Chapter 42 Watch Your Mouth

Song Chunxue was outside, and she beat and cursed Jiang Yeming for half an hour.

The people in Lijiazhuang all stood outside their own courtyard gates in the best vantage point, tiptoeing and peeking secretly.

Hearing the solid, dull thud of the blows, their skin twitched.

"Let's go, let's go back inside. This woman has really gone mad."

"She's showing us that Song Chunxue has undergone some kind of trauma and seems to have changed her personality."

"Don't look, don't look, or she'll find out and yell at you!"

"She never used to have such a loud voice, how come she's suddenly become so fierce? Was she provoked by her eldest son?"

"Who knows? Do you remember when she insulted us last time? Don't mess with her again."

"That's strange. She wasn't like this before. She was the most honest and easiest to bully person in this village."

"So don't bully honest people, or they'll bite you."

...

The people in the village were all talking at once, and all they did that night was discuss Song Chunxue hitting the child.

After venting her anger, Song Chunxue threw down the stick, turned around, and went back into the house, leaving the eldest son lying on the ground crying.

I've been holding this in for over forty years, and I can finally let it all out.

She felt better.

Closing the courtyard gate to cook makes my whole body feel relaxed.

She never wanted to suffer from her child's incompetence again; they were all unreliable!

She simply gave up hope.

Sanwa is back, but he doesn't dare to talk to Song Chunxue.

While herding sheep on the mountain, he could hear clearly that his elder brother's cries of agony echoed throughout the mountains and fields.

Jiang Hongying felt a chill run down her spine as she looked at her mother, who was eating silently with her head down.

She worried that if she ever displeased her mother, she would also be beaten.

"Mother, how could you do that? That's your own son, the one you used to love the most. Aren't you afraid of hurting him?"

Song Chunxue looked up and glanced calmly at Jiang Hongying. "Don't worry, he won't be seriously injured. At most, he'll be bedridden for a while. He's never suffered in all these years, and he's hardly ever been scolded. I've spoiled him."

“Spoiling a child is like killing him. Besides, he even climbed over the wall and pried open my suitcase today. Who knows what he might do in the future?”

“I was ignorant before and hurt him. Now I want to make up for the beatings he hasn’t suffered in over twenty years.”

Song Chunxue sneered, "Otherwise, when he turns twenty-five and becomes more ambitious, he might even steal everything in my yard."

"But if Chen Feng is frightened, her child is your own grandson. Aren't you afraid?"

"What's there to be afraid of?" Song Chunxue couldn't help but curl a sarcastic smile. "She's such a selfish person, she's the best at protecting herself. How could she be scared? She doesn't care about the boss, she just blames me for hurting their pride."

Jiang Hongying glanced at Sanwa, then silently lowered her head to eat.

"My second brother once said that this is called 'better late than never.' If I don't teach him a lesson now, he might dare to commit murder and arson in the future. Wouldn't I be ruining his life?"

Knowing what kind of person her eldest brother would become in the future, Song Chunxue felt that she had played exceptionally well today and had a very satisfying time.

Not only does she want to fight the eldest brother, she also wants to fight the fourth brother!

He took her money to show off, money that she and Sanwa earned with their blood and sweat.

That little brat, just you wait.

After dinner, Jiang Hongying washed the dishes, carefully held her child, and slept with her mother in the north room.

Jiang Yeming was beaten badly, and Sanwa secretly went to fetch a folk doctor, Huang Xiong.

He carefully examined his eldest son's injuries, splinted his right arm and left calf with a wooden board, and said he would need to lie in bed for at least two months before he could do heavy work.

Upon hearing this, Chen Feng's first thought was that their courtyard construction would be delayed by two more months. She cried uncontrollably, but dared not scold Song Chunxue as she had before.

While writing the prescription, the thin, sharp-eyed Huang Xiong couldn't help but ask Sanwa, "Was it really your mother who beat him?"

"It's absolutely true. We fought for more than half an hour. Do you see any crucial moments?"

"Don't worry, they'll all recover." Huang Xiong handed the prescription to Sanwa. "The injection was quite even, and there are quite a few bruises all over the body. Apply this blood-activating and stasis-removing medicine. If it doesn't get better, I'll come back another day."

"Thank you, how much is this medicine?" Sanwa asked softly as he took the medicine from her hand.

"Ten coins. This is top-quality medicine for bruises and sprains. As long as it's not a broken bone or tendon, it will heal in half a month."

Just when Huang Xiong thought that the third child would pay out of his own pocket, he turned to look at the pregnant woman.

"Sister-in-law, ten coins." He handed the medicine to Chen Feng and then turned to leave the thatched hut.

Chen Feng rolled her eyes in exasperation and reluctantly turned around to find money.

Huang Xiong didn't shy away. He took a sip of water and looked calmly at Jiang Yeming, who was lying on the bed pretending to be dead.

He couldn't help but think that Song Chunxue did the right thing and had good family education.

Finally, Chen Feng pulled out ten copper coins from the old box and handed them to Huang Xiong with a sour face.

"You're not lying, are you? This medicine is really that expensive?"

"If you don't want it, give it back to me. You can buy it at the clinic." As he spoke, Huang Xiong reached out to take back his porcelain bottle.

"Give it to him now!" Jiang Yeming growled, his eyes tightly shut. "Are you trying to kill me with pain?"

Chen Feng put the money on the wooden table and turned to leave.

Sanwa thought Huang Xiong had come out, but when he turned around and saw Chen Feng's dark and smelly face, his heart skipped a beat, but he calmly turned his face away.

His mother had instructed him that he should help find a doctor, but he must not be so kind as to pay them, because the eldest son and his wife would not appreciate it.

Seeing Chen Feng and his elder brother's attitude, Sanwa knew they didn't appreciate it.

He wouldn't have bothered to call a doctor if he hadn't been unwilling to listen to his own elder brother yelling from the bed.

He didn't believe it before, but now he does.

My older brother has gone astray since we got married.

He saw Huang Xiong off at the gate before turning to feed the livestock.

For the next two weeks, Jiang Yeming remained in bed.

Even relieving himself was done in the chamber pot in the house.

Every time she emptied the chamber pot, Chen Feng would make sarcastic and veiled insults.

Song Chunxue pretended not to hear.

However, when she went out in the afternoon, she ran into Chen Feng, who had just emptied the chamber pot and was cursing under her breath.

"You find it troublesome, huh?" Song Chunxue chuckled. "If you don't learn your lesson next time and encourage him to do these shameful things, I'll beat him half to death and make you serve him properly."

She deliberately provoked Chen Feng, saying, "Anyway, you're pregnant with the eldest son's child now, so it's too late for you to find someone else. You should suffer this punishment. Even if I don't punish someone with a wicked heart, they might lose half their life if they fall into someone else's hands in the future."

"I'm warning you, don't try to use those bad ideas you learned at your parents' house in front of me. You'll have to give birth eventually, and next time you try to play tricks on me, you'll be the one lying in bed being disliked!"

After saying that, before Chen Feng could object, Song Chunxue picked up her basket and shovel and quickly disappeared around the corner of the courtyard wall.

"You old hag!"

Chen Feng was so angry that she stomped her feet.

The next moment, Song Chunxue peeked out from around the corner and said, "Watch your mouth, or I'll take you back to see your parents and ask them what bad habits they have of their daughter. She's corrupted my eldest son. I'm determined to have him divorce you, and they can't do anything about it."