Republic of China

Chapter 303 Tragedy
Nanyue Village is located southwest of Huayuankou. It is a village near Wuzhisiling. It is similar to other villages in the Central Plains region. It has green mountains and green waters, but also has a cool and secular world.

Although many people fled due to the famine, in this world, people come as they go. Some people run to the north and some come from the south. Therefore, Nanyue Village is completely related to desolation.

The disaster will eventually end, and life must go on, so after the situation gets a little better, weddings and funerals gradually return to normal.

Of course, the families that can get married now are not ordinary families. They are at least wealthy families in the local area.

There is a family named Zhou in Nanyue Village. It is said that their ancestor was an official in the Ming Dynasty, but later fell into decline. By the time Zhou Shijing's generation had little money left, there was basically no possibility of shining on the family lintel. Firstly, he was older. , Secondly, he only has two daughters at his knees, and he still has a daughter in his old age.

Many villagers said that Zhou Shijing, a sour scholar who had been talking about things all his life, ended up not even having a queen, so he was finished.

Can Zhou Shijing not be anxious?
There was only one way left for him to go.

Recruit a son-in-law and continue the legacy of the old Zhou family.

There are countless young men in any era who don't want to work hard. As long as the money is available, it doesn't matter whether the children have the same surname as the wife or the biological father.

But the problem is that Zhou Shijing has no money. Apart from two large cars and a collection of valuable books, he has almost no decent possessions. Moreover, he does not like ordinary people. He must find a young man with good moral character, good appearance, talent and great prospects to be his son-in-law. .

However, the son-in-law died crossing the river.

Zhou Shijing took out all his savings and borrowed some money to prepare for the wedding. In fact, he was just setting up a banquet. The eldest daughter wanted to go back to her husband's house with her son-in-law, so as long as everything went according to plan.

Looking at the dinner table covered with rain, the guests all knew that they might not be able to enjoy the wedding banquet. No one expected the bad news to come so suddenly.

The elderly Zhou Shijing sat in a daze in the courtyard, already wet but motionless, while many guests stood under the eaves to avoid the heavy rain, not knowing what to do.

A young man working at the Institute of Literature and History found it acceptable because he really liked the eldest daughter of the Zhou family and was willing to be her son-in-law. Times have changed, and free love is the most important thing.

Stop it.

So Zhou Shijing really found a good candidate. He was sure that as long as he got off to a good start, it would be easy to decide whether the little girl would find a bad partner if she had the chance. No, it would be unnecessary to find a good son-in-law. .

It's a pity that Zhou Shijing has exhausted all his efforts, but this is the ending he waited for.

There was lightning and thunder and torrential rain.

After all, the money is gone, the party is not late yet, and the whole family is brought here. There has to be an explanation, right?
However, Zhou Shijing's mentality had collapsed. He couldn't listen to anything at all, and his mind went blank because he had too many troubles.

It was a happy event that turned into a funeral, and there was heavy rain and thunderstorm. Regardless of whether it was a wedding banquet or funeral wine, there was no time to eat. The guests went back to their homes one after another. The conscientious ones stayed behind and Zhou Shijing said a few words, while the unscrupulous ones wanted their money back. As a result, It seems that 99% of them are heartless.

How to determine social stability?

On the surface it looks perfect.

The eldest daughter's life is ruined, and with such a thing, the villages in the ten miles and eight villages are full of gossips and people. It won't be tomorrow before the Zhou family will be given the title of Kefu. In this way, the little daughter It will be even more difficult to marry outside the home.

To sum up, Zhou Shijing said that there is no difference between prostitution and prostitution. Except for the girl, the rest is all done by the man. It seems to be a little different from recruiting a son-in-law in the traditional sense. Even if the girl looks like a fairy, there may not be much. Is a young man from a rich family the wrongdoer?
Hey~ It really does.

Confidence?

What was a happy event suddenly turned into a funeral. Why did the young master of the Yan family fall into the river and drown?
What is even more tragic is that the eldest daughter of the Zhou family was left a widow without even seeing the shadow of the sedan chair. In the future, whether she remarries or becomes a widow, it is hard to say whether she will be remarried or widowed.

These are long-term worries, but near-term worries are even worse.

That is, the groom official who was fished out by the Meng family and his son.

The confidence is of course that my old Zhou family has a rich background!
Seven or eight generations back, those were high-ranking officials of the Ming Dynasty, serious scholar-bureaucrats. You can't find this kind of family lineage even with a searchlight!
Recruitment?

If I can recruit a son-in-law, I think highly of you. The worst I can do is count on your dowry!

One of them is to look at how many loan sharks there are in the private sector. Don’t doubt it. Whenever society starts to get sick, there will be more loan sharks. This has been the case throughout the ages. Such loan sharks are often accompanied by bankruptcies. After all, everyone is living and working in peace and contentment. Who can What the hell did he borrow from this loan and that?

This is what Zhou Shijing borrowed. He was thinking that after the dowry from the Yan family was delivered, he would directly pay it off and still have some money left over. But now he knew with his toes that it was impossible for the Yan family to send another dime.

If you have no money, how can you repay the loan?
At best, the money collected from these people will be paid back in interest.

The ups and downs would have made it difficult for anyone who was Zhou Shijing. If he didn't go crazy on the spot, he would be considered in a good mood.

It's better to die sooner or later, at least wait until the full dowry is delivered and then die. It's good now, there is nothing left.

As the saying goes, good things don't go out and bad things spread thousands of miles. Even if there are heavy rains and thunders, the news of the Zhou family's happy events and funerals still spread very quickly. I have to lament the speed at which rumors spread in the countryside, especially bad things. They spread so fast that they are only as fast as Second to the telegraph.

Some people lamented the tragedy of the Zhou family, while others laughed at the Zhou family's suffering.

There are also evil people who leave seals.

After getting the news, they were afraid that Zhou Shijing would run away, so they put them all in the wine bowl and braved the heavy rain and rushed to Zhou's house to stop the loss.

When they arrived at the place, the debtor asked Zhou Shijing what was going on, but the old man didn't answer and couldn't answer.

The person who wanted the bill asked if he could change the money as agreed, but the old man said he couldn't do it. You can take it and pay for it if you see what's valuable.

No matter how high-spirited Zhou Shijing is, in the final analysis he is a member of the general public. There is so much helplessness and pain in life that it is overwhelming.

No matter how many books you read and how many words of saints you read, what will happen?
Can you persuade those who have debts to stop collecting their debts in advance?
Or can it change the depressing life?

Zhou Shijing raised his head and looked at the rain curtain. He didn't know when the heavy rain would end. Maybe when it ends, his family will be completely devastated.

Suddenly, a scream came, causing Zhou Shijing to wake up for most of the moment.

That was the eldest daughter's voice, coming from the backyard!
There was no time to think too much, as his father's instinct made Zhou Shijing rush there immediately.

Before they even got there, they saw the door of the eldest daughter's room open, and screams and cries could be heard one after another.

No explanation is needed, everyone knows what is happening inside.

Zhou Shijing suddenly became anxious. He roared and rushed over, but as soon as he reached the threshold, he was kicked out by a strong man inside. He almost died on the spot.

"Dad—Dad, save me—" The screams were heartbreaking, mixed with the wild laughter of several men.

Lightning and thunder came and went, covering up too many sounds. No one except Zhou Shijing knew that a tragedy was happening here.

But the elderly Zhou Shijing wanted to save his daughter, but he did not have the strength to support him. He tried to rush in again and again, but was kicked out again and again.

He was in constant tears, mixed with the rain and streaking down the ravines on his face.

"Bah! I searched over and over but couldn't find anything valuable, except for broken books or broken books. But who in the ten miles and eight villages doesn't know that I, Niu Si, like to help others? The groom is dead, right? It doesn't matter. I will be the groom tonight. , your father, even if I am half-father-in-law, it’s easy to ask for a grace period of ten days and a half for debts, hahahaha——"

The ferocious laughter in the room made Zhou Shijing's heart freeze. He had no choice, he really had no choice. With no choice but to go outside to find help from the villagers.

No one dares to provoke these loans on weekdays, but they are still polite to the Zhou family because Mr. Wu, the largest squire in Nanyue Village, likes the little girl of the Zhou family, but Zhou Shijing is not willing to let the little girl become a concubine for others. Pick up that person.

It's far-fetched, but who can guarantee that one day the little girl from the Zhou family will actually marry Mr. Wu as his concubine? When the time comes, Zhou Shijing's chickens and dogs will be settled in heaven and the accounts will be settled in the autumn, so these moneylenders are more polite to Zhou Shijing.

But alcohol is a double-edged sword. It can relieve thousands of worries, but it can also destroy everything. Niu Si and the others lost their minds under the influence of alcohol, and actually used force on the eldest daughter of the Zhou family. She was already miserable enough, but they hadn't It is hard to imagine how much pain she must have endured after being widowed without even taking off her wedding clothes and being violently raped by several villains in turn.

I don’t know how long it took.

Zhou Shijing finally rushed back to the rescue with a dozen fellow villagers. There is always a shortage of warm-hearted and conscientious people.

Everyone hurriedly arrived at the scene. There were no screams or cries in the boudoir, because the eldest daughter of the Zhou family had fainted and her body was covered in shocking bruises.

Niu Si and the others were sober after taking turns to torture them. They knew that they had done something wrong. They were about to leave but were blocked at the door by Zhou Shijing and others.

Catching thieves and taking stolen goods, catching people and taking pairs, who can't figure out what's going on in this scene? But Niu Si rolled his eyes and spoke first.

"It's her! It's her who seduced us! We heard something happened to the Zhou family and wanted to come and take a look. Who would have thought that this bitch had to use her flesh to pay off her debt? Our brothers drank too much and were dragged into bed in a daze. It’s all her fault, right brothers?”

"Ah? Ah, yes, yes! Fourth brother is right!"

"If you really want to say that she is at fault, she is at fault first. Lang Hoozi deserves to be dipped in a pig cage!"

"Dip the pig cage! Dip the pig cage!"

The villagers who came to help were filled with indignation when the thief shouted to catch the thief and beat him up. No one was a fool and couldn't understand what was going on in this scene.
Who in the ten miles and eight villages doesn’t know that you guys do all kinds of evil? But tonight you went too far! The Zhou family has suffered such a tragic change, yet you still do such outrageous things!
The villagers were filled with enthusiasm. They had long disliked these people. Now the evidence was conclusive, and it would be no problem even to kill them on the spot.

"Unfortunate family background."

A strange scene appeared.

Zhou Shijing, who was about to wave his hand to ask for an explanation for his daughter, looked surprisingly calm at this moment, and even looked at the eldest daughter with indescribable disgust in his eyes.

"Uncle Zhou. What did you say?"

"I said it was the misfortune of my family. It was me, Zhou Shijing, who raised my daughter without virtue, and made her do such a scandalous thing that ruined the family. I am ashamed of my ancestors, and I almost wronged a few heroes."

The atmosphere was extremely strange.

Zhou Shijing's strange attitude not only confused the villagers who came to help, but also the evil people in Niu Si. They thought, I just found an excuse, and you really accepted it? Is she your biological daughter?

The incident happened suddenly, and Zhou Shijing did not give everyone more time to think. He pointed to the unconscious eldest daughter on the bed and said to everyone: "For the sake of my Zhou family, I will pretend that I don't have this daughter. Please help me and immerse her in the river." It’s over!”

Once a person becomes ruthless, evil spirits will have to take a detour.

It is said that the poisonous tiger cannot eat its seeds, but there is no lower limit to the viciousness of the human heart.

Zhou Shijing was not talking nonsense because of dirty things. Everything he said was carefully calculated.

In fact, he regretted it when he took people home and crossed the threshold, and he began to make ruthless choices in his heart.

Judging from the time and results, it is a certainty that the eldest daughter was defiled. Although he brought people here to save people, it was equivalent to bringing a dozen witnesses. It was absolutely impossible to completely conceal the truth. Originally, the young master of the Yan family If the daughter of the Zhou family drowned during the wedding reception, she would be given the title of Kefu. If on the day of the wedding, the eldest daughter of the Yan family was violently raped in turn while the body of the young master was still cold, whether it was forced or not, the reputation of the Zhou family would be completely ruined.

For long-term planning, there must be trade-offs.

Without the eldest daughter, there is still a younger daughter. If you want to find a good family for the younger daughter, even if you wear the title of Crouching, you must not wear the title of slutty.

When Niu Si came up with that outrageous excuse, Zhou Shijing had a plan. If he followed it, Niu Si would definitely accept this favor, which was equivalent to grabbing his pigtails. At least the money would not be needed in the short term. Don't worry, if you're lucky you may not have to pay it back.

And there is only one price for getting these.

Sacrifice the eldest daughter.

On this day, a couple died one after another.

In the early morning, the groom capsized his wooden boat in the Yellow River and drowned.

At night, the bride dipped her pig cage into the Yellow River and drowned.

On the next day, the rainstorm got heavier and heavier with no intention of stopping. The Yan family finally brought the body of Young Master Yan to Nanyue Village. The Yan family’s parents’ idea was very simple. They had only one son, even if he died, they would have to kill him. The marriage is completed and the Yang marriage becomes a Dark marriage.

Unexpectedly, after a long delay, when they arrived at Zhou's house, there was no bride to be married, only corpses in pig cages.

Zhou Shijing didn't expect that the Yan family wanted to continue the marriage, so they paid for it.

The Yan family did not expect that something happened to the Zhou family last night. The eldest daughter stole a man. No matter how anxious they were, they would not marry their son to a free-spirited woman.

Logically speaking, it was time to break up, but the rainstorm was getting heavier and heavier, and the boat could no longer walk from Huayuankou. The Yan family could not return to the north bank. For the funeral, they could only bite the bullet and give Zhou Shijing a sum of money. The Zhou family set up a mourning hall.

Everything seems to be a tragedy composed of one accident after another. In fact, this tragedy is countless times more terrible than the villagers imagined.

It was no one else who suffered in the first place.

It's Xiao Meng, the corpse collector.

(End of this chapter)