In the village an hour and thirty minutes away from Yuxi county, there was chaos. Inside the Zheng family house, the atmosphere was heavy and suffocating. Even the air from the fan was hot and uncomfortable. The big standing fan at the corner turned slowly from side to side but nobody felt cool. After Zheng Shanshan's father finally recovered and woke up again, he saw his wife and younger sister sitting worriedly beside the bed. The two women looked exhausted. Madam Zheng's eyes were swollen from crying and she had some dark circles under her eyes while his younger sister sat with a gloomy face. Mr Zheng sighed heavily. He looked as if he gotten several years older within just one night.
This news was a scare to him and it was likely true. Right now, he could not even think of a way to preserve his daughter's dignity anymore unless his so-called friend, the village head, agreed to take Zheng Shanshan in as a concubine or second wife. Even that will change nothing and she would still be faced with bullying. Immediately he thought about it, he felt as though a thousand and one sharp swords pierced straight through his heart. Pain lingered inside him. His breathing became uneven again. Madam Zheng who noticed her husband's expression immediately blamed herself again. At this thought, Mr Zheng's heart felt like it had been pierced by a sharp sword. The pain lingered as he struggled to balance his emotions. Madame Zheng seeing her husband's reaction repeatedly began blaming herself for being useless in failing to bear more children. His sister seeing her brother's behavior, quickly sent someone to go call a doctor. After the arrival of the doctor, he examined Mr Zheng, shook his head worriedly and prescribed some drugs. He then told him that he should try his very best to control his emotions unless he was ready to leave this world. On hearing this, madame Zheng cried loudly but it was irritating to the two men to hear. They threw a glance at her and she quieted down. After paying him, the doctor left.
An hour or two later, Mr Zheng told them to summon his daughter to the room. By now it was the sun was scorchingly hot yet nobody remembered that Zheng Shanshan even exist. They were only focused on reviving Mr Zheng. Someone was then sent to go bring Zheng Shanshan, only for him to return and announce Zheng Shanshan's disappearance. Upon hearing this news, Mr Zheng tried to control his emotions thus he didn't pass out. He could only ask them to look around maybe she went to hide from the sun.
After 30 minutes of searching, they could only bring no news of her. Some villagers said they had seen her early in the morning clutching a small purse and walking towards the village entrance where the cart do load. Some said she was seen with Shen Anran and Liu Meilan discussing about something and walking towards the village entrance.
This particular news infuriated madam Zheng because she never liked these two people that was why she anonymously spread the news she had heard from Zheng Shanshan without confirming its authenticity. Her face darkened and news was sent back to Mr Zheng following her instruction to tell him that Zheng Shanshan was found sleeping on a tree and has been brought back to rest properly. Mr Zheng felt pity for his daughter and told them to allow her to rest properly and she can see him whenever she is ready. This message was passed on to Madame Zheng who nodded and after informing her sister in law, they took a bench to wait at the village entrance.
Meanwhile, Zheng Shanshan and the others were not aware that the disappearance of this girl had caused ruckus and new rumors to form. The same women who boarded the cart in the morning were the same ones returning, only that their goods had all been sold off except their baskets. Zheng Shanshan could only greet them awkwardly and sit in an inconspicuous corner. They also wondered about what the girl was doing in the county all these hours.
Slowly and slowly, the cart arrived their village entrance. The women were happily singing and their happy voices could be heard by the persons waiting by the village entray, some groups of persons had also planted themselves nearby to gain some gossips. Soon enough, Mr Xu parked the cart and the women began getting off one by one until the cart was empty. The two women abruptly stood up and accosted Shen Anran and her mother as they prepared to go home with their empty baskets. Zheng Shanshan who was about to bid them good bye was suddenly surprised by her mother and aunt's presence, her face changed greatly and she was afraid they would humiliate the two, so she tried to stop them, not only was she ignored but she was pushed away by her mother. She fell down and began crying softly as pain filled her abdomen. She weakly endured the pain, stood up slowly and limped towards the two women who were shouting and raining abuses at Liu Meilan and Shen Anran. She looked at Shen Anran who immediately looked at her and muttered "sorry." Shen Anran read the word from her lips and her cold expression somehow softened. The women who were also about to leave were taken aback by the actions of two women and they came over to defend them. Although they had also believed those stinking rumors about Shen Anran and her mother, they no longer believed the news because they had seen Shen Anran do market runs at the market so they all felt that the mother and daughter might either be running a restaurant or were working at a restaurant. Also their luggages were always filled with raw edible ingredients, so they leaned into this belief more.
"Is this how you go around falsely accusing people?" One of the women asked.
Madam Zheng paused and looked at the woman who spoke and asked what was wrong in her accusatory words. Were the mother and daughter not sluts who sold their body in the city county?