Hua Xiaomai was silent for a long ti.
To tell the truth, the mont she first learned about the matter, she also imdiately thought of Guan Rong. She felt that she might have been too cold and harsh when she rejected her that day, and it was not impossible for Guan Rong, dissatisfied in her heart, to go and lodge a complaint.
But on second thought, she felt that it really didn’t seem like Guan Rong’s style.
It wasn’t that she thought Guan Rong was particularly kind or harmless, but rather, she had seen that Guan Rong seed very keen to make money.
A few days earlier, Guan Rong had been coming to the riverside daily, on ti, to help look after the business at the stall. Simply put, wasn’t she just hoping that Hua Xiaomai would soften her heart, feel sorry, and perhaps pull her in to run the business together, or share so of the benefits with her? With that desire to earn money, if the stall were to close down for good, what could she possibly gain from it? Her going to lodge that complaint, although a significant loss for Hua Xiaomai, might not necessarily be a good thing for herself, right?
With Guan Rong’s cunning, she should easily be able to understand the stakes involved. Unless sothing else had happened that completely infuriated her, to the point of no longer caring about the consequences, she probably wouldn’t act so rashly.
After pondering for a mont, Hua Xiaomai looked at Hua Erniang, "Sister, other than Guan Rong, who else does Old Man Liu’s family generally get along well with?"
"Hm?" Hua Erniang looked at her puzzledly, truly thinking hard for a mont, then suddenly widened her eyes and slapped her forehead, "Oh!" When she looked at Hua Xiaomai again, her expression was sowhat guilty.
"Oh?" Hua Xiaomai glanced at her with a half-smile, "What, have you rembered sothing?"
Hua Erniang hung her head and bit her lip, "I just rembered, that Aunt Geng, she gets along quite well with Old Liu’s eldest daughter-in-law. Whenever they et, they talk for a long ti, even when going to the County to shop, they arrange to go together..."
"So?" Hua Xiaomai didn’t get the point, "You’re not suggesting that Aunt Geng, because that marriage arrangent didn’t work out, now harbors a grudge against our family and is determined to make trouble for us, are you? Would she go that far?"
Hua Erniang unusually lacked confidence in front of Hua Xiaomai, stealing a glance at her before quickly lowering her head, murmuring softly, "Just that alone, naturally, wouldn’t be enough, but... don’t you know? Ever since that incident, there’s been friction between and Aunt Geng; when we bump into each other on the road, we have to argue... Just three or four days ago, I ran into her in the village, and we started arguing again."
She seed still upset as she spoke, suddenly raising her head, "Who is she to call a hen that cannot lay eggs? Insults shouldn’t hit below the belt; her words were too venomous. If I don’t get back at her with interest, I won’t be able to mix in this village in the future!"
"What? Her mouth must have been picked up from a latrine, how shaless!" Hua Xiaomai also got sowhat angry, but then she thought that Hua Erniang probably wouldn’t be at a disadvantage, and quickly inquired, "And you? You must have said sothing unpleasant too, right?"
Hua Erniang blushed a bit, "I didn’t say anything too harsh, just scolded her for being ugly, and... and I grabbed a handful of her hair, slapped her a couple of tis..."
"You two really are..." Hua Xiaomai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, holding her forehead, "Just because you’re pretty, you can’t just call soone ugly, and you even got physical... Let it go, you two are as bad as each other, no one should complain about the other."
Hua Erniang pursed her lips, slapped the table, "Even if she’s angry with , she should have the guts to confront openly. Whoever wins shows who’s more capable; but sneaking around lodging complaints, what’s that?"
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got, and she simply stood up and headed for the door, "No way, I can’t stand being played for a fool, I’m going to find her and demand justice!"
"Alright!" Hua Xiaomai quickly grabbed the back of her shirt, "If this really was Aunt Geng’s doing, of course, we’ll go confront her, and when the ti cos, it won’t just be you, I’ll also want to scratch her a couple of tis to feel satisfied, but don’t we still lack any lead on this? So, are you no longer suspicious of Guan Rong?"
"I..." Hua Erniang hesitated again, stamping her foot, "We can’t just swallow this bitter pill, can we?"
Hua Xiaomai, too, was harboring a swirl of anger, causing her more pain than if she were killed. But how could they figure out exactly who was the culprit behind the scenes?
...
Luckily, Old Man Liu had relented earlier that day, so that evening, Hua Xiaomai and Hua Erniang pushed their cart out to set up their stall as usual. Interestingly, just as they left their house, they ran straight into Aunt Geng.
As Aunt Geng ca towards them, seeing the sisters, she snorted coldly through her nose, turned her head away, and rolled her eyes fiercely. Hua Erniang was about to pounce on her, but Hua Xiaomai firmly held her back, dragging her toward the riverside.
More curiously, when they reached the river, Hua Xiaomai could see from a distance a figure standing on the bank, tall and slim, like a willow in the breeze, delicate and flexible.
It really was intriguing. Aunt Geng and Guan Rong, both suspects, just happened to appear on the sa night. Was this a coincidence?
Hua Erniang showed no courtesy to Guan Rong, turning her head away when she saw her and going off to prepare the stall. Guan Rong stood hesitating for a mont before finally hurrying over, weakly calling out, "Xiaomai sister..."
Hua Xiaomai also smiled at her, "Rong sister, what brings you here?"
"Don’t misunderstand." Guan Rong quickly gestured with her hands, "I know you don’t like it, so I won’t co to the stall to ddle anymore. I ca today because I heard that this morning Old Man Liu called Brother Jing over, complaining indirectly about you causing noise and disturbing people’s sleep at night, and it seed he also hinted at not letting you continue setting up the stall... I was worried about you, so I specifically ca to see how you were." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welco to vote with your recomndation ticket and monthly ticket on Qidian (qidian). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian to read.)
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