Doctor Reborn as a Peasant Girl? Time to Get Rich

Chapter 8: Chapter 8: A Dog’s Mouth Spits No Ivory

The village chief looked at Bai Zhi with relief and smiled. ”Zhi is the quick-witted one. She has the right idea.” He turned to the old lady. ”Do you have any objections?”

The old lady couldn’t be more eager to sever ties with them, lest they come running back to beg for food when they went hungry. ”That was my thinking exactly. A document in black and white is more binding than empty talk.” As she spoke, she turned to the villagers gathered outside the courtyard. ”Everyone, bear witness! From this day forward, our Bai Family is severing all ties with Zhao Lan and her daughter. Whatever happens to them in the future has absolutely nothing to do with the Bai Family.”

Uncle Hu, who had been standing silently to the side, spoke up. ”Da Zhu’s mother, what you’re doing is just cruel. Kicking a mother and her daughter out like this... they won’t even have a place to live. How can you be so heartless?”

The villagers outside chimed in. ”That’s right! The mother and daughter are both injured. Isn’t kicking them out like this going too far?”

The old lady sneered. ”I wasn’t the one who asked to split the family. She said it herself. Didn’t you all hear her?”

Uncle Hu said, ”Even if Zhao Lan was the one who asked to leave, you could at least give them a room, couldn’t you? Even if you don’t want them in the courtyard, isn’t there a thatched shed out back? Letting them stay there would be better than having no shelter at all.”

Liu immediately jumped in. ”Absolutely not! I use that shed for my ox. If they live there, what will happen to my ox?”

Mrs. Zhao gave a bitter smile and said to Uncle Hu, ”Brother Hu, please don’t say any more. You know full well what my status in this family is. Forget the ox, I’m not even worth as much as their chickens and ducks.”

The village chief had had enough of these two shrews. He said to Mrs. Zhao and the old lady, ”Just wait here. I’ll go write up the agreement and bring it back.” With that, the village chief left the courtyard. Uncle Hu, who was standing nearby, said, ”Zhi’er’s mother, don’t waste your anger on them. It’s not worth it. Come stay at my place tonight. We have a spare room, you and Zhi’er can share it.”

Mrs. Zhao had just been wondering where they would sleep that night. Uncle Hu’s offer was a godsend. With tears in her eyes, she nodded. ”Thank you, Brother Hu.”

Hearing Uncle Hu’s offer, Liu couldn’t help but sneer. ”Well now, the family isn’t even officially split and you’re already cozying up to another man? You sure work fast! It’s one thing for you to be so shameless, but are you dragging your Bai Zhi into it? Planning to make her Hu Feng’s wife, are you?”

Uncle Hu had been widowed at a young age. His son had drowned at eighteen while fishing in the river, and he had lived alone ever since. Three years ago, he rescued a young man from the mountains. The youth was handsome, tall, and strong, but he had suffered a head injury and had no memories. Uncle Hu named him Hu Feng and adopted him as his son.

Uncle Hu shot Liu a cold glare and snapped, ”Don’t think everyone’s mind is as filthy as yours. I, Hu Changlin, am not like you heartless, soulless people.”

Mrs. Zhao quickly tried to calm him. ”Brother Hu, you were just telling me not to waste my anger on them. It’s not worth it. Please, don’t pay her any mind; you’ll never get a kind word out of a mouth like hers.”

The moment Liu heard that, she flew into a rage. Planting her hands on her hips, she screamed, ”Zhao Lan, who are you calling a dog? Say it again! I dare you to say it again!”

Zhao Lan had no desire to engage with her, so she simply turned her back on Liu.

Liu was seething. ’She was always the one bullying Zhao Lan; when did the tables turn?’ The thought of the two slaps she’d received earlier made the rage in her heart impossible to suppress. She snatched up a broom from the courtyard and charged viciously toward Zhao Lan.