long as you don’t kill anyone, I am willing to pay the compensation.”

Seeing such a lovely father, Chen Afu smiled.

Mrs. Chen also came along, and when she saw her son hand out the 100 cents, she was heartbroken. She was even more unhappy when she heard what her son had said, scolding, “Look at you, where are you going to find so much money to pay?” She scolded Chen Afu, “You idiot, you should hit where people can’t see, like on the back or buttocks, but you aim directly for the head.”

Chen Afu knew that today she had been helped by Mrs. Chen and the Chen family. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to get away from Hu Laowu so easily. She laughed and said, “Grandma, I deliberately hit Eralazi on the head today, just to show others his wounds, so they won’t dare to provoke me in the future.”

Thinking about it, the old lady agreed, “Hmm, this girl’s dementia has truly gotten better, she’s really become a cheeky monkey.” As she walked outside, she said to Chen Ming, “I have to go and give Mrs. Hu a piece of my mind. Her brothers want the Chen family to lose money. That’s truly disgraceful.” Then, she ran off in a cloud of dust.

The two boys were clearly frightened, their eyes filled with tears as they held onto Chen Afu.

Chen Afu was already exhausted, but she still took a long time to console them before the boys finally calmed down.

At noon, Mrs. Wang returned home and burst into tears when she heard the news. She cried not only because her daughter had been bullied, but also because she worried that her daughter’s fierceness would repel potential suitors in the future.

Chen Afu consoled her, “Mom, I need to survive first before we can discuss matters of marriage. If I’m bullied to death first, there won’t be any question of suitors as I won’t even be around. Don’t worry, if there’s a suitable man, I’ll marry… ah no, I mean, get married to him. If no suitable man comes along, I’ll live a good life with Dabao.”

Chen Afu’s words made both Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang blush, even Alu was laughing bashfully. Mrs. Wang chided her, “A modest girl should not talk about ‘suitable men’ or marrying this and that. If outsiders heard you, they would laugh at you.”

Although Chen Ming felt slightly embarrassed by Chen Afu’s words, he thought she was right. He said, “Afu is correct, she needs to live a life free from bullying before we can discuss other things.”

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Wang finally cheered up.

Everyone was exhausted, so Mrs. Wang made a pot of dough-drop soup and added a couple of eggs. This was delicacy they only enjoyed during festivals, and everyone ate their fill.

After lunch, Chen Afu bathed, and Mrs. Wang helped her wash her hair before they returned to the east room to rest. She bolted the door, and coaxed Dabao to sleep. However, the shaken little boy clung to her, whimpering and expressing his fears.

It can be annoying when children act needy at the wrong times. Chen Afu was exasperated to her wits’ end.

Actually, from the moment they returned home, a mix of urgency and joy filled Chen Afu’s heart. Yanzi was amazing, its little beak like a drill that pierced through everything. With this guardian, she could stride boldly forward.

But Yanzi was gone now, she didn’t know where it had gone or when it would return. She was eager to find answers.

But with everyone constantly around her, there was nothing she could do but wait until they took their afternoon nap.

Seeing his mother’s furrowed brows, and sensing her unusual lack of patience, Dabao grew more anxious. On the verge of tears, he asked, “Mom, are you mad at Dabao? Are you angry that Dabao was playing around instead of staying by your side to protect you?”

Chen Afu drew a deep breath, squeezed out a smile, and said, “Of course not. Mom loves Dabao very much. I had been fighting all morning and I’m really tired, so I want to sleep.”

“Oh.” Relieved, Dabao closed his eyes and soon fell into a dreamy sleep.

This child is too sensitive, way too sensitive, like a little girl. In the future, I’ll have to nurture his personality to be more like a little man.

Seeing him asleep, Chen Afu finally lifted her left hand to examine her injuries. Both her left palm and the middle fingers bore wounds. The one on her palm was particularly long, about half an inch.

………

Thank you to Piaoxuefw, ShuiderenSheng, and Hera@Qianlin’s wallet. Thanks to Keppra’s red envelope as well. “Farm Girl’s Splendid Life” is going to be released as a traditional character book. As per the publisher’s requirements, I need to revise the text and cut 360,000 words. Quite busy indeed.