20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 663: The General is Alive, and Can Come Back

Zhao Guoyan's voice was not loud, but the entire village meeting fell silent immediately.

Everyone looked at each other in confusion, suspecting that they had heard it wrongly, and didn't know what to say to ease the awkwardness.

Gradually, a burst of snickering began to arise from the crowd. The sound was very soft, but it felt like a silver needle piercing the eardrum.

Xiaoqing was stunned, Xinnian was annoyed, and Haichaoshan's face naturally darkened as well.

However, the father's thoughts were inevitably more complicated. Although his daughter lost face, he was able to stop herself from getting caught in the quagmire of intrigue in the world.

The second and third sons of the Hai family reacted most violently. Although they usually urged Xiaoqing to get married, now that they saw their sister being bullied, they immediately stepped forward and started cursing:

"Hey, Mr. Zhao, what the hell do you mean? If you don't want to marry, why are you flirting here? Do you think you're so great just because you have some money in your pocket?"

Zhao Guoyan was speechless.

In fact, from the beginning to the end, he just said a few more words to Xiaoqing. There was no indecent words, no frivolous promises, and no extraordinary behavior. In the city where people's customs are gradually becoming more open, this is really nothing, and no one would regard it as a secret marriage. But in this remote countryside, even if he looked at the girl a few more times, he would be subject to a lot of criticism and speculation.

Losing control becomes inevitable.

The two brothers of the Hai family continued to curse and question: "Hey, Mr. Zhao, I'm asking you a question! Are you fucking deaf or dumb?"

"Second and third sons!" Hai Chaoshan suddenly called his two sons, "Okay, come back!"

"Dad, this kid is fucking—"

"Come back!" Haichaoshan shouted again.

Somehow, the father suddenly felt relieved.

After all, he didn't agree with this marriage from the very beginning.

Hai Chaoshan knew very well what the Jiang family did for a living. Precisely because of this, how could he bear to marry his daughter to such a family? If Xiaoqing had not insisted again and again, even bringing up her dead mother, he, as a father, would not have intended to agree to this marriage.

At this moment, Hai Chaoshan just wanted to protect his daughter and get away from this farce as soon as possible, so he turned around and shouted to the onlookers:
"What are you looking at? You don't need to worry about my daughter's affairs. Go away!"

Having said that, none of the onlookers wanted to leave.

Breaking off an engagement is much more interesting than getting married, and no one wants to miss this excitement. The louder the Hai family father and son shout, the more heated the atmosphere of discussion becomes.

Seeing this, even Yang Lazi, who was a thug, couldn't stand it anymore. He came over and tried to persuade him: "Brother Yan, the villagers are all here, don't embarrass the girl! Besides, even if you really don't want to, why don't we go far away and send the girl back? Why do you have to do this?"

Zhao Guoyan shook his head and muttered, "If you take it away now, you won't be able to send it back."

There is a saying: People’s words are scary!

As long as he dared to take Xiaoqing away today, even if he only walked two miles, in the eyes of the villagers, the girl from the Hai family would have been married.

If you send the person back halfway, that would be despised, like a second marriage and a slut. Even if you say you are returning the girl intact, I'm afraid no one will believe it.

Between two evils, she had to choose the lesser one. Only by rejecting the marriage in front of the elders and fellow villagers could the girl be considered as a virgin in the eyes of the villagers.

Yang Lazi and Erma didn't know what to say.

Xiaoqing was still standing there in a daze. Her eldest brother came over to persuade her to go home, but she struggled and refused to leave. She glared at Zhao Guoyan fiercely, waiting for an explanation.

The two sides were in a stalemate, and Jiang Lianheng finally came over when he saw this.

"What's going on?"

Jiang Lianheng stood beside Zhao Guoyan with his back to the Lianzhuanghui gate. He didn't look at him, but asked impatiently, "What did you do this morning?"

Zhao Guoyan sighed and said, "Boss, haven't I been telling you guys to stop making trouble?"

Yes, from the beginning to the end, Zhao Guoyan was very disgusted with his brothers' involvement and instigation, but no one cared. Everyone just thought he was a bachelor and was afraid to speak, so they pushed him from behind.

Jiang Lianheng and others came to propose marriage, but he was kept in the dark until late that night, when he got the exact news from Erma.

At that moment, it was too late. Even if Zhao Guoyan was honest with his brothers, this marriage could not be changed.

He came to propose yesterday and broke off the engagement today, without any reason. Ordinary people wouldn't do that, let alone a marriage proposed by the Jiang family.
Jiang Lianheng would not agree.

The only solution Zhao Guoyan could think of was to go find Xiaoqing in person, explain the reason, and let the girl make a fuss, saying that she didn't like him and would rather die than marry him.

In this way, if he proposes to give up, Jiang Lianheng will have a way out, he can cover up his mistakes, beautify them, and gain a reputation of not bullying others by taking advantage of his power.

But Xiaoqing had gone to visit her deceased mother's grave and had been missing the entire day. Now, she was about to set off on her journey, so she had no choice but to refuse.

Jiang Lianheng nodded and said in a deep voice: "In that case, you blame me for meddling in other people's business?"

"No, I don't mean that." Zhao Guoyan sighed, "It's not the right time, forget it!"

"Isn't it the right time?" Jiang Lianheng glanced at him, then said thoughtfully, "It's up to you, go give Haichaoshan an explanation!"

Zhao Guoyan responded.

Just as he was about to take a step forward, Hai Chaoshan immediately raised his hand to stop him: "Go slowly, I won't see you off."

Hai Chaoshan spoke in a low voice, but he was not as furious as expected. It was not that he did not understand, but he just did not want to talk more.

At this moment, Xiaoqing suddenly shouted at Zhao Guoyan: "Get lost!"

Everyone was shocked. The girl threw her arms aside and threw all her bags to the ground. She only held up the hunting rifle in her hand, pulled the bolt with a "click", aimed at Zhao Guoyan and shouted, "Get out!"

The onlookers burst into laughter again.

The eldest son of the Hai family came over quickly, grabbed his sister's arm, and said, "Xiaoqing, come on, come home with me!"

Xiaoqing struggled and immediately pulled the trigger.

"boom!"

The bullet splashed a cloud of dust at Zhao Guoyan's feet.

Xiaoqing's face flushed, her eyes widened, and she cursed: "I told you to get out, are you fucking deaf?"

The scene suddenly became chaotic, and the villagers hurriedly persuaded the girl that human life was at stake and asked her not to act on impulse.

Xiao Qing didn't care about that. She immediately turned the gun around and threatened, "And you guys, get the hell out of here. What are you doing here? Are you waiting to see the joke, or are you waiting to collect your bodies?"

Everyone panicked and screamed to avoid the gunshot.

Hai Chaoshan couldn't bear to watch this, so he immediately called his three sons and shouted, "Hurry up and take her back!"

The three men responded and hurriedly worked together to drag Xiaoqing into their own room. It was a lot of clanging and it took an unknown amount of trouble.

Hai Chaoshan shouted to his fellow villagers again: "That's enough, that's enough, let's all go back!"

Everyone was reluctant to leave, feeling that there was more to come.

Jiang Lianheng couldn't continue to play dumb, so he stepped forward, clasped his hands and said, "Well, Captain Hai... Look at what happened. It's my fault for not thinking it through. I brought shame to your family."

Hai Chaoshan waved his hands and said, "Forget it, this is fine. Xiaoqing is a girl, and I'm worried if she really goes with you. It's better to lose face now than to worry about it in the future. Let's leave it like this, there's nothing more to say."

Having said that, he raised his hand and called his youngest son, then turned and walked towards the village.

Since the marriage failed, there was naturally no reason to go to Fengtian during the New Year.

"Wait!"

Jiang Lianheng suddenly called the father and son to a halt, walked over and said with an apologetic smile: "Captain Hai, although Xiaoqing's marriage didn't work out, our two families can't be said to be enemies. If you still want this kid to go to Fengtian to try his luck, I can take him with you."

Hai Chaoshan's eyes lit up, then dimmed again, and he said, "If Boss Jiang only regards this as an apology, then forget it. Even if I go during the New Year, it will just be a quick visit."

"Don't you trust me?" Jiang Lianheng smiled. "Since I said I could take him away, I wouldn't leave this kid hanging around in Fengtian."

Haichaoshan was a little stunned.

The recent engagement farce inevitably made him feel unhappy, but after all, it concerned his youngest son's future. Whether he could turn his life around in the New Year depended on his father's decision.

God knows what Jiang Lianheng was thinking. While the Hai family father and son were hesitating, he brought up the old matter again, pointed at Hai Xinnian, and asked, "Boy, do you still plan to recognize me as your godfather?"

As soon as he finished speaking, it became clear who the real veteran was among the spectators.

But Master Shen suddenly let out a strange cry, came forward with his hands folded, and laughed, "Oh my, Boss Jiang is a hero of the time. He has just made his mark in the new year of the sea. Today, he has become your foster father and foster son. He is like a fish in water, just like a gentleman who has transformed himself into a leopard. Congratulations, congratulations!"

After saying that, he began to lead the clapping.

Mr. Shen was a big landlord. Once he took the lead in celebrating, the tenants and villagers naturally followed suit.

For a moment, the awkward atmosphere eased a little. Hai Chaoshan certainly understood Mr. Shen's intention, so he nodded to him as a thank you.

Jiang Lianheng still looked at the old man of the Hai family and asked, "Boy, a forced melon is not sweet. Do you want it or not? Speak up!"

Hai had been given some advice by his father on New Year's Eve, and now, looking around, he seemed to understand something, so he immediately knelt on the ground and said loudly: "Yes!"

"You agreed quite readily. Why?" Jiang Lianheng asked, "Why do you want me to be your godfather?"

Hai Xinnian said: "My father owes you a life. He is busy at Shen's store and cannot get away. I will pay for my father's debt. I will work for Boss Jiang!"

"Not bad, sounds good. Anything else?"

"Uh... Boss Jiang is capable. I want to go with you to see the world and make a living!"

"Very good, indeed. No more?"

"Well...I still want my family to live a good life."

"This is not shameful!" Jiang Lianheng jumped on his horse and pointed his whip at Hai Xinnian. "If you bow your head to the ground, there will be no regrets. Think it over before bowing!"

Hai Xinnian turned around and looked at his own door, then banged his head three times, very realistically, and finally shouted, "Dad!"

"Good! Good! Good!"

In fact, few people applauded. Only Master Shen was busy and happy, and he kept congratulating, "This is what they call planting flowers with care but they don't bloom, planting willows by accident but they grow into shade trees. A blessing in disguise! Congratulations, Boss Jiang! Chaoshan, look at your son, he has grown up and become sensible!"

Not to mention, with Old Deng intervening, the recent engagement farce would not be forgotten immediately, but now no one was paying attention to Xiaoqing anymore.

"Boy, can you ride a horse?" Jiang Lianheng asked.

Hai Xinnian nodded: "I have been feeding horses since I was a child, of course I can do it."

"Well then!" Jiang Lianheng asked again, "You don't want to say goodbye to your father?"

Hai Xinnian turned around and looked at his father. Hai Chaoshan nodded to the youngest child and said only one sentence: "Just go, don't forget what I told you!"

Everyone got on their horses and said goodbye to each other, not because they were in a hurry to leave, but because they wanted to take this opportunity to downplay the engagement and leave quickly.

Zhao Guoyan was no exception, but he had nothing to say. He just clasped his fists towards Haichaoshan, then pulled the reins, turned the horse's head, and slowly walked away into the distance.

Before leaving, Hai Chaoshan nodded to him, expressing his understanding, but he found it hard to let go.

The Jiang family's horse team moved farther and farther away, and the onlookers also left one after another.

At this moment, the door of Hai's house suddenly slammed loudly, and Xiaoqing rushed out with a rifle in his hand, cursing.

The three brothers followed closely behind and were about to stop her, but were stopped by Hai Chaoshan in a stern voice: "Let her go. You can't hold back your anger."

Xiaoqing is not the delicate lady who only knows how to hide in her boudoir and complain about everything.

She was so angry that she ran up the sentry tower, yelling, "Zhao Guoyan, you are a bastard, a scoundrel, a coward, I look down on you!"

"boom!"

A gunshot rang out, and the golden bullet casing flew past the girl's eyes and fell to the ground, making a series of crisp "ding ding dang dang" sounds.

The bullet flew out, splashing a cloud of dust behind the Jiang family's cavalry.

Everyone quickly moved away, fearing that they would be hurt by mistake, leaving only the damned man walking on the dirt road, acting as Xiaoqing's "living target".

Zhao Guoyan rode on the horse at a leisurely pace. He heard bursts of gunfire and those embarrassing swear words coming from behind him, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"boom!"

"Get away from here and die!" Xiao Qing was still cursing loudly, "Zhao Guoyan, you are such a ruthless person, don't play dumb. I'm telling you, if you dare to come to Shen's store again, I'll kill you first!"

"Bang--Crack--Ding--Ding"

Firing the gun, pulling the bolt, and the shell falling to the ground, again and again, as if it had become some kind of fixed rhythm.

Xiaoqing fired seven shots in succession, seven shots in total, and then suddenly fell silent - the Jiang family's cavalry had turned into a blurry dot on the horizon, and the distance was too far, and finally even the bullets could not reach it.

There were snickering sounds from the villagers.

Xiao Qing immediately raised her gun and looked down, she was extremely aggressive, she didn't care about the gossips, she just cursed them all as usual: "Look, what are you looking at, haven't you seen me beat a dog? If you have the guts, come and laugh in front of me, stop gossiping behind my back!"

As he was cursing, a big hand suddenly landed on his shoulder.

"Go away, don't bother me!"

Xiaoqing subconsciously swung her arms away and turned around, but she suddenly saw her father. Her heart surged and tears welled up in her eyes: "Dad!"

The girl immediately rushed over and was about to cry when Hai Chaoshan said with a smile, "Girl, you're not hitting accurately either!"

Xiaoqing was startled, then stopped crying and complained, "Dad, even you are laughing at me?"

"I'm not making fun of you. I'm just talking about shooting."

"You know I didn't mean to hit him!"

"Who knows? Talking alone is useless." Hai Chaoshan still smiled and patted the girl on the shoulder. "Come on, today I'll make an exception and practice shooting with you. Let's shoot that tree. If you win, I'll cook for the next few days."

Xiaoqing looked into the distance, feeling empty inside, and shook her head and said, "Forget it, I'm not in the mood."

"Afraid of losing?"

"Tsk, how boring! You've already embarrassed your daughter, and you're still thinking about competing with her in guns."

"What else can we do?" Hai Chaoshan asked, "Can't we just forget it? I guess my girl isn't that stupid, right?"

Xiaoqing placed her hands on the guard tower's fence, scratching the remains of the rotten wood with her nails, and muttered in a low voice, "Dad, I feel bad."

Hai Chaoshan nodded and asked softly, "Do you like that boy so much?"

"What do you say?"

"Xiaoqing, everything has to be done at the right time, in the right place, and with the right people. Sometimes if one of them is missing, it's not that it can't be done, but the result won't be good. What's yours is yours, and what's not yours is useless no matter how hard you try. No matter what river you cross, no matter what bridge you take, don't be too hasty, and don't be too slow. You have to cross it the way you should, and you will have to cross it the way you should in the future."

"It's so annoying. You start talking about these useless principles again."

"It's useless?"

"Everyone's gone, what's the point?"

"The New Year has gone with them." Haichaoshan said lightly.

"Ah?" Xiao Qing was caught off guard and became a little worried. "Can he go to Fengtian alone?"

"There's nothing wrong with a teenager like him. He should have been allowed to go out and try his luck. You should just take care of yourself!"

Hai Chaoshan said, "If you really feel bad, you can feel bad today. You can't feel bad tomorrow. Autumn is coming soon. We need to chop wood, harvest crops, do autumn fencing, wash clothes, cook, eat, wash dishes, and there are many things to do! You have to find time to mend my shoes for me. I'll need them when I go up the mountain in two days! It's almost time, so it's time to prepare lunch, right?"

"you!"

Xiao Qing suddenly raised the gun and aimed it at the old elm tree outside the village, and said angrily: "I'm too lazy to do it, Bibi!"

"Okay, let's compete!" Hai Chaoshan also took off the rifle from his shoulder and said with a smile, "Girl, if we want to compete, we have to be serious. Don't think that I, as your father, will give in to you just because you shed a few tears!"

Xiao Qing rolled her eyes: "No need, I can beat you with my own ability!"

"boom!"

The gunshots rang out, but the old elm tree did not move at all.

Hai Chaoshan smiled and said, "Girl, this is what I taught you before. You have to concentrate when shooting. If you keep thinking about the result, about winning or losing, the bullet will go astray."

"Hey, that's enough, stop chanting!" Xiao Qing urged impatiently, "It's your turn now, don't cheat if you lose!"

It seemed that the girl was destined to lose. Her mind was not on this at all. Every time it was her father's turn to shoot, she would lean on the railing of the watchtower and couldn't help looking into the distance.

The sunlight was so clear that it was dazzling. The river valley was sparkling. The Laoye Mountain was full of mountains and ridges, and the green was gently undulating.

White clouds are in the sky and hills emerge.

The road is long and winding, between mountains and rivers.

As long as my son is not dead, he can still come back.

(End of this chapter)