Chapter Seventy-Six: Reunion with Huo Ran

She's absolutely insane!

Su Yindi, standing nearby, was terrified. This Jiang Mi was like a madwoman; what if she got agitated and hit her too?

Thinking about this, she became even more honest and docile.

Having vented her anger, Jiang Mi withdrew her hand: "I will forgive and forget what happened before, but if you dare to cause trouble at the Jiang family again, or threaten Third Sister-in-law to give you money, this will be your fate!"

Su Xing nodded repeatedly while lying on the ground: "I know, I know!"

"Hmph!" Jiang Mi snorted coldly, grabbed Su Yindi's wrist, and strode away.

Only after Jiang Mi's figure completely disappeared from sight did Su Xing shakily get up from the ground and stagger towards Su Family Village.

Sujia Village.

Su's mother was chatting with other women from the village at the village entrance, cracking sunflower seeds and talking animatedly.

"Aunt Su, is that Su Xing?" Someone in the crowd called out. Su's mother looked in the direction of the voice and saw her son, whom she held in the palm of her hand, walking towards the village with a bruised and swollen face.

"Ouch!" Su's mother cried out, throwing the melon seeds in her hand to the ground. She quickly walked over to Su Xing, looking at her son with a bruised and swollen face and covered in injuries, her heart aching with heartache: "Who the hell did this? How could they beat you up like this?"

She had never been able to bear to hit Xing'er since he was a child, but today he came back covered in injuries. How could she not feel sorry for him?

Su Xing winced in pain, but seeing her worried mother, her grievances turned to anger, and she shouted, "Isn't this all because of your good daughter!"

With that, he limped home, ignoring Su's mother.

The women watched Su Xing's retreating figure and whispered amongst themselves.

"This Su family boy usually seems so energetic and arrogant; he always comes back with a beaming face after getting money from his third sister. Why does he have such a long face this time?"

"What else could I do? I didn't get any money, and instead I got a beating!"

"That's true. If it were me, and my daughter-in-law took money from home and sent it back to her parents' house, I'd break her legs!"

…

Everyone in Sujia Village knew that Su Xing was spoiled by his three older sisters. He was waited on hand and foot, just like a rich young master. They were all extremely envious of him. But today, seeing him covered in injuries, they were all gloating.

The Su family.

Su Xing lay on the couch, his face ashen, looking like he was about to die, which greatly worried his mother.

"Tell your mother what happened, and I'll definitely get revenge for you!"

"It's all because of that bitch Su Yindi. Not only did she take less money, but she also brought that fat bastard Jiang Mi with her to put on a show for me. She even beat me up and threatened me that I should never take any more money from Su Yindi in the future!"

At this moment, Su Xing wished he could peel Jiang Mi's skin, pull out his tendons, and grind his bones to dust.

Since birth, although he lived a poor life, he was always pampered by his parents, who did their best to provide him with the best. He was never beaten once in his life.

This time, he not only got beaten up, but he also got beaten up by a fat, ugly woman.

Seeing her son being beaten, Su's mother could no longer sit still. She cursed and said, "That traitorous third son dared to collude with outsiders to beat his own brother. I'll skin her alive!"

As she spoke, she was about to go and avenge her son.

"We'll talk about it when Dad gets back." The son's voice came from behind as soon as he took his first step.

Su Xing lay on the couch, staring at the roof beams, looking as lifeless as a dead fish.

Even a grown man like her suffered at Jiang Mi's hands, let alone her mother, a weak woman; not only would she not be able to vent her anger, but she would probably be beaten half to death by that fat pig.

For now, we can only wait for Father to return before making a decision.

Hearing her son's words, Su's mother had no choice but to put down the shovel in her hand: "I'll go to town to get you a doctor. You stay home and be a good girl."

If her son's beating leaves her with lasting health problems, how can she, as his mother, live on?

…

In Hongyang Village, Su Yindi followed Jiang Mi back to the village without saying a word.

Just as they were about to enter the courtyard, Su Yindi finally spoke up: "Could you please not tell Mother about this?"

Jiang Mi turned to look at her timid third sister-in-law and said, "Even if I don't say anything, Mother will find out."

Given the Su family's track record, if their precious son is beaten, they will definitely come to demand justice; they can't hide it from them even if they want to.

Su Yindi was speechless and silently returned to the courtyard, where she became unusually diligent, handling all sorts of household chores.

Jiang Mi was too lazy to argue with her; what she was thinking about now was how to solve the drought that would occur in a month.

The only solution is to harvest the rice ahead of schedule, or to find a water source and divert it to the fields to irrigate the farmland; only in this way can the villagers be guaranteed not to starve to death during the drought.

Just as Jiang Mi was lost in thought, there was a knock on the door, and her second sister-in-law's voice came from outside: "Young Master Huo is here, he says he has something important to discuss with you."

Suddenly?

Jiang Mi was startled and quickly opened the door, where she saw Huo Ran's slightly tired handsome face.

"Jiang Mi." Huo Ran saw the person he had been missing and felt that all the busy time had been worthwhile.

The person she longed for had grown even more charming and beautiful during his absence; every smile and frown of hers captivated her gaze, making it impossible to look away.

Jiang Mi came out of the house, sat in the middle of the courtyard, poured Huo Ran a cup of tea, and casually asked, "What about your injuries?"

"That's all thanks to you. If it weren't for you, I probably would have died a miserable death in the mountains long ago, and might have become food for some wild beast by now." Huo Ran was in a good mood. This was the second time that Honey had saved him. Looking at the person in front of him, he wanted to tease her: "I have no way to repay your life-saving grace. I can only repay you with my body."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Mi nearly spat out the tea she had just drunk. In her panic, she tried to remain calm: "It's nothing. I would have helped whoever it was."

The man in front of her had an extraordinary bearing and a wealthy and noble background, which was beyond the reach of a mere country girl like her.

"It was just a joke, don't take it seriously." Huo Ran said slowly, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth. Hearing Mi Tang's rejection, his heart felt heavy.

"That's good." Jiang Mi breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, and asked with feigned concern, "Young Master Huo looks exhausted, has something happened to you?"

"I heard that several villages have been hit by locusts recently, and crops have been destroyed wherever they go. I saw several refugees on my way back to the village. I'm afraid that there will be many more refugees in the town in a while."

During his recent recovery, he learned about many changes in the village.

The problems of food and harvest have not yet been resolved, and now the emperor has been attacked by locusts. He will probably be busy for a while.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Mi realized that, according to Huo Ran, the locusts would soon be flying towards them.

"Young Master Huo, do you know how far the last village ravaged by locusts is from Hongyang Village?"