"Because you have been forcing me to eat these things that even pigs wouldn't eat for a long time, my health has been very bad. Sometimes I can't even control my emotions and hurt myself or hit my children."
She can't talk about depression, but she can express it in other ways.
As Fang Yan spoke, she rolled up her sleeves just like she had done to Zhang Jizhou at the guesthouse last night, but this time she was holding the child and her movements weren't as fast as last night.
However, when she rolled up her sleeves, the layers of new and old wounds, piled together, looked like peeling paint on an old wall, appearing mottled and unsightly, a shocking sight that caused another collective gasp from the audience...
“In the past, we only knew that Ji Zhou’s family often abused their children, but we didn’t know that she was driven to this state by others, and that she even hurt herself.”
"If I had to serve such a large family every day, and they wouldn't even give me a bite to eat, and I was forced to eat this stuff, I'd probably have gone crazy long ago."
"The Ji family is too kind. If anyone dares to let me and my child eat this kind of stuff, I'll just shove their head into the bowl and let them eat their fill!"
"Ji Zhou's family is too thin, like a bean sprout. And look at the Zhang family, any one of them is several times fatter than her and her child combined. How can she possibly hold them down?"
"Ji Zhou's family, I misunderstood you before, please don't hold it against me," Aunt Wang apologized to her first.
Immediately, a chorus of apologies erupted from the scene...
Fang Yan's main purpose in making a scene today was simply to tear off the mask of the Zhang family, this group of vampires, and let everyone in the surrounding area know how the Zhang family abused the original owner and the child.
She hadn't expected to receive apologies from everyone, so she naturally smiled and forgave them for their unintentional mistakes.
Although, among these people, there were quite a few who had cursed the original owner in the past, and the curses they hurled were extremely offensive.
But they were simply unaware of the truth, and because they were also mothers, they felt sorry for their babies, which is why they were so angry.
Such an unintentional mistake should not be taken seriously.
Old Man Zhang never expected that his third daughter-in-law would suddenly become so clever, and her methods were so unexpected that even he was caught off guard.
But no matter what, he couldn't let Fang Yan continue to be so smug. More importantly, he couldn't let Fang Yan get along too well with the villagers.
"Third brother's wife, do you have any evidence for what you're saying?" Old Man Zhang glared fiercely at Fang Yan.
"What I have here is the evidence." Before Fang Yan could speak, Zhang Zongde raised the document in his hand and looked at the old man Zhang, saying, "Ji Zhou's child is said to be three years old, but he is so malnourished that even the doctor has issued a critical condition notice. What did you just say? Whatever you eat, that's what the mother and child eat."
"If they, mother and son, could eat the same food, you all would be so fat, while they're the only two so thin that doctors have to prescribe medication for them?"
Old Zhang murmured, unable to speak.
He truly didn't know that after Zhang Jizhou returned yesterday, he took Fang Yan and the child to the hospital, and he was even more unaware that the doctor had given them a prescription.
Huang Hongmei cried out, “Then why are they so thin? Maybe they’ve been starving ghosts for generations, and whatever they eat is a waste of food. Clan chief, you can’t wrong us because of this!”
"Hehe! With that mouth of old hag Huang, the Zhang family will get their comeuppance sooner or later!" someone among the onlookers whispered.
In the Gouzi Village area, everyone believes in Buddhism. They worship gods and Buddhas on the first and fifteenth of each lunar month. Many of the older generation have worshipped gods their whole lives and have begun to believe in the cycle of cause and effect.
The Zhang family was far more difficult than Fang Yan had expected. On the way back from the county town, she had planned to try to separate the family within seven days and raise the child alone.
However, Zhang Zongde's appearance made her suddenly change her mind.
Such a good opportunity is too good to miss; it won't come again.
She naturally had to make good use of it.
Fang Yan ignored Grandpa Zhang and Huang Hongmei, and looked at Zhang Zongde with red eyes and helplessness. "Uncle, please help us, my son and I, to find a way to survive."
My child is very weak, and we will have many expenses in the future, so I am now making every penny count.
I couldn't even bear to buy more than one steamed bun today, so I only bought one, thinking of giving my child a good boost of nutrition.
Unexpectedly, as soon as I entered the door, my brother-in-law acted like a bully, dumping out all the things I brought and trying to snatch the meat bun. He kept saying that everything in this house belonged to him, and we were just his slaves who made money for him.
Uncle, please have pity on my child and me, and help us.
Showing weakness can make it easier to achieve your goals.
Fang Yan didn't mind doing it at all.
Her show of weakness brought tears to the eyes of onlookers; how desperate must she have been to resort to such a plea for help?
Indeed, just thinking about how Ji Zhou's family and children are usually forced to eat things that even pigs wouldn't eat, how can they live such a life!
They all stepped forward to testify for Fang Yan, "Uncle, we can all testify that Fatty did say that just now, and more than once."
What does this tell us?
This shows that Old Man Zhang and Huang Hongmei often instilled these kinds of words in the child's ears, which is why the child so firmly believed that everything in the house belonged to him and that the family members were just slaves who made money for him.
"Splitting up the family!" someone shouted from the onlookers. "In this den of wolves, if we don't split up, Ji Zhou's family and their children will be devoured until there's nothing left but bones."
"Yes! We have to split up!"
“I also think that Ji Zhou’s family must separate and raise their children on their own.”
Once someone starts something, others will follow suit.
The era of communal dining has only recently passed, so these days it's not common to separate households.
At least, as long as the parents are still alive, they generally won't separate from the family. If the younger generation wants to separate, they will be condemned by everyone and have their backs stabbed.
Therefore, Fang Yan knew very well that she could not utter the words "separate family" from her own mouth.
Otherwise, dividing the family property wouldn't be so easy.
"Child, what are you thinking? Do you really want to separate from the family?" Zhang Zongde asked Fang Yan.
Fang Yan choked up, “Here, I get up before dawn every day to cook, wash clothes, and mop the floor for them. I do all the housework, but they don’t even give me a bite to eat. I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold on for long. Zhang Jizhou is so busy in the army, and the child is so young. What will happen to the child if something happens to me?”
"Separate the family! We all support the Ji Zhou family's separation!" The onlookers were so moved by Fang Yan's emotional outburst that they all raised their arms and shouted in support of her.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
