Chapter 341 - 339: The Gunny Sack

Chapter 341: Chapter 339: The Gunny Sack

Wen Xiu and Gu Nuan Nuan stepped into the courtyard of Gu Nuan Nuan’s granduncle’s home. In the courtyard, a young woman in her twenties was washing vegetables by the well. The moment she saw them, she put down her vegetables, stood up with a warm smile, and called out affectionately, "Auntie Wen, Nuannuan, you’re here! My mother-in-law is in the kitchen. I’ll go get her."

She then turned and raised her voice, shouting, "Ma, Auntie Wen and Nuannuan are here!"

Wen Xiu didn’t have time to stop her. The words, ’I’m not here to see her,’ got stuck in her throat, so she could only manage a dry smile.

"Aunt," Gu Nuan Nuan greeted her. She knew she was supposed to call the woman "Aunt," but she didn’t know her name.

"Yes!" the woman replied with a beaming smile.

"Huh? Didn’t you say you were going to tidy up at home and come over this evening? Why are you here so early?" An older woman about Wen Xiu’s age quickly emerged from the kitchen. She walked briskly over to them. Gu Nuan Nuan recognized her; it was Chen Shulan, a close friend of her grandmother’s.

"Grand-aunt," Gu Nuan Nuan quickly greeted her. Chen Shulan beamed, saying, "Such a good girl," as she casually patted Gu Nuan Nuan’s head. Gu Nuan Nuan couldn’t object, so she just stood there obediently, a good-natured smile fixed on her face.

"We’re not here for you. We’re looking for Nuannuan’s grandpa," Wen Xiu said to Chen Shulan with a sigh.

"Your brother-in-law is in there too. He, your husband, my husband, and our Wei Quan—all four of them are drinking in the main hall. Should I call them out, or will you go in yourself?"

"I’d better go in myself. It works out, actually. There’s something I need to discuss with them all."

"Did something happen?"

Chen Shulan asked with concern while untying the apron from her waist. She handed it to her daughter-in-law, saying, "The meat is still braising in the pot, and it’s almost done. Don’t forget to keep an eye on it." Her daughter-in-law took the apron, gave a crisp "Yes," left the vegetables, and went straight into the kitchen.

"Sigh, it’s that troublemaker Guo Xiuying again," Wen Xiu said through gritted teeth. "This time, she’s completely lost her mind. She’s talking about sending our Laidi to that Xu Banxian to serve him as a concubine..."

"What?" Chen Shulan cried out, turning to look at Wen Xiu in disbelief. "That can’t be true, can it?"

"Hah!"

Wen Xiu gave a cold laugh. "You don’t believe it either, do you? And she’s her own mother! She’s worse than an animal. I’ve made up my mind. I’m not keeping a daughter-in-law like that anymore. I’m prepared to be the bad guy in this."

"That third daughter-in-law of yours is really something else..." Chen Shulan sighed deeply. "And you’ve been so good to them. Those two just don’t know how to appreciate their blessings. Sigh. It’s a good thing you still have Lin Qin."

Wen Xiu’s expression turned grim. "...I truly regret having those two sons. If I’d known, I would have stopped at two, like you. One boy and one girl—that would have been perfect."

"But who could have known back then? Doesn’t everyone say that more sons mean more blessings?" Chen Shulan sighed in consolation. "Fortunately, you still have a son and a daughter who make you proud. Don’t be sad. Just pretend you never gave birth to the other two. It’s not worth getting so angry over them."

They entered the main hall as they spoke.

This granduncle of Gu Nuan Nuan’s—Zhang Da’an—was the son of the clan elder who had overseen the division of the Zhang family’s assets years ago. That elder, however, had passed away last year.

Zhang Dazhuang had called that elder "Uncle," a term for a clan elder rather than a direct uncle. This hadn’t stopped Zhang Dazhuang from being exceptionally close with his family. In fact, Zhang Dazhuang and the elder’s only son, Zhang Da’an—the man who had invited him for drinks today—had been close childhood friends. They were both from the "Da" generation, only six months apart in age. Their friendship spanned decades, ever since they were children, and they were as close as brothers.

Seeing the three of them enter, the four men in the room put down their cups and chopsticks. Zhang Da’an and his son stood up to greet Wen Xiu.

After everyone exchanged greetings, they sensed something was up and shuffled their seats to make room for the three to join them at the table.

Just then, Chen Shulan’s perceptive daughter-in-law entered with a tray. She set down three bowls of tea, a dish of salted fish, and a dish of peanuts. After asking if they needed extra bowls and chopsticks and being told no, she didn’t press the matter. She simply cleared the empty dishes from the table and departed.

Wen Xiu quickly recounted Guo Xiuying’s scheme to "sell" her own granddaughter, Laidi.

SLAM.

Zhang Damei slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet, his face contorted with fury. "That bastard! Who the hell does that Xu Banxian think he is, brazenly showing off his disgusting intentions like that? And toward one of our own, a member of the Zhang family! Does he think we’re all dead? That there’s no one left to stand up for ourselves?"

"That shameless old goat! He’s got to be as old as any of us, yet he still dares to harbor such filthy thoughts! Even for a cradle-robber, there are lines you don’t cross..." Zhang Da’an, who had a fiery temper, slammed his cup down on the table. Wine sloshed out, splashing everywhere. He rolled up his sleeves, stood, and started cursing, but he trailed off mid-sentence when he caught sight of Gu Nuan Nuan at the table.

He sat back down, fuming, and turned to Zhang Dazhuang in frustration. "How shameless does that bastard have to be to even suggest such a thing? And your third daughter-in-law, is her head full of shit? If it were me, the moment I heard him say that, I would’ve smashed a stool over his head and cracked it open."

Then, he barked at his son, Zhang Weiquan, like a gang boss, "Go! Damn it, find a way to drag that shameless old bastard out and give him a good, satisfying beating. We’ll figure out the rest later."

"Alright." Zhang Weiquan immediately stood up to leave. "I’ll get Hu Zi to come with me. But just one beating is letting him off too easy. A guy like that deserves to be beaten several times, if you ask me."

"Uncle, wait a minute," Gu Nuan Nuan quickly called out, her face etched with worry. "You’re just going to go like that?"

"Of course not." Zhang Weiquan smiled at Gu Nuan Nuan. "Don’t you worry, little one. Your uncle Wei Quan isn’t that stupid. I’ll bring a sack and get someone to lure that son of a bitch out. We’ll throw the sack over his head before we beat him up. Otherwise, if we injure him and he manages to blame us, we’d be in for a huge loss, wouldn’t we?"

"You’re a clever kid, much sharper than your old man. Not like him in his youth, all brute force and no brains," Zhang Damei said, slurping down his wine and tossing the cup aside. "And don’t bother with Hu Zi. I’ll go myself. I can be much stealthier alone. We’ll see how he gets any more dirty ideas after I cut off his ’root of all evil’."

"Brother, don’t be a fool!" Zhang Damei’s words startled everyone. Zhang Dazhuang quickly grabbed his arm and said nervously, "I think just giving him a beating is enough. If this blows up, it’s not worth you getting thrown in jail at your age!"