Chapter Eleven Zeng's Madman

  Who?

  What's going on there?

  Qiao Lianou was sitting alone when a person suddenly appeared in the thicket, giving her quite a fright. A layer of white sweat broke out on her back and she quickly stood up from the ground, nervously looking to see who had arrived.

  It was an old lady. Qiao Lian'ou had a deep impression of this person, but it had been many years since they last met, and she couldn't think of it for the time being.

  Qiao Lian'ou's head quickly turned around, searching in her memory, and finally knew who it was, blurting out: "Zeng Popo, so it was you!"

  The person carrying a basket on his back and walking with a slight tremble is indeed surnamed Zeng, a former landlord's wife who is now a five-guarantee household in the village, having no relatives and living alone.

  Zeng's grandmother looked at Qiao Lian'ou in front of her with great distrust, thinking that she must have misheard earlier. How could this little girl suddenly become so sensible? She actually changed her tone and called her "Zeng's grandmother"? It wasn't like that before.

  Before liberation, Zeng's wife was the local landlord Zhou Jiantian's concubine. After liberation, Landlord Zhou was overthrown and all his property was confiscated. Zhou Jiantian was executed by firing squad. All the other family members have passed away over the years, leaving only this old lady named Zeng, who became a five-guarantee household in the village, supported by the collective.

  Zhou Zeng's nickname was "Crazy Zhou", and everyone in the village called her that. There were reasons for this nickname. When Zhou Zeng was young, she was very beautiful, and before liberation, she was deeply loved by the wealthy landlord Zhou Jiantian because of her beauty and being a young wife. She lived a life of luxury and extravagance. Although Zhou Zeng was a woman, she could ride horses well, wield two guns with skill, and shoot accurately. When riding on horseback, she would shoot left and right, which in today's words is "cool" and "awesome". Unlike other wives who had bound feet, she had natural feet, which her master liked. It seemed that Zhou Zeng had great energy and charm.

  After liberation, Zhou Zeng's prestige no longer existed, but this woman still had a bad temper. Although she was overthrown, her words were still full of energy and scolding people was quite fierce. She might have thought that since I'm already like this, let's see what you can do to me now. Living so recklessly, whoever provoked her in the village would definitely get a good scolding, and the person who caused trouble would definitely flee in disarray. From then on, Zhou Zeng got a nickname "Zeng Frenzy".

  The kids in the village were all afraid of this mysterious and fierce woman, generally keeping a safe distance. The naughty ones would often sneak into her house when Zeng Fengzi wasn't paying attention and steal something. Zeng Fengzi was old and not very mobile, but when she saw these naughty kids stealing from her, she'd grab a stick and chase after them, shouting and scolding as she ran. The mischievous kids were terrified, scattering in all directions like chickens and dogs, disappearing in an instant. Zeng Fengzi hadn't finished venting her anger yet, still standing there with her hands on her hips, neck stretched out, cursing loudly until she was exhausted.

  Qiao Lian'ou used to be ignorant and would also shout loudly in front of Zeng Fenzhen with a group of kids, and Zeng Fenzhen had scolded them many times.

  Today, out of the blue, without any preparation or warning, that mischievous imp Jiao Lian'ou suddenly started calling Zeng Furen "Zeng Popo", leaving Zeng stunned, her face frozen in a mixture of emotions, unsure whether to smile or frown, momentarily at a loss for words, which made Jiao Lian'ou's heart skip a beat.

  Seeing this, Qiao Lianyu slowly came to understand that although Zhou Zeng had fallen to the extreme, she still wanted to get respect from others. In a world where no one took her seriously, suddenly having a little girl affectionately call her "Zeng's mother" would naturally move her heart.

  Zeng Fengzi obviously wasn't quite used to such changes and didn't know what to say for a moment, so he just turned around and walked away with his backpack on.

  "Zeng grandmother, you're so old and it's not convenient for you to walk, what are you doing coming up this mountain?" Qiao Lianou stepped forward and said softly.

  "I, oh, am Lotus Root. There's no firewood at home, so I came up the mountain to find some firewood and picked some hyacinth beans on the way back to cook." Zhou Zengshi's tone also lightened up and wasn't as urgent.

  Qiao Lian'ou looked into Zhou Zeng's backpack and found no firewood, only a few hyacinth beans at the bottom. She asked, "Where did you put your firewood? There isn't any in your backpack?"

  "Ah, this... I..." Zhou Zeng suddenly became somewhat flustered.

  Qiao Lian'ou also sensed Zhou Zeng's anxiety, but didn't think much of it, only feeling that Zhou Zeng was pitiful. At her age, she still had to take care of herself, and although the village provided food and other necessities, it was still a difficult life for one person. Thinking this, Qiao Lian'ou made up her mind and said: "Zhou Zeng, come, I have some firewood in my basket. Your hands and feet aren't convenient, so take this basket of dry firewood back with you. The wet firewood won't catch fire."

  After saying that, he forcibly took down Zhou Zeng's backpack and loaded his own firewood into it.

  "I don't want it! Why would I want your firewood? I'll gather my own!"

  Zhou Zeng's family was very stubborn, but Qiao Lian'ou was even more stubborn today, and in the end, they had to follow Qiao Lian'ou. When it was time to leave with their carrying poles, Qiao Lian'ou saw that there seemed to be tears in her eyes, Zhou Zeng's family wiped her eyes with her sleeve, and left without looking back.

  Qiao Lianyu no longer hates Zhou Zengshi just because she was once the mistress of the estate. Through the trials and tribulations of life, Qiao Lianyu deeply understands that a woman's fate, especially in old society, is controlled by men. Every woman wants to have her own happiness, family, husband, children, but in that era, Zhou Zengshi had no choice but to follow the arrangement of the gods of fate, becoming the mistress of the estate, a sinner, then a member of the Five-Guarantee households, and finally growing old alone. This is a woman's destiny, and in the face of the great tide of history, she was powerless to change it, and could only drift along like a leaf on the waves.

  No way, I can't let others control my fate like her, I want to change, I want to change my own fate!

  Looking at the fiery red clouds on the horizon, Qiao Lianyu suddenly felt a sense of grandeur and majesty.

  The sound of cowbells echoed through the mountains, and Song Xiaoshan and his companions had already found the cows scattered in the mountains and drove them back.

  Those cattle with round bellies and lively tinkling bells around their necks are being driven home by their masters.

  At that time, farming relied on these cows. Several families shared one cow and took turns to use it. When using the cow, they would adjust with each other. Usually in the morning, the children of the family would drive the cow to a mountain far away from the village, letting them find grass to eat by themselves in the woods. In the afternoon, they would go to the mountain again and drive them back home. Because there were very loud cowbells on the cow's neck, when the cows were not visible, as long as you listened carefully, you could find the cows in the dense forest along with the familiar sound of the cowbell.

  Of course, there are also times when they can't find them, and the cowherd boys get anxious and almost cry.

  "What happened to the firewood in your basket?" Song Xiaoshan asked Qiao Lianyu in surprise.

  "I just ran into Zeng's wife and handed it over to her." Qiao Lian'ou replied nonchalantly.

  Song Xiaoshan and Zhou Yongsheng looked at her as if they didn't know Qiao Lianyu, staring blankly at her. Finally, Song Xiaoshan said a sentence:

  "You must be crazy."