Chapter 1324: Chapter 1319: There Will Be Hope (Third Update)
Qin Xianglan took the initiative to tell Mu Shuangshuang that she wanted to go to Zhu San’s house to look for something.
Mu Shuangshuang told her that Zhu San’s house was pretty much burned down, so there was actually no need to go.
But Qin Xianglan refused to give in, so Mu Shuangshuang and Zheng Zhi had no choice but to go on ahead and wait for her at the village entrance.
After confirming that Mu Shuangshuang and Zheng Zhi had gone far, Qin Xianglan headed toward Zhu San’s house.
Zhu San’s house had two adjoining living rooms, but the kitchen was separate.
Qin Xianglan figured the kitchen hadn’t burned, and sure enough, when she went over, it was still there.
On the wall where the big iron pot was placed in the kitchen, Qin Xianglan pulled out a clay brick and took out the Silver Zhu San had hidden inside.
It was not much, but there were still two or three taels.
This was a secret Qin Xianglan had known for a long time; she had just never said anything, and Zhu San didn’t even know that she knew!
With the money in hand, Qin Xianglan was about to leave when the kitchen door was suddenly shoved open.
Drooling, Gouzi lunged at Qin Xianglan.
"Lady, eat... hungry!"
Qin Xianglan glanced around but didn’t see anyone else.
She suddenly raised her foot and kicked Gouzi hard.
"Fuck your mother! I’ve looked after you, you beast, for two years. Now that that old beast Zhu San is in prison, I’ll see how you die!"
She grabbed a stick from the kitchen and swung it at Gouzi as if she didn’t want her own life.
In just a short while, Gouzi’s skin was torn open and his flesh split; blood began to seep out.
"It hurts... hurts..."
Holding his head, Gouzi crawled on the ground.
But after all, he was a fool. Aside from crying out in pain, he didn’t know how to fight back, let alone how to protect himself.
Qin Xianglan’s eyes turned red as she beat him; the more she hit, the more worked up she became.
As she swung, she cursed under her breath, "You little idiot, if I don’t beat you to death today, I’ll take your surname!"
The crackling sound of the blows echoed through the entire Zhu family kitchen.
By the time Qin Xianglan lowered her hand, Gouzi was no longer moving. Tears, snot, and drool covered his whole body, and the clothes on him had been beaten to shreds by her stick.
Curled up in the corner, he really was like his name—like a dog, a dog that nobody asked about and nobody cared about!
"Pah!"
Qin Xianglan spat heavily, threw away the stick in her hand, and then swaggered out of Zhu San’s house.
"Hoo~" She blew out a long breath of foul air from her mouth.
Qin Xianglan felt that the anger she’d held in for two years had all dispersed.
When she returned to the village entrance, Mu Shuangshuang, Yu Dahai, Zheng Zhi, and some women waiting to leave together were all there.
Looking at those women, Qin Xianglan, for some reason, felt a hint of smugness in her heart.
She even felt that even though they had gone through the same kind of thing, her fate was much better than theirs!
"Miss Shuangshuang, Yu, when are we leaving?"
Zheng Zhi needed to go to the county and would not be traveling with Qin Xianglan and the others.
Mu Shuangshuang had just opened her mouth to say they could leave right away when she suddenly noticed several bloodstains on the hem of Qin Xianglan’s clothes.
They hadn’t been there before!
"Yu, you take Aunt Qin to town. Mr. Zheng and I still have things to discuss!" Mu Shuangshuang said.
Qin Xianglan didn’t think much of it, got straight into the carriage, and let Yu Dahai drive it away.
As soon as their carriage disappeared from sight at the village entrance, Mu Shuangshuang said, "Zheng Zhi, I’m going back into the village. You look after these women."
Ten women would need two carriages to take them back.
But Zheng Zhi had already sent the constables to arrange it, and it would be ready very soon.
"I’ll go with you!" Zheng Zhi felt that Mu Shuangshuang had something on her mind.
He quickly followed her. Mu Shuangshuang went straight to Zhu San’s house, and when she saw the kitchen hadn’t burned down, she went in—and happened to see Gouzi lying on the ground!
"This is..."
"Zhu San’s foolish son," Mu Shuangshuang said.
"How come he’s lying here?" Zheng Zhi asked.
"Whoever came by just now is the one who beat him," Mu Shuangshuang said, not covering for Qin Xianglan.
There was no need to. This woman was simply too vicious.
Zhu San’s son was just a fool. Even if she had looked after him for two years, what would a fool understand?
He understood nothing!
Mu Shuangshuang had grounds for saying this. If Zhu San’s son were truly lecherous, Old Mrs. Mu would have been slept with long ago; why wait until now!
"That Qin Xianglan really isn’t any easy one. In the future, whoever marries her will probably be done in by her!"
There are some women who really are clever.
They know how to put on an act, but their hearts are crooked.
There isn’t a shred of compassion in them.
Mu Shuangshuang even guessed that if Old Mrs. Mu hadn’t been who she was, would Qin Xianglan have saved her?
Mu Shuangshuang didn’t know the answer, but at the beginning, Qin Xianglan had indeed only dared to do everything that followed after hearing Old Mrs. Mu say that her own son was the county magistrate in the county.
"Let’s take him to the clinic. Without anyone to look after him like this, he might die," Zheng Zhi said.
Mu Shuangshuang nodded. They had no carriage, only two horses.
Zheng Zhi tied Gouzi to the back of his own horse, and the two of them didn’t dare hurry their pace, because they weren’t sure whether they might run into the carriage Qin Xianglan was in.
By the time they got him to town, half an hour had already passed.
They went to the best clinic and had the doctor treat Zhu San’s son.
When they brought him in, the doctor kept shaking his head.
"Sigh, this... these blows were far too ruthless. His skin’s torn and flesh split; his bones were almost broken! Just how big a grudge, how deep a hatred is this!"
Mu Shuangshuang didn’t say anything; she just took out the money and told the doctor he must treat him properly.
Zheng Zhi glanced at Mu Shuangshuang. "What do you plan to do with this person?"
"He’s a victim too. I’m thinking, if we really manage to set up a vegetable garden in the future, we can have him help with spreading manure, carrying water and such, and pay him the same wages as a normal person."
"But will he be able to?"
Though Zheng Zhi didn’t call Gouzi a fool out loud, in his heart, he still thought so.
"Even animals can copy what people do, let alone him—he is a person, just with a simpler nature. If we spend more time, teach him properly, it’s still better than tossing him onto the street to be a beggar!"
Mu Shuangshuang said.
In truth, she wasn’t someone who liked meddling in other people’s business.
If Qin Xianglan hadn’t beaten him into this state, she might not have helped.
But now that he had been beaten like this, Mu Shuangshuang instead felt unconvinced.
One day, she would prove to Qin Xianglan that this man she had almost beaten crippled could also live on his own!
Zheng Zhi nodded repeatedly. "You’re right. I’m also curious what he’ll be like in the future!"
"How about this, Miss Shuangshuang: tomorrow I’ll have people send over the plots of land in the nearby villages that we can buy to grow vegetables. If you think they’re suitable, mark them with a brush. Once you’ve chosen, we’ll start building houses and putting up fences right away."
Mu Shuangshuang nodded.
"I’ll trouble you, Mr. Zheng, but you have to believe that we won’t lose money on this. In fact, later on, we might very well make a profit!"
Mu Shuangshuang already had quite a few plans in mind, just waiting to be put into practice!
"All right! I’ll wait and see!"
