Chapter 438: Chapter 425: Suffered a Big Loss

“What you need to do, sister, is not to cry, nor to prove your innocence by dying, but to make those people shut up. Who starts rumors about you, you give it right back to them. Who tries to hit you, you hit them back. Don’t bottle up any resentment,” Zhuang Qingning said confidently.

“Make everyone afraid, make everyone cower, then those so-called rumors will disappear, or at least, you won’t hear them anymore.”

Zhou Daya, listening to Zhuang Qingning’s words, widened her eyes in surprise.

These words were indeed novel to her. She’d never heard them before. For a moment, she was somewhat confused, and yet, she also somewhat understood.

“In any case, what we need to do now, Sister Zhou, is wipe away your tears and take care of what’s right in front of you.” Zhuang Qingning smiled thinly. “I am a ruthless workshop owner, Sister Zhou. If you don’t keep an eye on the workshop, I won’t be happy with you.”

Zhou Daya nodded her head in a daze, “I understand.”

“Sister Zhou, you should rest today. We’ll head to the workshop again tomorrow,” Zhuang Qingning advised, adding, “There are also some matters in the workshop that we need to discuss.”

“Okay.” Zhou Daya nodded her head again.

This time, Zhuang Qingning saw a spark of hope in Zhou Daya’s eyes.

Feeling that she had convinced Zhou Daya, Zhuang Qingning decided not to stay any longer, preparing to go home.

Mrs. Han walked Zhuang Qingning to the entrance of the courtyard, tearfully holding her hand, “Miss Ning, we are truly grateful for your help.”

Strictly speaking, Zhou Daya was an outsider to them, and there was no familial obligation for the people of Enji Village to protect her.

But Zhuang Qingning did just that, and did it with genuine intent.

“Please don’t be so polite with me, Mrs. Han,” Zhuang Qingning said softly. “Sister Zhou works in my workshop. How could I justify not helping her when she’s in trouble?”

“I think Sister Zhou took in some of what I said. You should also keep encouraging her.”

“And about this incident…”

“You should thank Brother Sifu as well.”

It could be said that even though Zhuang Sifu rashly caused trouble for Zhao Ziping, it was indeed because of Zhuang Sifu’s impulsive action that Zhao Ziping got his deserved punishment.

Without that happening, it would have been difficult to find a reason to pick a fight with Zhaojiazhuang.

Zhuang Sifu and the villagers of Enji were able to punish Zhaojiazhuang without bringing up Zhou Daya’s situation. Things moving forward should also be easier.

“Yes, Sifu did this all for the sake of Daya,” Mrs. Han sighed, continued, “I can see that he seems to have feelings for Daya, but I don’t know if Daya feels the same way…”

“Oh, we are straying from the point. After all the trouble we had today, you must be tired, Miss Ning. You should go home and rest too…”

At this point, Mrs. Han was still upset about Zhou Daya’s situation, and her words became more jumbled, jumping from one topic to another.

Zhuang Qingning understood, so she didn’t talk much with Mrs. Han, and only told her to take care of Zhou Daya before heading home.

—-

“Uncle…”

Zhao Ziping had been beaten up first by Zhuang Sifu and then by the villagers of Enji Village. He was now an absolute mess, especially his swollen eyes, which could barely open. Any slight movement was a sharp pain.

“Uncle, we suffered a big loss today!”

“I’m not blind!” Zhao Qiancheng responded in an irritated tone.

Because his cheek was also hurt, speaking was painful, and Zhao Qiancheng quickly covered it with a hot egg.

“That Zhuang Qingning, that bitch has got some nerve!”

“And Zhuang Jingye too, acting on impulse! He dares to lay hands on me? Just you wait and see, I’ll sort you both out soon enough!”

“Uncle.” Zhao Ziping giggled, “Let’s deal with Zhuang Jingye for now, that’s deserved! But can we let Zhuang Qingning off?”

“Why, have you taken a fancy to her?” Zhao Qiancheng, seeing Zhao Ziping’s coy smile, immediately understood his nephew’s intentions.

“Yes, I think she’s attractive,” Zhao Ziping nodded in agreement. “I didn’t realize it before, but Zhuang Qingning is much more appealing than Zhou Daya. She’s pretty and she’s fiery. She’s just my type!”

“Most importantly, she seems to be younger than Zhou Daya, and you know what they say… the younger they are, the more tender…”

“All that studying has gone to your head and you only think about women, not about anything meaningful!” Zhao Qiancheng scolded him, but there was no anger on his face. Instead, his eyebrows twitched up.

“You just concentrate on your studies. After performing well in the imperial examination and receiving a position, isn’t it easy to get a woman like Zhuang Qingning? By then, they’ll all be throwing themselves at you, unrelentingly.”

“Rest assured, Uncle, I understand,” Zhao Ziping bowed repeatedly.

However, in his heart, he was cursing in resentment.

“Always lecturing him about studying, but they have no idea how difficult it really is. It’s not like digging up a sweet potato in the field. It’s intense and requires unwavering effort.”

But since Zhao Ziping largely depended on Zhao Qiancheng, who had cared for him after his parents died, he didn’t dare air these grievances. Instead, he played along.

“I recently received praise for my latest piece of work. The teacher praised me saying that my future is boundless and I’m able to soar swiftly. That day isn’t far.”

“When I make a name for myself and become an official, I’ll treat you like a king, Uncle. And then we can enjoy a happy life.”

“I’m pleased that you have the intention,” Zhao Qiancheng said, his heart filling with joy at Zhao Ziping’s words.

But despite his satisfaction, he still had to deal with the current situation.

“We need to think of a strategy, to deal with Enji Village and Zhuang Jingye, they can’t just shit on our heads and get away with it.”

“That won’t be hard,” Zhao Ziping said. “Doesn’t Uncle have a relative who’s a bookkeeper at the County Government Office? You could make a trip there, pour out your grievances to him, and ask him to speak to the County Magistrate about our situation.”

“This will also help everyone else understand what kind of women live in Enji Village – shameless women who hook up with anyone and everyone.”

“It might be worth talking about,” Zhao Qiancheng nodded slightly. “We must not only talk to the bookkeeper, but also to the people in the surrounding villages.”

Once the rumor about Zhou Daya and Zhao Ziping spreads, whether it is true or false, Zhou Daya’s reputation would be terribly tarnished.

If Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Jingye want to protect Zhou Daya, let’s see what they can do then. I’m sure they will be scratching their heads without any solution to this problem.