Chiang Xiao turned around and glanced at the woman.
She had not taken a close look before, but now she knew this was the woman who had met a tragic end in her previous life, and Chiang Xiao’s gaze inevitably became complicated.
Zou Xiaoling noticed her expression and, in a panic, shouted at Chiang Xiao, "You, you’re from her family, aren’t you? Go back and tell her son to give up, I will never marry him. Tell him to take care of his mother! Desheng, let’s go!"
Zou Xiaoling pulled Ji Desheng and ran.
Ji Desheng kept looking back at Chiang Xiao with each step, his gaze tinged with sorrow.
Ho Laidi said she was engaged, was that true?
How could she have gotten engaged?
"Chiang Xiao, are you trying to ruin your second uncle’s marriage proposal? You vicious witch with a heart of a serpent..." Ho Laidi wailed again, but she was still sitting on the ground unable to stand, her arm still numb, so she could only cry out in vain.
Chiang Xiao threw another punch in her direction, and her cursing abruptly stopped.
What bad luck, to come across such troublesome people on this outing; they completely ruined her good mood.
And then there was Zou Xiaoling. Chiang Xiao had been wondering if she should do something to change her fate, as after all, they were both women, and that kind of humiliation was something Chiang Xiao was absolutely unwilling to see happen to Zou Xiaoling again. But Zou Xiaoling ran off quickly, and in this life, Chiang Baohe’s leg was already crushed by her, so he should no longer be able to cause trouble. It seemed that Zou Xiaoling’s fate in this life should have already changed.
As long as she did not go to the Old Chiang’s, nor see Chiang Baohe alone.
With this thought, Chiang Xiao breathed a sigh of relief.
Although she had no prior acquaintance with Zou Xiaoling, now that her own fate had changed, she hoped Zou Xiaoling wouldn’t repeat the tragedy of her past life.
In her previous life, Chiang Xiao had no knowledge of what became of Zou Xiaoling after the abuse, but in any era, the world was very unfair and harsh towards women. Not to mention the early eighties, even in the year 2000, regardless of the reasons for the abuse, the way people looked at a victimized woman was always different.
Very few could go on with their lives normally under those peculiar gazes.
Thinking of this, Chiang Xiao felt once more that crippling Chiang Baohe’s leg was the right thing to do.
He should never have been allowed out to harm others; better to leave him at home to vex Ho Laidi.
After all, she had indirectly saved someone, and Chiang Xiao felt her mood improve. She no longer wished to dwell on her encounter with Yu Chunyu and the others.
She also needed to go to the bookstore to buy drawing paper.
She had been using a lot of drawing paper recently; she had bought some a month ago, and today she had run out again.
Each time she went, she would take all the drawing paper the bookstore had, making the shopkeeper, who had thought nobody in town would buy much drawing paper, smile wryly and promise to stock more next time.
"Sister-in-law!" Hu Xibing finally came over, with a slightly embarrassed expression, saying, "I’m sorry I couldn’t be of help just now, I really am..."
"Brother Hu?" Chiang Xiao hadn’t expected him to have witnessed the previous scene, but it didn’t matter. She knew what kind of person she was and what her family background was; these people had a clear understanding of that already, so there was nothing to be embarrassed about. "What are you up to?"
Hu Xibing had a bag slung over his shoulder and was also holding a cloth sack.
"I’m just about to make a trip to the provincial capital. There’s a Tea Trade Fair happening, and I thought I’d check it out, learn a thing or two—it’s quite a novelty."
A trade fair had already been established?
Chiang Xiao was also curious, indeed a novelty.
She felt tempted to go along, but then she remembered exams were coming up, so better not. She’d wait until the summer break.
"Oh, by the way, I might drop by to see Captain Meng. Sister-in-law, do you have anything you want me to pass on to him?"