Hearing her mother's words, Zhou Yan became even angrier: "Mother, how did I hit her so hard? It was me who hit her!"
She was about to show Zhou's mother the extent of the damage Ning Huan had done to her body when she suddenly stopped.
The places Ning Huan just pinched were all private areas; she would have to take off her clothes to show them to others.
Thinking of this, she glared fiercely at Ning Huan and cursed, "You bitch, you did this on purpose!"
Seeing the chaotic scene before her, Madam Liu remained silent. She had assumed that Ning Huan was still the same as before, bullying the weak and fearing the strong.
She would obediently apologize after her parents were called, but now even her usually domineering sister-in-law has suffered a loss.
Now she's just glad she didn't act like a shrew and fight with someone.
Seeing that the situation was out of control, Zhou's father shouted helplessly, "Enough!"
The scene fell silent instantly, save for the soft sound of someone sobbing. The villagers watching looked over and saw Ning Huan crying pitifully.
"Third brother's wife, I originally planned for you to apologize to the eldest brother's wife and that would be the end of it. I never expected you to get into a fight with Yan'er. If you had apologized earlier, you wouldn't have been beaten."
Hearing Zhou Dashan's words, Zhou Yan interrupted him, dissatisfied: "Dad, I'm the one who got beaten..."
"Shut up!"
Zhou Dashan turned around and glared at Zhou Yan: "Who told you to hit your third brother's wife? She's your third brother's wife, after all. How can family members fight? What are you trying to argue with me about!"
He assumed his second daughter was being hypocritical, but Ning Huan, who was pretending to cry, knew that Zhou Yan was telling the truth.
I didn't feel any pain myself; it was just like rolling around on the ground a few times. But Zhou Yan's body...
Ning Huan pretended to sob as she said:
“Dad, my little dumpling did nothing wrong today. Even if the other two children were just being naughty and arguing, why should my four little dumplings have to apologize? Xiao Fang also hit someone, so why shouldn’t he apologize?”
Just as Liu and Zhou's mother were about to say something, Ning Huan continued, "Besides, my second sister came up and hit me without saying a word, it hurt so much!"
As she spoke, she pretended to be in great pain all over her body.
The villagers murmured among themselves, "The Zhou family is really something. Jing'an's wife is right. How come when the two families' children fight, there's no clear right or wrong, so why are they making the other child apologize?"
"That's right. When my child got into a fight with the neighbor's grandson, neither of them insisted on apologizing to the other. A couple of days later, the two kids were playing happily together again."
"If you ask me, I guess they saw that Jing'an was injured and his health was failing. They're bullying an orphan and a widow, and no man is standing up for them!"
Hearing the villagers' comments behind his back, Zhou's father felt embarrassed and turned to look at Zhou's mother.
Knowing what her husband meant, Zhou's mother tugged at Liu's sleeve and gave her a wink.
Understanding the unspoken message, Liu led Zhou Xiaofang and Zhou Yan away.
"Jing'an's wife, let's just let this matter go today."
Zhou's mother said to Ning Huan, "I know you feel wronged, but if you hadn't insisted on arguing with Yan'er just now, you wouldn't have gotten this beating. We're family, so let's just pretend nothing happened today."
Ning Huan stared coldly at Zhou's mother without any reaction.
Without waiting for Ning Huan to say anything, Zhou's mother turned and left. At the door, she didn't forget to shoo away the villagers who had come to watch the commotion: "Everyone, disperse! What's so interesting about this!"
They even said a few good words about Zhou Yan: "Our Yan girl only hit people because she felt sorry for her parents. Don't tell anyone!"
But as she was leaving, Zhou's mother glanced at a corner of the yard and spotted a plump wild deer, which made her frown.
After everyone had left, the four little ones looked at Ning Huan and couldn't help but ask, "Does it hurt?"
Ning Huan shook her head: "It doesn't hurt."
Then he squatted down and patted the little ones' heads, saying, "If anyone bullies you again in the future, you must fight back."
The four little ones were a bit surprised to hear this. The third child asked in a low voice, "What if they come knocking on our door again, like today...?"
Ning Huan touched his little face and said, "I'll back you up!"
As she spoke, she looked into the eyes of the four little ones and continued, "You must not bully others. If anyone dares to bully you, you should go and teach them a lesson."
When the four little ones heard Ning Huan say "I'll support you," a warm feeling seemed to surge through their hearts.
No one had ever used the word "backing up" to describe them before, and suddenly they felt a sense of security.
But seeing the four little ones looking so pitiful, Ning Huan wanted to comfort them, so she pointed to the wild deer she had just hunted in the yard and said:
"I caught something good in the woods up in the mountains today, come and see what it is!"
Upon hearing this, the four little ones looked in the direction Ning Huan was pointing and were surprised to find a deer lying in the corner. They exclaimed, "Wow!"
"What a huge deer!"
Is this our house?
Ning Huan nodded and said, "I set a trap on the mountain before, and then I found this deer in the trap today. I'll cook venison for you tonight."
The little ones were overjoyed when they heard they could eat venison that night.
She hugged Ning Huan tightly and cheered, "Mom, you're so good! You're amazing!"
Ning Huan was taken aback when she heard Xiao Sibao call for his mother.
She had never heard her four little ones call her "Mom" before, but now that her fourth child had sweetly called her "Mom," her heart felt as sweet as if she had eaten honey.
She smiled and patted Xiao Sibao's little face, saying, "I'll go to the kitchen now so you can cook."
Just as stunned as Ning Huan were Da Bao, Xiao Er Bao, and Xiao San Bao. They looked coldly at Xiao Si Bao and said, "Why did you call that bad woman 'mother'?"
"Didn't we agree before that we wouldn't call her 'Mom'?"
"Little Sibao, you're a little traitor! I'm not talking to you anymore!"
Hearing these words, Xiao Sibao lowered his head in grievance, tears welling up in his eyes.
She just felt that the bad woman had changed a lot recently, she was very kind to them, took care of her father, and even stood up for them today.
She felt the warmth of her mother, and that's why she...
Ning Huan came out of the kitchen to drag the wild deer inside, but heard the three little dumplings scolding Xiao Sibao.
When the four little ones saw her, they were so frightened that they quickly took a few steps back, afraid that she would get angry and hit them.
Ning Huan said calmly, "If you don't like me, come at me, don't treat Xiao Sibao like this."
Then he dragged the deer to the kitchen.
It would be a lie to say she wasn't sad. She had done her best to take care of these little ones, but even the fourth child would get scolded for calling her "Mom."
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