The Secret of the Village

The more Chen Wei’er thought about it, the more she felt that something was wrong. Using her long hair to cover her face, Chen Wei’er observed the other woman more carefully.

As for the rest of the women carrying their children, they spontaneously took off their tops and breastfed their crying children out in the open. They didn’t mind the men staring at them. It was as if they were already used to it.

When the child in the arms of the woman wearing a white shirt wailed, the latter only frowned. She didn’t have any intention of coaxing the child. Her eyes looked desensitized.

‘Pa!’ A man walked over and slapped the woman wearing a white shirt. “Are you f*cking deaf? Didn’t you hear the child crying?”

The woman wearing a white shirt finally reacted. She carried the child and shook him up and down twice in a highly perfunctory manner.

The man was probably her husband. The woman wearing a white shirt pushed and shoved the man.

“Don’t you have a f*cking brain? Don’t you know how to feed your child? If anything happens to my son because of hunger, I’ll beat you up!”

The man didn’t stop. “What is there to cover anyway? Are you the only one with breasts? Do you see others getting afraid of the onlookers? What if you hurt my son?!” The man didn’t like her at all, so he naturally scolded her. “I’ve spent so much money to marry you, but in the end, I married a blockhead. Bah! Even a block of wood is better than you. You do not even know how to start a fire and cook. What the hell can you do? I have really been scammed by Sister Zhu…”

The more Chen Wei’er listened, the more shocked she felt. She badly hoped that the girl married for love. However, after she heard the man’s words and witnessed the mistreatment, Chen Wei’er knew that it was definitely not the case.

The man was alluding to some kind of blind date. The person called Sister Zhu must have been a matchmaker…

But then, the man also mentioned spending a lot of money. Did he mean a betrothal gift? Or was it something else? If it were a betrothal gift, it would confirm that the woman’s family sold her. What if that wasn’t the case though? After all, if the woman’s parents could sign her up for dance classes, then why would they sell their daughter to the mountains…

Chen Wei’er couldn’t help but shiver. She stared at the woman in the white shirt through her hair.

The woman in the white shirt, on the other hand, was expressionless, and her eyes remained lifeless.

She raised her hand to brush the hair that was hanging in front of her eyes. Chen Wei’er was startled by the sight before her.

As the woman wearing a white shirt raised her arm, the sleeve of her top slid down, revealing the red marks on her originally fair and tender skin. She seemed to have been scalded…

Chen Wei’er clenched her fists. At that moment, she was certain that the woman wearing a white shirt was not originally from the village. There was a high chance that she was from a good family, raised with a good upbringing, and knowledgeable… Some kind of accident must have forced her to end up stranded here with a child.

Chen Wei’er grip grew increasingly tighter. Her nails even dug into her palms. Some answers were becoming clear!

Chen Wei’er forced herself to calm down. Taking advantage of her hair, she observed other women to check if there were any who were in the same situation as the woman wearing a white shirt…

She looked at them one by one and soon found another person who seemed out of place.

The woman was dressed in rags, and it was obvious that it was not her own clothes because they did not fit her. The style wasn’t appropriate for her age. Her very short hair was cut messily. Her lower abdomen was slightly protruding, but she was so scrawny that she looked like she could be blown away by a gust of wind. Also, there was a round mark on her ring finger. Chen Wei’er slightly narrowed her eyes. That was a…ring mark.

The short-haired woman and the woman wearing a white shirt had similar expressions—neither happy nor sad. They were exceptionally different from the people in Osmanthus Village.

Chen Wei’er turned her gaze to another place. In fact, the local women in the village were really easy to recognize. Almost all of them had a strong local accent, and they were happily cracking melon seeds and chatting. Therefore, those reserved and unaccompanied women stood out.

However, Chen Wei’er only saw the woman wearing a white shirt and the short-haired woman. Was there really no one else?

Chen Wei’er slowly tucked her hair behind her ears and asked Wang Hua casually, “Are all the people in the village here? It seems like there aren’t a lot of people here…”

Wang Hua was stunned for a moment. She obviously didn’t expect Chen Wei’er to take the initiative to speak. “Ah…yes, all of them are here. Our place is impoverished so naturally, the population is paltry… However, the older children didn’t attend. They went to bed early.”

Of course, Wang Hua wouldn’t tell the actual reason for the children’s absence to Chen Wei’er. Today’s occasion wasn’t suitable for younger audiences.

Chen Wei’er didn’t say anything and just nodded.

He Xun, who was beside his wife, noticed Chen Wei’er’s abnormal behavior. He leaned over and asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong?”