Just then, two middle-aged men and women in coarse cloth shirts hurriedly ran over from the alley next door.
"Oh dear, I'm so sorry!" The woman rushed forward first, grabbed Xu Mingyi who was still struggling, and bowed repeatedly to Xu Xinghe and Jiang Linchuan. "This is our son-in-law. He's not very bright. He suffered a bit of a shock recently and likes to talk nonsense. Please don't take it to heart!"
The man quickly chimed in, "Yes, if he offends you, please don't hold a grudge."
These two people came out of a Western restaurant, and they were dressed smartly, clearly wealthy people. They were not to be trifled with.
One piece of clothing for someone might be their family's food expenses for a whole month!
"Let me go!" Xu Mingyi struggled frantically. "She is Xu Xinghe!"
What?
The couple quickly looked up and carefully examined Xu Xinghe.
Oh my, it really is!
The two exchanged a glance, and their panicked expressions immediately turned into mournful ones.
The middle-aged woman lunged forward to grab Xu Xinghe's arm, but was startled by Jiang Linchuan's cold glance and quickly stopped. In the end, she could only slap her thigh and wail, "Xu Xinghe, you've finally shown up! You ran away without a word back then, without even giving your brother a penny of the bride price. Our Wang family has had the worst luck ever!"
The man followed closely behind, kicking Xu Mingyi on the ground with his toe. "Ever since Xu Mingyi entered our family, he's been a living ancestor. He doesn't look for work, doesn't care about the housework, and just stays on the kang (heated brick bed) all day eating and sleeping. My daughter has to serve him tea and water. We're an old couple, and we still have to go out and collect scraps to supplement our income. We can't live like this anymore!"
The two of them chatted back and forth, their eyes constantly glancing at Xu Xinghe's bag, their desire for money impossible to hide.
Xu Xinghe looked at their clumsy performance, then glanced at Xu Mingyi, who was lying on the ground with a face full of resentment, and actually took out some money from her bag and handed it over. "Take this money. As for the bride price... we didn't talk about the bride price back then, and he is no longer a member of the Xu family. If you want the bride price, you should ask his biological parents. I will not give it to him."
"This money is for you to keep a close eye on him and prevent him from running away again. He's impulsive and if he gets into trouble or hurts himself, it'll be a real problem."
The couple held a wad of cash, their eyes lighting up.
Even if there's no bride price, every little bit helps!
It's better than having no money at all!
Moreover, they were all ordinary people and didn't dare to provoke Xu Xinghe too much, not to mention that there was a man standing next to her who looked terrifying.
These two are people you can't afford to mess with.
"Don't worry, we promise to keep a close eye on him and make sure he doesn't cause you any more trouble!"
After saying that, they dragged Xu Mingyi home, treating him like he wasn't even human.
Seeing that Xu Xinghe didn't say anything and just watched coldly, the couple became even more certain that the other party didn't recognize this brother at all; on the contrary, they had a grudge against him!
They were willing to marry their daughter to Xu Mingyi because he was the adopted son of the richest family in the Xu family. They never expected that the son-in-law they found would not be a phoenix, but a pheasant!
Thinking of this, the woman couldn't help but pinch Xu Mingyi's waist. "Useless thing! You've offended such a good relative. How did we end up marrying such a good-for-nothing!"
Xu Mingyi grimaced, but dared not say anything.
If he dares to talk back, he will face a doubles beating from the two of them.
They wouldn't hit his face, but his body, leaving him covered in bruises every time, causing him so much pain that he couldn't sleep at night.
Back home, the man slammed the gate shut, grabbed a thick wooden stick, and started hitting Xu Mingyi with it.
"You jinx! You eat our food and drink our water, and you still dare to go out and cause trouble! If we hadn't run into Xu Xinghe today, but instead encountered someone else, we couldn't afford to pay for it even if we sold you!"
The wooden sticks fell repeatedly on his back and arms, making dull thuds.
Xu Mingyi curled up on the ground in pain, rolling around and crying out for mercy, "I won't do it again, I won't do it again, please stop hitting me!"
But the man didn't stop.
The woman stood to the side, cursing and occasionally kicking him, saying, "Serves you right for being lazy and crazy. If you dare to run out again, I'll break your legs!"
After beating him enough, the man threw the wooden stick into the corner, pointed at the woodshed, and sneered, "From today onwards, you'll live here and learn your lesson!"
They didn't dare treat Xu Mingyi too badly before, mainly because they still held a sliver of hope.
What if Xu Xinghe comes back and still acknowledges this brother?
Now that the person has returned, they refuse to acknowledge him at all, so there's no need for them to be polite!
He gets the same treatment as the family dog!
The woodshed was less than two square meters, piled with moldy firewood, and the floor was covered with dust and rat droppings. There wasn't even a decent bedding.
Seeing that Xu Mingyi didn't move, the man kicked him inside and locked him from the outside, so that he couldn't escape even if he wanted to!
An hour later.
It was time for the Wang family's meal.
Wang Jiao still had her hair so oily it could split even a fly, and brought over a half-bowl of cold vegetable porridge with a few blackened vegetable leaves and a few grains of rice floating on top, looking worse than pig feed.
She opened the door and slammed the bowl down on the woodshed floor.
Xu Mingyi immediately scrambled up from the pile of firewood and smiled ingratiatingly, "Jiaojiao, let me out. There's no way anyone can sleep here."
Wang Jiao stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips, looking down at him with a sarcastic smile. "Now you know how to beg me? I wonder who it was when you first married me, always complaining about this person and that person looking down on me. Don't you even know who you are!"
Xu Mingyi didn't dare to talk back. All he wanted to do now was go inside and sleep, even if it was on the floor, it would be better than sleeping in the woodshed.
Wang Jiao suddenly raised her foot and stomped hard on the back of his hand, grinding it with her heel. "Want to come in? Sure, kowtow to me first and call me 'Grandma,' then I'll let you in and even give you food."
She already knew that Xu Xinghe had returned, and since Xu Xinghe didn't care, she didn't need to worry about it either!
It's all because Xu Mingyi calls her a stinky old woman every day and says he'll never look at her again.
And what was the result?
He's nobody!
He can't even control his younger sister, and he doesn't have a penny to his name, yet he dares to act all high and mighty!
A piercing pain shot through the back of his hand. Xu Mingyi gritted his teeth, his face turning bright red, but in the end he didn't dare to resist.
The beatings and scoldings he'd endured had worn away all his edges, and he was afraid that if he spoke up, he wouldn't even get a bite to eat.
Just then, a man's voice suddenly came from next door, "Jiaojiao, are you done yet? It's time to go see the movie!"
It was Zhang the butcher, a widower who had lost his wife. Ever since he moved here, he had become involved with Wang Jiao, and the two of them would go out together whenever they had nothing to do.
Now everyone in the neighborhood knows that Wang Jiao and Butcher Zhang cheated on Xu Mingyi, and they secretly call him a good-for-nothing.
Wang Jiao's eyes lit up instantly, and the meanness on her face immediately turned into coquettishness. She kicked Xu Mingyi's hand away and said, "Hey, I'm here! Just come to my house and wait for me. I'm going to get a coat!"
After saying that, she turned back and glared at Xu Mingyi, "Stay put, or I'll break your legs!"
Before long, Butcher Zhang entered the courtyard with a cigarette dangling from his lips. As soon as he entered, he put his arm around Wang Jiao's waist and his hand wandered into her bosom. "Little vixen, you made me wait so long, you have to make it up to me."
"What's the rush?" Wang Jiaojiao laughed and nudged him, but deliberately glanced towards the woodshed. "There are still people at home!"
Following her gaze, Butcher Zhang looked towards the woodshed and caught sight of Xu Mingyi huddled inside. He sneered, "Who does this good-for-nothing think he is? Perfect, let him see how I treat you."
As he spoke, he lowered his head and kissed Wang Jiao's lips, his hand reaching directly inside her clothes.
Xu Mingyi, who was in the woodshed, froze, suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, staring intently at the figures of the adulterous couple at the door, his teeth grinding together.
He may be a coward and useless, but he is still a man. How can he tolerate his wife being intimate with another man in front of him?
Even if he doesn't like this woman at all, she is still his property!
"What are you looking at?" Wang Jiao was breathless from the kiss. She caught Xu Mingyi's gaze out of the corner of her eye. Instead of restraining herself, she deliberately snuggled closer to Zhang the butcher. "Xu Mingyi, are you envious? Too bad, you're just a good-looking but useless piece of trash. You can't give me what I want. You can only watch me be with someone else!"
Butcher Zhang smiled smugly and deliberately raised his voice, "Jiaojiao, you're so sensible. After a while, you'll divorce him, and I'll marry you properly!"
"OK……"
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