radicalducati Chapter 43 Butcher Zhang Comes to the Door
Chapter 43 Butcher Zhang Comes to the Door
"Mother, you've been through this, so I don't need to spell things out for you. Zhao Cuifen is a mad dog; she'll cause trouble even when she's in the wrong. Now that her daughter's gone, she's just looking for someone to vent her anger on. If you force me to sell myself now, you're handing her the knife. If she goes to the commune and complains that the Li family has abducted a woman and is involved in human trafficking, do you think the commune secretary will believe her, the aggrieved party, or us?"
Li Xianglian took a step forward. Although she was thin, her fierceness made Li Dabao instinctively shrink back.
"When the peaked caps come down to arrest people, everyone in this yard will be taken away. At your age, can you endure the torture in jail? And Da Bao, he's at the prime age to get married. If he's taken to the shooting range, and a bullet hits his head, blood and gore will be everywhere... Our Li family will truly be extinct."
The phrase "no offspring" is more effective than any curse.
Li Dabao's hand, which was covering his nose, trembled violently, and another spurt of blood shot out.
For some reason, the image of the hapless scoundrel from the next village being led to the execution ground flashed into his mind, making his legs feel weak and his crotch feel cold.
"Mother... this... what this brat said seems to make some sense..."
Li Dabao's voice trembled as he spoke, ignoring the pain in his nose, "I don't want to eat peanuts, I haven't lived enough yet!"
Niu Guihua's face twitched violently a few times. She didn't understand the law, but she was afraid of death, and even more afraid of something happening to her only son.
The arrogance that had just been so intense, as if it wanted to devour Li Xianglian alive, was completely extinguished by these buckets of cold water, leaving only wisps of smoke.
Her triangular eyes darted around, while her heart pounded like a drum.
Three hundred yuan is good, but if you really risk your life, then you might earn it but not live to spend it.
Zhao Cuifen is indeed a difficult woman to deal with; what if that girl is right...?
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
Niu Guihua yelled angrily, her voice still loud but her confidence waning, "Zhao Gang works in the county town and won't be back for a while. How are we going to get a divorce? Do you expect me to bring him back?"
Li Xianglian leaned back against the wall, her tense back relaxing slightly, but her palms were covered in cold sweat.
The fish has taken the bait.
"No need to ask Zhao Gang, just find Zhao Cuifen."
Li Xianglian lowered her voice, her tone revealing a shrewdness that was entirely for the family's benefit. "Mother, think about it, what's Zhao Cuifen most anxious about right now? It's finding her precious daughter. If we go to her house now and make a scene, we'll say that Zhao Xiaoyun didn't take good care of Dabao and lost him. We'll say that our Li family doesn't want this kind of slut anymore, and we'll force her to go through with the divorce proceedings for Zhao Gang."
At this point, Li Xianglian paused deliberately, her eyes fixed on Niu Guihua's greedy old face.
"Once I get the divorce certificate and tear up the document, I'll be free. Even if the commune comes to investigate, we'll still be able to marry off our daughter normally, and who can say a word against it? Besides..."
She lowered her voice, her tone slightly seductive: "This is our pretext. We can even take this opportunity to demand compensation from the Zhao family for emotional distress. Zhao Xiaoyun didn't bring much dowry when she married, so this is a perfect opportunity to get it back with interest. With that money, plus the bride price from Butcher Zhang, what kind of young maiden can't Da Bao marry?"
"Can you extort another sum?!"
Niu Guihua's cloudy eyes widened instantly, like a hungry wolf smelling blood. The fear she had felt earlier about the "crackdown" vanished in an instant, replaced by the sight of an even bigger piece of meat.
That brat's got a sharp mind!
By getting a clean divorce, they avoid any risks, can squeeze another layer of profit from the Zhao family, and finally sell the girl to Butcher Zhang. This way, they can make a fortune in three ways!
"become!"
Niu Guihua slapped her thigh hard with her large, fan-like hand, making a crisp "smack" sound. Ignoring the pain, she yelled, "Dabao, go push the car over! We're going to the Zhao family again! Today, we're going to make that old woman Zhao Cuifen vomit blood!"
Upon hearing that they had to go to the Zhao family again, Li Dabao shrank back, somewhat apprehensive: "Mother, we're going again? That scoundrel surnamed Qin from yesterday..."
Recalling the ferocity with which Qin Rushan chopped the millstone with an axe yesterday, Li Dabao felt a chill run down his spine.
"What's there to be afraid of!"
Niu Guihua glared at her son, her heart pounding with apprehension, but for the sake of money, she was bolder than ever. "Today we're going to get a divorce, it's a serious matter! It's a family affair! That Qin guy is an outsider, what right does he have to interfere in our family affairs? Besides, if this girl cooperates, does he think he can just smash up the Civil Affairs Bureau?"
As she spoke, Niu Guihua turned to look at Li Xianglian, forcing a nauseatingly fake smile: "Girl, this was your own idea. You know what to say when you get to the Zhao family, right?"
"Don't worry." Li Xianglian lowered her eyelids, hiding the cold glint in her eyes. "I don't want to go to jail either. As long as we can get a divorce, I'll listen to you and marry Butcher Zhang."
As long as she could buy time and get the divorce certificate, she would try anything, even if it meant pulling teeth from a tiger's mouth.
The cicadas chirping in the old locust tree in the yard were so annoying that the sun had just climbed over the eaves and the air was already stuffy like a giant, airtight steamer, making people's skin burn.
Li Dabao, grumbling and cursing, pushed the dilapidated cart—which rattled everywhere except for the bell—to the courtyard gate. Just as he was about to lay out the two blackened, tattered cotton quilts, a series of muffled footsteps suddenly came from the alley entrance.
"Thump, thump, thump."
The footsteps were extremely heavy, each one feeling like it was pounding on one's heart. Immediately afterwards, a nauseating stench of blood mixed with the musty smell of sweat from years of not bathing wafted into one's nostrils on the sweltering wind.
"Oh, everyone's home? It's quite lively."
A voice as loud as a broken gong rang out like thunder, causing dust to fall from the door frame.
Niu Guihua was about to pull Li Xianglian away when she heard the noise. Her whole body stiffened abruptly, and the face that was originally preparing to wreak havoc at the Zhao family instantly became full of wrinkles, magically transforming into an extremely fawning smile.
Her back slumped instantly, and she turned around to the dark figure blocking the light at the gate like an iron tower, calling out, "Oh, isn't this Brother Zhang! What brings you here? Please come in, please come in!"
Standing at the door was none other than Butcher Zhang, the man whose reputation was so great that even children from the surrounding villages dared not cry at night.
The man was a big, burly fellow whose fleshy body stretched his greasy white vest so tight it looked like it was about to burst. His exposed arms were covered in dark, thick hair, making him look like a wild man who hadn't yet degenerated.
He carried two pieces of still-dripping hindquarters meat in his hands, the blood dripping down the oiled paper and splashing onto the yellow earth like tiny crimson flowers. A gleaming boning knife was tucked into his waistband, the scabbard slapping against his thigh with each step, making a chilling "clatter."
Standing at the base of the wall, Li Xianglian's heart skipped a beat. She dug her nails into her palms so hard that she didn't even feel the pain when they drew blood.
They came so fast!
No matter how much we planned, we never expected this man-eating wolf to arrive so suddenly!
Zhang the butcher completely ignored Niu Guihua's attentiveness, strode into the yard, and without caring that those were his cooking utensils, threw the two pieces of meat he was holding onto the windowsill.
A muffled "snap" sounded.
The two large pieces of raw pork trembled twice on the windowsill, glistening with oil, and two greenbottle flies that hadn't had time to fly away were still clinging to them.
"Don't try to get close to me."
Butcher Zhang wiped the oil and sweat from his face, his small, beady eyes, with only the whites showing, scanned the courtyard before finally fixing their gaze on Li Xianglian.
In that instant, Li Xianglian felt as if she were being entangled by a venomous snake, and the hairs on her body stood on end.
Butcher Zhang grinned, revealing a set of large, yellowed teeth stained by smoking. Two greedy green glints gleamed in his eyes, and drool practically dripped from the corner of his mouth. "I heard from the matchmaker that the goods have been brought back? I'm an impatient person. Since the person is here, let's not waste any more time. Today is an auspicious day, suitable for marriage. I've brought the remaining one hundred and fifty yuan, and I'll take the person away now!"
As he spoke, he reached into his greasy pocket with his big hand and pulled out a crumpled 10-yuan note that smelled of lard.
He didn't even count, but simply slapped it onto the stone millstone in the middle of the yard.
"Snapped!"
The sound was even louder than when the meat was thrown, and it struck the hearts of the Li family mother and son squarely.
"Da Bao! What are you standing there for? Give me the money!"
Zhang the butcher roared gruffly, his muscular body trembling with each shout, "Now that you have money, you should act like a man and get married! This meat is for you guys too, take it and nourish yourselves!"
Li Dabao stared at the thick stack of money on the millstone, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. His breathing instantly became heavy, like he was working a bellows, panting heavily.
That's money!
That was a full one hundred and fifty silver dollars!
With this money, he could buy the pair of leather shoes he had been longing for, eat out in the county town, and marry a big-breasted, fertile new wife!
As for the "divorce plan" and the "crackdown" and "execution" that they had just discussed, he completely forgot about them in front of this pile of colorful bills.
"Oh! Oh! Thank you, brother-in-law! You're too kind!" Li Dabao rubbed his hands together, his face full of servility, and rushed towards the millstone, his hand reaching out faster than a dog seeing a bone. "I'll tie you up right away... I'll take it home right away!"
Although Niu Guihua was also eyeing the money and swallowed hard, the thought of being "executed" was still lingering in her mind. She glanced at Li Xianglian subconsciously, then at the money, and stood rooted to the spot, not moving for a moment.
Li Xianglian's heart nearly jumped out of her throat as she watched Li Dabao's dirty hand about to touch the money.
We can't let him take the money!
Once the money is in his hands, the deal is done. Zhang the Butcher is the kind of person who takes the money and expects the goods; if anyone dares to back out, his boning knife has no qualms!
"Wait!"