Upon hearing Zhou Xiaofang's words, Xiao Erbao immediately became unhappy: "Why should we give you everything? Don't even dream about it!"
Zhou Xiaofang said with a grin, "You have to give way to me. You'll be the same way you were before. When you come back to the Zhou family, you have to listen to me, or I'll have Grandma give you a good beating! How about that?"
Inside the house, Zhou's mother, Yao, and Zhou Yan were discussing this matter with Zhou Jing'an. Yao looked at Zhou Jing'an with concern and said, "Third son, you need to rest well right now. Why don't you move back home and let your mother take good care of you?"
Zhou Yan chimed in, "Yes, Third Brother, you really need to take good care of your health. We should move back home so we can look after you."
Hearing this, Ning Huan raised an eyebrow. The Zhou family had rushed to kick Zhou Jing'an out when they saw how badly he was injured. Now that they heard he would recover after resting, they wanted him to come home.
She could hear his scheming even from several mountains away.
Pang tugged at Ning Huan's sleeve and whispered, "Huanhuan, does your mother-in-law want your whole family to move back?"
She nodded: "It seems so, and I don't feel like they came to discuss things with us, but rather to inform us."
Pang said with dissatisfaction, "You said you were going to be separated from the family, but you rushed to this dilapidated house. Now that you hear your son-in-law is getting better, you're eager to send you back. There's no reason for this."
Not to mention the Pang family, even the villagers who came to visit knew what the Zhou family meant.
Just as Yao and Zhou Yan were crying and playing the emotional card, Xiao Erbao, along with Xiao Sanbao and Xiao Sibao, rushed in, looking very aggrieved.
They were still calling out, "Father, we don't want to go back!"
"Father, let's not go back, okay?"
"Father, Mother, can we still keep this place?"
Seeing the three little ones looking so wronged, Ning Huan quickly stepped forward and asked, "What happened to you three? Who bullied you?"
Xiao Sanbao sobbed, "Zhou Xiaofang said we're going to move back to Grandma's house. We have to give him all the good food and new clothes then."
Xiao Sibao chimed in, "He also said that if we dared not give it to him, he would have Grandma beat us to death!"
Hearing what the third and fourth children said, the surrounding villagers all looked at Yao Shi, muttering, "Everyone says Yao Shi is biased and favors her eldest son. I thought it was just idle gossip. Now it seems it's true?"
"Of course it's true. Just look at these four little dumplings and Zhou Xiaofang. Zhou Xiaofang is always clean and changes his clothes every few days, while the four little dumplings are always dirty."
"Who says otherwise? Besides, whatever good stuff there is, it's always given to the eldest son's family first. The third son isn't home often, so he doesn't know anything. I live next door to them, and I can often hear the four little ones getting beaten up for taking things from the eldest son's house."
"I can hear it too, oh my, that was a really brutal beating!"
Little Erbao rushed to Zhou Jing'an's bedside, crying, "Dad, can we not go back? I don't want to go hungry!"
Seeing the little ones crying so sadly, Zhou Jing'an felt a pang of sadness.
He studied hard at the academy and brought all the money he earned from selling poems, calligraphy and paintings back home, hoping that his four little ones could have a better life at home. But he never expected that his four little ones would be living such a life at home.
He coldly looked up at Yao Shi and Zhou Dasheng, his expression icy.
Yao lowered her head somewhat guiltily, while Zhou Dasheng frowned and said with some dissatisfaction, "Third brother, what kind of look is that? These are just angry words said between children when they're arguing. Are you really going to take them seriously?"
"Your mother is worried about your health and afraid that you won't recover well, which is why she said she wanted to take you home. Don't be ungrateful. Listen to your older brother and come home with us."
Zhou Dasheng thought that if he showed his authority as the eldest brother, Zhou Jing'an wouldn't say much more and would have to give him some face and obey to go home.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Jing'an ignored him and gently comforted Xiao Erbao, "Don't worry, Daddy promises you, I won't go back."
Upon hearing this, the two little ones ran excitedly to Zhou Jing'an's side: "Daddy, is what you said true? Can we really not go back?"
Zhou Jing'an nodded and said, "Yes, Dad won't lie to you, we're not going back."
Zhou Dasheng was embarrassed: "Third brother, didn't you hear what your elder brother just said to you?"
Zhou Yan said in a high-pitched voice, "Big brother, what's there to ask? These three old folks have been away from home for too long and are used to being the head of the family. They don't remember us older brothers and sisters anymore."
When Ning Huan heard Zhou Yan say this, she couldn't help but say, "Second sister, do you still remember that you are our sister? The way you came to our house to cause trouble before, we thought you were a creditor coming to collect a debt."
Hearing Ning Huan's words, Yao finally found a place to vent her pent-up anger: "Third daughter-in-law, what are you saying? I am your mother-in-law, and I have been here for so long without hearing a single greeting from you, yet you are here making sarcastic remarks about your sister-in-law."
"Who taught you these rules! As someone's wife, look at what you've done!"
Thinking back to how Ning Huan had often upset her, not even sending her, the mother-in-law, fresh venison and game, and how this daughter-in-law had stopped her from taking some gifts when she came last time.
Although Ning Huan used to be shrewish and domineering, she was still easy to control. But ever since she moved out, whether it was because she became the mistress of the house or something else, Yao Shi couldn't get any benefits at all.
She narrowed her eyes, thinking that if Zhou Jing'an recovered in the future and took the imperial examination again, and really passed and became a Juren, wouldn't Ning Huan go too far and not even recognize her as her mother-in-law?
She, as a mother, doesn't get to enjoy the good fortune of her son being an official, while this ugly freak reaps all the benefits. Why should he?
This woman cannot stay any longer.
Thinking of this, Yao gradually had a bold idea: she wanted her third son to divorce Ning Huan and then find him a virtuous and obedient daughter-in-law.
When the time comes, whatever she says, this daughter-in-law will have to do.
Hearing Yao speak so harshly about her daughter, Pang retorted, "Yao, you Zhou family members saw that my daughter was easy to bully, so you drove them out while my son-in-law was sick. Now you want to come here and bully them again?"
Zhou Dasheng wanted to speak, but considering that Pang Shi was an elder, he didn't say anything.
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