Zhang Weimin didn't say another word. His hunched back, which had always been straight, made him look ten years older in an instant.

He turned around, dragging his heavy steps, trying to walk out of this hellish home.

He wasn't scared away; he was defeated by despair.

Just as his hand was about to touch the gate latch.

"Zhang Weimin! Zhang Weiguo! You two heartless bastards!"

Shi Fangfang rushed out, her face deathly pale and her eyes bloodshot, like a mother beast driven to the brink of despair.

She had been listening to the brothers arguing inside the house, and every word they said felt like a knife stabbing into her heart.

When she saw that Zhang Weimin really didn't try to persuade Zhang Weiguo, the last thread in her mind snapped!

"I sent you to persuade him, not to rot away with him!"

Shi Fangfang completely broke down. She rushed over, crying and pounding her fists on her husband: "What am I going to do with this family? Huh? Dad needs someone to take care of him, my sister needs someone to look after her, do you expect me, a woman, to do this?!"

After beating Zhang Weimin, she rushed to Zhang Weiguo, who was slumped on the ground, and started hitting him as well: "And you! What kind of man are you! The family is in such a state, and you're still pretending to be dead! Who do you think you are!"

In the courtyard, a woman screamed, cried, and pounded on two distraught men, and the scene instantly spiraled out of control.

Such a commotion quickly attracted the attention of the neighbors.

People peeked out of their homes, gathered at the Zhang family's door, pointed and whispered among themselves.

"Oh dear, what's going on now?"

"What else could it be? This family is completely finished..."

"Stop hitting her, Fangfang! Let's talk this out!"

Several kind-hearted neighbors, unable to bear it any longer, tentatively tried to persuade him.

"Speak properly?!"

Shi Fangfang whirled around, her bloodshot eyes slicing through the crowd like knives: "You make it sound so easy! All you do is stand there and spout nonsense!"

"It's been so long, we're almost starving, and not a single one of you has helped us. Not a single grain of rice has been given to us. Now you're coming here to play the good guy! Get out! Get out!"

She acted like a mad tiger, and the neighbors, embarrassed by her scolding, didn't dare to say another word for a while.

The Zhang family is a bottomless pit now, what's the point of helping them?

These few points won't solve the problem at all.

Amidst this suffocating chaos, a distraught figure slowly walked in from outside.

It's Shen Xiang.

She had just returned from the hospital, and the doctor's words were still echoing in her ears.

The son's condition showed no improvement, yet the daily expenses were like water flowing away.

She looked completely drained of energy; her face was deathly pale and her eyes were vacant.

When she saw this scene in the yard, and Zhang Weiguo's bruised and swollen face, she instinctively stepped forward and grabbed Shi Fangfang's arm.

"Sister-in-law, please don't do this... Let's talk this out, please stop hitting me..."

Shen Xiang's appearance seemed to provide Shi Fangfang with a perfect outlet for her emotions.

"Get out of my way!"

Shi Fangfang abruptly shook off Shen Xiang's hand and pushed her to the ground.

He then pounced on her, grabbed her hair, and slapped her repeatedly!

"You jinx! You're a jinx!!"

"It's all your fault! It's all your fault, mother and son! When Ye Nian'an was alive, our Zhang family wasn't rich, but we lived a good life! Wei Guo was a soldier, and the family had hope!"

"Ever since you and that burden came here, nothing good has happened to our family! Now we're even ruined and dead! You're a jinx! A jinx! You've destroyed all our good fortune!"

Shen Xiang was stunned by the blow.

The physical pain was nothing compared to the chilling effect of those words.

She curled up on the ground in agony, letting Shi Fangfang vent her anger.

Broom star...

yes……

Tang Jiang is still lying in the hospital like a vegetable, relying on machines to keep him alive every day.

The little money she had was almost gone when faced with the exorbitant hospital fees.

Although the factory kept her job due to her special circumstances, she dared not leave the hospital for a moment and could not go to work, so she could not earn a penny.

She thought about borrowing money, but who would be willing to lend money to a woman whose future was uncertain and whose son was half-dead?

Shi Fangfang was right to criticize her; perhaps she really is... a jinx.

Not only did it fail to bring good luck to her son, it also dragged down everyone around her.

Endless despair, like icy seawater, completely engulfed Shen Xiang.

Zhang Weimin stood there like a wooden stake, watching his wife go crazy and watching his childhood sweetheart, Shen Xiang, get beaten.

He wanted to move, but his limbs felt like they were filled with lead, too heavy to lift.

The whole family is rotten, rotten to the core. What good will a fight or a shouting match do?

"What are you all doing?! Are you trying to kill someone?!"

"Hurry up and help me!"

Shi Fangfang is hitting hard! If this continues, there will be bloodshed in this courtyard today!

"Quick! Go call the police! Tell them someone in the Zhang family is going to die!"

The police arrived quickly after receiving the report.

"Make way! Make way!"

Jiang Tiancai, accompanied by two young police officers, practically barged in.

As soon as he entered the courtyard and saw the chaotic scene, his temples throbbed.

Well, it's the Zhang family again.

He felt like he was destined to be associated with the surname "Zhang" for the rest of his life.

This family, in particular, is a key target of their police station, appearing more frequently than the habitual thieves and criminals.

Jiang Tiancai's gaze quickly swept across the entire room—

Zhang Weimin, looking utterly dejected; Zhang Weiguo, his face bruised and swollen with vacant eyes; Shen Xiang, lying on the ground with disheveled hair and clear fingerprints on her face; and Shi Fangfang, still in the posture of committing the crime, trembling all over.

He sighed heavily.

"What are you all standing there for? Separate them!"

Jiang Tiancai shouted at the two men he had brought with him.

Two police officers immediately stepped forward and grabbed Shi Fangfang's arms, one on each side.

"Let me go! Let me go!"

Shi Fangfang came to her senses and began to struggle frantically: "I didn't hit anyone! She fell down on her own! She's a jinx! She's a curse on our family!"

"Alright!"

Jiang Tiancai roared, "Shi Fangfang, do you think I'm blind?! So many people are watching, are you trying to deny it? If you keep making a scene, believe me, I'll just handcuff you and take you back to the station to calm down!"

Shi Fangfang trembled all over from his shout and instantly deflated, but she was still sobbing unwillingly, her face covered in tears and snot.

Jiang Tiancai ignored her and walked over to Shen Xiang, squatting down beside her: "Comrade Shen Xiang, how are you? Should I take you to the clinic to get checked out?"

Shen Xiang slowly raised her head. Her once delicate face was now swollen and red, with a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth.

Her eyes were terrifyingly empty, as if she had lost her soul, and she simply shook her head mechanically.

"...I'm fine."

Where would she get the money to see a doctor?