176 Uprooted Saplings
“Zhao Zhan, what do you think we should do? If you don’t say something, there’s no guarantee that the other people in the village will trust you when they don’t see the results of their labor. It’s almost harvest time, how can they uproot things at this time? It all turned to waste!”
Zhao Zhan subconsciously turned around to look at Yue Jiaojiao.
“I’ll be fine. You can go with Dashan first. I’ll wait for you at home.”
“Dashan, give me some time before I leave.”
Zhao Zhan first made the bed, then lit the stove in the small kitchen. He used a clean clay pot to warm up hot water. When everything was done, he said softly, “I’ll be back soon.”
Yue Jiaojiao nodded her head gently.
Zhao Zhan and Yang Dashan went to Lizheng’s house first.
“Lizheng.”
“Is this because of Yang Dalei’s family pulling out the seedlings?” Yang Lizheng sighed and looked at Zhao Zhan with guilt. “It’s my fault. I should’ve thought of this when you told me not to let his family get involved in this matter. Who would’ve thought that they would be so stubborn!”
“This has nothing to do with you, Lizheng. Back then, everyone had signed a contract. I came to find you today because I wanted to ask for the contract and for you to come with us to Yang Dalei’s house.”
Yang Dashan was right about one thing. If he turned a blind eye to this matter, it was difficult to guarantee that no one in the village would learn from him.
“I’ve been carrying it with me ever since this happened. I’ll go with you now.”
It would be the end of the year in two months. The big guys in the village had earned some copper coins from building houses and had more or less repaired their houses.
The three mud-tiled houses in Yang Dalei’s house looked particularly dilapidated when they reached.
“Yang Dalei!”
Lizheng was full of energy. He shouted out the anger that he had been holding back for two days, “Come out!”
“Xiaowan,” Yang Dalei held his rice bowl and shivered as he looked at Liu Xiaowan in fear, “It’s Lizheng! It must be because of the seedlings! Hurry up and get out.”
Liu Xiaowan held the child in her arms with a blank face. She didn’t even lift her eyelids when she heard this.
The bowl of porridge in front of her was so thin that she could see her figure. “I’m a woman. It’s not appropriate for me to go out and meet so many men. You’re the man in the family. You should go.”
“Listen to your man!” Dalei’s mother rolled her eyes and glared at Liu Xiaowan. “If you don’t go, who will? Can Dalei beat Zhao Zhan? Don’t think that I don’t know about your mother who’s been sucking up to everyone in the village. Hurry up and get out of here.”
“It’s fine if you pull out a rotten seedling. What can be more precious than grain in this day and age?”
Liu Xiaowan’s lips were tightly pursed. When she heard this, she glared at Dalei’s mother.
“How dare you talk back! If it wasn’t for the fact that we’re counting on you to give our family a grandson, I would have asked Dalei to divorce you! Get out!”
His own mother was insulting his own wife, but Yang Dalei held the bowl and shrunk his neck, pretending not to hear it. He had no intention of helping at all.
“Yang Dalei, you have to come up with a plan for plucking out someone else’s seedling. Don’t forget that we signed a contract. If you don’t say anything, I’ll have to hand this contract over to the chief and let him decide.”
“Mother!” Yang Dalei looked at his mother, trembling. He was so scared that his soul was about to fly away. “Mother, I don’t want to go to jail. What do you think I should do?”
“That contract has your wife’s signature. It doesn’t matter.”
“Mother!”
She stood up, walked over, and grabbed Liu Xiaowan’s hair. “Are you stuck to the chair? Can you not move??”