Chapter 23: A filial son is born under the stick? Pah!
In the yard, the chilling atmosphere brought by the axes and shovels had not yet dissipated. Chen Kangbo's resounding words, "Seek justice," were like a ray of light, barely illuminating the children's pale faces. But the light was too weak, ultimately unable to overcome the starvation and cold in their bellies.
Feng Lan looked at her daughters' chapped lips and timid eyes, the overwhelming hatred in her heart temporarily suppressed by the piercing maternal love. Justice must be sought, but food must also be eaten. She stuffed the ten cents back into Daya's hand, her voice soft, as if afraid to disturb anything.
"Go, Daya, take your sisters to the kitchen first. There should be a few leftover multi-grain steamed buns in the pot from this morning. Heat them up and share them, then boil some hot water to drink. Only when you're full will you have strength." She paused, looking at Daya's hesitant eyes, and added, "Don't be afraid, Mom is watching here. If anyone dares to stop you, Mom will tear them apart!"
These words were filled with murderous intent, but they calmed the children's hearts a little. Daya clenched the copper coins, nodded, and like a leading goose, she led her sisters, head down, and carefully moved towards the kitchen in the east.
Feng Lan and Chen Kangbo stood in the courtyard, their eyes following their daughters like two silent door gods. They didn't move, supporting their daughters and gathering strength for the next battle.
However, they overestimated the Chen family's bottom line, or rather, the old lady of the Chen family had no bottom line at all.
As the daughters reached the kitchen door, they heard a sharp and harsh shout from inside.
"Stop! You sly-looking fellows, what kind of food are you trying to steal? We in the Chen family don't keep money-losing creatures! Get out!"
It was the voice of the old lady from the Chen family. Perhaps she had lost face at the headman's house and was furious, or perhaps she had heard something and was waiting here specifically.
Then there was the shrill sound of pots and pans being pushed over, accompanied by the suppressed screams and cries of children.
"Grandma, we...we just want to heat up some steamed buns..." Daya's defense was so weak and crying.
"Bun? You're worthy of eating buns? Go eat shit! You're a bunch of ungrateful bastards, just like your black-hearted parents! No one will take a single grain of rice from this kitchen today!"
Feng Lan's expression changed instantly. She and Chen Kangbo exchanged a glance, then both rushed to the kitchen.
As soon as they rushed to the door, they saw a scene that made them want to tear their eyes out.
On the floor at the kitchen door, Erya, Sanya, and the other little ones collapsed in a heap, crying loudly in fear. Daya, like a mother animal protecting her cubs, spread her frail arms, tightly shielding her sisters behind her. Across from her, the old lady of the Chen family clutched a firewood stick, her face twisted with fury, raising it high and about to bring it down on Daya's back!
"stop!"
Feng Lan and Chen Kangbo's roars rang out at the same time.
But the old lady had gone mad, and the wooden stick still fell down with a sound of wind.
"Bang!"
There was a dull sound of impact, which made people's hearts tremble.
Daya's small body shook violently and she let out a painful groan, but she bit her lips tightly and said nothing, still stubbornly protecting her sister behind her.
"Daya!" Feng Lan's heart seemed to be pierced through by this wooden stick. She rushed over like a madman, pushed the old lady of the Chen family and made her stagger, then knelt on the ground and checked Daya's injuries with trembling hands.
"You old bastard! I'll kill you!" Chen Kangbo's eyes instantly turned bloodshot. He darted forward and, just as the old woman was about to swing the stick a second time, his large, iron-like hand gripped the other end of the stick tightly. The stick stretched straight between him and the old woman, making a crackling sound.
"You...you unfilial son! Do you want to rebel? Are you going to attack your own mother for a few girls?" The old lady of the Chen family was frightened by his murderous eyes and trembled in her heart, but she still spoke harshly.
"Mother?" Chen Kangbo squeezed out the word from between his teeth, his voice as cold as ice. "I, Chen Kangbo, don't have a mother like you!"
He exerted force on his wrist, and with a "crack", the bowl-thick wooden stick was broken by him! He threw the broken stick to the ground fiercely, causing dust to fly.
"Lan'er, take Daya to see a doctor! Go quickly!" Chen Kangbo growled without even turning his head. "Leave this to me!"
Feng Lan helped Daya, whose face was pale with pain and cold sweats were pouring down her face, up. She looked at the purple swelling on her back and felt extremely distressed. She knew that now was not the time to argue. Saving her daughter's life was the most important thing. She lifted Daya, who was already a little unsteady, and shouted to the other daughters, "Follow your mother!"
Just as she rushed out of the yard anxiously holding her daughter, an idea struck her like lightning.
No! Just leaving like this would be too easy for these beasts!
They had injured her daughter, so why? Why could they still safely guard the silver, plotting how to treat their good-for-nothing son's leg and how to pursue fame and fortune?
Why should her daughter sacrifice her life for the dignity and future of her entire family?
No! She doesn't agree with this!
Feng Lan's footsteps suddenly stopped. She handed Daya in her arms to Erya and Sanya who followed closely, and then she turned around and rushed back to the yard like a whirlwind.
Her goal couldn't be clearer - the main house, the room owned by the old lady of the Chen family!
In the courtyard, Chen Kangbo stood like an enraged lion, blocking the path between Old Man Chen and the brothers who had rushed over after hearing the noise. The two sides were on edge. No one had expected Feng Lan to return, and go straight for their vitals.
"Bang!"
Feng Lan kicked open the old lady's door, and the musty smell of the room, which had been stagnant for years, and the sour odor of the old woman's body hit her face. She ignored it and walked straight to the kang, lifted the black, hard, and torn quilt, and pulled out a wooden box from under the covers.
The box was locked, but that didn't bother Feng Lan. She picked up the poker in the corner and pried hard at the small brass lock. With a clang, the lock opened.
Inside the box were several packages tightly wrapped in oil paper. Feng Lan tore open one, revealing a dazzling display of silver and strings of copper coins, gleaming alluringly in the dim room. This was the hard-earned money their eldest wife had paid over the years, the pension money the old lady had plucked from their teeth, and the "down payment" she was planning to use to sell her granddaughter.
Feng Lan sneered and poured all the money and valuables in the box into her pocket, filling it up.
"Catch the thief! That damn bitch stole the money!"
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