What is humility? Clearly, I’m showing off.
But even if Wang Cuifen was shamelessly boasting, Liu Hong’s mother dared not show the slightest dissatisfaction.
"Cuifen, boldly speaking, this is not a good thing. Why don’t we become stupid donkeys?" Liu Hong’s mother laughed.
Although she was smiling, her eyes obviously showed loneliness and a trace of self-pity. As a rural woman, she didn’t have too extravagant desires, just hoping her son could start a family and live a decent life.
But now, her son wasn’t working in Guangdong Province. Instead, he stayed home every day, dreaming of getting rich overnight.
If this continues, she unwillingly admitted, her son would be abandoned by the villagers.
Everyone avoided him like the plague, not just because of his pranks but also due to being blamed for Dadan’s actions.
Since Zhang Fen made soy sauce for the villagers, everyone cut off contact with his family.
To keep her family from becoming isolated on an island, and to have a voice in the village, Liu Hong’s mother had no choice but to come to Zhang Dadan.
If he showed some pity and forgave Liu Hong, the villagers would no longer need to avoid their family.
"Dadan, Aunt sincerely apologizes to you!" Liu Hong’s mother said sincerely.
Wang Cuifen saw her sincere expression but felt a bit helpless. As the saying goes, don’t mock someone to their face. She really couldn’t refuse her.
"Auntie, this is all in the past. Don’t think too much about it," Wang Cuifen said with a smile.
Liu Hong’s mother responded with an apologetic smile, "Courtesy is just a formality, but my heart is always uneasy."
Before Zhang Dadan could respond, she said to herself, "Dadan, do you think it’s okay for our family to help you make sauce just like before?"
Zhang Dadan saw through her intentions, but her expression grew colder. He planned to isolate Liu Hong, making him taste the bitter fruit of his schemes, but wouldn’t let him off the hook easily.
"Auntie, as I said before, the soy sauce should be produced as a group. If someone wants to join, I won’t refuse them!" Zhang Dadan said sincerely.
Zhang Dadan isolated Liu Hong not out of pettiness but out of necessity. As Zhang Dadan’s family grew richer, the villagers’ jealousy intensified.
Jealousy often leads to hatred, and then to irrational actions, trying to undermine Zhang Dadan.
Just in case, to prepare for a rainy day, Zhang Dadan had to sacrifice Liu Hong, making him an outcast.
With Liu Hong’s example, if anyone else wanted to cross Dadan, they’d have to think twice about the consequences.
Seeing Zhang Dadan’s indifferent reaction, Liu Hong’s mother felt wronged and said, "Dadan, you know, the villagers don’t want to see Liu Hong or even be associated with our family now!"
"Auntie, there’s nothing I can do about it. I can’t force everyone," Zhang Yonggan pretended to say reluctantly.
When his mother saw him
Although Liu Hong was full of bad intentions, he also had some ambition and refused to submit to Dadan, let alone have his mother beg on his behalf.
To Liu Hong, his mother’s humble knees were nothing but betrayal, tearing away all his dignity.
For the sake of his own pride, he disregarded politeness and filial piety, harshly scolding his mother.
And his mother, like a child who had done something wrong, was scared and unsure of what to do.
"Hong, you... you go back first. I’ll talk to Dadan," Liu Hong’s mother said with a forced smile.
Her humble and helpless smile stirred Zhang Dadan’s compassion, pitying her as a parent!
But being kind to the enemy is being cruel to oneself. Although Liu Hong’s mother hadn’t offended him, her son had caused trouble multiple times.
If he overlooked Liu Hong’s previous mistakes and completely forgave him, wouldn’t the villagers be emboldened?
It was unreasonable to think that the poor and the poor had no quarrels.
Now that they were prospering, the villagers’ envy had turned into hatred, becoming even more covertly malicious.
For example, without the dog guarding the chicken farm on the hill, it would have been destroyed by now.
To eliminate this hatred, the best way was to guide the villagers to get rich together, achieving both prosperity and stability.
Therefore, Zhang Dadan agreed to let the villagers help produce soy sauce and gave them a way to earn money.
But the human heart is like the sea, the hardest to fathom.
To prevent future dangers, Zhang Dadan had to be tough, ready for anything, both guiding and restraining the villagers.
And Liu Hong, the man who schemed against him multiple times, naturally became the scapegoat.
"Auntie, take Liu Hong and go back!" Zhang Dadan said with a compassionate but firm attitude.
Hearing this, Liu Hong sneaked a glance at Zhang Dadan and snapped at his mother, "Can’t you go back? You have no pride. I still have some pride left."
"How dare you talk like that, Hong? All this trouble is because of you!" Liu Hong’s mother retorted bitterly.
Hearing this, Liu Hong felt both touched and angry. Hmph! You’re just doing this for the money, aren’t you?
"If you really care about me, just go back home. There’s no point in staying here!" Liu Hong angrily scolded.
Wang Cuifen had already been angry with Liu Hong but didn’t intervene.\p>
The neighbors who came to inquire didn’t side with Liu Hong either.
"Liu Hong, how can you talk to your mother like that? If I were your mother, I’d slap you right in the face," someone remarked.
More people, enjoying the commotion, directly suggested, "Liu Hong’s mother, what are you doing? You should teach him a lesson..."
A few women began to gossip, and Liu Hong became furious, angrily shouting, "Mind your own business!" he yelled at them.
Rural people hold conservative ideas and always highly value filial piety. For someone like Liu Hong, who even insulted his parents, condemnation was unanimous. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the ɴoᴠel Fɪre.nᴇt
Thus, when everyone cursed him more, instead of backing down, he became increasingly outrageous.
A woman scolded, "Liu Hong, how can you speak to your mother ? If I were your Auntie..."
"Auntie? Others even dare to scold their own mothers; do you think they’d care about an auntie?" someone instigated.
Liu Hong, seeing himself once again becoming a target of public criticism, felt ever more restless and anxious. He wasn’t being unfilial; he just couldn’t stand his mother begging on her knees!
But he couldn’t explain this to anyone. How could he express his distress?
Just as Liu Hong was feeling awkward, his mother said, "Stop talking nonsense! We’ve always been very obedient.
But before she could finish, someone interrupted, "Sister-in-law, you said it yourself! You’re always tolerating him; now look at what happened.
Facing public criticism, Liu Hong erupted again, pointing his anger at Zhang Dadan: "It’s all his fault! If it weren’t for him, would I be ?"
His outburst shocked everyone. They all stared at him, waiting to hear what he had to say.
Without disappointing them, Liu Hong shamelessly accused, "If it weren’t for Dadan, our family wouldn’t be !"
"Now, not even a mouse dares to come to our door. Even when my mom goes to the gate, people block her."