Reborn in the 80s, Get Rich by Eating Melons

Chapter 538: Chapter 538: Descending the Mountain 1

Cheng Feng shook his head, "I’d rather not. I much prefer staying alive."

Tong Yao touched her belly: Indeed! Living is good, she’d lived two lifetimes but had not yet become a mother.

However, after this experience, Tong Yao saw Cheng Feng in a new light. Previously, he had come off as a cunning business elite. Now, she realized that his real-world experience was relatively sparse.

This encounter could well serve as a start of Cheng Feng’s growth; it might not be entirely bad.

Suddenly, there was a flurry of noise outside. The three of them exchanged glances and, seeing no one was guarding the outside, they went to check. However, just as they reached the doorway and before Tong Yao could stick her head out, she almost ran face-first into a disheveled woman.

Both Cheng Feng and Hu Haiyun jumped out of fright and quickly shielded Tong Yao behind them.

"Hmm hmm..." The woman stood at the doorway, waving her arms frantically at them like a madwoman and making strange noises. The look of terror on her face gave the impression that she was seeking help.

Cheng Feng looked at the woman, furrowed his brows, and asked, "What are you trying to say?"

"Hmm hmm..." The woman continued to make strange noises without uttering any coherent words and even tried to snatch Cheng Feng with her hands.

Tong Yao looked the woman up and down and concluded, "She must be Taige’s younger brother’s wife."

According to Taige’s wife, there were only two women on the mountain. The other one was Taige’s younger brother’s wife, who couldn’t speak. It was undoubtedly her standing in front of them.

"So, what is she trying to do? Is she trying to tell us something?"

Before Cheng Feng could finish his sentence, Taige’s wife, supporting her belly, walked over and tried to pull the mute woman away. The mute woman was terrified and struggled to free herself from Taige’s wife while still making strange noises at Cheng Feng.

Despite her skinny appearance, Taige’s wife was surprisingly strong. She maintained her grip on the mute woman and shouted, "Taige, get over here, Mangzi’s wife is trying to escape again."

Sure enough, Taige and Mangzi came running over. Without saying a word, Mangzi slapped the mute woman on the forehead, knocking her off her feet. It was a while before she could react.

Tong Yao and the two men were quite taken aback by the severity of Mangzi’s actions. He might have rattled the mute woman’s brain with that slap.

Seeing this, Taige kicked Mangzi in the behind, "Rein in your strength. Just pacifying her a bit would have sufficed. Now, get her back inside, don’t scare people away."

Upon hearing this, Mangzi roughly dragged the mute woman back inside. Taige’s wife remained unfazed throughout, as if such occurrences were commonplace for her.

Seeing Mangzi drag the woman back inside, Taige turned to Tong Yao with a chuckle, "Did we scare you? That was my brother’s wife. She’s mute and not quite right in the head. We usually keep her locked up. She managed to give us the slip just now."

With a sigh, Taige added, "We’re poor up here in the mountains, can’t afford to marry a properly functioning woman. Sorry to keep you on your toes."

Despite his wicked and cunning appearance, Taige put on an air of simplicity and honesty, which came across as rather peculiar.

Returning to his senses, Cheng Feng squeezed out an uneasy smile. Tong Yao suspected that this was Cheng Feng’s first time witnessing such a scene, so she pretended to be shocked and intervened.

"So that’s why she’s acting like a madwoman! Honestly, given her condition, it would be better to keep her locked up. She could easily scare people if let out."

Before Taige could reply, his wife interjected, "She’s just feigning madness to escape the hardships of mountain life to live more comfortably. Look at me, I handle the daily hardships just fine, don’t I?"

Between the lines, the wife was expressing that she was capable of enduring the hardships and doing work, while the mute woman was lazy, unwilling to work, wanting to escape to a better life, and despising the hard life on the mountain.

Hu Haiyun caught on to the wife’s underlying message and nodded in agreement, "Perhaps she’s too young and hasn’t quite tasted the bitterness of life yet. It’s not every day that you come across a woman capable of enduring hardships and doing hard work. Taige, you’ve indeed married a good wife."

Flattered by the compliment, Taige’s wife became even more enthusiastic and continued the conversation.

Seeing the lack of suspicion in the trio, Taige let out a sigh of relief, "You guys take some more rest, I’ll escort you down the mountain soon."

"Thank you."

Tong Yao and the two men thanked Taige and returned to their room. However, they could still hear the sounds of objects getting thrown around and the mute woman’s whimpering from next door.

Without a doubt, they knew what was happening next door. Seeing Taige’s wife’s calm demeanor, Tong Yao asked, "Big sister, does Mangzi often beat his wife?"

Taige’s wife nodded matter-of-factly, "His wife can’t speak and is lazy, always trying to escape the mountain. Which man wouldn’t beat her? She doesn’t know how good she has it. With her current situation, if she left, could she find another man as good as Mangzi?"

"Um..."

Tong Yao couldn’t resist asking, "Big sister, in which ways do you consider Mangzi good?"

Taige’s wife paused at Tong Yao’s question. After a moment of thought, she couldn’t come up with any favorable qualities about Mangzi. Eventually, she said, "Mangzi is tall, can work hard, and is filial."

Tong Yao’s lips twitched involuntarily, all these were considered advantages?

These talents didn’t seem to benefit the mute woman in any way, did they?

Even Cheng Feng, a man himself, had a hard time listening. The sounds of Mangzi hitting his wife kept coming from next door. Cheng Feng clenched his lips and said, "Mangzi’s domestic violence is unacceptable. Why don’t you try to stop him?"

Taige’s wife thought Cheng Feng was overreacting, "Mangzi’s wife is disobedient, and he’s disciplining her. It’s normal, just like with children; they won’t behave without a good spanking. What’s the big deal?"

They never would have thought to hear such words from another woman. Cheng Feng didn’t want to communicate with Taige’s wife anymore.

Tong Yao and Hu Haiyun exchanged glances. They diverted the topic of the conversation and started chatting with Taige’s wife. Tong Yao and Hu Haiyun had realized that Taige’s wife’s train of thought was quite backward – probably due to her upbringing – and hard to change.

Leaving the place was their priority. A confrontation wouldn’t benefit them.

During their chat, they discovered another secret through Taige’s wife. Not too long ago, Taige had brought a man up to the mountain. According to her, the man was rather impolite and had left in the middle of the night, without even bidding her farewell.

This revelation sent shivers down the spines of Tong Yao and the two men. Left in the middle of the night?

They feared the man might not have made it out of the mountain and had been buried in some corner by Taige as fertilizer.

Neither Tong Yao nor Hu Haiyun confronted them with their suspicion. Cheng Feng, trying to endure the sounds coming from next door, looked increasingly distressed and was even contemplating intervening, but Tong Yao and Hu Haiyun held him back.

Once Cheng Feng had calmed down, he understood that now was not the time for rash actions, he eventually fell silent and said no more.