Chapter 435: Chapter 422: What on Earth is Going On

“She stole the bracelet and made up a story that Daya gave it to her as a pledge of love, insisting that Daya is obliged to marry him and obey him. If Daya declines, he will smear her name in public by claiming that she’s already dishonored and make her unable to face anyone again!”

“Daya is devastated and doesn’t see a future for herself anymore. I was worried she might take a wrong step, so I rushed to find her this morning. But Mrs. Han told me that Daya was hopeless and tried to hang herself early this morning. She fell when the rope broke – she’s fine but fainted and hasn’t woken up yet.”

“I was so livid, I went and gave Zhao Ziping a beating…”

Zhuang Sifu wiped at the corners of his eyes, “If word of this gets out, it will ruin Daya’s reputation irreversibly. That contemptible Zhao Ziping will surely twist everything and force Daya to live a life carrying an undeserved shame.”

“I hit him today, I did, and he damned well deserved it. If Zhaojiazhuang dares to retaliate, they can send their complaints my way!”

“It’s this matter, Little Sister Ning, Uncle Village Chief, you both must never utter a word of this outside. If anyone gets wind of this, Daya’s life would be irrevocably over…”

“Her life would be over…”

As Zhuang Sifu was speaking, he broke down sobbing, unable to stand firm.

Zhuang Jingye was stunned. He hadn’t expected that the reason could be something like this.

But if this is the case, it is indeed not an easy matter to handle.

If they confront the people of Zhaojiazhuang, they might end up exposing the whole story. This could lead to rumors spreading, and even if Zhao Ziping is in the wrong, with the saying “flies don’t bite seamless eggs”, many would still blame Daya for attracting the trouble onto herself.

But if they say nothing, they’d have to put up with the nuisances from Zhaojiazhuang. It would be incessant bullying from then on, which is hard to swallow.

No matter whether they speak up or not, for Enji Village, it’s as hard as breaking one’s teeth and then swallowing them.

“That son of a bitch!” Zhuang Jingye seethed, abruptly snapping the bamboo pole in his hand.

Zhuang Qingning furrowed her brows.

In this era, women’s social status is inferior.

Even if you’re harassed, even if it’s against your will, you could still be labeled as promiscuous and be subjected to resentment and insults all your life.

And the ones who started it all could easily shrug it off as their flirtatious nature, without any negative consequences, even taking pride in their misdeeds.

Previously, Daya had narrowly escaped drowning in the lake when she rejected a rogue’s advances and was nearly fooled into being the bride of the Water Ghost by a couple of charlatans. What’s more, the heartlessness and selfishness of the villagers had driven her to despair.

Now, tarnished by false accusations of impropriety and facing the judgmental stares and snickers of others, just thinking about it could make her feel utterly hopeless.

Zhuang Qingning could understand Zhuang Sifu’s worries and heartaches.

She could also understand Daya’s suicidal despair.

And she could certainly understand Zhuang Sifu’s fury against Zhao Ziping.

Zhaojiazhuang’s men committed the initial offense and had the audacity to confront Zhuang Sifu without ever mentioning Zhao Ziping’s actions. This clearly showed they assumed that they wouldn’t dare to make a scene.

Even if things got out of hand, Zhao Qiancheng and Zhao Ziping would probably spin the story and blame Daya, trampling her down, and then further extort a huge sum from the workshop citing Zhuang Sifu’s assault.

Seeing her painstakingly nurtured management team being oppressed to the point of suicide, and her workshop being plotted against this way, anger surged within Zhuang Qingning.

Zhuang Qingning cast down her gaze, rolled up her sleeves, picked up a bamboo pole from the side, cleared her throat, and declared, “Everyone, please stop work for a moment.”

As Zhuang Qingning gave the order, the workers in the workshop stopped and gathered together, “What is it, Miss Ning?”

“Grab your tools!”

Zhuang Qingning shouted, “Whatever you have on hand, take it and follow me.”

The crowd looked at each other, each a bit perplexed about Zhuang Qingning’s intentions, but followed her lead and grabbed nearby tools, gathering together.

“Let’s go!” Zhuang Qingning waved her hand and led everyone out of the workshop.

Zhuang Jingye was taken aback.

This… isn’t she preparing for a fight?

This won’t do…

Without thinking, Zhuang Jingye kicked Zhuang Sifu, “What are you dazed for, hurry up and call for more people!”

Outside, Zhuang Yonghe, fearing that Zhaojiazhuang’s people would cause trouble, had already called for Zhuang Mingliang and others in the tofu workshop to stand guard at the gate. Seeing the formidable procession that Zhuang Qingning led, he hurriedly rushed over with his men to join them.

Zhao Qiancheng’s face turned ashen at the sight of Zhuang Qingning’s procession, and he took a step back, “What are you going to do?”

“What are we going to do? Let us show Village Chief Zhao our hospitality!”

“Hit them!”

Zhuang Qingning, her eyes blazing fiercer than ever, shouted, and swiftly swung her bamboo pole at Zhao Qiancheng’s outstretched arm.

“Hit them!” Zhuang Yonghe, Zhuang Mingliang, and others followed suit.

The workers, initially taken aback, soon rushed in with their tools at hand.

As for the reason why they were hitting someone, it didn’t matter.

Seeing the usually kind and gentle Zhuang Qingning, who had also helped them make a good living, take such a drastic action, they were certain it could only mean one thing. The people of Zhaojiazhuang must have committed an unforgivable crime.

It definitely involves the workshop!

Anything concerning the workshop involves everyone!

So, there was no need to ask any questions; they just needed to fight.

Zhao Qiancheng and Zhao Ziping among a dozen others came with great bravado, but they were being beaten bloody, screaming and shouting, “Is there no law and order in this world anymore!”

“Village Chief Zhuang, your workshop people started a fight without a word – aren’t you going to do anything?” Seeing Zhuang Jingye leading a crowd, Zhao Qiancheng cried out in desperation as if he had seen his savior.

“Do something, of course we’ll do something.” Zhuang Jingye spat on the ground, turned around, and shouted at everyone, “What is this that you’re all doing?”

“Is this how we hit people? Smacking them in the face, it’s not painful and it’s unsightly, frightens others at most. If you want to hit someone, aim properly, make it actually hurt!” Zhuang Jingye roared.