Chapter 603 - 599: Eldest Chen
Things have been really strange in the Qingshan Team lately.
Several of the local loafers had all fallen ill at the same time, and with the exact same symptoms. They were all weak and pale—anyone who didn’t know better would have thought their yang energy had been drained by some demoness.
Of course, no one actually knew what a person whose yang energy had been drained by a demoness looked like. It was just that these men looked exactly like the scholars from the old folks’ stories who had suffered that very fate.
Feng Ergou’s parents were at home discussing this very matter.
Feng Ergou was paying attention at first, but then his mother remarked, "I heard that all those loafers only ended up like this after getting close to Xu Wenwan. Now everyone’s saying she’s a jinx!"
As a man, Feng Ergou’s father knew a little more about the situation.
He’d heard that all the men who got sick had tried to climb over the wall into Xu Wenwan’s yard.
’How could it be so strange? They all climbed Xu Wenwan’s wall and all came down with the same sickness. Anyone who gets near Xu Wenwan runs into bad luck. She must be a jinx.’
He quickly spoke up, "From now on, if you see the Xu family’s daughter, stay far away from her. Don’t let her drag our family down."
Feng Ergou’s mother wholeheartedly agreed.
But Feng Ergou suddenly exploded. "Mom! Dad! Don’t you dare talk about Wen Wan like that! She’s a good girl. As for those guys who got sick, they were no-good scoundrels to begin with."
Feng Ergou’s mother: ...
Feng Ergou’s father: ...
Before either of his parents could react, Feng Ergou had already jumped to his feet and run out.
"Wait a minute... why was Ergou so angry? He hasn’t fallen for Xu Wenwan, has he?!"
The moment the words left her mouth, Feng Ergou’s mother scared herself silly. "Oh, my heavens, what are we going to do? How could Ergou fall for a jinx like her?!"
’If she really marries into our family, we won’t be able to withstand her jinxing!’
Feng Ergou’s father couldn’t help but look around at their low eaves and their dirt-poor house, thinking his wife had a point.
’Just think,’ he thought, ’Village Chief Xu’s family is so well-off and has so many sons, yet even they can’t bear the trouble Xu Wenwan causes. Our family has so little to begin with... the household would probably fall apart before she even stepped through the door.’
He grew anxious. "Wife, you need to find a wife for Ergou, and quickly! We have to make him give up this idea. It’s just too terrifying."
’No, I can’t let my son marry a jinx and bring her home.’
At the mention of finding a wife, Feng Ergou’s mother’s expression soured. "You think I haven’t been looking? Every girl wants a betrothal gift, at least fifteen yuan. We simply don’t have that kind of money."
"Besides," she continued, "given our family’s situation, none of the girls from our village are willing to marry in and suffer with us. And any girl from another village takes one look at our home and instantly regrets it."
Feng Ergou’s father mulled it over for a moment, then made up his mind. "Go find a girl for our son from your hometown."
"It would cost less, and she’d be down-to-earth and a hard worker."
The Feng Family had always been dirt poor. His own mother had run off after he was born, and his father, being too poor, never remarried. As a result, he was an only son. For a long time, he couldn’t afford a wife either. But there were places even poorer than the Qingshan Team.
In the Qingshan Team, people could at least eat their fill. In many other places, the land was so poor that people often went hungry. As a result, there were girls from those areas willing to marry here without a betrothal gift.
Besides, when he had gotten married, he had given grain as the betrothal gift, which made his wife’s family ecstatic.
They had one less mouth to feed and even got a sack of grain out of it. It was a great deal for them.
Feng Ergou’s mother thought for a moment and agreed that it was a viable plan.
Meanwhile, Feng Ergou was furious. He charged straight to Eldest Chen’s house, kicked the door open, and strode inside.
Eldest Chen was the first one who had tried to climb over Xu Wenwan’s wall.