"Ah—get away!" Xu Shengnan screamed, desperately pushing away the woman on top of her.
The woman was furious and grabbed Xu Shengnan by the hair, slapping her several times before Liu Xia pulled her away.
Xu Dajun stood in front of Xu Shengnan and angrily said, "How can you hit people?"
"That's the kind of slut I'm beating! I'm being lenient by not scarring her face!" The woman shoved Liu Xia aside, pointed at her nose, and cursed, "What are you crying for? You raised such a shameless child, and you still have the nerve to cry?"
The woman's family pulled her back, and the strong young man frowned and said, "Mom, don't get hurt. Call the police if you want, I'm not afraid."
The woman choked, her face flushed with anger, but she dared not call the police. She then looked at Xu Zifan, tears streaming down her face, "Grandpa, I know you've separated your family, but I really have no other choice. Xu Shengnan's parents are useless, and her two uncles can't control her at all. I can only come to you. Please help me, please take care of your granddaughter..."
Xu Shengnan was helped up by Liu Xia, and said angrily, "This is not over. I am in the right no matter where I am. My affairs are none of anyone else's business. And," she glared at Xu Zifan, "did you hit me with a slingshot? What right did you have to hit me?"
Xu Zifan calmly held the slingshot. "I just hit you because I didn't like you. Why don't you call the police to settle this? Let's see if you did something wrong by trespassing."
"You! You're just being unreasonable!"
"Xu Shengnan, how dare you talk to your grandpa like that? Shut up!" Xu Dajun raised his hand, but seeing Xu Shengnan's face red from the beating, he didn't finish the job and slumped to the ground in dejection.
Xu Zifan chuckled, "I learned this from you. Sometimes calling the police is really useful. I just don't know what I, an old man, can do about calling the police. Everyone knows I haven't acknowledged this granddaughter for a long time. You can beat her to death, I won't care. You'd better leave now, or you'll scare my chickens."
Only then did everyone notice the changes in his house, and they were all stunned. The renovated house looked like it had just been built. Five pheasants were nestled obediently in the corner, and they didn't run away in fright when they saw so many people, as if they were very well-behaved.
And there's the grape trellis above Xu Zifan's head. Everyone else is baking in the sun, but Xu Zifan is in the shade, looking incredibly comfortable and content. Is this the life Xu Zifan lives? It seems so good!
Xu Shengnan's face darkened. She loathed the old man and was happy to have driven him away, but who knew he was living a much better life than in her previous life? How could this be? Her previous life was all his fault, and she absolutely couldn't let him have an easy time.
The woman, seeing her expression, misunderstood that she was afraid of Xu Zifan. She grabbed the strong young man and took a few big steps to Xu Zifan, crying, "Uncle, this is my son. We are from the fifth team next door. Xu Shengnan has been lurking in our team. When my son went to bathe in the river, she deliberately ran down into the river and exposed her shoulders, insisting that my son marry her, or she would accuse my son of indecent assault."
"Sir! You have to help us! We were perfectly fine at home, how did this happen to us? My son is an upright and honest man, a top-notch young man in our team. You can ask around, she's really framing my son!"
Xu Shengnan said anxiously, "Auntie, don't slander me. I just slipped and fell into the river. If your son hadn't seen me and my shoulder, would I have asked him to take responsibility? If he doesn't take responsibility, how am I supposed to live?"
Wang Baoguo frowned, Xu Dajun and Liu Xia looked dejected, and the villagers were also gossiping. It was really hard to say what would happen. They each had their own version of events. Although no one really believed Xu Shengnan, they couldn't be sure who was telling the truth. What if something unexpected happened? They'd already checked her shoulders, and she was a young girl and boy; it wouldn't be right to be irresponsible.
Xu Zifan carefully examined the person in front of him and recognized him from his memory. So this was a member of the Song family. No wonder things had gotten out of hand so quickly. Xu Shengnan must have felt her reputation was ruined, so she decided to marry Song Xin against her will. Of course, it had to be done quickly, otherwise Song Xin would have to start looking for a partner.
He pondered Xu Shengnan's thought process. She thought that once she moved to the city, she wouldn't care about her reputation in the village. So, in order to become a wealthy woman in the future, she probably wouldn't care so much about whether Song Xin loved her or not.
It would be best if she could capture his heart. If not, marrying him would make her the rightful Mrs. Song. If Song Xin became successful in the future, she would have half of the family fortune, and she could just enjoy the good life. It would be a sure win.
Xu Zifan glanced at Song Xin. The young man was indeed handsome, with striking features and a sharp, bright gaze. Although he had no expression at the moment, his eyes held a hint of expectation. However, there was really nothing he could do about this.
He asked, "Did anyone else see it?"
Song Xin thought for a moment, then shook his head, "No."
Xu Zifan sighed, "If she insists on making you marry her, there's nothing anyone can do. After all, no one can testify for you, and the police won't believe you even if they come. Hooliganism is easy to convict you of, though. As long as she insists you committed hooligans, you're finished."
Song's mother burst into tears, clutching her son's hand tightly. "My son didn't do anything indecent! He's innocent! Why is this happening? You need to control your granddaughter..."
Xu Zifan shook his head. "I broke off all ties with her a long time ago. Didn't you see how she treated me just now? She's probably cursing me as an 'old hag' in her heart. I don't care about her, she won't listen."
"Even if her parents lock her up at home, they can't keep her locked up forever. If she finds a chance to run away and call the police, no one can stop her."
"When you encounter this kind of person, there's really nothing your parents or ancestors can do; nobody can control them. That's just how things are these days. Women in other villages also do this to marry the men they desire."
"Yes, hooliganism is a serious crime, but this method is always effective. Nobody wants to be arrested and executed, so they have no choice but to accept it. Whether it's good or bad for them is unclear, but this dirty trick really works."
Upon hearing Xu Zifan's words, Song's mother's legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground, sobbing in despair, "Why is my family so unlucky? This slut has targeted us! She's rotten to the core; everyone in the surrounding villages knows how bad she is. She's just clinging to my son because she can't get married herself. She's so vicious, so cruel..."
Xu Shengnan retorted angrily, "Who are you calling poisonous? Don't wrong me! I just tripped and fell, and you're making it sound so awful!"
Song Xin knelt down and hugged his mother, whispering comfortingly, "Mom, forget it, it's just getting a wife, I accept it." He then turned back and stared coldly at Xu Shengnan, "If you talk back to my mother again, I'd rather be shot than marry you, you try me!"
Song's mother grabbed his hand, anxiously saying, "No, no!"
Xu Shengnan wanted to say something, but then she kept quiet. As long as Song Xin married her, that was enough. She could figure out her reputation after she got married. If she couldn't change her reputation or win Song Xin's heart, then so be it. Reputation couldn't put food on the table. Anyway, she would have half of Song Xin's assets in the future, and she would have a long good life ahead of her.
When the others saw that she indeed remained silent, it was clear that she was in the wrong; otherwise, how could Song Xin have been so assertive?
Hearing Song's mother's cries, everyone felt pity. Looking at Xu Shengnan, they no longer just disliked her, but felt utter contempt, disgust, and utter loathing. How could this person be from their fourth team? She's ruined the team's reputation! Besides, what kind of underhanded trick was this? If someone with ulterior motives finds out, won't they copy her? One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel! Disgusting!
The Song family was completely helpless. They needed letters of introduction to go anywhere, so they couldn't make Song Xin run away. They could only be threatened by Xu Shengnan.
Mr. Song helped Mrs. Song up and made the decision: "Song Xin can marry Xu Shengnan, but Xu Shengnan knows perfectly well what's really going on here. My family won't hold a wedding banquet or give a dowry. You can just move into our house."
Xu Shengnan's face was grim. She wanted the best wedding in the whole village, but seeing Song Xin's clenched fists and ashen face, she dared not make the request. After all, her methods were dishonest, and if Song Xin really refused to agree even at the cost of his life, she wouldn't have a chance to take advantage of other big bosses.
She pursed her lips and said decisively, "Okay, I'll endure the hardship. I agree, but we must get a marriage certificate. It's absolutely not okay if we don't get a marriage certificate!"
Xu Zifan hadn't expected Xu Shengnan to still remember this. The legal marriage age in the future would be twenty, but before the 1980s, it was indeed eighteen. He had been thinking that if Xu Shengnan mistakenly believed she had to wait until twenty to get the certificate, Song Xin could still try to renege on the deal for the next two years. It seemed that this trick wouldn't work.
The Song family looked at Xu Shengnan as if she were an enemy, but they had already agreed to the marriage and didn't object to getting the marriage certificate. They didn't want to say a single extra word; the family agreed and left.
The crowd made way for them, feeling somewhat ashamed. The presence of a pest in the fourth team was a disgrace to them all, and they were worried about how the other teams would criticize them if they found out.
Xu Shengnan didn't care what they thought; she had achieved her goal and was happy. She turned to go home with a relaxed expression, without even calling out to her parents.
When everyone saw her unrepentant appearance, they were shocked by her shamelessness. Many people spat at her and cursed at her, which frightened Xu Shengnan so much that she screamed repeatedly and ran home while threatening and cursing.
Xu Dajun and Liu Xia were extremely ashamed. They didn't want to believe that their daughter would do such a thing, and they preferred to believe Xu Shengnan's explanation. But everything that had just happened made it clear that Xu Shengnan was in the wrong, and the Song family was in the right. So now they couldn't hold their heads up. As for a solution, just like Xu Zifan said, they couldn't do anything about it. It was truly a terrible situation.
Seeing their pathetic state, Xu Aiguo sneered, "If this were my daughter, I would break her legs! If we had disciplined her earlier, this wouldn't have happened. Shameful! Luckily, I don't have a daughter, so I won't be implicated."
Xu Dawei's face darkened upon hearing this. His daughter was sixteen, and he was looking forward to finding her a husband after the family division was over. Now that Xu Shengnan's reputation was so bad, how could she possibly find a good young man to marry her? Most importantly, they had previously inquired about Song Xin and wanted their daughter to meet him, but Xu Shengnan had snatched the opportunity away. They were truly disgusted by this.
Xu Aiguo looked at Xu Zifan's yard and stepped forward, saying, "Dad, I..."
Xu Zifan waved his hand, "Go away, I have nothing to do with you. Don't try to get close to me just because I'm doing well. I won't give you anything."
Xu Aiguo's face darkened. "Dad, that's not what I meant."
"If that's not what you mean, then leave. I won't give you anything, and I don't want anything from you. There's nothing more to say. Go."
Xu Aiguo couldn't save face and left immediately. The others followed suit. Xu Zifan shook his head, feeling sorry for Song Xin. He wondered if Song Xin was smart enough to figure out a way to get rid of Xu Shengnan. Actually, it was quite simple; he just needed to understand her personality.