Having just bought eggs, Zhang Hongmei cheerfully slung them over her arm and turned around to see Zhang Hongqi's wife, Wang Hongying. Too lazy to talk to her, but knowing it would be impolite, she simply nodded.

Li Cuihua had never met Wang Hongying and didn't care.

But ignoring her doesn't mean she won't come looking for trouble. "Hongmei, you're at the market? Why did you buy so many eggs? Everyone's struggling financially. You're carrying them yourself, but you're all alone. Fine, you came, but why did you buy anything?"

Zhang Hongmei was stunned. Could this really be done?

Seeing a woman she didn't recognize about to snatch Zhang Hongmei's basket, Li Cuihua immediately objected, "Who are you? How dare you steal the eggs my Hongmei bought?"

Zhang Hongmei realized what was happening and pulled her back. "You're so shameless! You want me to come see you? Auntie, let's go. Don't lower yourself to the level of this kind of person."

"This guy is shameless. Let's go home. Brother, you'd better stick close. By the way, which village are you from? If you run away, I'll have to find you."

"Big sister, please watch your mouth. I, Liu Ershuan, am not that kind of person. I'm from Panggezhuang. You can easily find out by asking around."

"Yes, eldest sister is wrong."

"You shameless Zhang Hongmei! I wouldn't even dare to have someone like you as my daughter-in-law!" Wang Hongxi was furious, her face turning red with anger as the eggs she was about to get were snatched away.

*Slap!* Li Cuihua slapped Wang Hongxi hard across the face. "You spew filth! Who do you think you are? If you dare to talk nonsense again, I'll slap you again. Hongmei, you wouldn't happen to be Zhang Hongqi's daughter, would you?"

"Yes, it really is his."

Wang Hongying was stunned by the slap. After a moment of reaction, she yelled and rushed forward, "You bitch, how dare you hit me?"

The two started fighting, and since there were already many people at the market today, this attracted everyone's attention.

Zhang Hongmei stuffed the egg basket into the sheep seller's hands, then pulled Wang Hongying aside. Li Cuihua took the opportunity to slap her several times.

This is Zhanggezhuang, and everyone in the village is from the same village. They can't just stand by and watch the village chief's wife get beaten up, can they? But Wang Hongying usually offends a lot of people because Zhang Hongqi is the village chief, so everyone just talks about it and no one actually does anything.

"Stop! Stop right now, what are you trying to do?" Zhang Hongqi quickly ran over and separated the two women.

Li Cuihua smoothed her messy hair, straightened her clothes, and looked up at Zhang Hongqi. She recognized him. "Who do we have here? It's the village chief. I, a woman from another village, have been beaten on your turf. What do you have to say?"

"You're talking nonsense! You started it all. If you hadn't hit me first, would I have been able to hit you back?"

"With your character, even if you were to take action, who would you be?" Li Cuihua looked at Wang Hongying with disdain.

"You, you admit you hit someone."

Li Cuihua sneered, her disdainful expression making one's hands itch to punch her. Zhang Hongmei watched from the side, barely able to contain herself. This third aunt was truly something else.

“I’m not going to talk to you, you’re a woman. Let Liu Maocai do it.” Zhang Hongqi’s face was flushed, a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

"If you want to find my Maocai, go to Liujiatun. Or you can detain me in your Zhanggezhuang? Do you dare?"

Veins bulged on Zhang Hongqi's face, and he clenched his fists, looking as if he was about to explode, but he held back. "Liujiatun is really arrogant. But I don't stoop to a woman's level. Fine, since you want to be a guest in my Zhanggezhuang, then stay."

Zhang Hongqi's words caused an uproar. People from Liujiatun who came to the market heard about the fight, and when they saw it was Li Cuihua, they were outraged! How dare she bully the people of Liujiatun! How dare she detain someone from Liujiatun? Everyone immediately gathered around, and some clever children took off running back to the village to find her.

Seeing that the situation had escalated to an unmanageable point, the people of Zhanggezhuang hurriedly went back to look for someone, but they were looking for a respected elder in the village.

Li Cuihua, seeing the group of people from the village, immediately perked up again. "Zhang Hongqi, come on, where are you taking me? I'll go with you. I wasn't afraid when we were fighting the Japanese, why would I be afraid of you?"

Auntie, please don't let your hands shake.

Zhang Hongqi is now in a bind. What started as a quarrel between two women is about to escalate into a feud between two villages, a consequence he can't afford. Both villages have intermarriages and are distant relatives, making things difficult.

Zhang Hongmei watched as Zhang Hongqi chickened out from the crowd. "There are quite a few people here, so I'll have something to say. You, Zhang Hongqi, have been spouting nonsense and acting like a scoundrel, stealing my eggs and insulting me. I just want to know what gives you the right? I was going to give you face, but since you don't want it yourself, I can't bear to."

"You little bitch, a jinx who brings misfortune to your parents. You're a worthless thing born of a father but raised without one."

Zhang Hongmei didn't reply. She pulled a dagger from her coat pocket and stabbed Wang Hongying directly. People near Wang Hongying were so frightened that they took a step back, and even Wang Hongying herself was too scared to move.

Zhang Hongqi grabbed Zhang Hongmei's arm and said, "Hongmei, let's talk this out."

He only meant to scare her, he didn't mean anything by it, so he stopped and shook off Zhang Hongqi's grip. "I won't talk to you if you insult me, but if you dare to say another word about my parents, I'll stab you. My parents sacrificed themselves to protect the country, and I won't allow anyone to smear or slander them."

Hundreds of people were shocked. This was Zhang Aiguo's daughter? She's really something!

"And you, don't call Hongmei so affectionately. Don't you know what you're up to? Your wife insulted your brother in front of so many people, and you didn't say a word. Why do you suddenly become so nice to me, the victim? You think you can have everything under your thumb?"

"I'm really not afraid. I'll take whatever you want. My third aunt took pity on me, an orphan girl, being bullied, so she stepped in. Shouldn't she have done that? You all live a peaceful life at home, while my parents risk their lives on the border to protect the country. Are you suggesting that their daughter should be bullied by you?"

"Yes, you heartless bastards! Without soldiers protecting our country, would you be in charge?" Li Cuihua is truly a great teammate.

At this moment, the crowd fell silent. No one spoke. Everyone had their own judgment, but they were all minding their own business and wouldn't step forward unless their own interests were threatened.

The people of Liujiatun were outraged. Were they being bullied because they thought no one from Liujiatun could stand up for them? They were all furious. Just then, an old man with a white beard and white hair walked over, leaning on a cane. "There are no heartless people in Zhanggezhuang," he said, "girl, you've gone too far with your words."

"Oh ho ho, you old codger, you can still come out?" An old woman with white hair and a bun appeared behind Zhang Hongmei. She spoke rudely and her eyes were full of contempt.