Young girls were not allowed to come out to watch the excitement late at night, but a few shameless women kept staring and pointing.
The scene was very noisy, yet Zhao Shixiao could clearly hear the taunts and pity from others.
"Oh my gosh, is it really true? Zhao Yinyuan only has this one son! Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
"Look, it's really bare there. Tsk, tsk, tsk, how can he still think of marrying a woman when he's like this?"
Zhao Shixiao's face turned red under so many stares, his defect exposed so nakedly. He was so ashamed he could barely breathe.
Seeing the familiar faces, he wished he could just pass out. As soon as his Elder Brother Chen saw him making a move, he would kick him without hesitation.
He wasn't even allowed to close his eyes; no one spared him any dignity, not even a fig leaf.
"What exactly happened? Wasn't this child Shixiao alright when he was young? This thing... alas, it's truly a twist of fate."
"Who can say? He was fine before. It looks like it was only recently broken. Alas, poor thing."
"The one who's truly pitiful is the Chen family's child. How can a good girl marry such a person? He's simply not human."
"What are you saying? Can't someone with a defect get married? Besides, they are truly in love, and we all know how the Chen girl feels about Shixiao. If you ask me, now that things have come to this, let's not make a fuss. Let them live their lives well. This young girl won't find a good family if she remarries. The Chen family should consider carefully."
Chen San Ge immediately threw the basin in his hand at the person, hitting him directly in the face.
It didn't hurt much, but the person was terrified. He fell to the ground with a thump and couldn't get up for a long time.
The people around them all retreated, wishing they were ten feet away.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, you're truly heartless. At your age, you can still say such things? You're biased towards Zhao Shixiao just because he has the surname Zhao, aren't you? It's good enough that your legs weren't broken. And you still want their daughter to stay and suffer? Bah, you're shameless."
Chen San Ge: "This aunt speaks the truth. If you care so much about Zhao Shixiao, why don't you marry your daughter to him? Why should our Chen family fill the void left by your Zhao family? Today, if you don't give my family a satisfactory explanation, I'm not leaving."
"You, you, you, I'm not talking to you. Aren't you talking nonsense? My daughter is her paternal cousin."
"Shameless old hag, wouldn't it be even better if it's a marriage between relatives?"
Making the person realize his mistake, he quickly got up, pushed through the crowd, and shamefully went home.
Old Ancestor Zhao was speechless for a long time, and the juniors supporting him couldn't bear to watch the farce.
"This child was fine before. I suppose he went astray because he couldn't figure things out for a while. Chen family, please be magnanimous and let him off. Tomorrow, I will personally escort him to divorce your daughter, alright?"
"The divorce must happen. Today, I just want everyone in the brigade to see what kind of person he is. I also want him to write a letter of self-criticism to repent for his fraudulent marriage to my daughter and sincerely apologize to her. This letter of repentance must be read by him over the brigade's broadcast for a month."
Zhao Shixiao choked back a sob and shook his head. He had always been proud and arrogant. Father Chen's actions were simply dissecting his pride, turning him into someone everyone despised.
Old Ancestor Zhao: "Shixiao did wrong, but it's never right to hit someone's face. You've caused such a scene today that his family has lost all face. Looking at him like this, you must have also laid hands on his parents. Forgive and forget when possible. Now that the whole brigade knows, what use is your letter of repentance?"
Chen Lao San: "Whether it's useful or not, just do as my father says. If we took action, it was to eliminate harm for the people. Such a person is a pest to the brigade. Think about it, if it were your daughter, would you let it go so easily?"
People chimed in one after another. The Zhao family felt utterly humiliated. They really wanted to abandon Zhao Shixiao, but with him standing there naked, it was the Zhao family's reputation that was at stake.
The cool night wind howled, and Zhao Shixiao shivered from the cold. Looking at the disgusted eyes, he felt life was worse than death.
How he wished this were all a dream. He shouldn't have provoked a girl like Chen Qianyue back then.
If he had found a weak and easily bullied girl from a bad family, wouldn't they have been able to mold her as they pleased? Why did his father think so foolishly? Now he had truly harmed himself.
He attributed all his current misfortune to his father, his heart filled with deep resentment and unwillingness.
Why did he have to endure such humiliation? He used to be the envy of everyone in the brigade.
After Zhao Shixiao had been thoroughly shamed, the Chen family let him go, and of course, they agreed to all the conditions Father Chen proposed.
The content of the repentance letter was written according to Father Chen's template, detailing why he was disabled, how his family had conspired to make a plan, and how he had tricked Chen Qianyue...
Reading each word was like being tortured to death, and the time was scheduled for when everyone had just finished work.
Everyone had time to listen to gossip then, discussing it from time to time. Elder Brother Chen came every day to supervise Zhao Shixiao, giving him no chance to play any tricks.
"Who keeps such a big dog these days? Tsk, tsk, tsk, it's so fierce. Not only did it bite Zhao Shixiao, but it also made Zhao Yinyuan like that. Their family is really unlucky to have encountered them."
Shui Wa: "Hahaha, it's the host's puppet dog, it's been rinsing its mouth crazily in the space every day."
"Rich people in the city, aren't they? We can barely feed ourselves now, who has the leisure to raise a dog?"
"Their family met it on the way back to the village. We should be careful when we go out in the future. Two grown men couldn't even defeat that dog. Could it be a mad dog?"
"I think their father and son are definitely cowards. If it were a mad dog, wouldn't they have gotten that disease already?"
"That makes sense."
A group of women chatted and happened to run into Zhao Shixiao returning from the broadcast room. They all looked him up and down with teasing eyes. Zhao Shixiao wished he could burrow into a hole.
He received countless scrutinizing glances along the way, his heart burning with anger, but he dared not vent it on passers-by. He endured it until he reached home before exploding.
"Where are they? Where has everyone gone? They all look down on me."
As he spoke, he kicked the bucket next to him and then stomped on it a couple more times impatiently.
Mother Zhao quickly came out and quietly moved the bucket away.
"I'm not even as valuable as that broken bucket, am I? You look down on me too, don't you? Who is to blame for my situation today? Why didn't you protect me back then? Why did you instigate me to marry Chen Qianyue? You clearly knew their family was not to be trifled with. Ah, ah, ah, why do I have to bear all this? Wuwuwu~"
Mother Zhao dared not say a word. Zhao Shixiao would go mad several times a day these days. If she responded, he would only get more agitated, sometimes even resorting to physical violence.
"Are you mute? Are you my mother? Don't you feel sorry for me? Am I even your son?"
Father Zhao walked out of the house. "Are you done being crazy? I've tolerated you for a long time these days. A man is just a man; being ridiculed a few times is nothing. If you become rich and successful in the future, who will dare to mock you for this?"
"That's easy for you to say. How can I have any chance of success? I'm also burdened with a large debt, and even if I wanted to do business secretly, I wouldn't have the capital."
"The restrictions in the city have eased a lot before, and there might be new policies from above. As long as you have the courage and determination to strive, Father will support you unconditionally."
"Father, I still have a chance to make others look at me with respect, right?"
"Dignity is earned. As long as you've decided what you want to do, Father will help you find the capital."
"Thank you, Father."