The moment Xu Shengnan heard the word "snake," she jumped out of the car and ran ten meters away, shouting, "Where? Where's the snake?"
The other two were also startled. The team leader's youngest daughter-in-law quickly said, "I was mistaken, it's a vine. Mom, sister-in-law, don't be afraid." Then she pointed at Xu Shengnan in surprise, "Your foot is fine? Then why did you say you twisted it and couldn't walk? Why did my sister-in-law push you for so long? Xu Shengnan, what do you mean by that?"
The brigade leader's wife and her eldest daughter-in-law immediately turned their attention to Xu Shengnan, frowning and looking at her unhappily. "Xu Shengnan, what are you up to now? You're not injured but you're claiming you are. Are you trying to extort money from us?"
At this moment, Xu Shengnan's face was deathly pale. The image of being bitten by the snake that day kept replaying in her mind, which frightened her so much that she trembled and reacted slowly. She stammered for a long time but could not find an excuse.
The brigade leader's wife snorted coldly, ignoring her, and called her two daughters-in-law to go home.
Wang Baoguo and Song Xin were chatting when they found out what had happened. They had a pretty good idea that it was Xu Shengnan. When they saw their wives come back with dark faces, they asked in surprise, "What happened? Where is she?"
The brigade leader's wife said coldly, "Don't even mention it. It was Xu Shengnan. She didn't twist her ankle at all. I don't know if she's trying to extort money or what. Comrade Song Xin, Xu Shengnan was jumping and running around happily just now. She's perfectly fine. You can go back without worry."
She didn't think of anything else, assuming that Xu Shengnan had incurred medical debts and was trying to swindle money through underhanded means. "Old Wang, go talk to her parents later and have a good talk with them. They do owe a lot of money, but no one is pressuring them to pay it back. They can't be so dishonest. Isn't this ruining the reputation of our fourth team?"
Wang Baoguo nodded solemnly and said to Song Xin, "Comrade, I will definitely deal with this matter seriously. Our Fourth Team does not allow cheating and deception. I'm really sorry for today. Please have a meal here before you leave."
"No, I have family waiting for me. Since there's nothing else, I'll be going." Although Song Xin was surprised, he figured it wasn't his business, so he left immediately.
Walking down the street, Song Xin suddenly remembered the name "Xu Shengnan"!
Isn't this Xu Shengnan, the one who made her grandfather faint, lured a wild boar down the mountain, dressed up in a flamboyant manner, and lied and framed people?
He shuddered. So he'd been scammed and almost extorted? He'd even thought she'd suffered some injustice, so delicate and pitiful—it was all a lie!
Song Xin saw Xu Shengnan running towards the village with her head down from afar, and immediately hid behind a tree. He saw with his own eyes that Xu Shengnan's foot was perfectly fine and she was running very fast. He believed the rumors even more and quietly ran home.
He didn't hide anything from his family. The Song family was extremely disgusted with Xu Shengnan. If Song Xin hadn't stopped her, Song's mother would have gone to the Xu family to confront them. What kind of scumbag was trying to scam her son? She had heard people say that Xu Shengnan was beautiful, and that she was using her looks to cheat people out of money. Sure enough, there's no smoke without fire; those rumors were true. Poor old man Xu was so angered by her that he was forced to leave with nothing and was left destitute in his old age.
Neighbors and Song Xin's close friends all came to ask him about his return. Song Xin didn't want to say much, but his mother and sister-in-law were furious and spread the news throughout the Fifth Team in one afternoon.
The situation was similar on the fourth team's side. Xu Shengnan returned to the village and immediately went to Wang Baoguo's house to find Song Xin. She was afraid that Song Xin would find out that she was faking her injury, but when she asked, Song Xin had already left.
Xu Shengnan's face paled even more. She had been scolded by Wang Baoguo, and she was impatient and tried to leave. Wang Baoguo was furious with her attitude and ordered his two daughters-in-law to escort her to the Xu family home. He refused to eat, determined to give Xu Dajun and his wife a good scolding. Couldn't they control their daughter?
Along the way, people were holding their rice bowls and watching the commotion. Xu Shengnan was especially good at causing trouble, and they had a feeling that this was no small matter. Didn't they see how angry the brigade leader was?
As soon as everyone arrived at the Xu family's door, they smelled a very fragrant aroma of meat. Looking into the courtyard, they saw Xu Zifan simmering meat on a small earthen stove. The two boys from the third branch of the family were squatting in the corner, drooling with envy. Everyone else was inside the house and hadn't come out.
Xu Zifan looked up and saw them. He noticed that Xu Shengnan was being held captive and struggling. He frowned and said, "Xu Dajun, come out and see what's wrong with your daughter again!" He then nodded to Wang Baoguo, picked up a small stool and placed it next to him. "The captain is here, just in time for a hot bowl of snake soup that I just made."
"What?!" Wang Baoguo was about to refuse, but upon hearing "snake soup," he immediately froze. He rushed to the earthen stove and peered into the pot. "It really is snake soup! Uncle Xu, where did you get this? Did you go into the mountains again? This... this is the snake that bit Xu Shengnan?"
Xu Shengnan quieted down upon hearing the word "snake," looking fearfully at the small pot on the earthen stove. The psychological trauma from that incident was too great; the thought of what was in that pot sent shivers down her spine.
Xu Zifan served Wang Baoguo a bowl. "I don't know if it was the one that bit her. I was thinking that if the venomous snake got away, it would be inconvenient for everyone. After all, it's an unfilial descendant of my Xu family. I couldn't feel at ease if I didn't catch the snake, so I went into the mountains to take a look. I happened to see these two venomous snakes. They were not far from the hillside where we cut pig feed. They probably climbed down these past few days."
I killed the two I saw, there's one stewing here, and another hanging from the beam inside the house. I don't know if there are any more.
Xu Dajun and Liu Xia had already run out, looking at Xu Shengnan in disbelief, unable to understand how she had gotten into trouble again, and what kind of trouble was so serious.
Upon hearing Xu Zifan's words, Xu Dajun immediately shouted, "Xu Shengnan, aren't you going to explain yourself clearly?"
"How many snakes did you lure down here?"
Xu Shengnan was still trying to figure out how to clear her name when Xu Dajun's words, "lured them down," nearly made her faint. How could her own parents not only not defend her but also pin the blame on her? She hurriedly said, "I didn't lure the wild boars and snakes down the mountain. I was terrified at the time, my mind went blank, and all I knew was to run. I don't even know where I ran..."
The captain's youngest daughter-in-law nudged her, "Who asked you that? We're asking you how many snakes there are!"
Xu Shengnan glared at her fiercely, "Just say what you want to say, why are you pushing me? Are you taking advantage of being the brigade leader's daughter-in-law?"
The team leader's youngest daughter-in-law wasn't going to tolerate her. She immediately let go of her hand and pulled her sister-in-law aside, taking three steps back. "Oh, I was wrong. I wouldn't dare touch you. You're the kind of person who can pretend to fall and say you twisted your ankle and can't walk. I don't want to end up like that guy from the fifth team, stuck with you like glue."
"What? Pretending to fall? What's going on?"
"What, a guy from the Fifth Team? What's his connection to the Fifth Team? Tell me about it."
"What exactly did Xu Shengnan do wrong? Which man did she get involved with?"
The crowd's curiosity was piqued, and they bombarded her with questions. The brigade leader's youngest daughter-in-law, never one to suffer a loss, and especially sensitive to rumors of the brigade leader's special privileges, naturally wanted to divert everyone's attention. Before Xu Shengnan could speak, she quickly and loudly recounted the events, naturally emphasizing in front of so many people that Xu Shengnan was trying to swindle money.
Xu Shengnan was furious and shouted, "Do you have any evidence? You're framing me! I didn't mention a word about money from beginning to end. It was you and your mother-in-law who asked for medical expenses. I even said that we shouldn't be so petty between neighbors, right? What makes you think you can frame me like this?"
"Then why did you pretend to sprain your ankle? Tell me!"
"My foot did hurt at the time, but it's fine now. I just didn't twist it that badly..."
"Wow, you recovered pretty quickly. My sister-in-law pushed you on her bicycle, sweating profusely, while you sat comfortably and said you were fine. But as soon as I saw the snake, you jumped eight feet away. Did your legs recover in a second? You're kidding me."
The brigade leader's youngest daughter-in-law was quick-witted and sharp-tongued, leaving Xu Shengnan speechless and unable to find any excuse to glare at her fiercely.
Everyone's impression of Xu Shengnan worsened considerably, but upon hearing the word "snake," they all tensed up, asking where they had seen it. The team leader's youngest daughter-in-law explained that she had been too scared these past few days and had mistaken it for something else. This was understandable, as many people were indeed afraid.
Back to the snakes, Wang Baoguo asked in a deep voice, "Putting everything else aside for now, Xu Shengnan, you need to quickly explain how many snakes were chasing you that day, otherwise none of us can rest easy."
Xu Shengnan bit her lip. "Three. I killed the one that bit me with a knife. There are two left."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Wang Baoguo looked at the small pot in front of him and said, "After work this afternoon, the young men will come with me into the mountains to check. If it's safe, everyone can go back to gathering pig feed and digging for wild vegetables as usual, without having to be so worried."
Wang Baoguo looked at Xu Zifan and sighed, "I really have to thank Uncle Xu this time. If it weren't for you, those two snakes might have come into the village."
Xu Zifan waved his hand, glanced at Xu Shengnan and said, "Even though we've separated the family, I still think we all share the same surname, Xu. As the old one, I should at least take care of things. How could I be so heartless? Who knew they'd all be so troublesome? Xu Shengnan even learned to lie."
My old arms and legs can't take any more strain, and I really don't want to get involved in my children's and grandchildren's affairs anymore.
As everyone knows, I risked my life to kill that wild boar and then went to find those two poisonous snakes. I can't afford to do that many more times. If Xu Shengnan cheats people out of their money this time, I don't know how I'll face them. How can I face them if my own children and grandchildren are not well taken care of?"
Xu Shengnan's anger flared up at his words, and she even suspected that he was deliberately exaggerating to frame her. Of course, she couldn't stand it and blurted out, "Don't tell me it's for my sake. I don't believe it. Why didn't you think of me when you were eating alone before?"
Xu Zifan narrowed his eyes. "You think I've been short of food and drink? Look around, which girl in this area is raised as well as you? If I hadn't spoiled you, would you have dared to act like this? You should at least consider whether your accusations of mistreating you are reasonable. Do you look like you've been mistreated at all?"
Everyone went to see Xu Shengnan, and wow, no one in the county was raised as well as her! If it weren't for her terrible temper and personality, she would be as beautiful as a fairy. It's just that her character is awful, awful!
Xu Zifan sighed and shook his head. "I understand now. Old people are disliked, and nothing they do is right. This time, I've dealt with the two poisonous snakes, and that's the last time I'll get involved in the Xu family's affairs. I'll move out this afternoon."
From this day forward, I sever all ties with this family. I will never have anything to do with them again. Even if they think I'm heartless, I accept it. I simply can't go on like this anymore.