Chapter 777: Chapter 671: Misfortune

Xiao Man couldn’t help but laugh. "Grandpa’s right. That’s just superstition and nonsense. Besides, I’m not their biological child, so I don’t belong to that family. Even if there really is some evil spirit, I’m not afraid. Don’t you remember, Grandma? The books Mr. Sun lent me have methods for warding off evil. I even made you all those little protective charms."

"That may be so, but you were taken home by that poisonous woman, Liu Fengying, and lived in that house for eleven years. How could I not be scared? It’s better to be safe than sorry. We should keep it in mind and be on guard, just in case! Grandma knows that rumors are just rumors and that they’ll disappear after a while, but they can affect your mood. I’m afraid they’ll unknowingly weaken your resolve. When a person’s morale is low, all sorts of evil spirits can latch onto them... I didn’t even want you to come back to the village, but Dazhuang, Dapeng, and those other little monkeys don’t understand anything, and they kept pestering you to come back! These past few days, I’ve kept you from walking around the village and told Shuixia not to invite you to her house, just to keep you from passing by their yard. For the next year or two, you must remember not to take that road. Once you’ve avoided that pocket of evil energy, everything will be smooth sailing and prosperous from then on!"

Xiao Man readily agreed with a nod, but she still couldn’t suppress a smile. ’Grandma is so funny. She’s so mystical about everything. If you gave her a Taoist robe, she could play the part of an "immortal." Speaking of which, folk "immortals" are really popular these days. They’ve made their fortunes in just the past few years!’

She went downstairs and poked her head into the kitchen. It was filled with steam, and several people were busy cooking. The Liang Family girls had learned their lesson this time and were all scrambling to help. Yu Wumei and her daughter, Xinghua, only needed to direct them from the side, making their work much easier.

The kitchen was crowded with people and cluttered with things, making it hard to walk through. Xiao Man exited through the main hall instead. In the spacious hall, guests sat in clusters, warming themselves by the fire, making small talk while cracking melon seeds and eating peanuts. Several people called out to Xiao Man with a smile, and she nodded in acknowledgment to each of them. Then, her eyes fell on Granny Mo, who had a stony old face and was glaring at her with bulging eyes, looking at her like a sworn enemy from several lifetimes ago.

Xiao Man couldn’t be bothered with the old woman. She went outside, found Qiuyan, and told her to grab some of her favorite snacks from the storage room. The two sisters then took a bamboo basket and headed for the herb garden on the small hill.

On the way, Xiao Man asked Qiuyan, "Da Zhi already knows how to drive the van we just bought? He dares to drive to the county seat by himself? He doesn’t even have a license. Isn’t he afraid the traffic police will catch him?"

Qiuyan, not yet understanding the dangers of driving, said nonchalantly, "You learn by doing, don’t you? My dad went to Wancheng for two months of proper lessons and even paid for Brother-in-law Jiang to learn, too. My brother couldn’t go to the city to learn because of school. Uncle Chengzhi from the pharmaceutical factory knows how to drive. He only taught my brother for two days, and my brother got the hang of it. This morning, the two of them went to the county seat. My brother drove while Uncle Chengzhi, who has a license, sat with him, so they weren’t afraid of the police."

’Is that really okay?’ Xiao Man thought with amusement. But Da Zhi had grown a lot this year. He was tall and built, not looking like a minor at all. The road from the village to the county seat was flat, so as long as he was a little careful, nothing bad should happen.

She then asked, "Why didn’t Dapeng go? Doesn’t he get bored working in the herb garden all by himself?"

"Brother Dapeng didn’t know Brother Dazhi and the others were going to the county seat. This morning, when he came back from practicing his martial arts in the herb garden, he saw Granny Mo and her whole group. He turned right around and went back to the garden, refusing to come home. Granny Mo doesn’t like him, and he hates her and her whole family even more."

"Granny Mo dislikes me because I’m not Grandpa’s biological granddaughter, but Dapeng is his biological grandson. Why doesn’t she like him either?"

Qiuyan pouted. "That old hag, she doesn’t like me either, but who needs her to? She says I’m sharp-tongued and ill-mannered, calls Dapeng a jinx, and she cursed you, too..."

"Cursed me as someone doomed to die young," Xiao Man finished, unconcerned.

"Huh? How did you know?" Qiuyan was surprised.

"That’s what she used to call me when I was little."

"That wretched old hag, she’s so hateful! Sis, do you remember what happened last year? Liang Xiaoju was making a fuss, demanding Grandpa give her money for school, and she even ruined Brother Dapeng’s homework notebooks. It was a huge fight. And Liang Panqiu from Dawang Village wanted to borrow a large sum of money, but Grandpa refused, and it was no use even when Granny Mo begged. Then guess what happened? Because Grandpa wouldn’t pay for her schooling, Liang Xiaoju went and jumped in the river. She didn’t die, but she became a cripple and went a little crazy. She cries and screams day and night, keeping the whole village from getting any peace. And as for Liang Panqiu, since she couldn’t get the money from Grandpa to start her big business, her husband ran off with another woman for some reason. Liang Panqiu lost her mind with anger. She became incredibly short-tempered and picks fights wherever she goes. She was even secretly attacked at the market and ended up in the hospital... Granny Mo was heartbroken for her daughter and granddaughter and felt like it was all our family’s fault. She came here and cursed Grandpa for being heartless and disloyal. Dapeng talked back to her a little, so she started throwing rocks at him, saying he’d made her granddaughter lose face over two notebooks and cursing him to have bad luck his entire life. Then she cursed you... That time, Grandma got into a fight with Granny Mo. My mom just threw that old hag out and told her never to come back, that we were done being relatives!"

"Then why is she here again?"

"She’s shameless! The old hag got really sick, and the Liang Family came to borrow money from Grandpa for her treatment. Grandpa said, ’No matter what, she’s my older sister,’ and gave them the money. After she recovered, she came running back to find Grandpa, crying and wailing, ’Oh, my dear brother!’ My brother says that old hag knows how to play the victim."

Xiao Man sneered. ’No matter how well she acts or how much she carries on, she won’t live for more than two years. That was the extent of her lifespan in my previous life.’

Liang Panqiu’s bad luck had already begun. As her fellow sufferers, Wang Ligao and Zhang Lihua from Little Wang Village wouldn’t fare any better. Their days of suffering would be long. Let the scumbags enjoy what’s coming to them.

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