The children trembled with fear after hearing Zhang Xin's words.
They hid by the stove fire, afraid to make a sound.
Ge Qiuqin hurriedly stood up and said:
"It'll be ready soon. Just wait a few more minutes, and I'll put the dumplings in the pot."
"You fucking stayed home all afternoon and couldn't even cook a proper meal. You came home and left me starving."
Zhang Xin's voice became very loud, and could be heard even from outside the door.
Tian Xiuli had come to deliver steamed buns, but before she even reached the door, she heard Zhang Xin cursing.
She stopped and thought for a while. It would be even worse for outsiders to get involved in a couple's argument, so she decided to wait until things calmed down before coming back. She turned around and went back.
Ge Qiuqin was also burning with anger. She didn't care if she was scolded or insulted, since the couple was arguing.
But seeing her child's terrified state made her angry. How could she take her child out to play like that?
Everyone else goes out happily and comes back happily, but our family is different. They go out happily, but they all come back with long faces and are soaking wet.
She walked out of the kitchen, her face looking very pale.
"Zhang Xin, what are you saying? If the children's clothes weren't torn and their clothes weren't wet, I would have put the food on the table long ago."
As soon as she came home, she didn't help me at all. Instead, she started criticizing me. "Which eye of yours saw me not doing any chores at home? I think you're just used to being waited on hand and foot!"
Her tone was anything but polite, and her eyes were wide open like saucers.
Hearing her tone, Zhang Xin was immediately enraged. This damned woman was getting better and better at talking back.
She's just as despicable as her children; she's fucking deserving of a beating. Today, I'll teach her a lesson she'll be begging for mercy on the ground.
"I'll say one thing, and you'll say ten. I'll beat you to a pulp today!"
Zhang Xin picked up the sole of his shoe, ready to slap Ge Qiuqin, but he was so angry he could have bitten his teeth and swallowed the slap.
Seeing that something was wrong, Ge Qiuqin quickly dodged, causing Zhang Xin to miss his target.
Enraged, Zhang Xin threw the sole of his shoe at Ge Qiuqin, which hit her on the back.
Hearing the commotion outside, Zhang Zhicheng immediately ran out. He made sure to close the kitchen door, afraid that his father might accidentally hurt his younger siblings. He then ran to his father's side and hugged him.
"Dad, it's Chinese New Year, why don't you stop hitting Mom? She's already made the dumplings, they're right there on the kitchen counter, they're ready to be cooked and eaten."
Zhang Xin was furious. If it weren't for his eldest son ruining his plans today, he would have already stuffed the three younger ones into the ice hole.
He's probably in his rented apartment now, embracing Chen Yan and enjoying a blissful moment.
It's all because of that little bastard, the eldest brother, who does nothing but go against me at every turn.
He yanked his eldest son away from him and slapped him twice across the face.
"Clap clap clap..."
The sound of a slap echoed in the living room.
Zhang Zhicheng's face stung from the slap, his head was dazed from the violent shock, and his ears were ringing.
It fell onto the coffee table, knocking it over and sending glasses tumbling to the floor.
He was bleeding from the corner of his mouth, and his arm was cut by shards of glass.
Zhang Zhicheng was stunned for a few seconds, then regained his senses, got up from the ground, and called out to Ge Qiuqin:
"Mom, are you still in pain? Did you get hit?"
When Ge Qiuqin saw the blood seeping from her eldest son's arm, she finally snapped.
"Zhang Xin, you beast! I'm going to kill you today! You're utterly heartless and unreasonable. We, your mother and children, will never let you bully us again."
She picked up the still-intact thermos from the ground and threw it at Zhang Xin.
At this moment, her pent-up anger finally erupted. Before marriage, she was a dutiful daughter in her parents' eyes. No matter how much she was beaten and scolded in her husband's family, she never talked back.
Because the village values women's virtues and forbids them from disrespecting their superiors, even if the mother-in-law is not the best, she is still an elder and must obey her reprimands.
After moving to the Yongning Military Family Compound, she was repeatedly subjected to domestic violence by Zhang Xin, but she never resisted and endured it all for the sake of her child.
But she is no longer the oppressed peasant she once was. She has gone to school to learn new knowledge and started working to earn money.
Zhang Xin used his arm to shield his face from the broken glass from the water bottle, preventing it from cutting his face. If he were disfigured, Chen Yan would dislike him even more.
He looked at his slashed arm, took three quick steps, grabbed Ge Qiuqin by the collar, and slapped her to the ground at the kitchen doorway.
Ge Qiuqin was ultimately a weak woman; she couldn't withstand Zhang Xin's strength and, standing on the ground, knocked open the kitchen door.
When the youngest daughter saw her mother lying on the ground with her hair disheveled and blood flowing from her fingers, she quickly ran over and hugged her.
"You old hag, I've had my eye on you for a long time. You've got a hard time today, and I'll skin you alive. Now you're finally getting tough and daring to yell at me."
Ge Qiuqin lay on the cold cement floor, her eyes fixed on the red flames in the stove. The flames danced and flickered in her dark pupils.
"Zhang Xin, I'll fuck your mother!"
She jumped up and took a half-burnt stick from the stove; the stick, glowing red-hot, was like a torch in the darkness.
Ge Qiuqin ran out, and before Zhang Xin could dodge, he was stabbed in the waist with a fire stick.
The instant stinging sensation penetrated through the clothes and into the skin, making a sizzling sound.
With red eyes, Ge Qiuqin ignored the pain from her feet being cut by shards of glass and stabbed hard with all her might.
Zhang Xin screamed as he was burned and dodged backward.
Without saying a word, Ge Qiuqin picked up a fire stick and chopped it at Zhang Xin's neck.
Zhang Xin couldn't dodge in time and was hit on the neck. His hair smelled of wool from the fire, and the tender flesh on his neck was burned by the red-hot wooden stick.
He bared his teeth and ran towards the door.
“Ge Qiuqin, you’re insane, you’ve completely gone mad. You actually dare to hit a man now. You won’t learn anything good from Xia Enruo. You’ll get beaten to death sooner or later.”
Zhang Xin ran ahead, cursing.
Ge Qiuqin chased after her.
"Zhang Xin, I'll kill you today! You and your dead mother are both despicable."
Hearing the commotion, the people in the compound opened their doors and came out to see what was happening.
They had never seen Ge Qiuqin like this before, with her hair disheveled, chasing after Zhang Xin.
The fire stick emitted thick smoke in the darkness, and its flickering flames, like stars, drifted in the night sky, illuminating the surroundings.
"Serves him right. Zhang Xin has finally met his match. He used to beat Qiu Qin every day, but today he got caught and is being chased and beaten by his wife."
"Zhang Xin is trash. He's actually a soldier. He's a disgrace to the military. He deserves to be beaten by Sister Qiuqin."
"Ge Qiuqin really showed some spirit today, actually chasing after a man to beat him up, that's really remarkable."
"Serves him right, beat him hard."
...............
No one in the compound spoke well of Zhang Xin; they all supported Ge Qiuqin in beating him up, as if the anger they had been holding in was finally being released.
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