Shen Hongmei looked around at the unfamiliar environment with bloodshot eyes. At this moment, she realized that this should be Zhao Changgui's home.
Thinking of the man with wrinkles on his face, Shen Hongmei felt fear and hatred in her heart, and her tears flowed uncontrollably.
Zhao Manfen looked at the person in front of her who was about the same age as her brother, raised her hand hesitantly, and finally mustered up the courage to hit her in the face.
With a snap, Shen Hongmei and Zhao Manfen were both stunned.
When Shen Hongmei realized that she was beaten by a child, she immediately became angry.
"You little bastard, you dare to hit me? I will beat you to death."
Shen Hongmei struggled and wanted to get up and beat Zhao Manfen, but she was tied up with hemp ropes. As soon as she raised her upper body, she fell back onto the kang.
Zhao Manfen was so frightened by her hideous face that he pulled his brother back a few steps. His heart was beating as if it was about to jump out, and he looked at Shen Hongmei anxiously.
But when I saw her fall on the kang, unable to get up like a big caterpillar, the little flame that had just been extinguished in my heart was rekindled.
He hesitated for a moment, then as if he had made up his mind, he pursed his lips, threw himself on the kang, and sat on top of Shen Hongmei.
Zhao Manfen grabbed Shen Hongmei's hair with both hands, pressed her down so that she couldn't get up, then raised his head and shouted excitedly to his brother: "Hurry, I'll hold her down, and you beat her, hurry up."
The 7-year-old Junzi was a little afraid to step forward.
"Are you going to fight her or not? If you don't, she will fight you later and not let you eat. Besides, you said that it was your father who ordered you to fight her, so why are you afraid?"
Zhao Manfen looked at her brother angrily. She firmly believed that between them and her stepmother, either the east wind would prevail over the west wind, or the west wind would prevail over the east wind.
As long as they have the upper hand at the beginning, the stepmother will not dare to bully them in the future.
When Xiao Junzi heard that there was no food to eat, his eyes widened immediately and he rushed over with his little fists raised.
The fists of the two siblings landed on Shen Hongmei's body with a crackling sound.
Shen Hongmei's head was pressed against the kang by Zhao Manfen. She couldn't get up or turn over. She was beaten by two kids and felt so aggrieved that she started cursing in anger.
"You two little bastards, just wait for me. I will peel off your skin. You were born by a mother but not taught by her. I will...ah..."
Shen Hongmei was cursing vigorously when she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her scalp. Zhao Manfen grabbed her hair viciously and lifted her head up.
Not having a mother is the deepest pain in Zhao Manfen's heart. How dare this woman expose her scars now?
Zhao Manfen grabbed her hair and tore it hard. Shen Hongmei was in so much pain that she could no longer curse and could only scream.
Zhao Changgui, who was eating in the main room, heard the noise from the next room getting more and more outrageous, so he had to stand up embarrassedly: "You guys eat, I'll go over and take a look."
When Zhao Changgui arrived at the hut, he saw his daughter riding on Shen Hongmei's back. He was about to scold her, but Shen Hongmei, who was forced to raise her head, instantly directed her anger at him when she saw Zhao Changgui.
"You old rascal, let me go now, or I will sue you for being a rascal and put you in jail, where you will die miserably."
Zhao Changgui's face darkened, and he was furious. He stepped forward and slapped her in the face: "Fuck you, I paid the bride price honestly, and you call me a hooligan?"
"If I go to jail, I will kill all of you Shen family members first."
"You ungrateful thing, stay here quietly, or you'll be in trouble."
As he said this, he pulled a piece of hemp rope from the room and stuffed it into Shen Hongmei's mouth.
At this time, Zhao Manfen was so scared that he got off Shen Hongmei's body and pulled his brother to hide in the corner of the room.
When her father beat someone, whoever was nearby would be beaten as well.
When Zhao Changgui saw that Shen Hongmei could no longer scream, he spat and turned back to the main house.
Shen Hongmei was slapped by Zhao Changgui and was unconscious for a long time, with her ears buzzing.
The hemp rope in her mouth felt prickly and itchy, making her feel nauseous. The contents of her stomach came up but she had to swallow them back down.
After struggling for a long time, he gradually stopped struggling, lay on the cold kang, and started crying again.
In the main room, a group of old men ate until the sun was about to set, and then they left in groups of three or four.
After Zhao Changgui sent everyone away, he finally relaxed and lay down on the kang, taking a deep breath.
He was exhausted that day. Not only had he walked more than 20 miles back and forth, but he had also been fighting and quarreling. Now he could finally take a break.
Zhao Ping'an and his second brother quietly cleaned up the dishes and chopsticks, and the two brothers cleaned the stove together in the outer room.
"Manfen, Junzi, it's time to eat." Zhao Ping'an shouted into the hut.
Zhao Ping'an filled four bowls of porridge and distributed them to his three younger brothers and sisters in turn, leaving the smallest bowl for himself.
The four brothers and sisters were either standing or sitting on small stools, sitting around the stove, eating the leftover dishes and drinking the porridge in their bowls.
"Brother..." After dinner, the 15-year-old second child Zhao Shengli was washing dishes while looking at the door of the cabin with a worried look on his face.
Not long after his mother died, his father married a young wife, which made Zhao Shengli a little bit unacceptable.
Zhao Shengli felt sad when he thought that the strange woman was about to replace his mother's position in the family.
"Don't interfere in adults' affairs." Zhao Ping'an said to his second brother with a wooden face.
Zhao Ping'an also felt uncomfortable with this little stepmother, but who in the family could object to his father's decision?
Just pretend nothing happened and do what you need to do!
Zhao Shengli curled his lips, thinking, how can we get along with each other in the future since we will meet each other every day?
Anyway, he would never call that woman "mother"!
"You two are not allowed to call her mom, do you hear me? If I hear you, I'll beat you up."
Zhao Shengli raised his hand and pretended to hit someone, threatening Zhao Manfen and Xiao Junzi.
Zhao Manfen rolled his eyes at her and said, "You need me to tell you? Junzi and I just beat her up! Right, Junzi?"
Little Junzi sniffed his big nose and nodded with a smile: "Yes, I beat her so hard that she cried and peed!"
Zhao Ping'an reached out and tapped his big head: "Don't do this again in the future, do you hear me? Be careful or she'll beat you up!"
Zhao Shengli disagreed: "Brother, you are too honest. I think Junzi and Manfen are right. They should first defeat her and let her put herself in her place. Don't think that just because she is our stepmother, we have to listen to her in everything."
Manfen nodded vigorously. Second brother was right. That was what she meant.
By the time the outer room was cleaned up, it was already dark.
Zhao Ping'an made the kang and prepared to go to sleep, and he woke up Zhao Changgui who had accidentally dozed off.
Only then did Zhao Changgui remember his bride who was still tied up in the hut.
At this time, Shen Hongmei was hungry and cold.
The Zhao family's small house is usually not lived in, it is just used to store some sundries, so the kang is only heated every few days, and the house is not much warmer than outside.
Shen Hongmei had just some porridge in the morning at the Shen family. No one had given her water or food that day, and she was already starving.
Zhao Changgui stood in front of Shen Hongmei and asked condescendingly: "Are you still scolding me?"
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