Chapter 39 Feigning Indecisiveness

She knew that Lu Weidong had a bad temper, liked to hit people, and was not a good person.

But she never expected it to be this bad!

Lu Xiuye ​​felt her chest heaving violently, her breathing becoming difficult, and her vision blurring.

Shen Cuifen has had a very hard life these past few years.

She gets up before dawn every day to cook, feed the pigs, fetch water, and farm.

At night, she also has to mend clothes and take care of the children.

She almost never wore new clothes or ate a decent meal.

Lu Xiuye ​​remembers that her mother's hands were always cracked, bleeding from the cold in winter and peeling from the sun in summer.

They looked at each other and saw shock in each other's eyes.

They suddenly understood why their mother was always silent, why she never complained, and why she never ran away even when she was beaten.

It turns out she had no way out all along.

It turns out that Mom had been enduring all these years, living with the person who bullied her.

Lu Xiuwei clenched her fist.

She remembered how her mother had been beaten so badly by Lu Weidong that she couldn't lift her arm after accidentally spilling a bowl of porridge.

That night, the mother hid in the kitchen and cried secretly, but still forced herself to finish cooking.

She thought her mother was just weak, but now she realizes it was despair.

Seeing her daughter crying her eyes out, Shen Cuifen felt incredibly regretful.

She didn't want the children to know about these things.

She would rather they always think their parents were just an ordinary couple.

She was afraid they would hate their father because of this, and even more afraid that they would be implicated.

But once the words are spoken, they are like water spilled, and can never be taken back.

She could only watch helplessly as her daughters suffered, and there was nothing she could do.

I shouldn't have said such harsh words.

In a moment of impulse, I poured it all out without thinking.

"Stop crying, go back and do your homework."

Shen Cuifen's eyes stung, and her voice softened.

She reached out to wipe away her daughter's tears, but found that her hand was trembling.

"Mom! You should divorce Dad!"

Lu Xiuye ​​wiped away her tears.

She is no longer the little girl who was afraid of her father's fists.

She would rather be beaten herself than watch her mother live like this any longer.

She knew that getting a divorce would cause gossip in the village, but she didn't care.

All she wanted was for her mother to be free.

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Weidong immediately turned hostile.

He was leaning against the door frame smoking when he heard this and suddenly threw his cigarette butt on the ground.

"You little brat! I raised you with so much hardship, and now that you've grown up, you're trying to sow discord and even incite your parents to divorce? Do you think you can get away with this?!"

He pointed at Lu Xiuye's nose, spitting all over her face.

He never expected his usually obedient daughter to dare say such things to his face.

If Shen Cuifen weren't still able to work, who would want to live with her?

Even though he hit her, she had to accept her fate.

These days, where can a woman go after a divorce?

Who would want an old woman who has given birth to five children?

She worked all day and had a bunch of babies. Her belly was so loose it looked like a collapsed sack, and her breasts sagged down to her stomach.

Lying together at night, just looking at each other makes me nauseous!

The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he felt.

Why should he bear the burden of this name when she suffers?

He beat her as a matter of course.

But to outsiders, he is still the pillar of this family.

Now his daughter is forcing him to divorce her. Isn't that a slap in the face for him?

If we get divorced, who will do the housework?

Who gave Lu Xiuye ​​the right to criticize?

He grew angrier the more he thought about it, feeling as if his chest was on fire.

He was determined to show this girl who was in charge in this family.

Lu Weidong grew angrier the more he thought about it, and grabbed the fire tongs next to him and smashed them at Lu Xiuye.

The fire tongs whistled as they hurtled straight toward her shoulder.

He didn't believe this girl would dare not dodge.

He wanted to make her suffer and teach her a lesson.

Lu Xiuye ​​stiffened her neck and stood still, ready to take the blow head-on.

She knew she couldn't dodge this.

But she knew even more that if she backed down today, her mother would never have another chance to escape.

Get out of the way!

Shen Cuifen shoved Lu Xiuye ​​away, grabbed a pair of scissors from the table, and stabbed Lu Weidong's arm.

The scissors made a dull thud the moment they pierced the flesh.

She didn't consider the position at all, nor did she intend to hold back; her goal was simply to hurt him.

This time, she didn't aim for any acupoints at all; she just went for the pain!

She knew that Lu Weidong had always been afraid of pain.

He'll yell and scream at the slightest injury, and this time will be no exception.

If those fire tongs had hit Lu Xiuye ​​on the head, she would have been killed or her brains would have splattered out!

Lu Weidong screamed in pain, staggered back a few steps, and his arms trembled uncontrollably.

The fire tongs fell to the ground with a clatter, making a crisp sound, and rolled to the threshold.

The wound from yesterday hasn't healed yet; a thin scab has formed.

Now it's been torn open again, and new blood is flowing down mixed with old blood.

"Shen Cuifen! You vicious woman!"

He clutched his right arm tightly with his left hand, his face pale, and he was jumping up and down in pain.

Lu Xiuye ​​was so frightened that her face turned pale, her lips trembled, and she stood there motionless.

Lu Xiuwei grabbed her and held her shoulders tightly, preventing her from moving any closer.

Her heart was still pounding, and her ears were ringing.

That moment was terrifying.

Luckily, Mom reacted quickly, otherwise my sister would have been in serious trouble.

If it had been half a second later, the fire tongs might have actually struck.

Lu Xiuye's small frame couldn't withstand that blow at all.

That girl is stupid; she was about to be beaten, but she still tried to tough it out.

Even at this point, they're still thinking about standing up for themselves, not even bothering to back down.

The sons then came to their senses. The eldest quickly squatted down to pick up the fire tongs, the second went to help Lu Weidong, and the third stood aside calling for help.

None of them expected things to turn out this way.

What started as a casual family argument escalated into a knife fight all of a sudden?

When Old Lady Zhao saw that Shen Cuifen was going on another rampage, she was so frightened that she shrank into the corner of the wall, pressing her body tightly against the earthen wall.

The courtyard was in complete chaos; there was blood on the ground, fire tongs lying across the ground, and people huddled together.

The adults were shouting, the children were crying, and no one could pay attention to anyone else.

A delicate, sweet voice suddenly came from the courtyard gate.

"Hey, what's going on? Brother Jianguo, I could hear a commotion coming from your house from far away?"

Everyone turned around and looked.

Zhou Wenjuan swayed her hips, carrying a basket, and strolled inside.

Her footsteps were light and airy, the soles of her shoes making a soft rustling sound as they slid on the ground.

She walked and laughed, "I heard Brother Jianguo said Mulan wasn't home, so I quickly cooked two dishes and brought them over. What brings you back?"

"Oh, Mulan, I'm not trying to be mean, but Jianguo has an injury on his arm, and you're still arguing with him? As a wife, you should at least care about your man."

She stood in front of Shen Cuifen, a smile on her lips, but her eyes held a hint of provocation.

Shen Cuifen frowned as she stared at her affected and pretentious manner.

"Oh? He didn't tell you how he got this injury?"

Zhou Wenjuan nodded, her tone tinged with pride.

"I told you, Brother Jianguo is amazing. He helped someone who was injured and rescued a damsel in distress."

Lu Weidong's face flushed red and then turned pale, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

He hadn't expected Zhou Wenjuan to say those words in front of so many people.

His lips moved, but he couldn't utter a rebuttal.

The entire courtyard became eerily quiet for a moment, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind.

Shen Cuifen burst out laughing, her laughter sharp and shrill.