Chapter 146 Making a fool of oneself

Lu Shuixian sobbed, leaning against the cold earthen wall, her voice mournful.

"A married daughter is like water spilled from a bowl; she can't come back, and don't expect her to help you anymore! You're in trouble now, what can I do? I can barely take care of myself! If Tu Er finds out I'm giving money to my family, he'll beat me even harder next time! Do you want me to be beaten to death?"

The two became increasingly agitated, and their voices grew louder and louder.

Right in front of the mottled, peeling wooden door of Shen Cuifen's house.

The mother and daughter confronted each other like enemies.

The wind swirled dust around their feet, ruffling Yang Juan's graying hair.

"If you want to argue, get out of here! What kind of nonsense is this, blocking my doorway!"

Suddenly, the courtyard gate creaked open.

Shen Cuifen stood on the threshold with her hands on her hips, her face full of annoyance.

"What utterly bad luck! To run into you two clowns first thing in the morning! One of you is wailing and crying, and the other is cursing and swearing. Do you think this is a stage for a play? If you're so tough, go home and argue behind closed doors! Don't get in my way and disturb my peace!"

But the two of them acted as if they hadn't heard a thing, and continued to stand there, pointing at each other.

Shen Cuifen coldly retreated into the room and slammed the door shut.

The mother and daughter were left outside the door, continuing to scream in the cold wind.

Shen Cuifen had just turned around and was about to step into the house to get a broom to chase away the uninvited guests.

Before I could even step over the threshold, I suddenly heard a series of hurried footsteps behind me.

She subconsciously turned around and saw Lu Guizhen walking out of her yard with a string of firecrackers in her hand, her face full of anger.

Lu Guizhen walked up to Shen Cuifen, and without saying a word, the corners of her mouth suddenly turned up, revealing a provocative smile.

He then casually stuffed the heavy string of firecrackers into Shen Dayou's hand.

Shen Dayou took the firecrackers, his eyes flickered slightly, and his gaze quickly swept over his younger brother Shen Yong'an standing beside him.

That was a look that only the brothers understood.

Shen Yong'an understood immediately, reached into his pocket, quickly pulled out a box of matches, and deftly drew out a match.

"Get out of the way! My family is setting off firecrackers to ward off evil spirits! Don't blame me if you get bad luck!"

Shen Dayou shouted loudly.

He was talking, but his hands never stopped moving.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a crisp "snap" was heard.

The match head slashed sharply across the side of the matchbox, instantly bursting into a small cluster of orange-red flames.

The flame leaped and quickly licked the fuse of the firecracker.

The fuse hissed, emitting tiny sparks, and wisps of black smoke rose into the air.

Without hesitation, Shen Dayou flicked his wrist and cleanly threw the entire string of firecrackers onto the ground.

The firecrackers tumbled down and landed squarely on the ground right at the feet of Lu Zhongping, Yang Juanhua, and Lu Shuixian.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment.

The next second, a series of crackling explosions, like thunderclaps, suddenly erupted, shaking the very air.

Lu Zhongping reacted the fastest. As soon as he heard the "buzzing" sound, he realized something was wrong and instinctively leaped to the side.

He narrowly avoided the explosion, his back already soaked with cold sweat.

"Oh my god!"

"Good heavens!"

Yang Juanhua and her daughter Lu Shuixian stood there stunned, not realizing what had happened.

Until the deafening sound of firecrackers exploded in my ears.

The two of them suddenly realized what was happening, and were so frightened that they screamed and desperately backed away.

No one noticed that it was not far behind them.

The old ox that was helping people haul bricks just now has slowly moved to a different spot.

Then, with a flick of its tail and a thud, it left a large, warm, wet pile of cow dung on the dirt road.

The pile of dung was emitting a faint white steam and emitting a pungent, fishy stench; it lay there quietly.

In a panic, the mother and daughter tugged at each other's arms, each trying to hide behind the other.

Just in this chaotic moment, Lu Shuixian's right foot somehow tripped over a stone that was half-buried in the soil.

He immediately lost his balance, screamed, and fell backward.

To make matters worse, she fell right in the direction of that pile of cow dung.

With a muffled "thud," her buttocks landed firmly on that lump.

Even worse, she was still clinging tightly to Yang Juanhua's arm when she fell.

The force of the pull caused the mother to lose her balance and fall down onto her bottom.

In an instant, the scene became both comical and embarrassing.

Shen Cuifen's people were initially trying to maintain their composure and keep up their momentum.

Seeing this scene, they couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter one after another.

"Ouch, what's this? Why are my hands all sticky!"

Yang Juanhua finally came to her senses and looked down to see that her palms were covered in black and yellow filth, still steaming, and a strong stench wafted up from them.

Her face turned deathly pale, her stomach churned, and she frantically shook her hands.

"Lu Shuixian! Are you deliberately trying to harm me?! It's one thing to pull me out, but to push me into a pile of shit!"

She was so angry that her face contorted, and she swung her hands while cursing loudly.

Lu Shuixian herself wasn't in much better shape; a large area on the back of her pants was stained brown, and the corners of her clothes were also covered in dirt.

She looked down and almost vomited on the spot.

"You're still blaming me?"

Her voice trembled with anger.

"If those two brothers hadn't suddenly lit a cannon, would we have been this scared? Who would willingly sit on cow dung for no reason? Can't you stand up straight yourself?"

Yang Juanhua was even more furious after being hit like that.

"Why are you looking at me? I told you to move aside, but you're the ones who are stubbornly refusing to move!"

Yang Juanhua suddenly raised her head, her voice rising abruptly, filled with barely suppressed anger and grievance.

Her finger trembled as she pointed to the crowd that had blocked her way.

"I shouted 'Make way' several times, but who moved? Who was willing to step back? And now you're blaming me? This is a complete distortion of the truth!"

The village chief nodded in agreement.

“I heard that very clearly, and I can testify to it!”

He stroked his gray beard and leaned forward slightly.

“Everyone heard that clearly. I saw and heard it with my own eyes when I was standing at the door sunbathing. Yang’s wife did loudly remind everyone to move aside from the oxcart. She didn’t sneak up on us, nor did she act rashly. I, this old man, dare to say with my hand on my chest that the responsibility does not lie with her!”

Yang Juanhua felt a tightness in her chest and a feeling of stagnation stuck in her throat.

She gritted her teeth, braced herself on her knees with her hands, and struggled to sit up.

My legs are numb and tingling from squatting for a long time.

But she endured the discomfort, straightened her back, and stood up, her face full of stubbornness.

"Zhongping! Let's go! Let's go!"

"Staying here will only make us look like monkeys. We'd better leave now and save ourselves from this humiliation! What are you waiting for? To be chased away with brooms?"

Lu Zhongping looked disgusted.

Where are we going?

He clutched the old cloth bundle slung over his shoulder with one hand, scratched the back of his head with the other, and muttered under his breath, "Going back to the Cao family is definitely out of the question. Zhou Wenjuan has already been kicked out; if I go, I'll just be asking for trouble. As for Lu Shuixian's place... forget it. I can't exactly go back to my mother's parents' house with her, can I? What would that look like? It would make it seem like I, as her son, can't afford to support my mother..."