sjar Chapter 859 Cruel Consequences
Chapter 859 Cruel Consequences
After Old Man Zhuang drove away, three families had people who had died.
Watching everyone else leave with their families, and then looking at his own cold, lifeless body, he was overcome with grief.
The sadness in their hearts and the uncertainty about the future filled them with resentment.
Chengguo's mother was an elderly woman in her fifties who had only given birth to one son in her entire life.
Her husband died young, and she, a widow, struggled to raise her son and find him a wife.
Now, her son has passed away even earlier than her.
She fainted from crying the moment she saw her son's body.
When he woke up again, he immediately wanted to die.
When Uncle Wu saw this, he quickly sent someone to pull him away.
He and several older villagers finally managed to persuade the person to stop.
On the other side, a fight broke out again.
The boy, who was eleven or twelve years old, was kneeling beside his father's corpse when his mother slapped him several times.
They hit him while cursing him.
"You're a jinx, sent by God to torment me!"
Giving birth to you almost cost me my life.
From childhood to adulthood, I have never been obedient.
This time, you sneaked up the mountain again and ended up killing your father!
Now, we are left as orphans and widows, how are we supposed to survive!
His mother spoke, tears streaming down her face.
The boy lowered his head, his eyes filled with tears.
He looked up at his father's ashen face and remembered how good his father had been to him.
The intense shame and self-blame made the boy feel utterly ashamed.
He turned around and slammed his head against the wall next to him.
With a muffled thud, the boy, his head covered in blood, collapsed against the wall.
His mother was so shocked that she forgot all about crying and ran over as fast as she could.
She covered the bloody gash on his head with her hand while crying out.
"My son, my son!"
"Help! Someone, please help me!"
Uncle Wu was also taken aback by the child's resolute decision. After realizing what had happened, he quickly had someone carry the child to find a doctor.
The child's mother stood beside the men carrying the child, wiping away tears.
"My son, how could you be so heartless?"
"If you leave, what will your mother do?"
The group cried and screamed as they slowly left.
The scene was in chaos.
While the attention of Uncle Wu and the others was on the boy.
Chengguo's mother and the family of another household had already carried the corpse into the village.
They went to Huai Shu's house.
Of the group of boys who went out, Huai Shu was the oldest.
Normally, those boys would listen to him.
Cheng Guo's mother and the other family believed that Huai Shu was the mastermind behind this.
When the two families arrived, Grandpa and Grandma Huai were cooking rice porridge for their grandson.
When I saw them come in, my heart skipped a beat.
The parents of the locust tree stepped forward and cautiously invited them to sit down.
The family members of the other household naturally didn't have a good attitude towards the person who killed their husband.
But given the current situation, we can't really make this child pay with his life.
As they talked, the two sides actually started discussing the issue of compensation.
But Cheng Guo's mother didn't say a word. As soon as she entered the room, her eyes were fixed on the locust tree on the kang (a heated brick bed).
That sinister gaze frightened the locust tree so much that it shrank back into its blanket.
Seeing this, Cheng Guo's mother's eyes hardened even more.
Her son is dead, so why is this troublemaker still alive?
While the other two were talking, Cheng Guo's mother slowly approached the locust tree on the kang (a heated brick bed).
Taking advantage of a moment when no one was paying attention, he stabbed the locust tree in the neck with the scissors in his hand.
As the locust tree listened to the adults' conversation, feeling ashamed, it sensed a figure flash past beside it.
He instinctively flinched.
When she saw the sharp scissors in her mother's hand, she screamed and backed away in fright.
Chengguo's mother, a small old woman, nimbly climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed) and chased after him.
Seeing this, the parents of the locust tree were afraid that she would really hurt their son, so they rushed forward to stop her.
The two sides squeezed together.
As Chengguo's mother was pushed down, Chengguo's cousins rushed to help.
Soon, it turned into a brawl.
Right now, the two families who lost someone are filled with resentment and have nowhere to vent it.
Having found an outlet for their anger, they beat each other more and more fiercely.
Before long, blood was drawn.
The neighbors noticed something was wrong and quickly went to invite Uncle Wu over.
Seeing this, Uncle Wu hurriedly had people separate them.
Seeing that Chengguo's mother was still staring ominously at the locust tree, he comforted her:
“Chengguo’s mother, no one wanted this to happen.”
Don't worry, the clan will definitely take good care of you from now on.
Chengguo's mother sneered as she listened to her fifth uncle's words.
"Take care of him? How do I take care of him?"
I originally had my son to support me in my old age, but because of those boys going up the mountain in the winter.
My son, Cheng Guo, was kind-hearted and wanted to help find the person, but he died in the mountains.
They're the ones who caused the trouble, why should my son be the one to die!
Looking at Chengguo's mother, who was already somewhat obsessed, Uncle Wu knew that further persuasion would be useless.
So, we decided to have everyone go to the ancestral hall together.
During this time, Old Man Zhuang was woken up by a knock on the door.
Besides applying Lu Qingqing's secret wound medicine to the boy who had hit his head.
Several others developed high fevers after returning from the mountains.
Old Zhuang also packed some prepared herbs and went over to check on the situation.
Then, he instructed the family to decoct the medicine and give it to the patient.
After receiving the medicine, the families thanked him profusely and handed over a gift to Old Man Zhuang.
These days, money can't buy everything.
Moreover, each family had basically emptied their savings to buy coal.
Therefore, what each family provided was mostly food.
Old Zhuang hadn't expected to make money from these herbs anyway. He took the items, gave a few more instructions, and then left.
When he arrived at the last house, he happened to meet the man returning from the ancestral hall.
Only then did they realize that Uncle Wu had just dealt with the matter of the boys sneaking up the mountain in the ancestral hall.
Several teenagers who went up the mountain on their own started taking turns on duty at the lookout point half a month later, and did so for two consecutive months.
In addition, each of these teenagers' families contributed eighty catties of grain.
After the bodies were handed over, apart from the three families of the deceased, each family received 120 jin (approximately 60 kg), and the rest were divided equally among the families who went to look for the deceased.
In addition, not a single pound of the coal that was promised before can be missing.
The last one is the homes of these teenagers.
Twice a year thereafter, grain was delivered to the clan.
The grain handed over was distributed to the three families who had lost members, and this continued for ten years.
It didn't end until the children from these families grew up.
This outcome was reached after much negotiation between Uncle Wu and both parties.
Those who have lost loved ones are naturally saddened.
But those who are alive must continue to live.
At times like these, people are treated like commodities and can be valued by price.
They even argued fiercely over a mere pound or two of compensation.
When Old Man Zhuang heard this result, he couldn't help but sigh.
On my way home, I passed by Sun Laohai's house.
Thinking that Sun Erhe had also gone up the mountain, I decided to go in and take a look.
Thinking that if this kid also had a fever, I would give him a dose of herbal medicine as well.
When they knocked, it was Sun Dahai's wife who opened the door.
This young wife, who was not very old, always had a cheerful and good-natured demeanor when she saw Old Man Zhuang.
This time, however, there was a hint of sorrow in his expression.
After explaining his purpose, Old Man Zhuang followed her into the house.
The atmosphere inside the room was equally oppressive.
Sun Erhe squatted in the corner of the room, head bowed, looking completely different from the boy he used to be.
Upon seeing Old Man Zhuang enter, he looked up to greet him, then lowered his head again.
His family gave up almost a third of their grain reserves because of his impulsive act.
How the family will get through this harsh winter is now a problem.
The loss of those lives completely shattered this lively and cheerful boy.