Chapter 626 - 539: Shenanigans
Chapter 626: Chapter 539: Shenanigans
The two people in the water were Mo Xiaosu and, of course, her dear cousin Huang Baoshan.
It was hard to say whether they had specifically targeted Xiao Man and Qiuyan, or if it was just an unlucky coincidence, but they had maliciously decided to launch a sneak attack.
There were three rivers of varying sizes near Gongdao Village, and a reservoir had been built in the eastern mountains. As a result, none of the local children couldn’t swim. A half-acre fish pond wasn’t deep enough to drown Huang Baoshan and Mo Xiaosu. However, the pond’s owner—whether to deter fish thieves or for some other reason—had tossed in many bamboo canes cut from the riverbank. They weren’t densely packed, but they lay scattered in a crisscross pattern, mixed with rotten leaves, duckweed, and roots. The pond water was a murky green, and the two of them, soaking in it, had probably swallowed a fair amount, which was certainly miserable enough.
Mo Xiaosu grabbed a thick bamboo cane to steady herself, pointed at the two laughing sisters on the bank, and shrieked, "You damn bitch! You’re trying to murder us! You’re vicious and cruel! Hurry up and pull us out!"
Xiao Man sneered. "Aren’t you the damn bitch, Mo Xiaosu? A few years ago, you used a bunch of hooligans to try and grab me. How did that turn out? And now you want to take this chance to kick my sister and me into the water? What, was your time in detention not enough? You want to go back for a second round? Mo Xiaosu, this is all the brains you have. Has no one ever told you? Schemes and plots are best left in the dark. If you dare try something like this again, you won’t just be out of options—you’ll be out of time to live."
Mo Xiaosu glared viciously at Xiao Man. When she heard the part about going back, her eyes flickered, and she finally looked away.
Qiuyan spat into the pond. "You two are the murderous, vicious ones! If my sister and I hadn’t been fast on our feet, we’d be the ones in that pond right now! You got what you deserve! You only have yourselves to blame. This is called instant karma!"
Huang Baoshan surfaced, cursing as he tried to retrieve his bicycle. Suddenly, he let out a bloodcurdling scream. "Help! Help me! Goddammit... I stepped on glass! AAGGHHH!"
Mo Xiaosu rushed to pull Huang Baoshan, but he reached toward the bank instead. "Xiao Man... Xiao Man, Qiuyan, please help me! Pull me up, save me..."
Qiuyan’s eyes went wide, unsure of what to do. Xiao Man said, "When you were trying to hurt me, you couldn’t wait for me to die. Now you want me to save you? You’ve got to be dreaming! Just wait. You’re lucky this pond is right by the road. Someone will be along soon. You won’t die."
With that, she pulled Qiuyan away, ignoring Mo Xiaosu’s shrill curses and Huang Baoshan’s pathetic wails.
Qiuyan glanced back a couple of times. "Sis, are we really just leaving? Isn’t it wrong to just leave them there to die?"
Xiao Man said, "Do you think they’re going to die? And even if they did, it would have nothing to do with us. Think about it. If they’d succeeded in kicking us into the water, we’d be the ones in trouble. Would they have saved us?"
Qiuyan shook her head. "No way. They would’ve pedaled away as fast as they could and been long gone."
"Exactly. They’re rotten to the core—truly evil people. And besides that, they tried to hurt us, which makes them our enemies. You can’t be soft-hearted with evil people and enemies, or you’ll be the one who ends up suffering. Have you ever read the story of *The Farmer and the Snake*? Or *Mr. Dongguo and the Wolf*? How did those end?"
Qiuyan slapped her forehead. "You’re right! How could I be so stupid? Those two are nothing but a venomous snake and an ungrateful wolf. I must have been crazy to worry about whether they live or die!"
When they got home and Grandma heard what had happened, she was furious. She cursed Mo Xiaosu for being so vicious and warned Xiao Man to be careful in the future. It was best not to confront them directly. ’Even a mighty dragon can’t defeat a local snake,’ she said. Mo Xiaosu was supposedly engaged to her cousin, Huang Baoshan, so what good could possibly come from two scoundrels joining forces? They were lazy good-for-nothings who spent their days associating with local thugs and gangsters. Many of them, like Mo Xiaosu, were fresh out of prison and did nothing but commit petty crimes.
Xiao Man agreed with Grandma out loud, but inwardly, she wasn’t concerned. ’I don’t waste my time worrying about the dregs of society. I’m sure Huang Baoshan and Mo Xiaosu have learned some kind of lesson. Huang Baoshan wasn’t involved in that incident a few years ago, but Mo Xiaosu’s experience was profound. All her little lackeys were rounded up in one go. Even though she only came up with the idea and never showed her face, she was still sent to a juvenile detention center for three years. She probably heard the news as soon as she got out: the person she had relied on back then was long dead.’
’Today was probably an accident. The two of them were just riding by when they spotted me and Qiuyan. When enemies cross paths, hatred is sure to follow. The blood rushed to their heads, and they thought they could get lucky with a single blow. But in the end, their plan to steal a chicken cost them the bait.’
’They must hate me deeply, but I doubt they have the guts or the ability to confront me openly. They’re not completely brainless. Leaving aside my own background, Grandpa Mo’s reputation in Gongdao Village, and even the entire township and county, is considerable.’
’That’s why Mo Xiaosu can only resort to these kinds of shady, underhanded tricks. She doesn’t dare to do anything more.’
’It’s a good thing Mo Xiaosu lacks the courage, because I don’t feel like dealing with her just yet. I’m sure Wu Qin will show up before long. Mo Xiaosu and Wu Qin... one is vicious, the other is a master manipulator. I’m looking forward to seeing how those two cousins get along.’
As it turned out, the incident with Huang Baoshan and Mo Xiaosu riding their bike into the fish pond just became a new joke for the villagers. Xiao Man wasn’t implicated, and the retaliation Grandma worried about never came.
Qiuyan, however, couldn’t contain her curiosity. When she heard that Mo Xiaosu was too cheap to go to the township hospital and was instead mooching free treatment at the village clinic, she ran to ask Mo Chengfu how Huang Baoshan and Mo Xiaosu’s injuries were. When Mo Chengfu learned that their fall into the pond was related to Xiao Man, he was furious. He added some special herbal juice to the medicine he used on them. Even after Huang Baoshan’s foot wound was treated and bandaged, he kept wailing that it was unbearably painful and stinging. Others just thought he was being dramatic, but every time his dressing was changed, he acted like he was on death’s door. It took a full week before he started to slowly recover. As for Mo Xiaosu, the cuts on her face and arms from the bamboo thorns left behind vivid scars after they healed—scars she would carry for the rest of her life.
Xiao Man had her run-in with Mo Xiaosu on her third day back in the village. Liu Fengying appeared at noon on the fourth day, bursting into the Mo Family Courtyard like a headless fly and shouting with eager delight, "Xiao Man, my good child, you’re finally back? Mommy missed you so much, my sweet daughter!"
The old and young people scattered around the courtyard, enjoying the shade and chatting, all stared at her, their skin crawling with goosebumps. Xiao Man nearly threw up the lunch she had just eaten.
Mo Shuixia had already told Xiao Man about Liu Fengying’s current situation. The woman was a real piece of work. Banking on the little money she had, she had dumped her two disabled children, Mo Xiaoqiang and Mo Xiaofeng, on her sister who lived in the mountains, sending over some grain and money each month. Liu Fengying herself stayed with Mo Xiaoneng, Mo Xiao Zhi, and Mo Xiaohua. None of the three children went to school anymore. It wouldn’t have been too difficult for the mother and her children to manage their few acres of land, but Liu Fengying refused to grow vegetables, claiming it wouldn’t make any real money. She wanted to start an herb plantation. Lacking the capital and the manpower, she would often run to Grandpa, crying and throwing a fit, demanding his support. Grandpa just ignored her. A couple of days ago, her sister-in-law had come to visit, so Liu Fengying took her two daughters and left with her, leaving only Mo Xiaoneng to watch the house. Now, she had rushed back and was putting on this whole act. Who knew what kind of trouble she was trying to stir up now.