Dragon, Truly Shameless (Yuri Futa, Farming) - Chapter 13

The overnight torrential rain had actually destroyed the Dragon King Temple.

Shen Qingming was stunned upon hearing this. The importance of the Dragon King Temple went without saying. Not only Taohua Village, but the entire Black Dragon Town revered the Black Dragon King. Considering the continuous rain and unyielding dark clouds these past few days, and the fact that the village chief had just organized the whole village to worship the Dragon King yesterday, only for a torrential rain and flash flood to occur that very night, coincidentally destroying the Dragon King Temple, it was hard not to connect the natural disaster with the Dragon King’s anger.

After dawn, the village chief rang the bronze gong, and the whole village came at the sound. Shen Qingming followed along. Everyone’s expression was grave. The Dragon King Temple had indeed been flooded, and not only flooded, but also destroyed by the floodwaters. The entire temple had turned into ruins overnight, and under the broken walls and rubble lay the Dragon King statue, broken into two sections, its body separated from its head. The dragon’s head had actually been washed by the flash flood to the side of the road.

Such a scene immediately terrified the women and children, making their legs weak and their heads spin. A body separated from its head was considered very ominous in the eyes of ordinary people. If the Dragon King had become like this, what else could it be but anger?

The villagers gathered together and discussed animatedly. At this moment, the people who had been sent to investigate returned.

“How is the damage in the village?” the village chief asked.

“Eight houses were damaged, but fortunately everyone escaped. However, the remaining houses all have damage, and except for the east of the village, almost all the roofs are leaking.”

“Oh dear, I’m afraid the Dragon King is angry.”

The village chief slapped his forehead and hurriedly asked, “How are the crops?” With such a heavy rainstorm, the crops must not have been flooded.

“No major damage. The floodwaters only rose last night and fortunately did not submerge the crops.”

Hearing this, everyone breathed a long sigh of relief. The village chief gazed at the Dragon King Temple, now in ruins, and then looked up at Black Dragon Mountain, shrouded in mist, remaining silent for a long time.

Such a naturally occurring anomaly was an ominous sign. How could this calamity be turned into safety?

“Village chief, what should we do?”

“First, everyone go back to their homes and clean up the mess. Oh right, quickly dig out the Dragon King and enshrine him. This is no way to treat him.”

“Everyone, come and help!”

The men immediately crowded forward, moving rubble by hand on the broken walls. Since the temple couldn’t be repaired for a while, the Dragon King could only be temporarily enshrined in a makeshift shed, wrapped in red cloth to show respect.

Cleaning up the ruins of the Dragon King Temple took until near dusk, and the villagers were all exhausted. Fortunately, the Dragon King seemed to be moved by their sincerity, and the rain stopped.

Shen Qingming had already returned home. Her third aunt was frightened upon hearing about the Dragon King Temple. Her morning sickness, which was already severe, worsened in the evening, and she actually started spotting bl00d, which didn’t look good. Her third uncle went to fetch a doctor overnight. One trouble followed another, and a chorus of lament arose again in the old Shen family.

“Doctor, how is my wife?”

The doctor withdrew his hand from taking her pulse and sighed. “This pregnancy is at a later age, and the fright has caused some signs of a miscarriage. However, it’s not too serious. A few doses of pregnancy-stabilizing medicine should resolve it.”

Hearing the doctor’s words, the third uncle’s face showed conflict. The old Shen family wasn’t well-off, and they had spent a lot of money treating Shen Jinbao. Where would they find money to buy pregnancy-stabilizing medicine now?

“Doctor, is it possible to do without the pregnancy-stabilizing medicine? Could she just eat nutritious food like meat and eggs to nourish her body?”

Seeing the family’s troubled expressions, the doctor understood. “Meat and eggs are certainly good, but the pregnancy-stabilizing medicine is still necessary, otherwise, I’m afraid the child won’t be saved. Don’t worry, I’ll try to prescribe some cheaper medicine.”

“Then thank you, doctor.”

“Hmm.”

The doctor wrote out the prescription and left. The third uncle hurriedly went to get the medicine. After spending this money, the old Shen family was truly penniless.

However, the old Shen family’s feng shui had always been a problem. Good things never happened, but bad things came one after another.

The destruction of the Dragon King Temple naturally required rebuilding, and it was still the whole village pooling their money.

Hearing about pooling money for tribute, the old man of the Shen family frowned. Speaking of offering to the Dragon King, perhaps the dragon had indeed blessed the village, but it didn’t seem to include their family.

What had they gained from offering to the Dragon King all these years? The eldest son had abandoned his wife and daughter, and the whole family’s reputation was ruined. The second and third sons had one daughter after another. They finally had a grandson to place their hopes on, but in the blink of an eye, he was snatched by a tiger and became foolish. Now, they had finally calculated that the third daughter-in-law was carrying a son, and they were thinking that the dragon had finally fulfilled their wish, but an overnight rainstorm had directly destroyed the Dragon King Temple, and that very night, the third daughter-in-law had signs of a miscarriage.

Had the dragon really responded to them?

“Father, it’s almost winter, and I think it’s colder this year. If we spend money again, what will we do if something else happens in the future?” The third uncle stepped forward, disagreeing directly for the first time. He placed all his hopes on his wife’s belly. At this critical juncture, how could they spend money casually?

“That’s right, Father, we can’t spend money. We can’t have those of us who live on coarse food and vegetables spend money to bless those who eat meat, can we? Can’t we talk to the village chief about it?” The second uncle also retorted.

“Alas.”

Facing the unwillingness written all over his two sons’ faces, the old man of the Shen family just sighed to himself. Seeing that their father was unmoved, the two brothers could only try to persuade their mother.

“Mother, it’s not like our family is the only one in the village. Losing our share won’t make much difference. Right now, we don’t even have enough money to get pregnancy-stabilizing medicine for the third daughter-in-law. We should consider the old Shen family’s posterity.”

It had to be said that posterity indeed fiercely struck the soft spot in the old man’s heart. The old man put down his water pipe. “Alas, we’ll have to discuss it with the village chief to know.” His gaze inadvertently swept over Shen Qingming, who was huddled in the corner. This glance made him realize that Xiao Shen had grown quite pretty. Shen Qingyuan had been recognized as a handsome young man for miles around, and Hua Linglong was also a girl from a wealthy family. Compared to the other girls in the family, Shen Qingming had good-looking parents, so she was also a beauty in the making. Even though she was sallow and thin, her bone structure was delicate.

Shen Qingming wished she could shrink into the corner. The way her grandfather was looking at her gave her a feeling like needles on her back. She knew that ordinary people weren’t afraid of hardship, but of poverty. The word “poverty” created many things that disregarded human ethics. Seeing the whole family looking at her following the old man’s gaze, she became even more frightened.

Shen Qingming almost engraved the words “fear” on her forehead. The old man naturally saw it. Recalling the years he had neglected Xiao Shen’s upbringing, allowing her to suffer all kinds of bullying, but that only stemmed from his resentment towards his eldest son. Putting aside that relationship, Xiao Shen was hardworking, thrifty, and simple, a good hand at managing a household economically. Xiao Shen had also reached the age for marriage this year. Perhaps they could find an opportunity for her to get married and collect some betrothal gifts to subsidize the family expenses.

“Husband? Why don’t we just have the village pool together the money? Our family really can’t withstand one blow after another. Having to pay money at this critical juncture isn’t just pushing us to our deaths?” the old woman said. “Besides, at the beginning of spring, we contributed fifty coins and a pig’s leg. Immediately after that, Jinbao was snatched away and became foolish. Now, only a corner of the roof has collapsed from the rainstorm, and the third daughter-in-law has signs of a miscarriage. The dragon doesn’t respond to us at all. Let’s not waste that money.”

The old man immediately glared at his wife. “Shut up! What do you think made Jinbao and Daya come back alive? If we hadn’t worshipped the Dragon King, the flood last night might have directly submerged the village instead of just the Dragon King Temple.”

“This, then what do you say we do?”

The old man’s words weren’t without reason. The old woman simply plopped down on the ground, and then, slapping her thigh, began to wail loudly, “Oh heavens, are you even letting people live? Just lost my grandson to foolishness, the third son’s wife almost miscarried, and these old clan members not only don’t help but also urge for money! What kind of people are you? Might as well beat this old woman to death today! I’m too lazy to keep propping up your old Shen family!”

“This old woman isn’t going to live anymore, isn’t going to live anymore! Back then, this old woman was a flower for miles around! How did I end up marrying into your old Shen family, to bear offspring for your Shen clan, toiling day and night, aging from a maiden into a yellow-faced woman without a single good day? Now you even want to force me to death! I’m not living anymore, not living anymore!”

The old woman “wailed” while slapping her thigh, quite rhythmically. Villagers who loved to watch a commotion quickly came at the sound and whispered around the old Shen family’s courtyard. The old woman sat on the ground, crying about poverty, while the old man’s dark face turned red.

He pulled his wife. “What are you doing sitting there? You disgraceful thing.”

“Isn’t all this for the sake of your old Shen family’s posterity? You still dislike me for being disgraceful? Is there any justice?”

“Get up quickly!” The old man raised his hand to strike. Before the slap could land, the old woman had already let out a pig-like scream.

“Murder! Murder! You heartless man! As a wife, I kindly cared for your family’s posterity, but you want to kill me for that worthless face-saving! Come on, beat me to death! This old woman isn’t living anymore!”

The old woman lay on the ground, facing upwards, wailing even more fiercely, tearing at her clothes and kicking her legs, making it impossible for the old man to lay a hand on her. The village chief was called over by the villagers. The old man said awkwardly, “Brother, you see, my family is really running out of money. Winter is coming, and the third daughter-in-law is still pregnant. I really have no way.”

“Brother, it’s not that I don’t want to help you, but I can only help for a while, not forever. Actually, I’ve been supporting your family all along,” the village chief said with a troubled expression.

“How so?” Supporting the old Shen family? The old man didn’t understand.

The village chief looked around, then pulled the old man aside and whispered, “I’m only telling you this because you’re my brother. You’re really slow-witted! Haven’t you noticed that every trouble originates from your family?”

This old man had long had a premonition. The old Shen family used to be the second wealthiest family in the village, second only to the village chief. That’s why his eldest son could study and write. But from some point onwards, one misfortune after another befell them, turning them into what they were today. However, he didn’t know where the problem lay and could only pray to the dragon to solve everything when he made offerings.

“You mean…” The old man followed the village chief’s gaze. Xiao Shen was busy in the kitchen, her thin little figure disappearing into the smoke from the stove, busy like a spinning top. “Xiao Shen?”

This reminder was crucial. The old man suddenly realized that the decline of their family fortunes had begun precisely after Xiao Shen was born.

“Xiao Shen is a born unlucky child. Since birth, she hasn’t enjoyed any blessings, only endless hardship. She’s destined to suffer. If you keep her, brother, won’t you also only suffer? I consulted a Taoist priest these past few days. Black Dragon Mountain is shrouded in mist all day, and thunder rolls. The Taoist priest said the Black Dragon is angry, probably because that girl offended the Dragon King in the mountains a few months ago, and the Dragon King sent down heavenly punishment. Brother, you just said I wasn’t helping you, but the whole village has been supporting your family. I really have no other way.”

The old man frowned deeply. “Brother, do you mean sending Daya away?”

The village chief nodded. “Better to believe it than not. If things continue like this, who knows if the one in your daughter-in-law’s belly will also be a girl.”

These words sounded quite mysterious, but pieced together, they couldn’t help but convince the old man. He nodded seriously.

“Then, I wonder where brother thinks we should send the girl?”

“Since she offended the Dragon King, let’s invite her back to the mountain. What the Dragon King wants to do with her is the Dragon King’s business. We’ve returned the person to him, so it’s no longer our village’s concern.”

Hearing this, the old man’s eyes lit up, as if a veil had been lifted. “Thank you, brother, for the guidance. I, your younger brother, will find a way to invite her back to the mountain. But brother, this time our family really can’t spare any money.” He looked apologetic. The village chief waved his hand. “Forget it. This time, I’ll consider it my last help to you. But after this, I can no longer favor your family, otherwise the villagers will complain.”

“Thank you, brother, thank you, brother.”

The old man nodded and bowed, sending the village chief away, looking as if he had finally breathed a sigh of relief.