Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 119 - 118: Big Hat

Chapter 119: Chapter 118: Big Hat

The villagers here may dare to defy Junior Officer Gao when they get aggressive, but they wouldn’t dare to disregard Manager Luo. Seeing Manager Luo arriving with so many villagers, including guardians armed with knives and guns, they all dared not act rashly.

Manager Luo said loudly, "Madam Chen is my young master’s needlework master, she’s a part of Tang Garden. Whoever bullies her is bullying Tang Garden, making an enemy of me, and of my master, a high-ranking official."

The people of Tang Garden had always been low-key, never boasting of their master’s official position. But today, in order to defend Chen Afu, Manager Luo made the rank of their master public.

Such a high-ranking official, indeed.

Upon hearing this, the furious crowd lowered their "weapons".

An indignant man approached and asked, "Mr. Luo, Chen Afu, that wicked woman, beat my mother into this state. What do you have to say about that?"

Chen Afu threw the stick she was holding on the ground, came forward and said to Manager Luo, "Uncle Luo, those two gossipy women were discussing about Governor Chen from Dingzhou and his mother. It was out of concern for Xiangluo Village that I tried to teach them a lesson."

She wasn’t foolish enough to mention the gossips about Mrs. Wang.

While the two women mainly discussed Mrs. Wang, they did indeed discuss Governor Chen and his mother too. They wanted to defend themselves, but there was no way to do so.

Manager Luo looked around at the villagers and, with deep distress, said, "I’ve heard a few of the village’s rumours. You are really daring, discussing even the officials of the capital in public. That’s a serious crime of blaspheming high-ranking court officials. Aren’t you afraid of being reported and executed?"

Hu Laowu squeezed out of the crowd and said, "Mr. Luo, I can testify. Those two families’ wives can’t stop talking about others’ matters. This time they crossed a line, daring to gossip about Governor Chen. Well then, I’ll go to the county town now to tell my fourth brother-in-law who works there, so that he can catch these two bold women."

Manager Luo looked at him and said with a grave countenance, "Um, you should take my master’s poster along, and directly go see the County magistrate."

At the news that he might perhaps meet the county magistrate, Hu Laowu was overjoyed and repeatedly said, "Alright, alright, I’ll go handle this."

The two families were frightened by the "blasphemy" accusation of Manager Luo and rumors about going to see the county magistrate and the local police scared them even more.

The two women swiftly got up from the ground. One of them shouted, "Wronged, we have been wronged! We did not slander Governor Chen, but merely mentioned that Governor Chen’s mother sent Mrs. Wang back home."

The other woman also cried out, "We won’t dare anymore, we won’t talk about Governor Chen and Mrs. Wang."

Furious, their husbands slapped them each in the face. One of the men cursed while hitting, "You foolish woman, still making reckless remarks. You’re seeking death, don’t implicate our family!"

Another man beat his wife as well, cursing, "I’ll beat you to death, you stinking woman, you still dare to talk nonsense?"

Manager Luo looked at the two families and said, "These two foolish women, even in front of so many people, they still won’t hold their tongues. If they continue in this manner, not just them, our entire village will be implicated." He then said to Junior Officer Gao, "Lizheng, you’re too kind. You can’t reason with villagers who harm others and themselves."

Gao Li’s face turned bright red, he glared at the two families. Even he feared that the issue would reach County Government. By sending it, wouldn’t it show his incompetence?

He then quickly smiled at Manager Luo and said, "There won’t be a next time. I am definitely going to punish them." Then he turned to the strong women and said, "Go on, slap Mrs. Ding and Mrs. Xing ten times each. Teach them a lesson about what can be said and what can’t, so they don’t end up causing trouble for the whole village."

Gao Li is considered mild among the people, usually avoiding corporal punishment in the village. But this time, since the matter was serious, he had to discipline these two women. If Manager Luo interferes and escalates this issue to the County Government, it would be problematic. The villagers did not understand this, but Gao Li had heard rumors; the power behind Tang Garden’s master was huge, which even Governor Chen couldn’t afford to offend.

The villagers also started to fear. If this leads to collective punishment, the whole village might suffer. They started blaming the two women for causing trouble, demanding strict punishment.

The village women, who were related to these two women through a few twists and turns, were also afraid of getting implicated. They complied by dragging the two women aside, two pulled them and one slapped them.

This was like everyone pushing when the wall is about to fall. Initially, it was Mrs. Wang, now it was the two older women.

Even the families of these two women did not dare to plead mercy for them, they knew that getting slapped in the face in the village was better than being taken to the County Government.

Hearing the slapping sound and the cries of the women, Chen Afu felt especially satisfied.

After the beating, Manager Luo told Hu Laowu, "Since they have already been taught a lesson and are remorseful, don’t report to the County Government yet. As neighbors, harmonious relationships are most important. However, if anyone dares to talk nonsense again, tell Junior Officer Gao about it. If Gao does not handle it, then it should be reported to the County Government with the request for an investigation by the county magistrate."

Hu Laowu quickly bowed in agreement, Gao Lizheng agreed that he would handle it, and the heads of the two families also bowed to Luo, thanking him for his mercy.

Chen Afu secretly gave a thumbs-up, recognizing the brilliance of Manager Luo’s handling of the situation. Discussing Mrs. Wang’s matter publicly was undesirable, the more it was discussed, the worse it got; the matter became unclear the more it was discussed. It was necessary to do just as Luo did, silencing the gossip with a major accusation and a display of force.

The two families did not dare to make a fuss anymore. They carried their beaten wives back home.

The crowd gradually dispersed. Chen Ming and Chen Ye, Chen Agu all went to thank Manager Luo, Junior Officer Gao, and Carpenter Wu. They even thanked Hu Laowu and invited them to come to their place as guests in the future.

Chen Afu, meanwhile, was half-dragging and half-supporting a pale, stumbling Mrs. Wang back home. Mrs. Wang was trembling all over, staggering with every step. It took a lot for Afu to carry her back.

In front of the bamboo fence, Alu, supported by a crutch, was waiting with Dabao. When they heard that Afu was in a fight and saw many villagers running outside the village with hoes and big sticks, Chen Ming and Mrs. Wang did not allow the children to follow, fearing they may get hurt.

Seeing people return from outside the village, they were so afraid that they started crying. Dabao sobbed, "Uncle, why hasn’t mother, grandma, and grandpa come back yet?"

Tears trickled down Alu’s cheeks as he said, "Let’s wait a little longer. If they haven’t returned yet, let’s go and look for them."

When they saw Chen Afu helping Mrs. Wang to come back, they wiped their tears and rushed up to them. Alu nervously asked, "Where’s grandpa? Is grandpa okay?"

Chen Afu said, "Dad is fine. He’s talking to people and will be back soon."

The group returned home together.