novelraw Chapter 45 Speed of Life and Death
Chapter 45 Speed of Life and Death
"Duh!"
The muffled thud sent dust flying from the roof beams.
The boning knife was deeply embedded in the wooden door frame, half of the blade inside, while the handle was still buzzing and vibrating, emitting a teeth-grinding buzzing sound.
Zhang the butcher's fleshy face loomed close to Niu Guihua's nose, the stench of blood and sweat accumulated from years of slaughtering pigs assaulting Niu Guihua's senses.
"Niu Guihua, let me make this clear from the start."
Butcher Zhang flicked his thumb backward, pointing to the still-trembling knife on the doorframe: "I'll take the money first. I've also reserved the girl. If this girl loses a single hair in these three days, or if you dare to try and set me up..."
He paused, then his mud-covered fingernails scraped against Niu Guihua's polyester shirt, making a harsh sound.
"This knife doesn't discriminate. I'll slaughter your whole family like pigs, drain them dry, and make an enema out of their blood. You believe me?"
Niu Guihua stared at the knife, her thick legs twitching, and she nodded her head as if she were pounding garlic.
"I believe you! I believe you! I wouldn't dare lie to someone as trustworthy as you even if I had a hundred lives! We're going to the Zhao family right now! It'll be three days at most! After three days, you can come back with a bridal sedan chair to carry us away!"
"Three days."
Butcher Zhang held up three fingers as thick as carrots and waved them in front of Niu Guihua's eyes: "I'll give you three days. If you don't see the divorce certificate in three days, hmph."
He didn't finish his sentence, but that cold laugh was more chilling than the knife.
He reached out and put the stack of ten-yuan bills on the millstone back into his pocket, then picked up the two pieces of pork belly from the windowsill.
Li Dabao's eyes were glued to those two pieces of meat, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, his greedy look just like a wild dog seeing a bone.
Butcher Zhang grinned, revealing a set of large, yellowed teeth, and casually tossed the meat back onto the windowsill.
"Clatter".
The meat was splattered on the windowsill, glistening with oil, and two greenbottle flies were still clinging to it.
"These two pieces of meat are yours to take care of, to nourish this girl. Don't let her be like a dead fish when she gets into bed, too weak to serve me."
After saying that, he turned his head, and his eyes, which were mostly white with little black, scrutinized Li Xianglian, as if trying to see through her thin clothes.
Li Xianglian stood against the wall, her nails digging into her palms, but her face was as wooden as a stone, and she didn't even lift her eyelids.
Butcher Zhang pulled the knife from the door frame, rubbed it on the sole of his shoe, hummed those lewd and obscene tunes, and swaggered away.
The footsteps were heavy, each step causing the ground to tremble slightly.
The suffocating oppressive feeling in the courtyard only dissipated after the commotion completely disappeared at the alley entrance.
"call……"
Li Dabao slumped to the ground, panting heavily. Cold sweat streamed down his face, making his already lewd face even more unsightly.
He didn't even bother to wipe his sweat. He scrambled to the windowsill, picked up the two pieces of meat, took a deep breath, and looked completely ecstatic.
"Mom! This is good meat! It's all fat! Shall we stew it tonight? I've already run out of fat in my belly!"
"Eat, eat, eat! All you ever think about is eating! You're like a reincarnated starving ghost!"
Niu Guihua slapped him on the forehead, making Li Dabao shrink back.
Although she scolded him fiercely, seeing her son's greedy look and thinking about the thick stack of ten-yuan notes she had just received, her fear dissipated considerably, replaced by a surge of excitement.
That's 150 yuan!
"Didn't you hear what Butcher Zhang said? Three days! We only have three days!"
Niu Guihua stood with her hands on her hips, her triangular eyes wide open. "If we can't get the divorce certificate in these three days, our whole family is finished! That's a real disaster!"
She turned around abruptly and stared intently at Li Xianglian standing at the base of the wall.
Without Zhang the butcher around, her wicked old woman nature returned.
"You little brat, you were smart enough to back down earlier. You saw what kind of person that butcher Zhang is. If you want to save your own life, you'd better cooperate! As long as this marriage is over, you can go live your good life, and we'll keep to ourselves. Otherwise, before Butcher Zhang even lifts a finger, I'll skin you alive!"
Li Xianglian remained silent.
She raised her hand and wiped her chin hard with her sleeve—the spot where Butcher Zhang's dirty finger had just touched.
The rough fabric rubbed against her delicate skin until it turned bright red and even bled, before she stopped.
She raised her head, her eyes eerily still, like a bottomless, dry well.
"Mother, let's go. Let's go to the Zhao family's house before the sun gets too high."
"Yes! Let's go to the Zhao family!"
Niu Guihua, remembering the lingering oil in the Zhao family's coffers, suddenly perked up, untied her greasy apron, and threw it to the ground.
"Da Bao, push the cart! Get this girl in the cart! If Zhao Cuifen doesn't return the money and get a divorce today, I'll rip her roof off!"
Li Dabao quickly got up from the ground, spread the tattered cotton quilt on the cart, and rudely shoved Li Xianglian.
"Get up there! Stop dawdling! If you delay my wedding, I'll beat you to death!"
Following that force, Li Xianglian swayed slightly and obediently sat on the cart.
She silently counted down the days in her mind.
Three days.
The three-day deadline given by Butcher Zhang was a race against time for her and Qin Rushan to survive.
In these three days, not only do we need to win over Zhao Cuifen and get that crucial divorce certificate, but we also need to put on a good show so that we can take advantage of this chaos to send these ruthless monsters to hell.
The cart creaked and groaned all the way, its axles were out of lubrication, and the sound was incredibly annoying.
By the time they arrived at Hongxing Brigade, the sun was already blazing overhead, baking the leaves of the crops in the fields until they curled up.
This time, Niu Guihua didn't dare bring so many people.
After all, you're going to "beg" someone to get a divorce, not to fight. Bringing too many people would make it look like you're robbing someone, which would give people something to say.
Besides, she was also afraid that Qin Rushan would suddenly appear out of nowhere.
Just thinking about that ruthless man who chopped up the millstone with an axe yesterday made Niu Guihua's heart pound, like she had a rabbit in her chest.
As soon as the three entered the village, villagers swarmed around them.
When they arrived at the Zhao family's gate, the gate, which had already been shaky and broken by Qin Rushan, was now completely destroyed.
To bolster her momentum, Niu Guihua went up and kicked him.
"Bang!"
Half of the door panel was slammed onto the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust that rose half a person's height, nearly choking Zhao Cuifen, who had just come out of the main room carrying a bowl.
"Cough cough cough... That damn bastard! What's he up to now!"
Zhao Cuifen nearly dropped the chipped porcelain bowl in her hand, spilling the thin, watery corn porridge inside, which burned her hand and made her shiver.
She was terrified by Qin Rushan last night and didn't dare to close her eyes all night. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw that gleaming axe.
Right now, his eyes were covered in dark circles, and his hair was a mess like a chicken coop. He looked no better than a demon that had just crawled out of a graveyard.
Looking up, Zhao Cuifen saw the creaking cart and Niu Guihua, a woman with a fierce face and hands on her hips like a teapot, standing next to it. Her anger flared up instantly.
"Fine! So the Li family is bullying the Zhao family because they think we're all out of options, huh?"
Zhao Cuifen slammed the bowl on the ground with a loud "crack," then pointed at Niu Guihua's nose and began to wail, "You smashed my house to pieces yesterday, wasn't that enough? Now you're demolishing it again? My poor daughter was ruined because of you, and you still dare to come here? There's no law at all!"
"The law?"
Niu Guihua sneered, her voice so loud it could shake the roof tiles off, instantly attracting several neighbors who had come to watch the commotion.
"Zhao Cuifen, stop your mourning! I'm here today to show you a way out! Your daughter didn't take good care of my Dabao, so she ran away. I haven't settled that score with you yet!"
Niu Guihua rushed forward, her fat body exuding a sense of oppression, forcing Zhao Cuifen to take several steps back until her back pressed against the wall.
"Let's be frank."
Niu Guihua spat a mouthful of phlegm on the ground, her triangular eyes narrowing with shrewd calculation: "Since Xiaoyun doesn't want to be with Dabao anymore, then this marriage is off. My Xianglian has been working like a slave in your family for years, and she can't have done it all for nothing. If you want your Gangzi to live an honest life, without being branded a 'Chen Shimei' (a notorious figure in Chinese folklore known for abandoning his wife), then you'd better call Zhao Gang back right now!"
"Why did you call Gangzi back?"
Zhao Cuifen's heart skipped a beat. She stared warily at the greedy old she-wolf, her hands instinctively protecting her pockets.
"What? Divorce!"
Niu Guihua emphasized these two words heavily, as if she wanted to chew them up and spit them on Zhao Cuifen's face.
"Not only do we have to get a divorce, but you also have to compensate my son for emotional distress and lost wages, as well as Xianglian's wages over the past few years, a total of two hundred yuan! Once the money is in place, the divorce is finalized, and our two families will go our separate ways. Otherwise, if this matter blows up, will your Gangzi be able to keep his job in the city?"