Chapter Thirty-Eight: Something Fishy

  The old man's two sons were unexpectedly mentally handicapped, and suddenly I felt a little sorry for him.

  The wall is made of red brick and cement, the gate is tall and big, but inside it's very old and broken, the ground is uneven. In the corner of the farmhouse courtyard, there are two pigs and a group of chickens, many old furniture are placed in disorder, next to them are an axe and a small stool, obviously Huang Cang or Huang Song was chopping firewood just now.

  There was a grape arbor at the corner of the courtyard, under which stood an old man of about sixty years old, huddled and shrinking, wearing tattered clothes, with a towel that had once been white tied around his head, his face full of wrinkles, and his stature very short. Compared to Liu Weimin's tall and majestic figure, he was worlds apart.

  He looked at us with a somewhat strange gaze, exuding a hint of fawning and obsequiousness. After we entered, San Shu said with a smile: "Why isn't Jiuxiang here? Is she too shy to come out? Huang Lao Ye, I've brought the person to you, you can chat now, I'm leaving!"

  After Third Sister left, I was sandwiched between two silly men who kept asking me questions in a disorderly manner. Old Man Huang didn't say anything but just chuckled and nodded at me, making my heart feel fuzzy and my palms sweaty.

  This old yellow man's image is too poor, it's simply a hairless yellow mouse standing up, a pair of green bean eyes sneaking around, the expression on his face is clearly one sentence: Fatty sheep, I want to slaughter you!

  Unscrupulous businessman, this is my evaluation of him.

  Standing there wasn't going to solve anything, so I steeled myself and said to him: "Old Master Huang? What brings you here looking for me?"

  The old man's smile remained unchanged, and he hurriedly nodded and said: "There is something to say, I heard that you have a crush on my family's Jiuxiang? She is the wife of my third son, but my third son passed away early, and in recent years, Jiuxiang has also suffered grievances in my family. Letting her follow you to enjoy two days of happiness is also what she deserves, but after all, she is the daughter-in-law of my family, and I can't just let you take her away with a word from the village chief?"

  The old man's eyes sparkled with a sharp glint, and my feeling was that he wanted money!

  But he is an old yellow head!

  Liu Weimin had been chasing for many years, but couldn't even see Huang Jinbai's face!

  He actually sold his own daughter-in-law?

  I blurted out and asked: "Are you Huang Jinbai?"

  This remark was very impolite. Even if Huang Jinbai's status wasn't particularly high, even an ordinary old man would frown upon being addressed directly by his name, but he didn't mind at all and said: "Of course, I am Huang Jinbai, Jiuxiang is my daughter-in-law. Young fellow, let's not beat around the bush, make me an offer!"

  I stared blankly and bit my lip for a moment before saying, "Let's discuss it between us and see how much money we can scrape together."

  He pulled me to the corner of the courtyard, that old man with a sly look and perked up ears wanting to eavesdrop, whispered: "Is he asking for an astronomical price? If we can't afford it, will he be able to save Kang Jiuxiang?"

  My ears listened, but my eyes stared at Old Man Huang. I said, "I don't know, but why do I feel that he's not Huang Jinbai? This is too despicable!"

  "You're right, it doesn't quite look like him. No wonder the old man didn't come with us. Could it be that Huang Jinbai has a identical double? The one in front of us isn't actually him?"

  With today's cosmetic technology, it's not difficult to get a similar face, but I suddenly found that it's not as simple as replacing someone.

  If there was a substitute, Old Huang wouldn't have had to worry about Liu Weimin knowing his appearance, but Liu Weimin hadn't even seen his face.

  This is absolutely impossible, Liu Weimin used a martial arts example, and at the time, he really got me confused. But this is the 21st century, with Liu Weimin's methods, if you know someone's name and address, can't you easily get a photo of them? Especially when chatting with female online friends, it's easy to get their ID photos through friends.

  If all else fails, it's worth spending some money to hire a paparazzo in the village.

  There are only two explanations: either Liu Weimin is lying or Old Man Huang can change his face.

  During the time I was discussing with You Wu, Old Huang kept staring at us. His two foolish sons were busy on their own, one sat on a small stool chopping firewood, and the other walked to the corner to feed the chickens, with a stupid expression, drooling and having a runny nose.

  After some thought, I went over with You Wu to ask Old Man Huang what he thought was a suitable price.

  The old man exclaimed: "This is up to your intention towards Jiuxiang, how can you ask me?"

  Not to mention that buying and selling people is against the law, and Jiuxiang sister is as beautiful as a fairy, talking about money would tarnish her.

  The old man's face gradually sank, and he said coldly: "Hmph, then take him away, we don't want him in our family anymore."

  Just after finishing speaking, the two big children, Huang Cang and Huang Song, burst into loud wailing, shouting to Old Man Huang in a hoarse voice, "Don't give Jiu Xiang to someone else!" They couldn't tell each other apart, but one of them rushed to my feet, hugging my leg and pleading, "Little Zhen Zhen, aren't you going to stay with us? Why are you taking Jiu Xiang away? If you take her away, no one will cook for us anymore."

  I thought to myself, what's going on here? And Old Man Huang agreed too readily, although his expression was unwilling, but there were three points of pride in his eyes. I always felt like I'd been tricked.

  The old man whispered a few words to the two kids, then led them into the house. He quickly ran out and locked the door, ignoring their cries and wails. He gave us a cold glance, then went into another room, doing who-knows-what. When he came out, he said: "Jiuxiang's luck has arrived, she is willing to go with you. But you can't just take her away from me like this, I'd lose face. Alright, you two leave first, Jiuxiang will follow later. Once you're out the door, she's no longer a member of my family!"

  To be honest, I came here today without the intention of taking Kong Jiuxiang away. Firstly, I thought Old Man Huang wouldn't agree to it, and secondly, I still resent this woman!

  That day, she told me with a warm and touching tone that it would be fine to find her a place to live, and also asked me to keep the bed warm for her, have children. I thought she was a widow who was often bullied and wanted to leave the small village that was hard for her to bear, but now it seems that's not the case at all.

  Before I came, Ninth Brother didn't dare to bully her. The two elder brothers at home are idiots, even if they're idiots, they still have masculine impulses, I don't believe Kang Jiuxiang can't handle even the idiots, and Old Man Huang is rarely at home, so he can't bully her either. Kang Jiuxiang is living a comfortable life here.

  It's still uncertain whether she killed Ninth Brother or not, but what he said that day was just a lie to get close to me.

  The scoundrel is already hateful, let alone she also cheated me out of emotions. If she really dares to follow me, I will definitely marry her. Although I can't beat my wife, I will find a sister for her in broad daylight and be affectionate with her in front of her, and never divorce!

  Old Man Huang agreed to let Kang Jiuxiang go, and we had no reason to stay. We left the house quickly and neatly. Old Man Huang also said with a sarcastic tone: "I wish you two a happy old age together."

  Just a few meters out the door, Kang Jiuxiang actually came out with a quilt in her arms. She was wearing quite a flashy outfit, but she had her head down and her face buried in the quilt, looking like she was too ashamed to show her face.

  She followed us two meters away, perhaps being blocked by her son and unable to see the road, walking with a twist.

  I eloped with someone else's wife, Yu Wu and I both think it's quite embarrassing, we don't dare say much, and quietly hurry back to the reception center, wanting to ask Liu Weimin how to make amends.

  In the reception room, San Shu was still cracking melon seeds. Seeing us return, she stood up and smiled to greet us. She also said to Kang Jiuxiang: "Sister, this time you got what you wanted, right? From now on, take good care of this little guy and give birth to a big fat son."

  Kang Jiuxiang responded with a very soft "en", it was unclear whether she was shy or not, and she didn't intend to chat idly with San Shu.

  My mind was a mess, I rushed to Liu Weimin's room in a flash, the door wasn't locked, I pushed it open and found him completely relaxed, lying on the bed watching TV with a pleased expression.

  I went to his arch-nemesis's home, and he didn't even take it seriously?

  Liu Weimin didn't say a word, so I hastily called out: "I've brought Kang Jiuxiang back, what to do?"

  Liu Weimin was taken aback and exclaimed in surprise: "The leader is back? He would rather give his adopted daughter to you than...".

  I narrowed my eyes at him, and Liu Weimin hastily stopped talking, without finishing what he was saying.

  He jumped off the bed to go out and take a look, but You Mou had already grabbed the quilt in Kang Jiuxiang's arms and came over with a playful smile: "Sister Jiuxiang, don't be shy anymore. If you don't take the road to heaven, hell will come to your door on its own. Wang Zhen can't bully you to death!" He smiled at Liu Weimin: "Old man, the person is here, should we use severe punishment or what?"

  Liu Weimin sniffled, the surprise on his face gradually fading away. He turned around and went back into the house, leaving behind a sentence: "Huang Jinbai's skills are truly exceptional! You take a look yourself, what kind of thing did he bring back!"