“Your son, Jianguo, once participated in a special talent training program jointly organized by the military and a technical school. The military sent special personnel to train and assess him, and those who passed were directly enlisted. Jianguo passed the assessment three years ago, but he couldn't go because his mother had an accident.”
When the village chief mentioned the madwoman, he thought she had a terrible life.
Her parents died when she was thirteen, and her uncles exploited her, leaving her with no inheritance. They even wanted to marry her off to an old bachelor at a high price.
She encountered Huo Jianguo's father while she was running away.
As an adopted son, Huo Jianguo's father was treated like a slave in the Huo family and had no say in the matter.
But in order to save his mad mother, he defied the old lady for the first time.
Later, the old lady saw that the little girl was pretty and that her family owned land, so she kept her as a child bride.
But the adopted son was still whipped for talking back to the old lady.
Later, the little girl grew into a beautiful young woman and fell in love with her adopted son.
The old lady wanted to marry the young girl to her own son, so she forced the couple apart.
Later, the adopted son and the girl eloped together. When they were found, the girl, who was already married, had just given birth.
Not two years later, news broke that the adopted son had died and the little girl had gone mad.
After the man went mad, the old woman wanted to drive the madwoman and her son out.
Although she and her son were allowed to stay, the extent of their suffering remains unknown to outsiders.
There are rumors in the village that the crazy woman was left behind by the old lady's most favored fifth son and became his plaything.
The village chief couldn't say these things in front of Song Yinhua.
Song Yinhua promised the village chief that she would persuade Huo Jianguo when he returned.
-
In the evening, Huo Jianguo returned home after get off work.
Luo Xiangling intercepted him on the road.
“Your wife injured your great-aunt. The doctor at the clinic said your great-aunt may be paralyzed on one side. Your great-aunt wants you to go see her now.”
Huo Jianguo went to Old Huo's house.
The old lady lay in bed moaning softly in pain. When she saw Huo Jianguo arrive, she angrily berated his wife and told him to divorce her immediately.
Huo Laowu, adopting the demeanor of a patriarch, berated Huo Jianguo for marrying such a domineering and unreasonable wife.
"The old lady is over seventy years old, and they still dare to hit her."
"Look how swollen Xiangling's face is, it's all because your wife hit her."
"Jianguo, look at the piece of trash you married! Xiangling is young and beautiful, the perfect match for you. Just listen to your mother and divorce that unreasonable woman... What kind of eyesight do you have? Your fifth uncle is doing this for your own good, don't be ungrateful!"
When Huo Jianguo looked at Huo Laowu, his narrow eyes were as cold as if they were filled with poison.
The old lady picked up a rattan pillow and threw it at Huo Jianguo, which aggravated her back injury.
"Ouch... my back!"
She angrily rebuked Huo Jianguo, "If it weren't for your fifth uncle, you and your mother would have starved to death long ago!"
“Grandma, you know better than anyone how you treated my mother back then.” Huo Jianguo didn’t address the old lady as Grandma. “I haven’t sought revenge, which is the greatest kindness I can show.”
The old lady glared at Huo Jianguo with a fierce expression, her eyes practically bulging out of their sockets in anger.
She wanted to go up and beat him up, just like when he looked at her like that when they were kids, and she would beat him up every time.
But her back injury was so painful that she couldn't get out of bed.
"Fifth son, beat him up!" The old lady couldn't do it herself, so she asked her most favored fifth son to do it.
Seeing Huo Jianguo's imposing aura, Huo Laowu's face flashed with ferocious anger.
This child has always had this aura and look in his eyes since he was little, so he can't help but hit him every time, trying to subdue him, and even bullying his crazy mother in front of him.
But ever since he was seriously injured when he beat him up a few years ago, he has not dared to make a move again.
"Fifth son!" the old lady called out again, "Give him a good beating!"
"Mom, the child is grown up, you can't hit him all the time." Huo Laowu found a way to save face for himself. "Jianguo, your grandma and I just want you to live a good life, please don't be resentful towards us."
"Are you done talking?" Huo Jianguo asked coldly.
"I'll just ask you one question: are you getting a divorce or not?" the old woman asked fiercely. "I heard from your wife's third aunt that she's a jinx reincarnated. The fortune teller said she's destined to be a concubine and will cheat on you in the future!"
"I will not get a divorce." Huo Jianguo looked at the old lady. "Also, I want to inform you that from now on, I will not give you a single penny."
"What did you say?" The old lady was agitated and tried to grab Huo Jianguo, but her back injury made her unable to move. "You're the one who supported me, why won't you give me money? If you dare not give me money, your mother will never have a good life again!"
Huo Jianguo ignored the old lady and left.
Huo Laowu followed up, "Jianguo, how can you talk to your grandma like that? If it weren't for your grandma all these years, what would your mother have been like, abused by the old men in the village?"
Huo Jianguo stared silently at Huo Laowu, making Huo Laowu feel a chill run down his spine and break out in a cold sweat.
Huo Laowu's youngest son, Luo Yaozu, stepped forward at this moment. "Dad, why be polite to him? His wife knocked out my brother's front teeth. If we don't teach him a lesson today, how will we face the village in the future?"
"Shut up!"
"Dad, what are we afraid of? I've called my eldest cousin and the others over. How can so many of us not be able to beat him?" Luo Yaozu rolled up his sleeves, ready to fight.
"Did you guys go to my house today?" Huo Jianguo asked.
"Your wife made Xiangling cry, so Grandma and my brother took Xiangling to your house to confront your wife, didn't they?" Luo Yaozu deliberately provoked Huo Jianguo. "My brother said your wife has a nice feel to her..."
Huo Jianguo suddenly darted forward, and before Luo Yaozu could react, he heard a cracking sound.
Luo Yaozu's jaw was dislocated by being pinched.
Luo Xiangling screamed in fright.
At this moment, Luo Tianba led a group of his cousins in. Seeing his brother being bullied, he picked up his weapon and started fighting.
Huo Jianguo raised his arm to block, and kicked Luo Tianba in the groin. The pain made Luo Tianba's face turn blue, and he knelt on the ground, clutching his groin tightly.
"What are you all standing there for? Go!" Luo Yaozu shouted to his other cousins.
The other cousins all knew they couldn't beat Huo Jianguo.
They've never been able to beat him since they were kids.
Don't be fooled by Huo Jianguo's quiet demeanor; he's as taciturn as a mute. Every time he gets beaten, he just silently watches the person hitting him and never fights back.
But his gaze can make people feel uneasy.
Moreover, it's very dangerous to really provoke him.
He will bite your neck off like a brutal beast.
They have families to support and don't want to get involved in this.
“We’re here to mediate the fight,” said the eldest cousin from my second uncle’s family.
The other brothers echoed this sentiment.
Suddenly, a bone cracked, and Luo Tianba screamed in agony: "Ahhh..."
Everyone looked over and saw Huo Jianguo step on Luo Tianba's knee, breaking his leg.
"Anyone who dares to bully my wife again will end up like him!" Huo Jianguo said coldly.
Luo Tianba was in so much pain that he rolled on the ground.
Huo Jianguo left without looking back.
Looking at Huo Jianguo's tall and straight back and his cool aura, Luo Xiangling's liking for him deepened even more.
-
Song Yinhua had already prepared dinner.
After the madwoman got paper and pen, she stopped running around and instead stayed in the house, engrossed in drawing.
Hearing footsteps entering, Song Yinhua looked up and saw Huo Jianguo. She happily went to greet him.
"You're back!" She reached out to take his coat from him.
Huo Jianguo suddenly grabbed her and looked at the red, swollen bump on her forehead.
"I bumped into it by accident," Song Yinhua explained casually.
Huo Jianguo cupped her face, brought his hand close to her forehead, and kissed her tenderly.
Song Yinhua was stunned.
The aloof man kissed her forehead, then her nose, and then her lips…
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