Shen Xiaoyan also smiled at her words, "What are you saying, Auntie. Zheng Wei is just away on a business trip and can't rest assured leaving me and my sister at home alone, so he bought this family to keep us company."
Pan then chuckled, and then said seriously, "I came to ask you about this matter. Where did your Zheng Wei go? Why did the villagers say he left?"
Seeing her grave expression and the slight hesitation in her tone, Shen Xiaoyan knew there must be some unpleasant gossip circulating, far more direct than what Pan had politely implied. Therefore, she asked, "Auntie, whatever you have to say, please speak plainly. We don't need to beat around the bush."
Pan sighed heavily, and then said, "I heard that Xu Xiao'e spread a rumor that Zheng Wei abandoned you and left with someone else."
Shen Xiaoyan was surprised. What was this all about?
Zheng Wei had indeed left, and he had left with someone else, but what did Xu Xiao'e have to do with it? How did she know?
Most importantly, why would she do this?
For a moment, countless possibilities flashed through Shen Xiaoyan's mind, only to be dismissed one by one.
"Don't take it to heart. Since you don't go to the village anyway, you wouldn't hear these things. I'm telling you this so you're prepared," Pan patted Shen Xiaoyan's hand and comforted her in a low voice.
Shen Xiaoyan understood what Pan was saying, because she had figured out why Xu Xiao'e would do such a thing.
If her guess was correct, Xu Xiao'e saw that Zheng Wei was gone and deliberately tarnished her reputation to make her life difficult.
After all, in this era, a single woman's life was not easy.
However, she was afraid Xu Xiao'e would be disappointed. Even without Zheng Wei, she was not someone who could be bullied.
"Auntie, don't worry. I won't care about this. As long as they don't say it to my face, I'll pretend I didn't hear anything," Shen Xiaoyan said to Pan with a slight smile.
Seeing Shen Xiaoyan's relaxed expression, Pan knew she wasn't lying to her, and her heart was put at ease.
With her mind at ease, Pan had the energy to joke with Shen Xiaoyan, "Xiaoyan, you haven't told me who this lady is yet."
Shen Xiaoyan glanced at Yue Qingxin, then smiled and said to Pan, "This is Yue Qingxin, the wife of Sima Han, who went out to do business with Zheng Wei. She's older than me, so I call her sister."
After hearing Shen Xiaoyan's explanation, Pan smiled and praised Yue Qingxin for her beauty.
The three of them talked about a few other things, and then Pan took her leave with Wu Dagang.
After seeing Pan off, the smile on Yue Qingxin's face disappeared. "Sister, why are these villagers like this? You even helped them cultivate seedlings before. How can they have the nerve?"
The smile on Shen Xiaoyan's face had also vanished. She was not the original owner and didn't have any feelings for the people of Baiyun Village. Earlier, she had thought that even if she wasn't close to the people of Baiyun Village, she should at least maintain a good outward appearance. But now, she realized she was wrong.
She thought that this was not the apocalypse, life was not constantly threatened, and she had no conflicts of interest with them, so there would be no trouble.
However, she, who hadn't lived a normal life for a long time, forgot that people are never absolutely friendly with each other, no matter the time.
Often, out of jealousy, or simply because they can't stand someone, others will harbor malice towards them.
The villagers gossiping might not have had any malicious intent. They were just idle, talking about trivial matters, perhaps based on hearsay. These were merely spices in their mundane lives.
But Shen Xiaoyan never considered herself a magnanimous person. On the contrary, she held grudges.
If others hurt her, whether intentionally or unintentionally, she would never pretend it didn't happen.
"Sister, don't be angry. If they are unkind, we will be unrighteous. We live far apart, so let's just pretend they don't exist," Although she felt a little angry, Shen Xiaoyan still comforted Yue Qingxin.
Yue Qingxin nodded. It seemed this was the only way. They couldn't run to the village and tell them that what they were saying was all wrong, could they? That would be laughable.
A few days later, when Shen Xiaoming returned from school in the evening, his expression was very unpleasant. Shen Xiaoyan asked him what was wrong.
Shen Xiaoming was initially unwilling to say anything, but finally said, "My classmates said that my sister's husband has left and abandoned us."
Shen Xiaoyan comforted him, "As long as you know why your brother-in-law left, why do you care what they say?"
Shen Xiaoming said sternly, "Sister, you're thinking about this the wrong way. How can we let rumors run wild? We should find the person spreading them and teach her a good lesson. Then the villagers will no longer dare to speak carelessly."
Shen Xiaoyan looked at Shen Xiaoming in surprise. Since when had Shen Xiaoming no longer been the timid boy he used to be?
Since when had he developed his own ideas and become a person with decisive and resolute temper?
Seeing Shen Xiaoyan looking at him like that, Shen Xiaoming knew what she was thinking. So, he said, "Sister, brother-in-law told me before he left that although sister seems indifferent, she is actually the softest-hearted person. Therefore, he told me to make my own decisions when things happen. We must not let people harm you and me."
Shen Xiaoyan was speechless. What did he mean?
She was the softest-hearted? She didn't know she was soft-hearted!
Shen Xiaoyan grumbled inwardly, but showed no emotion on her face. She said, "Then, Xiaoming, what do you think we should do?"
Shen Xiaoming smiled slightly. "Before brother-in-law left, didn't he find the village chief? We gave the village chief so much face with the striped watermelon incident. We can't just let him take benefits without doing anything, can we?"
Shen Xiaoyan clicked her tongue. What Shen Xiaoming had just said didn't sound like a teenager at all. And the smile on his face didn't look like a half-grown child at all. It was more like the smile Zheng Wei had when he was up to no good.
"Since you've made up your mind, go ahead and do it. Do you need my help?" Shen Xiaoyan said.
"No need. Sister, just wait at home for the news," Shen Xiaoming said confidently.
Indeed, a few days later, Pan came again.
"Xiaoyan, you wouldn't believe it. The village chief reprimanded those who spread rumors and even threatened to pull up the striped watermelons in their fields. Those people were so scared that they all promised they wouldn't dare to do it again."
Shen Xiaoyan smiled when she heard this. The striped watermelons in their fields had already borne small striped fruits, and the money was about to be in hand. How could those people let such money slip through their fingers?
"What about Xu Xiao'e?" Shen Xiaoyan hadn't forgotten that Xu Xiao'e was the one who spread the rumor.
"The village chief spoke to Xu Xiao'e's father about this matter. Xu Xiao'e's father promised to find a husband for Xu Xiao'e as soon as possible so she could get married," Pan said.
Xu Xiao'e was born in the same year as Shen Xiaoyan. Although she was a few months younger, she was already 16 years old.