country bumpkin

Chapter 57 Accepting fate

At this moment, Kong Youliang and Kong Tongming arrived, and the villagers made way for them to enter the courtyard.

Just as the fight was about to break out, the clever Yunya ran to the village chief's house to call for reinforcements. They only arrived now.

Kong Youliang spoke up, "Oh! It's so lively here! What's going on? When did the people in our village get this nickname? They're not taking me, the village chief, seriously!"

Zhu Wenbin walked over and shook hands with him with a smile, "No way! Village Chief Kong must have misheard."

Old Zhu also ran over to greet him. "Village Chief Kong, you've misunderstood, it's all a misunderstanding."

They weren't afraid of the Zhang family alone; what they feared was that in other villages, where the other families outnumbered and outmatched them, they would surely suffer losses.

Zhu Zhiqiang also shut up and lowered his head, pretending to be a quail.

Mu Shuyun also came over to help Granny Zhang up and stood beside her to support her.

When Granny Liang realized the situation was bad and they were going to suffer a loss, she also gave up and pretended to be a quail.

The village chiefs from both villages were present, so everyone sat down and discussed how to resolve the matter.

Finally, it was decided that either Mengmeng would stay with the Zhang family and receive a dowry of 1000 yuan, or she would take the man back to her parents' home, and the two families would no longer have any contact.

Granny Zhang was unwilling but had no choice; she couldn't find her daughter, and the other family wasn't going to suffer a loss.

The Zhang family simply couldn't come up with that much money; they only had 300 yuan in total, which was more than half short.

Mu Shuyun whispered in Zhang Pozi's ear, "Old sister, do you have enough money? If not, I have some money at home, I'll go back and get it for you."

Granny Zhang gratefully grasped Mu Shuyun's hand and whispered in reply, "Thank you, old sister. We'll talk about it later. I'll think about it."

She wasn't really keen on spending the money, but that was because Zhu Mengmeng couldn't conceive. She was thinking of taking this opportunity to find a new daughter-in-law.

She also felt that the Zhu family was no good and not easy to get along with. Especially Zhu Zhiqiang and Granny Liang, they were both heartless and wicked people.

If they could find a new wife for her son, or find a new family for her daughter to marry into, wouldn't they avoid wasting that money?

Thinking of this, Granny Zhang looked at the village chiefs of the two villages and said, "I'm sorry to trouble you village chiefs for your concern, but we don't have that much money. If they want to take the people away, let them take them away!"

Upon hearing this, her son Zhang Qingguo immediately looked distressed and said anxiously, "Mom, I don't agree. I want Mengmeng. I don't want anyone else but her."

Granny Zhang retorted, "You good-for-nothing coward, what use is she? She can't do any work and we have to wait on her like a young mistress all day. If she leaves, we'll marry a capable and fertile woman. I don't believe we can't find a good girl."

Hearing this, Granny Liang got anxious and said, "Hmph! You think your family is so great? You're dirt poor. Bah... You can't even come up with 1000 yuan."

As she spoke, Granny Liang pulled her daughter out of the courtyard and came to the front gate.

The rest of the two families and the village chiefs of the two villages "...".

How did the talks break down?

Old Zhu and Jiang Mobai obediently turned the donkey cart around and followed them out of the courtyard.

Zhu Wenbin said goodbye to Kong Youliang, "Village Chief Kong, you see... let's leave it at that!"

What else could Kong Youliang say? The two families had already made their decision, and as outsiders, they could only offer assistance but had no say in the matter.

The Zhu family drove off in a grand procession in their donkey carts, followed by villagers who came to watch the spectacle.

With red eyes, Zhang Qingguo followed behind the car, shouting, "Mengmeng... Mengmeng, don't go, don't go!"

The villagers who had gathered to watch the spectacle were buzzing with discussion.

"Oh, this Qing Kingdom is quite the romantic," an old woman remarked.

Another old woman said, "What's the use of being infatuated? You need money to make it work. If you don't have money, people won't want to stay."

Zhang Qingguo no longer cared what others were saying; he just kept chasing after the cart. Watching the donkey cart go faster and faster, and farther and farther away, he sat down on the ground, burying his face in his hands and weeping bitterly.

Zhu Mengmeng was crying her eyes out in the car. She wanted to jump off, but her mother held her hand tightly. She could only say helplessly, "Mom, I want to go back. I don't want to leave. His family is very good to me. Qingguo is very good to me. He loves me very much. I don't want to leave him."

Granny Liang roared angrily, "Enough, shut up! Remember this: you can't just think about yourself. I'll have to find you another family to marry into in exchange for marriage, otherwise your brother will be a bachelor for life."

Zhu Mengmeng cried out, "No, I won't... Waaah!"

Granny Liang held her tightly, afraid that she would jump off the carriage and run away.

The men in the car shook their heads and remained silent.

Her second aunt, Liang Laidi, comforted her, saying, "Mengmeng, just listen to your mother! She's your own mother, how could she mistreat you? She's doing this all for your own good. What's so good about that family? They're so poor."

Zhu Mengmeng glared at her fiercely, "Second Aunt, if my grandmother had sold you to someone else back then, would you have been willing?"

Liang Laidi choked.

Granny Liang slapped Mengmeng and said, "You brat, how dare you talk like that? How could I sell you?"

Mengmeng looked at her mother in disbelief, "You hit me, you actually hit me. Waaaaaah!"

Granny Liang said, "You are my child, I can beat you however I want. What, all these years I've pampered you like a treasure while you were at home, what do you think it was for? Just to raise you well so you can get a wife for your brother."

Zhu Mengmeng looked utterly dejected.

Old Zhu felt sorry for his daughter seeing her like this. Fearing that she might do something rash, he scolded her, "Liang Zhaodi, that's enough."

Granny Liang quickly shut up. She usually made the decisions at home, but that didn't mean her husband was a pushover who could be manipulated by others.

Watching this family's farce, Zhu Wenbin regretted coming along; it was truly shameful.

Zhu Zhiqiang stared blankly at his leg, his mind screaming, "Why? Why am I a cripple? Why was I allowed to live, to be a burden to my family?"

The car continued its bumpy journey, and the car was deathly silent. Zhu Mengmeng stopped crying, her eyes fixed on the reflections of the trees, her gaze empty and filled with despair.

Suddenly, the car shook violently and then stopped.

Mo Bai, who was rushing to catch the carriage, got off the carriage cursing and swearing, only to find that the wheels of the carriage were stuck in a mud pit.

The men all got off to push the cart. Zhu Mengmeng seemed to have grasped a glimmer of hope. Taking advantage of the chaos, she suddenly pushed Liang Pozi aside and ran away.

"You brat, stop right there!" Granny Liang shouted as she chased after her.

Zhu Mengmeng ran towards the woods by the roadside without a care in the world, oblivious to the branches tearing her clothes and skin.

The shouts behind her grew fainter and fainter until she ran to a large tree and collapsed down.

At this moment, Zhu Wenbin hesitated for a moment before following in the direction Zhu Mengmeng had fled.

He found Zhu Mengmeng shivering under the big tree. "Mengmeng, don't be afraid, I won't let them force you anymore."

Zhu Mengmeng looked up at him with her tear-streaked face, a hint of doubt and hope flashing in her eyes.

Just then, the sound of Granny Liang and the others arriving came from behind, and the atmosphere became tense again.

Granny Liang stepped forward and slapped Zhu Mengmeng hard across the face. The burning pain brought her back to her senses.

It's over, everything is over. She no longer receives the affection she once had in this family. She realizes that only if she is useful to her brother and family will they love her and treat her like a human being.

Once she's no longer of any use, she's just a commodity that anyone can bully and sell at will.

Although Zhu Wenbin made a promise, he wasn't family, so why would her mother listen to him? Her mother would only pay lip service to his words.

Everyone got back into the car and continued their journey. Mengmeng, now completely listless, stared blankly into the distance.

She surrendered.