"Go to hell!" Seeing Xia Dongmei being hit, Xia Chunmei picked up a dirt brick from the ground and slapped it on Chen Xiaomao's head.

"ah……"

Chen Xiaomao touched her head and let out a miserable scream.

Xia Chunmei grabbed him by the neck and pressed him against the stone mill next to her, slapping him several times: "You bastard! You just robbed my family of their things a few days ago, and I haven't even gone to look for you yet, but you come to our door! Do you think I'm made of clay!"

After saying that, he slapped himself twice more!

The Chen siblings and a group of villagers were all dumbfounded. When did Xia Chunmei become so fierce?

"You slut! Let me go right now! Chen Xiaohong, Chen Xiaogou, what are you two standing there for? Help me hold this slut down! Beat this slut to death!"

"Oh ho! Still being stubborn!" Xia Chunmei slapped Chen Xiaomao several more times, and Chen's face immediately swelled up like a steamed bun.

Chen Xiaohong and Chen Xiaogou only snapped out of their shock when they heard Chen Xiaomao's voice.

After inspecting the area, the two men immediately reached for the carrying pole, ready to help.

Xia Huohua and Xia Mingshi immediately stopped the person.

Chen Xiaohong inherited the true teachings of Old Lady Chen and had no idea what it meant to respect the elderly and care for the young.

She cursed at Xia Mingshi, who was blocking her way: "You old hag, let me go! Didn't you see that bitch almost beat my brother to death? You old hag, mind your own business!"

Xia Ping slapped him across the face: "Try swearing at my grandma again! I'll beat your mouth to a pulp!"

Chen Xiaohong's tears streamed down her face.

Xia Chenshi said, "It's not easy for a girl who's too shrewish to find a husband!"

Xia Ping choked.

Xia Chunmei said, "Seeing your grandmother being scolded and not having the courage to stand up for her, that's called being an ingrate! Sister Ping did the right thing! If the man has a problem with you because of this, then he's not a good match! You're better off not marrying a man like that!"

"Xia Chunmei, let us go right now and hand over all your money, grain, and fish, or my grandma won't let you off the hook!" Chen Xiaogou shouted.

"Where there are fish, there is grain. If their children had fish to eat, they wouldn't be starving like this. You're a grown man, don't bully little girls!" Aunt Lihua had just eaten the fish Xia Chunmei had given her at noon, so naturally she was helping Xia Chunmei's family.

The neighbors who had eaten Xia Chunmei's fish also chimed in, saying, "Those sisters didn't have any fish, where did you hear that from?"

"If we have fish, we should give it to you. Asking a bunch of little girls for food is really shameless!"

At this moment, Xia Xiumei quietly walked up to Xia Huohua's cart.

She flipped through the items on top, feigning curiosity: "Chunmei, did you sell all those big fish? Did you get this grain in exchange? You couldn't have exchanged two or three hundred catties of fish for just this little bit of grain, could you? You must still have a lot of silver on you. You're so lucky, I really envy you."

After saying that, she immediately covered her mouth, looking surprised, and said, "Oh dear, I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?"

Her acting was so bad that anyone could see she was doing it on purpose!

They deliberately told the Chen family that Xia Chunmei had indeed caught fish, and several hundred pounds at that, and more importantly, that Xia Chunmei had money on her!

Xia Chunmei stared intently at Xia Xiumei, wishing she could poke holes in her!

Xia Xiumei raised her head defiantly, looking quite smug.

It seems that Shi Zhenxiang's blow yesterday was too light!

It's okay, I'll wait until I have a free hand...

“Where there are fish, there is money. This is my property. Xiumei, you are a girl who is about to get married. Why do you like to gossip so much? What good will it do you to frame Chunmei?” Xia Mingshi said.

Xia Mingshi wasn't stupid; she had already figured out yesterday that Xia Changjiang's family was deliberately targeting Xia Chunmei.

“Auntie, you’re wrong. Xiumei is just being straightforward and telling the truth. How is that framing someone? Didn’t you all go to sell fish this morning?” Xia Chenshi stepped forward and said.

“That brat caught so many fish, sold them for money to buy grain, and she should have used it to support her grandparents!” Chen Xiaohong shouted.

Xia Chenshi added, "Xiao Hong is right, Chunmei. We should respect our elders. I'll release your brother first. Young ladies shouldn't be violent; it won't sound good if word gets out. What if the Fan family finds out?"

The Chen family wasn't summoned by Xia Chenshi; her name, Xia Chunmei, should be spelled backwards!

"Second Aunt, do you have a bad memory? Chen Erlan is not my mother. What kind of relatives are the Chen family to me? Besides, Chen Erlan has remarried now."

After Xia Chunmei said that, everyone suddenly realized what was going on.

Xia Chunmei and Xia Qiumei are not Chen Erlan's biological daughters. When Xia Ping'an brought them back to the village, Xia Chunmei was six years old and Xia Qiumei was a little over two years old. Chen Erlan only entered the family the year after they returned to the village. Only Dongmei and Yaomei were born to Chen Erlan.

Even some of the elders who were close to Xia Ping'an knew that Chunmei and Qiumei were not Xia Ping'an's biological children.

“Since you are such a kind and filial aunt, why don’t you send a few pounds of grain to the Chen family? After all, you are the real relatives. Old Mrs. Chen is your aunt and your elder.”

Xia Chenshi and Chen Erlan are cousins.

Xia Chenshi choked.

Then Xia Chenshi said, "Even if you're not related by blood, Chen Erlan raised you. The kindness of raising someone is greater than the kindness of giving birth to them."

"Then why don't you treat your stepmother better? I heard you never go back for her birthday, or even for holidays. Second Aunt, you're so unfilial! Aren't you afraid people will talk behind your back?"

Xia Chen was so angry she was about to vomit blood!

Xia Mingshi and Aunt Lihua were secretly amused to see Xia Chenshi being rebuked.

Xia Chunmei slapped Chen Xiaomao's already swollen face and said, "Tell me, who sent you here? Tell me who caught fish today. If you tell me honestly, I'll let you go. I might even give you a few eggs so you don't leave empty-handed."

As soon as Xia Chunmei finished speaking, Xia Xiumei felt a little nervous and said loudly, "You sell fish so openly, isn't it normal for them to find out?"

"I didn't ask you, why are you so nervous? Did you go and snitch on me? And you said you have no other feelings for Fan Baowen, no other feelings at all? Why are you always targeting me?"

Xia Chunmei brought up the matter again.

"I wasn't nervous at all, and I wasn't targeting you," Xia Xiumei said, her voice rising unconsciously because she felt a little guilty.

"Chunmei, don't ruin Xiumei's reputation. It's all baseless." Xia Chenshi said sternly.

"You know in your hearts whether it's true or not. Fan Baowen is a scholar who values ​​his promises most. You don't think that just because I'm finished, he'll marry you, do you?"

In the original story, Fan Baowen did not actually marry Xia Xiumei. He merely used Xia Xiumei to frame Xia Chunmei in order to achieve his goal of annulling the engagement.

Xia Chunmei's words suddenly enlightened Xia Chenshi. What if, after they helped the Fan family successfully break off the engagement with Xia Chunmei, the Fan family was unwilling to marry Xiumei?

When Xia Chunmei saw Xia Chenshi's reaction, she knew that her words had worked.

If she wants a guarantee, there's only one way—make it a done deal!

Once Xia Xiumei becomes pregnant, Fan Baowen will have no way to deny it.

At that time, Xia Chunmei will be able to give him a taste of his own medicine and rightfully break off the engagement!

Xia Chunmei continued interrogating Chen Xiaomao: "Will you talk or not? If you don't talk, I'll hang you up and beat you."

Chen Xiaomao glanced at Xia Xiumei out of the corner of his eye. Seeing Xia Xiumei's appearance, his heart softened, and he said, "It was an old woman who said it. We don't know her."

"I think it's probably Shi Zhenxiang. That old hag was in our village this morning," Aunt Lihua said.

Xia Chunmei shoved Chen Xiaomao away: "Get lost! If you dare come back, I'll break your legs! I'm not the Xia Chunmei of the past. Now, if anyone makes things difficult for me, they won't have an easy time either. I'll repay them tenfold!"

After saying that, Xia Chunmei glanced at Xia Chenshi and her daughter. She felt that the mother and daughter must have been involved in this matter and wanted to use the Chen family to deal with her.