Chapter 328 Retorting

Old Mrs. He didn't dare look at He Chuan's face. She stroked He San on the ground and said irritably, "You eat well and dress well now, do you still need our little things?"

“That’s right. You’ve moved into such a big courtyard. Everyone in our village knows that the Jia family’s mansion is not a place that ordinary people can afford. Do you still think much of our meager little bit of land?”

"That day, didn't you move out your own suitcase, not even bothering to take your bedding? When you saw our mother being beaten by your mother-in-law, you not only didn't help but also said you wanted to become a live-in son-in-law. Who are you pretending to be so sad for now?"

“That’s true. Most of the grain in the old courtyard these past two years was grown by you two, so it’s reasonable for you to want a share. But you’ve become a live-in son-in-law and don’t care about your parents anymore. Shouldn’t you leave that little bit of grain for them to live in their old age?”

He Chuan, who was originally squatting on the ground, sat down directly after hearing this, looked at the cracks in the bricks, and chuckled a few times without saying a word.

Although he had long guessed that they wouldn't consider it, he said he would become a live-in son-in-law out of spite.

To his surprise, the reality was even more ridiculous than he had imagined.

His heart sank completely; even though the sun was shining warmly on him, he felt a chill run through his body.

Despite the sadness, there was a subtle sense of relief.

Since they've already gone this far, why is he still hesitating and feeling guilty?

What filial piety is there to show?

In recent years, he has acted as both a grandson and a dutiful son to his brothers, so he has nothing to feel guilty about.

He was so worried last night that he couldn't sleep a wink. Now he should give up.

"Hey, stop pretending to be dead." He Er glanced at He Chuan. "Since you're going to be a live-in son-in-law, and your mother-in-law is so rich and powerful, can you really bear to see your own parents living in such a dilapidated house?"

He Chuan suddenly turned his head, stood up and looked at He Er.

"What else do you want to say?" His eyes seemed to be filled with venom as he stared fiercely at He Er.

"What are you doing? Try glaring at me again!" He Er took two steps back when he saw his expression. "You've already betrayed your own parents and are disowning them. Shouldn't you leave them some money before you go, as a funeral allowance?"

Jiang Hongying, standing to the side, angrily cursed, "Have you no shame? In the first three years after I married him, all the money he earned was taken by your mother as his funeral fund. We've been so poor these past few years that we're practically dirt poor. And you still have the nerve to say such things? I think you're just trying to save up for your own funeral."

"You mother, you mother, you stinking woman, say that again and see what happens!" He Er said menacingly, about to walk over and hit Jiang Hongying.

"You don't want your teeth either?" Song Chunxue crossed her arms. "I went easy on you last time. If you all want to get a beating today, I have no objection."

He Chuan was furious. He ran to the side, picked up a large broom, and shouted, "Get out! All of you, get out!"

He grabbed a broom and hit his second brother, yelling, "You're not ashamed, but I am! Am I stupid or easy to bully? You don't want me anymore, but you still want money? I think your head is full of shit!"

"He Chuan, what are you doing... ah..."

"Get out! Get out now! All of you, get out!"

He Chuan used a large broom to sweep and beat, driving the group of people out of the yard.

"He Chuan, you son of a bitch, you're such an ingrate..."

He San, standing outside the gate, pointed at He Chuan and cursed him, but He Chuan closed the gate.

There were three women and two men outside the door, pointing at the gate and hurling all sorts of foul language. Anyone who didn't know better would think they were enemies.

He Chuan was furious, but he also felt extremely embarrassed to be betrayed and abandoned by his own family in front of his mother-in-law.

He went to the kitchen and brought out a basin of water, threatening to throw it out if they continued to curse and refuse to leave.

"Hongying, you go."

Song Chunxue gave Jiang Hongying a look, suggesting that it was better to leave the water-splashing task to her daughter-in-law.

This is a good opportunity for Hongying to vent her anger.

He Chuan is already pitiful enough.

He probably never imagined in his life that his own brother and mother could do such a thing.

"Okay!" Jiang Hongying smiled and took the basin of water from Hechuan's hands. "I'll go splash it."

"Squeak~"

"What are you doing... Ah! Jiang Hongying, are you trying to kill me? How dare you splash water on us..."

"Hmph, if you don't leave, I'm going to throw excrement at you. You're all surnamed He. Be careful what you say, or you'll suffer the consequences. Cursing people will backfire. Good luck to you."

"Bang!"

After saying that, Jiang Hongying happily ran to the kitchen, "I'll pour two more basins of it."

*

As dusk settled, the Taoist priest returned.

The courtyard was quiet. Song Chunxue was sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard when she heard a knock on the door and ran to open it.

"I knew you'd be back," Song Chunxue asked impatiently after waiting for two hours. "When I went to the He family to fight that day, did you do something behind my back, senior brother?"

"I was just saying I felt incredibly agile these past two years, so why did I struggle a bit when I was hitting someone the other day? Today I kicked He San, and he flew through the air. Did my senior brother do something to me?"

The Taoist priest chuckled and handed her the cloth bag he was carrying.

"Don't rush me, I'll explain it to you slowly." He gestured with his chin. "I bought you a jar of apricot blossom wine inside, as an apology from your senior brother?"

"..." Her full of questions and anger deflated instantly.

"You think you can just fob me off with a jar of apricot blossom wine? I didn't even know when my senior brother secretly tampered with it..."

Upon seeing that his cloth bag contained two packets of food, her arrogance vanished instantly.

Fine, he's my senior brother, so he must have his reasons for doing that.

They sat down in the main house, where the tea in the teapot was still piping hot.

"Why is Senior Brother back so late?"

Song Chunxue unwrapped the paper package and found two pig trotters, a packet of mixed noodles, and two pairs of chopsticks. Her eyes lit up immediately.

"How did you know I wanted to eat Liangzhou's liangpi (cold skin noodles)? Although it's not as good as the liangpi from Zhuanglang County, the taste is similar."

"If you don't come back soon, I'm planning to go to sleep in a little while."

The Taoist priest took a sip of tea and said slowly, "It seems that Junior Brother also knew I would come back. Do you understand my intention?"

"I don't quite understand, please enlighten me, senior brother." Song Chunxue wanted to hear it explained by himself.

“You were holding back a fire that day, and you didn’t hold back when you hit someone. You might have even killed someone. I don’t want you to go to jail, so I locked your Jianjing acupoint when you weren’t paying attention. Now, open it yourself.”

"I know you're in a good mood today and won't be too angry. Your son-in-law is quite pitiful, isn't he? He's been abandoned by his own people. Before, his mind was blocked, but now it's clear. With a little thought, he can figure out what he should do."

As he spoke, the Taoist priest picked up a pig's trotter, took a bite, and poured himself a glass of wine.

Song Chunxue was shocked. "Who would be so insidious as to block his intelligence? Isn't this harming him?"

Is it another harmful talisman?

"No, it's everyone around him who has been calling him stupid since he was a child. Over the past ten years, even smart people have been called stupid. He himself has also felt that he is not as smart as others, and his mind has gradually become blocked."

"So that's what it means. How do you deal with someone who's been told they're stupid? There was a big guy in the village next door who everyone said was mentally ill. Then one day he came home late from plowing the fields at noon and he really went crazy."

"That's simple, just curse them back. They're the ones who are stupid, they're the ones who are stupid, they're the ones who are stupid for eighteen generations."