"Nonsense, who told you to do that?" Yu Xiaohua moved away as soon as Tie Mu tried to shift the blame onto them, exposing Tie Mu.
Although Zhang Wenxue didn't speak, he also chose to walk to the side, letting Zhang Liunian deal with Tie Mu.
"You told me to do it, you did! Otherwise, would I dare lay a hand on Little Sister Zhang?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, Zhang Liunian was already close. Tie Mu immediately retreated, screaming, "Don't come any closer!"
Zhang Liunian glanced at his parents, said nothing, then, ignoring Tie Mu's fearful expression, he grabbed her and unleashed a series of palm strikes.
He didn't stop until he had beaten Tie Mu into a pulp and then pushed her about two meters away, issuing a warning. "I told you last time, Little Sister has no relation to your Tie family. If you dare bully Little Sister again, I'll make you regret being alive."
Zhang Liunian clapped his hands and then looked at Zhang Wenxue and his wife.
Zhang Wenxue hadn't expected his youngest son to become like this. Where had the quiet, non-confrontational son from before gone?
How could he be so confrontational and difficult to talk to after only two months?
"You guys are something else, nearly forcing your own daughter to death. You don't need to come over tonight. I fear I won't be able to eat looking at you." Zhang Liunian no longer showed any politeness to Zhang Wenxue, as he was furious.
They knew the Tie family was difficult to deal with, yet for the sake of their second son's reputation, they brought Tie Mu here and almost killed their youngest daughter. He was truly enraged.
"Unfilial son, we didn't force Little Sister to death."
"Third child, can't you leave us some way out? Can't you consider your second brother? If he has parents who forced their daughter to death, what future does he have?" Cadres in this era placed great importance on reputation. If Zhang Liuxing were exposed as having such parents, his future would be ruined.
Therefore, Zhang Wenxue could not accept the disgrace his youngest son was speaking of.
"Then why didn't you give Little Sister a way out? Tie Zhuzi is already dead, why should she still stay with the Tie family, working like a horse and being bullied?
She is your own daughter. Did you give her any options by doing this?"
"No daughter in the surrounding villages returns to their maiden home after marriage. We just didn't want the second son to have a bad reputation," Yu Xiaohua said emotionally.
"So you called Tie Mu over? Now that she's witnessed you forcing your daughter to death, do you think she won't spread the word to help you?" Zhang Liunian sneered as he saw Tie Mu escaping.
Truly, they had brought it upon themselves.
With Tie Mu's gossipy nature, and having been wronged here, she would surely find villagers to spread the word upon her return.
At that point, let alone protecting the second son's reputation, they wouldn't even be able to preserve their own current standing.
They deserved it!
Upon hearing this, Zhang Wenxue and his wife finally understood. They exchanged glances and said no more, hurrying to chase after Tie Mu, intending to silence her.
As they left, Zhang Xiaomei finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Ah!" The mute walked up to Zhang Xiaomei, his mouth open in a gesture of concern, as if asking if she was alright.
Zhang Xiaomei looked at the mute with blood on his lips and was deeply touched. "I'm fine, you don't need to worry."
Hearing this, the mute still looked at her with concern.
Seeing that he didn't believe her, Zhang Xiaomei turned around twice on the spot, which finally eased the mute's furrowed brow.
The next moment, he shyly approached Zhang Liunian and began to gesture. During this, he pointed to Zhang Xiaomei, then to himself, and then took out the tens of yuan he had earned during this period, gesturing for Zhang Liunian to take it. This was meant to be a betrothal gift for Zhang Xiaomei.
Zhang Liunian looked at the not-so-large sum of money in his hand, but he knew it was the mute's entire savings, and his sincerity was evident.
"Little Sister, he's proposing to you. Do you agree?" Zhang Liunian couldn't fully understand the mute's gestures, but he grasped the general meaning.
The mute wanted to marry Little Sister, so it was mutual consent, not just Little Sister's one-sided affection.
This was good; as long as they had feelings for each other, that was all that mattered.
"Third Brother, just take it." After what she had just gone through, Zhang Xiaomei was eager to get married soon to prevent her parents from interfering further after dealing with Tie Mu.
"Why would I take it? It's for you. You keep it." Zhang Liunian would never accept the mute's money and forcefully pushed it into his sister's hand.
Zhang Xiaomei pushed it back, "Third Brother, I..."
"Take it. Third Brother just wants you to live happily," Zhang Liunian interrupted her refusal before she could return the money.
"Liunian, Little Sister, come home for dinner." Just then, Jiang Qingqing, with her heavily pregnant belly, appeared.
Seeing his wife arrive, Zhang Liunian gestured for the mute to close the courtyard gate and go home, then went to help Jiang Qingqing, "Take it slow."
Jiang Qingqing smiled, "I'm already going very slowly."
"Slow is good." With such a large belly, one had to be careful when walking, didn't they? Zhang Liunian stared intently at the ground, fearing any tripping hazards in front of his wife.
Jiang Qingqing hugged her belly, finding it amusing, and suddenly asked about Zhang Xiaomei's situation, "What happened to Little Sister's face again? It wasn't this swollen this morning."
"Tie Mu came earlier and tried to take Little Sister away. She slapped her."
"What? Why is she here?" Not coming earlier or later, but coming now, wouldn't this cause complications for Little Sister and the mute's relationship?
"Mom and Dad brought her. I've thought about it. Since they both have feelings for each other, why don't we hold their wedding banquet soon? Oh, and have them get their marriage certificate tomorrow."
With a certificate, they wouldn't have to fear any further schemes from their parents. However, to get a marriage certificate, a household registration book was required.
Zhang Xiaomei's household registration book was still in her parents' hands. To get them to get married, they first needed to obtain the household registration book.
"That's a good idea, but you'll need the household registration book, won't you?" Jiang Qingqing knew that a household registration book was required to get married.
However, the household registration book now wasn't a booklet but a folded piece of paper.
For Zhang Xiaomei to become the legitimate wife of the mute, she had to get the household registration book.
"Little Sister's household registration book can be obtained with Big Brother's help. As for the mute, we might need to find Baldy." This might take some time.
But since he had money now, he believed that money could move mountains, and if that didn't work, they could resort to force!
"Then, should we wait for Mom and Dad to come over for dinner?"
"No need. From now on, except for major holidays, we'll occasionally send them some meat."
"Wouldn't that be a bit improper? After all, they are our parents."
"I admit they are my parents, the ones who gave me life, but their actions were too excessive, almost forcing Little Sister to death. It makes me so angry."
Therefore, he couldn't accept them for the time being.