A Good Country Wife
Chapter 339 - 333_1

Chapter 339: Chapter 333_1

"Dongjia, there’s been an accident at home, and the Dongjia’s wife sent me to fetch you, and she also asked you to bring Doctor Zheng along." The hired hand was still considering where to find Dongjia in the city, and he didn’t expect to bump into him right at the city gate. He quickly relayed the Dongjia’s wife’s message.

"What happened? Why call for Doctor Zheng? Who is injured?" Zhao Erhu tried to appear calm on the surface after hearing that something had happened at home, but his heart was already racing with worry. Especially upon hearing that Doctor Zheng was asked to come along, he feared something might have happened to Lin Yue. After all, his young wife had too many previous accidents. She hadn’t been married to him for even a year and had sustained numerous injuries. As soon as he heard someone at home was hurt, Zhao Erhu’s heart tightened with concern.

"It was a dispute over wages at the workshop that escalated, and Zhao Zhiguang even injured your older brother, Dahuo. The Dongjia’s wife is worried, so she asked you to bring Doctor Zheng when you return."

Zhao Erhu breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Lin Yue was not the one injured, although he felt a bit guilty for feeling this way about Dahu. In Zhao Erhu’s heart, his young wife always came first. Although his relationship with his brother had improved significantly because of her mediation, compared to his wife, everyone else seemed less important. And as for Zhao Dahuo, a man with a thick skin and sturdy body, small injuries weren’t a big concern.

"Who knows what the home looks like now. Go and call for Doctor Zheng, and I will rush back at once." Concerns about the workers causing a disturbance at the workshop, possibly with someone leading them, together with a sequence of recent events, made Zhao Erhu suspect foul play. Worried that his wife wouldn’t be able to handle it alone, he drove the carriage swiftly towards home.

Upon arrival, Zhao Erhu headed straight for the workshop, which had by then returned to normal operations. Lin Yue was enduring some discomfort and was supervising to prevent any more troublemakers. Those workers whom Lin Yue had dismissed, along with Zhao Shulin, were waiting for Zhao Erhu to return, hoping for a chance to reverse their dismissal.

"Wife, wife, are you alright?" The first thing Zhao Erhu saw upon entering the workshop was Lin Yue looking a bit pale as she sat there. He hurried over in large strides, grabbing Lin Yue and examining her from head to toe, deeply concerned.

Seeing Zhao Erhu return, Lin Yue relaxed, her previously cold expression finally softening with a hint of a smile. With her husband back, she didn’t need to keep up appearances. Normally it wouldn’t be a big deal, but today, she was not feeling well and in need of rest. "Don’t worry, I’m fine, you got back quite quickly."

"I finished my work smoothly today, and I was just about to head back when I met our hired hand at the city gate. After hearing about the trouble at home, I sped back as fast as I could. I feared you wouldn’t be able to manage by yourself. Wife, are you feeling unwell? Your complexion is awful, and your hands are ice-cold." Zhao Erhu felt a chilling coldness as he held his young wife’s hands. He quickly took off the coat he was wearing outside and wrapped it around Lin Yue.

Lin Yue found it embarrassing to divulge the reason in front of so many people, "No, I’m fine. Let’s talk about the rest when we get home. You should handle the situation here first. Those people were causing trouble at the workshop, so I issued their wages and dismissed them. Still, they are not giving up and insisted on waiting for you. And that Zhao Shulin claims to be your uncle and is using his status to refuse to leave."

Upon hearing Lin Yue bring up the matter, Zhao Erhu’s expression turned cold. Seeing Zhao Erhu return, and fearing that Lin Yue might have spoken against him first, Zhao Shulin quickly came over with the few troublemakers.

"Erhu, my dear nephew, you have finally returned. Listen to what your uncle has to say, your wife really went too far. We only wanted to clarify the rumors circulating in the village. Your wife, angered, dismissed so many people—how can this be reasonable? We have all been working hard here; why can’t we even ask a question? Nephew, remember that these people were employed by you. You must stand up for us. Your wife, being a woman, doesn’t understand outside affairs; isn’t this creating chaos? Besides, most of these people are from Zhao Village, our own flesh and blood. We should at least care about our kinship."

The more Zhao Shulin talked, the more he convinced himself of his righteousness, truly taking on the role of an elder and lecturing Zhao Erhu.

"Yes, Dongjia, none of us did it on purpose. Please let us stay on and continue to work. We have elderly to care for and children to feed; we really can’t afford to lose our jobs." With Zhao Shulin taking the lead, those who were dismissed quickly agreed, their words even carrying a hint of blame against Lin Yue.

Lin Yue was not worried and couldn’t be bothered to argue with them. Zhao Erhu was her husband; surely he wouldn’t believe these ill-intentioned people and let them embarrass her. Without any concern, she simply sat and waited to see how Zhao Erhu would handle the situation.

Zhao Erhu saw that these people had done wrong but showed no remorse. Instead, they were trying to blame his wife in front of him, which made his face grow even darker. He didn’t know how they had bullied his young wife when he was not around.

"Zhao Shulin, I acknowledge you as an uncle to give you face, but you really take yourself too seriously. You stirred up trouble while I was away, and now you have the nerve to speak like this. Do you really think I, Zhao Erhu, am that foolish? All of you better ******** get lost, or don’t blame me for being rude!"

Zhao Erhu was never someone with a good temper; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been treated like a jinx by the villagers, known not only for bringing bad luck to his wife but also for his temperament. It was only after marrying Lin Yue that he began to interact more with the villagers and mellowed down a bit. That made everybody somewhat forget what kind of a person he really was. Now, as he lost his temper, everyone was reminded and didn’t dare to continue their protest, quietly leaving one by one.

With a cold face, Zhao Erhu sent Zhao Shulin and the other troublemakers away. He then approached Lin Yue, looking at her with even more tenderness, "Wife, everything is taken care of; let’s go home."

"Wait, there’s one more thing. Zhao Zhiguang was the ringleader in today’s trouble and even injured my eldest brother. We can’t let this go so easily. We have to settle this matter clearly. At the very least, he should compensate for my brother’s medical expenses." Lin Yue had been keeping this matter in mind, but the situation had been too chaotic, and with someone instigating Zhao Zhiguang from behind, she feared it would escalate beyond control. That’s why she put Zhao Zhiguang aside to deal with the others first. Now it was time to settle the accounts.

Zhao Zhiguang, seeing that Dongjia’s wife had not brought up his name or dismissed him, thought the incident had blown over and secretly rejoiced in his luck. He didn’t realize that Lin Yue had been waiting for him and was still concocting other bad ideas.

"I understand, wife. I’ll take you home first; I’ll deal with this matter later." Although Lin Yue said she was fine, her excessively pale complexion still worried Zhao Erhu, and he thought of bringing her home first.