country bumpkin

Chapter 315 Nie Dayong Finds His Daughter

Village chief Kong Youliang snapped out of his daze and shouted, "Stop it, all of you! Look at yourselves, what kind of behavior are you? You're all over a hundred years old combined, don't you know the meaning of shame?"

The village chief was so angry he felt dizzy. There was really nothing he could do about these old women in the village who, whenever they had free time, would gossip about rats.

What else can you do besides scold them? You can't exactly beat them up! They're all so stubborn, scolding them won't even scratch them. Afterwards, they'll still be chatting and gossiping as usual.

These old women are all old and domineering; if you really mess with them, they'll definitely try to extort you until you're bankrupt. The village chief's job is really tough.

Having encountered such situations many times, the village chief had developed his own methods. A few words of reprimand and a mediating conversation would suffice.

He'll still call the police for serious incidents. But for trivial matters, he'll still step in to resolve them.

Granny Xu and Granny Wang had released their grip and were glaring at each other, but neither of them made another move.

Granny Zhang and Wang Cuihua, however, clung tightly to each other's hair, refusing to let go. Their kicking motions, however, ceased; they were tired of kicking.

Village chief Kong Youliang was furious when he saw the two women still grabbing each other's hair. He stepped forward, forcefully separated them, and asked loudly.

"What exactly happened between you two? Why did you start fighting?"

Old Mrs. Zhang, panting heavily, pointed at Wang Cuihua and said, "Village Chief, she started it."

Wang Cuihua was not to be outdone, jumping up and down and saying, "Who told you to insult me ​​first? You embarrassed me first, and now you're trying to play the victim."

Granny Xu chimed in, "That's right, Wang Cuihua, you were the one who started the fight."

Upon hearing this, Wang Cuihua became even more anxious and was about to rush up to argue with them, but the village chief stopped her.

The village chief frowned, thought for a moment, and then said, "Stop arguing, Wang Cuihua. You started the fight, so you're in the wrong."

"Wang Cuihua, you have to apologize to Granny Zhang."

Upon hearing this, everyone quieted down for a moment, waiting to see how the village chief would handle the matter.

At this moment, Granny Wang jumped out again and said to the village chief, "Village chief, you can't be biased. Granny Zhang was the one who laughed at Cuihua first. I can testify to that."

The village chief was even more troubled; these small matters were more mentally taxing than the big ones. If he handled them wrong, both families would hold a grudge against him.

When the village chief's wife heard this, she exclaimed, "Good heavens! Both sides have their own version of events. What's going on?"

Her gaze swept over the crowd of onlookers, trying to find someone who could tell the truth.

But when she looked at them, everyone avoided her gaze.

Watching the spectacle is fine, but when it comes to actually getting them to testify, nobody wants to get involved. Everyone's thinking is that it's better to avoid trouble.

The village chief had no choice but to shout, "Alright, everyone disperse! Stop having nothing better to do than gather at the village entrance and argue all day long."

Then he said to the two of them, "You two go home too, stop fighting. If you win and hurt the other person, you'll have to pay compensation. If you lose, you'll get beaten up and injured, and you'll suffer the consequences. Tell me, what are you two doing?"

These words struck a chord with them. They let go of each other, glared at one another, spat, and went home.

Even the village chief's wife felt sorry for him; he'd become more like a women's director than a village chief.

The two fighters left, and the onlookers, finding the spectacle uninteresting, all dispersed and went home.

The area at the village entrance was cleared off in no time. The village chief and his wife also went home.

Although the incident had passed, the story of Kong Xiangwei and Nie Xianghong spread throughout the entire village.

Meanwhile, Kong Xiangwei led Nie Xianghong into the city. With nowhere to go, they settled in a small hotel.

He carried all the money he had saved over the years with him. He would have to rely on this money to live from now on.

After three days in the small hotel, Kong Xiangwei couldn't stand it anymore. He didn't like being a lazy bum cooped up in his room every day; he preferred to go out often, even to work, rather than staying indoors.

He planned to go out and find a job, then rent a small apartment so the two of them could live together.

Nie Xianghong is 12 years younger than him and still has a childlike temper, so he has to coax her and spend more time with her.

Kong Xiangwei left Nie Xianghong at the hotel and went out to look for work. He first went to the labor market, but most of the jobs were manual labor and the wages were low.

He went to factories to inquire, but they rejected him because he lacked experience. After searching for several days, he finally found a house and a job.

The house was a dilapidated bungalow with cheap rent; the job was as a laborer on a construction site, which was tiring but provided an income.

He happily went back to pick up Nie Xianghong. When Nie Xianghong first saw the dilapidated house, she pouted and refused to go in.

Kong Xiangwei coaxed her, "Honghong, let's stay here for now. When I make a lot of money, I'll buy you a big house." Nie Xianghong reluctantly went into the house.

Working on the construction site was tough, and Kong Xiangwei was exhausted every day with a sore back, but the thought of Nie Xianghong gave him motivation.

Not long after, someone from the village came to the city on business and told Nie Xianghong's family about his relationship with her.

Nie Xianghong's father soon came to her door, wanting to take her back.

Later, when Kong Xiangwei came home from get off work, Nie Dayong told his daughter to stay inside and called Kong Xiangwei out to talk.

Nie Xianghong agreed without thinking. But Kong Xiangwei knew he was in for a beating!

Sure enough, once they reached the depths of the alley, there was no one around. Nie Dayong didn't say a word, but immediately raised his fist and aimed it at Kong Xiangwei's face.

With a "thud," blood began to flow from Kong Xiangwei's nose. He didn't fight back or say anything. He knew that only when his father-in-law calmed down would he and Nie Xianghong have a chance to be together.

Nie Dayong punched Kong Xiangwei three more times in the face and stomach. Kong Xiangwei continued to endure, gritting his teeth and persevering with each punch.

Exhausted from the beating, Nie Dayong stopped, panting, and glared angrily, demanding, "Why did you kidnap my daughter? She's still young, what does she know?"

Kong Xiangwei wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said sincerely, "Uncle, I truly love Xiang Hong, and I will treat her well for the rest of my life. I work on the construction site and can support her."

Nie Dayong sneered: "You? Living in a dilapidated house and doing hard labor, what kind of good life can you give her?"

Besides, you're a full twelve years older than him, how could you say you like her?

I think you were just deceiving her. You took advantage of her because she's young and naive.

Kong Xiangwei shook his head firmly and said, "No, Uncle, that's not how it is. I really like her, and I would do anything for her."

Although things are tough for us now, I will work hard and make sure she has a better life in the future.

Nie Dayong fell silent. Looking into Kong Xiangwei's resolute eyes, he felt a little wavering.

At this moment, Nie Xianghong ran over, hugged Kong Xiangwei while crying, and said to her father, "Dad, I just love him, and I'm willing to suffer with him."

If you don't agree, I'll never get married in my life. What's the point of living if I break up with him?

Nie Dayong sighed, then waved his hand and said, "Fine, I'll observe you a bit more. If you dare to treat my daughter badly, I'll never forgive you."

Kong Xiangwei was overjoyed and quickly nodded, promising, "Uncle, don't worry, I will definitely treat Xiang Hong well. If I fail to do so in the future and bully her, my life is yours to decide."

Having said all that, what could Nie Dayong say? One was determined to die rather than submit, the other swore on his life.

I just hope my daughter made the right choice, and that they can remain steadfast in their feelings for each other for the rest of their lives.

With the storm temporarily subsided, a glimmer of hope seemed to appear for Kong Xiangwei and Nie Xianghong's future.

Nie Dayong was about to go home when he said helplessly to Kong Xiangwei, "Since you two want to be together, you should at least go back to the village to get engaged, exchange betrothal gifts, and get married. These procedures are essential. You can't just be together like this without any clear agreement!"

Hearing this, Nie Dayong agreed. Kong Xiangwei was overjoyed and decided to work this month before returning to the village to get engaged and married.

In the days that followed, he worked even harder, going to the construction site before dawn and returning only after dark.

Nie Xianghong didn't stay idle either. She found a job washing dishes at a small restaurant nearby. Although the salary wasn't high, it was enough to supplement her family's income.

The two encouraged each other and worked hard together, and they began to look forward to the future. The hard times will eventually pass, and the good times will come.