The conversation hadn't been concluded when Mrs. Zhou was interrupted by Kang Li's delicate voice, which held a hint of chilling aloofness, "Aunt Zhou, if you don't know the facts, you shouldn't speak recklessly, otherwise, don't blame me for being unsympathetic!"
Glancing at the villagers who had gathered to watch the excitement, Kang Li redirected her gaze towards Mrs. Zhou and continued, "The marriage was of my own free will, and also, I am very pleased with my husband, whom I've already married legally. You don't need to worry about me, Aunt Zhou.
Moreover, now that I have married my husband, his children are my children. I am happy to be their mother, even if I am a stepmother. I am willing, and it concerns no one else!"
At that moment, Cai Xiufen walked over, taking her beloved daughter by the hand, "Let's go, come home with your mother, there's no need to waste words explaining here."
"Yes."
Kang Li nodded lightly, her hand held by her birth mother as they walked towards their home.
After Kang Li and her birth mother, along with Kang Guoan, entered the house, Captain Kang, with a dark expression, said to those villagers who hadn't left, "My son-in-law is indeed in his second marriage and does indeed have children. If the villagers want to discuss my family's affairs, feel free to do so, but make sure to stick to the facts, otherwise, I don't mind going to the police station to report a case of slander!"
As the deputy leader of the village, Captain Kang wasn't an uneducated, ignorant, old farmer.
Whenever he had free time, Captain Kang would always learn to read and do arithmetic with his beloved daughter.
Now, reading the newspaper alone and calculating the work points for all the members of the team was no problem at all.
Such a Captain Kang was surely aware of what "slander" meant.
Having said that, he turned around and strode into his house, paying no heed to what the gossiping villagers might say because of his declaration.
He didn't pay any attention to Mrs. Zhou's expression either.
"Mother! Why did you go causing trouble at Uncle Kang's doorstep? Come home, hurry back with me, don't make us a laughingstock!"
Zhou Weimin snapped to his senses when he heard from his father that his mother had caused a disturbance at the Kang Family's door due to him sitting dazed in the yard all night and then becoming feverish and unconscious. Then, she went to Kang Li's doorstep demanding an explanation.
Knowing this, Zhou Weimin, heedless of Su Qing's advice, put on his shoes and rushed out, not bothering about just having woken up, or his still dizzy head, or that his legs didn't have much strength – he went straight to the Zhou family's door. Here, he was truly ashamed to face anyone, yet he had to appear.
"A laughingstock? I'd like to see who dares to laugh at mother!"
Mrs. Zhou glared at the villagers who had gathered to watch, and with Zhou Weimin's assistance, she walked towards her home.
As the figures of Mrs. Zhou and Zhou Weimin receded, the onlookers glanced once more towards the Kang Family's doorway, then gradually dispersed in twos and threes, heading home while not forgetting to discuss the affairs of the Kang and Zhou families.
"The Zhou Family really acted disgracefully—they were the ones who initially proposed breaking off the engagement with the Team Leader's Family. Now that the Team Leader has found a new family for Kang Li, the Zhou boy doesn't know what came over him, sitting out all night in the yard and making himself sick. I feel embarrassed for him."
"It's all Qin Daying's fault, that shrew! If she hadn't made a scene at the Team Leader's house, the stupid thing her son did last night wouldn't be known by everyone now, making them lose face badly,"
"Qin Daying probably didn't expect her son to wake up at that moment."
"Whether she expected it or not, I don't know, but I am impressed by her unreasonable shrew-like behavior!"
"Wait for me, Aunt Wang and Aunt Li!"
As the two middle-aged women chatted and walked, they heard someone calling from behind. They paused and looked back to see the village's gossip enthusiast, The Loudspeaker, calling them, showing no strange reaction.