After a great deal of effort, the brothers Xia Tianji and Xia Tusheng finally delivered Shi Zhenxiang home.

Back home, Shi Zhenxiang finally felt relieved.

"Laifu, Wangfu, waaaah..." Shi Zhenxiang burst into tears upon seeing her two sons.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

"Did you bully my mother and beat her like this?" Fan Laifu grabbed Xia Tianji by the collar and said viciously, "You dare to hit my mother, you sons of bitches, don't even think about leaving Fanjia Village!"

Xia Tusheng, who had a fiery temper, immediately retorted angrily, "Bullshit! Your mother was beaten by bandits and crawled all the way to my door, begging us to send her back. She even promised to give us brothers a hundred coins. Hand over the money now!"

"bandits"

The Fan family members looked at each other in bewilderment.

"It wasn't bandits, it was Xia Changjiang! Xia Changjiang hit me with a carrying pole, and that wretched girl Xia Xiumei covered my mouth to stop me from shouting! You have to avenge me! They tried to kill me! They tried to kill me!"

"What"

Not only were the Fan family shocked, but Xia Tianji and Xia Tusheng were also taken aback.

Xia Tianji asked in confusion, "Why did you say they were bandits before?"

“I was afraid you wouldn’t send me back. I was afraid I’d die in Yijia Village and no one would even know. Waaah…” Shi Zhenxiang’s face was covered in tears and snot.

"How could Xia Changjiang hit you? Isn't he afraid we'll expose Chen Sanhua's shameful deeds?" Fan Laogen found it hard to believe.

"Mother, did you not get any money today either?" Shi Zhenxiang's eldest daughter-in-law asked.

"I had just asked for money when Xia Changjiang tricked me into a private room and beat me up. Waaah, my life is so miserable..."

Fan Laogen said angrily, "It seems they really aren't afraid of us revealing their shameful deeds!"

Chen Sanhua's scandal

Xia Tianji and Xia Tusheng felt like they had overheard some incredible secret!

But what exactly is this big secret, this shameful affair? Could it be theft, or something else?

So who stole from whom?

At Chen Sanhua's age, would anyone still want Xia Changjiang, who's also old enough to steal?

Xia Tianji and Xia Tusheng began a series of imaginative scenarios.

They not only failed to get the money but were also beaten. They immediately guessed that Shi Zhenxiang was using this secret to blackmail Xia Changjiang, which was why she was beaten like this.

"That damned Xia Changjiang actually hit my mother! We can't let him get away with this!" Fan Laifu shouted, raising his arm. "Father, elder brother, let's quickly gather the clansmen and go to Yijia Village. We must get justice for our mother!"

"That's right, we can't let that damned beast get away!" Fan Laogen roared. "Everyone grab your weapons, call your brothers and sisters, carry your mothers, and come with me to Yijia Village!"

The Fan family members were calling for help and grabbing weapons, but no one paid any attention to Xia Tianji and Xia Tusheng.

Xia Tianji was a bit thin-skinned, but Xia Tusheng was different. He grabbed Fan Laifu and said, "Your mother said she'd give us a hundred coins. She can't let us brothers work for nothing, can she?"

Fan Laifu shoved Xia Tusheng aside: "Where would we get money? Xia Changjiang is your clan leader. He beat my mother up like this, and you still want money? You're being lenient by not even getting a few punches. Get out of my way!"

"You..." Xia Tu was so angry that he wanted to rush up and punch Fan Laifu twice.

Xia Tianji held Xia Tusheng tightly: "Tusheng, don't be impulsive."

This is Fan family territory; if a fight breaks out, the two brothers will definitely suffer a loss.

Xia Tianji looked at Fan Laifu: "Are you sure you're not going to give me the money?"

Fan Laifu tilted his head: "I won't give it to you, what do you want?" His expression was incredibly irritating.

"Okay." Xia Tianji calmly replied, and then pulled Xia Tusheng away.

Fan Laifu was quite pleased with himself, thinking that he had scared the person.

On the way, Xia Tusheng felt increasingly aggrieved: "Brother, why did you stop us from carrying him all this way? We were just going to let it go like that?"

"Are you stupid? This is their territory. If a fight breaks out, we'll be the ones who suffer. Aren't they going to settle scores with Xia Changjiang? Once they get to Yijia Village, are they worried about not getting their money back?"

Xia Tusheng suddenly understood.

After Shi Zhenxiang was beaten so badly, the Fan family did not take her to see a doctor first, but instead carried her to Xia Changjiang's house.

A large, menacing group approached Xia Changjiang again, and the villagers of Yijia Village quickly ran out to see what was going on.

"Xia Changjiang and Chen Sanhua, you two beasts, get out here right now!"

"You heartless beast, how could you be so cruel to your own aunt? Open the door and get out!"

No matter how fiercely they cursed, Xia Changjiang's door remained tightly shut.

More and more people gathered to watch, all speculating why Xia Changjiang had beaten Shi Zhenxiang so badly. Was it because she had accidentally hit Xia Xiumei earlier?

But so much time has passed, it's impossible to seek revenge on Shi Zhenxiang now.

"I heard that the Fan family had something on them, and when they tried to extort money from them, Xia Changjiang dealt with them instead."

Xia Tusheng then told everyone what Shi Zhenxiang had done that morning, climbing up to their house to ask for help and what they had overheard while taking her home.

What exactly is the leverage they have over us?

"Who knows?"

"If that's the case, they're probably all bad news."

"Xia Changjiang was ruthless enough, and Shi Zhenxiang deserved to be beaten for extortion."

...

Fan Laogen addressed the onlookers, saying, "I came to see Xia Changjiang today because of a personal grudge. This bastard beat my old woman up like this, and my Fan family will not let this go! None of you should come out to stop me! Lest we hurt innocent people. Eldest brother, second brother, kick the door open!"

At Fan Laogen's command, the two Fan brothers simultaneously rushed towards the door.

With a loud bang, the door was finally kicked open.

But the house was empty!

Chen Sanhua knew they would definitely come looking for her, so she packed her things and hid an hour ago.

Enraged, the Fan family smashed up Xia Changjiang's house.

"You think you can just hide and be done with it? Lai Fu and Wang Fu, you two are going to stay here with your mother. You sons of bitches, I don't believe they'll never come back!" Fan Laogen roared.

“Father, Mother needs someone to take care of her. Why don’t you let my sister-in-law stay here too, and I’ll go back to take care of the children?” said Liu, the youngest daughter-in-law of the Fan family.

Upon hearing this, Fan Laogen glanced at Shi Zhenxiang, who was lying on the ground in pain, and nodded, saying, "Then let's do it this way. Eldest daughter-in-law, you stay and take care of her."

Shi Zhenxiang was a notoriously mean mother-in-law, and Fan Fangshi had no intention of staying to take care of the old woman. She smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, you should stay. You are more attentive than me and will definitely take better care of her."

“Sister-in-law, I do want to stay, but if I don’t go back, Zhu Zi will definitely cry and make a fuss. I’ve been away for so long now, and the child hasn’t seen me. He’ll probably be very sad. I’d rather you take care of Mother.” Liu’s words were very eloquent.

Zhu Zi is the only grandson of the Fan family, and they cherish him dearly.

"What are you arguing about?" Fan Laogen glared at Fan Fangshi. "I asked you to take care of your mother, and you're still spouting so much nonsense. Just do as your second son's wife says. You can't even give birth to a son, yet you still spout so much nonsense!"

Fan Fangshi quickly shut up.

Shi Zhenxiang was injured and her two daughters-in-law were unwilling to take care of her; one can only imagine what her future would be like.

Xia Chunmei felt a sense of schadenfreude.

However, Xia Chunmei still admires the Fan family. Shi Zhenxiang has been injured for so long and is so badly injured, yet no one has gone to call a doctor. It would be strange if Shi Zhenxiang hadn't died sooner.

After discussing the matter, Fan Laogen and the others prepared to go back.

"We can't leave!"

The Xia family surrounded the Fan family.

What are you going to do?

“We brothers carried this old woman through great hardship to your Fanjiagou village. We agreed beforehand that you would give us 100 coins as a reward for our efforts. If you don’t pay us today, do you think you can leave our Yijia Village?”

In Fanjia Gou, the two brothers were outnumbered and didn't dare to fight back. Now that they were on their own turf, what were they afraid of?

Fan Laogen: "It was your clan chief who injured my old woman, this money..."

"Xia Changjiang has not been our clan leader since yesterday. Go find whoever did the beating. We have to get paid for what we do, that's the rule!"

"Xia Changjiang is no longer the clan chief!" Fan Laogen was extremely shocked.

"Hurry up and give me the money."

Fan Laogen said with a bitter face, "One hundred coins is too much. We left in a hurry and didn't bring any money..."

Xia Tusheng tilted his head and threatened, "Bring the money tomorrow, not a penny less, or don't blame me for being impolite. Your two sons live here, and we know where your home is."

Fan Laogen was furious.

Refusing is definitely not an option; this is Xia's territory.

But the thought of losing a hundred coins pained him, and he couldn't help but blame Shi Zhenxiang in his heart. "That old hag is useless! Not only can she not get the money, but she also has to spend it. She's really useless!"

The Fan family of four lived in Xia Changjiang. Fan Laifu and his brother, along with Fan Fangshi, began searching high and low for money, but they found nothing, not even a grain of rice.

"Looks like that bastard isn't coming back. He's taken all the food." Fan Laifu was furious.

“Their roots are here, I refuse to believe they won’t come back for the New Year!” Fan Wangfu said.

"My son, I feel so bad. Please take me to see a doctor right away, and also take care of my leg."

“Mother, it’s so late now, and we have no money to see a doctor. Please bear with it a little longer. Maybe Xia Changjiang and Chen Sanhua will be back tomorrow,” Fan Fangshi said.

“Sister-in-law is right. Those two bastards would never guess we’d be staying at their house. They might even be back tomorrow. Mother, you’ve suffered so much this time. Make him pay you ten or eight taels of silver. When he has the money, we’ll kill a few chickens to help you recover.”

The Fan brothers still didn't take Shi Zhenxiang to see a doctor, and that very night Shi Zhenxiang started to have a fever.

As dawn broke, the Fan brothers discovered she had a fever and quickly carried her to Xiaowang Village to find a doctor.

"The injuries are too severe. You should take him to the county town to see a doctor as soon as possible. I can't treat him."

"Doctor, please think of something." Going to the county town for treatment would be much more expensive, and now that Xia Changjiang's family is away, where would they get the money for treatment?

"I can't stand it anymore. You all need to hurry. If you delay any longer, the person will burn to death. Get them out of here quickly."

The Fan brothers didn't know what to do.

Go to the city?

No money!

The money is all in the hands of Shi Zhenxiang and Fan Laogen, but Fan Laogen is not around right now.

Fan Fangshi's eyes darted around, and she said to Shi Zhenxiang, "Mother, you've heard it now. The only thing we can do is take you to the city for medical treatment, but we don't have any money. Tell me, where did you put all your money? I'll go back and get it now, and then I'll take you to the city for medical treatment immediately."

Despite having a fever, Shi Zhenxiang is very clear-headed when it comes to money.

"There are two hundred coins in the crack in the wall behind the chamber pot in my room."

The Fan family never expected that Shi Zhenxiang would hide the money in such a smelly place.

Madam Fan added, "Mother, two hundred coins isn't enough to go to town. There's nowhere else to go, and your illness can't be delayed."

No matter how the Fan brothers and Madam Fan asked, Shi Zhenxiang refused to say anything.

There was nothing she could do, so Fan Fangshi had to hurry home and tell Fan Laogen about it.

The Fan brothers carried Shi Zhenxiang to the county town, saying they would wait for them at the town gate, as they had no money and could not enter the town.

The Fan family of Yijia Village did not say why Xia Changjiang beat Shi Zhenxiang, but based on what Xia Tusheng and Xia Tianji had heard before, everyone turned into detectives and guessed that it was "stealing someone".

These days, sex scandals are always the most eye-catching.

The rumors about Chen Sanhua and Xia Changjiang having affairs have spread like wildfire overnight and are now common knowledge.