Chapter 2 Fighting
She Ning is neither afraid nor regretful of dealing with She Yaozu.
Although this will bring trouble to her and even the She family, as the saying goes: "A good start prevents a hundred bad ones."
The She family's current situation is far from optimistic. They are plagued by illness, weakness, old age, disability, and children, with only the original owner's mother, She Hongmei, being of sound age.
Unfortunately, the She family has a large house that many people in the village envy.
In the eyes of some, this situation is a hot commodity, a precious gem left unguarded, a piece of fat meat that can be taken a bite out of at any time!
Among those who had such ideas, each had their own unique methods – some wanted to adopt their own nephews or nieces to She Hongmei, some wanted to introduce their own relatives to She Hongmei, some wanted to recognize the old lady She as their godmother, and some even proposed adopting the She Ning sisters…
Hmph, they all want to eat the spoils of the family!
As She Ning walked home, she pondered how to deal with the situation.
She carried a bamboo basket on her back and a tattered fishing net as she pushed open the door and stepped into her home.
The She family's house is one of the very few red brick and tile houses in Xiahe Village. The courtyard is surrounded by a two-meter-high wall made of mud bricks. To the left of the entrance are side rooms and a woodshed, to the right are the kitchen, vegetable garden and chicken coop, and in the center is the main hall with two side rooms.
She Ning and her two daughters now live in the left side room, while Old Mrs. She lives in the right side room. The side room next to the woodshed is always closed, and She's mother doesn't allow anyone to go in on weekdays.
For some reason, the young She Ning knew through the blind box system that it was the room of her two uncles whom she had never met.
The She family used to be quite large, with three rooms fully occupied. Later, the eldest son of the She family joined the army and died, and the second son of the She family disappeared while working on the reservoir. Only She Hongmei and her husband remained in the She family.
Two years ago, during the nationwide return of educated youth to the cities, the original owner's scumbag father, Liu Jianguo, tricked She Hongmei into divorcing her first, promising to come back and pick up her and her child once he had settled into a place to live and a job in the city.
Liu Jianguo disappeared without a trace, as if he had sunk into the sea.
If it weren't for the fact that Old Man She had served in the army and had some connections, we really wouldn't have been able to find him.
Liu Jianguo's abandonment of his wife and daughter infuriated Grandpa She, causing him to suffer from deep resentment. Already suffering from hidden injuries from his early years of military service, he passed away due to shock, anger, and guilt.
After Old Master She passed away, the She family was left with only a few orphans and widows, and their situation became difficult.
In rural areas, the absence of a man in a household is tantamount to announcing to others: This family is easy to bully, come quick!
Some well-meaning people suggested that She Hongmei go to the city and bring Liu Jianguo back to take charge of the household.
She Hongmei did go to find him. She took an agreement stamped by the village secretary and asked Liu Jianguo to sign it, so that he would voluntarily give up ownership of the two children and sever all ties with them.
In Xiao She Ning's memory, her mother returned home and locked herself in her room for three days without eating or drinking. When she reappeared, her hair had turned grayer and her eyes were cold and hard.
She Ning couldn't help but sigh. What a mess this is!
"Sis, Mom and Luo the Chatterbox are about to fight!"
Before She Ning could even settle in, little She Ni ran home in a panic, looking like she was about to cry, "Go quickly, she's bullying Mom again!"
She Ning wasn't worried about She Hongmei being bullied. She Hongmei was nicknamed "Spicy Mei" because of her fiery temper.
It's obvious that Luo, that gossipy guy, must have said something nonsense that offended She Hongmei.
Before She Ning could move, the old lady She, who had heard the noise in the side room on the right, couldn't stay in bed any longer and struggled to get up.
"A-Ning, Xiao-Ni, hurry and help her, tell your mom not to get into a fight." Her daughter has a terrible temper; what if she gets hurt? And they don't have any men in the family to back them up—it's a tragedy!
"Grandma, stay home and don't move. Xiao Ni and I will be right back." She Ning called out to the room, and fearing that she would be anxious, She Ning pulled She Ni out the door.
When She Ning arrived with her sister, she overheard Luo, who was hiding behind someone, shouting at She Hongmei with her neck stiff and unconvinced: "Your She family is all yin and yang, and you lack a man to ward off evil spirits. I'm kindly introducing you to a man with a strong birth chart, so that he can suppress all the yin energy in your house. Look at all the women in the house, the yin energy is too strong, and it has killed all the men in the family."
"Everyone, be the judge, am I right? Think about it, when there are more men in the family, the yang energy is strong, and the women don't get sick! Look at the She family, they're all sick and weak, tsk tsk tsk! Her family should bring some yang energy home!"
Those around her covered their mouths and chuckled, some even casting subtle glances at She Hongmei.
She Hongmei's face flushed red instantly, and she transformed into a female warrior. In a few swift movements, she pushed through the crowd, grabbed Luo Suizui, and swung her arms around him, delivering several slaps that wiped away the smugness that Luo Suizui hadn't had time to remove from his face. All that could come out of that broken mouth was a beautiful, melodious scream.
She Ning glanced at her younger sister, telling her to find a place to hide, and then stood in front of the villagers who wanted to break up the fight. She cried and shouted, "Stop fighting! Stop fighting! Please stop fighting!"
Her attempt to break up the fight not only failed to separate She Hongmei, but also resulted in Luo Suizui getting a few more shoe prints on her body and her voice becoming even more pitiful.
The onlookers, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle, seemed eager to stir up trouble, adding fuel to the fire: "She even said She Ningke is related, but we're all from the same village, how could we believe such a thing?"
Luo Xiaoling heard it too, and felt extremely embarrassed.
She and She Hongmei had always been at odds. She couldn't stand seeing She Hongmei living so proudly despite her miserable situation; it was an eyesore to her! She simply looked down on She Hongmei.
So what if She Hongmei married an educated youth? She still gave birth to two girls. She, on the other hand, gave birth to two grandsons for the She family. Moreover, the educated youth who married into the family ran away, leaving her with an orphan and a widow. What does She Hongmei have that can compare to her?
Why should she be able to live in a big house and be loved by her parents! She Ning is so wicked, it would be best if she could bring misfortune to the entire She family.
"I didn't say anything wrong, your She Ning is a jinx!"
Her face was burning with pain, and her hair was being pulled. Luo Xiaoling was too embarrassed to admit it, but she stubbornly refused to admit it and waved her hand as if to hit She Hongmei.
"You still dare to talk! I'll beat you to death for all you do is spout nonsense all day long."
With one hand grabbing the other's hair and the other deflecting the other's attacks, She Hongmei was unconscious for a day and a night. Although her body had not yet returned to normal, the 1.72-meter-tall She mother was still more than capable of dealing with the 1.55-meter-tall Luo Xiaoling.
I watched as several clumps of my hair were pulled out, and my scalp tingled with pain.
"Old She, are you dead? Didn't you see I was being beaten?!"
Being at a disadvantage and with arms shorter than She Hongmei's, Luo Xiaoling couldn't hit anyone no matter how she struggled. She lost her temper and angrily yelled at her husband.
It was getting late, and everyone was returning from the fields. Seeing the commotion, they all gathered around, including Old Man She.
Having just finished farm work, his dark face still had some mud on it. She Laosan was embarrassed and didn't dare to look the other person in the eye. He rubbed his hands in his pockets and hesitated before going up to him.
If he had known he would get caught up in the drama, he wouldn't have bothered watching.
This woman is truly insane. He's She Ning's uncle, after all. How could he go up and help her, and then attack his own cousin? Everyone in the village could drown him in their spittle. Unable to bear looking at her ugly appearance, She Laosan squeezed through the crowd, trying to walk away.
With no one to help her, and another clump of her hair gone, Luo Xiaoling stared at the strands of hair lying on the ground, her thin lips trembling slightly, panting heavily, her eyes red with anger.
"Aaaaaah, She Hongmei! I'm going to fight you to the death!!!"
Luo Xiaoling rushed forward, waving her arms like a large, fluttering moth.
"Let's talk this out. We're all from the same village. If there's something wrong, just talk it out. What can't be resolved?" The village leader, who finally arrived after hearing the news, was overwhelmed by the chaotic scene: "What are you standing there for? Quickly separate them!"
The villagers who had been watching then stepped forward and pulled the person away.
"Hey, Aunt Luo, don't be angry. You were in the wrong to begin with." The crowd pulled them apart while trying to uphold justice.
"Get off me, you biased bastard." Luo Xiaoling shook off the hand that was holding her and glared back at the owner of that hand. Everyone knew who was who, always trying to put on a show of upholding justice.
"Village Party Secretary, you must stand up for me!" After pushing people away, Luo Xiaoling turned around and ran to the village party secretary, She Aijun, to plead for justice.
"Pah, you don't appreciate kindness, you deserve to be beaten."
The woman looked at her and was furious. She turned her head and cursed.
Aside from intervening briefly at the beginning, She Ning didn't step in after seeing that She Hongmei was clearly in the lead. Instead, she chose a position where she could advance or retreat at will, protecting She Ni and standing to the side to watch her mother perform.
At this moment, seeing the village leaders arrive, She Ning and She Ni stood behind She Hongmei, subtly observing the serious old man.
In her memory, this village party secretary was quite upright, always helping those in the right and not those in the family. According to seniority, She Ning should call him her second uncle, who was her grandfather's cousin and also She Laosan's second uncle.
"Old Third She, don't go, come here." She Aijun was so annoyed by Luo Xiaoling. All she did was gossip about this family and that family, she never stopped.
Seeing that She Laosan was about to walk out of the crowd, he impatiently called him back.
"You tell me, what exactly happened?"
"Second Uncle, what kind of question is that? This is all women's business, how would I know?" Old Third She turned around with a smile, looking honest and kind.
"You're just talking nonsense, hurry up and tell me." She Aijun didn't have time to argue with him; he had instructions from above to convey and a lot of things to do in the village.
After spring planting, the problems of fertilizer and irrigation water have not yet been solved. Although it is a household contract responsibility system and the land is contracted to individuals, the village still has to coordinate and solve the problems of fertilizer and water.
He's currently doing the work of two people, so he doesn't have time to joke around with him.
"Hey, it's just a quarrel between women, it's no big deal!" Old She San was still trying to smooth things over.
She Ning stepped forward. She didn't like this feeling. Why should she ask a third party who wasn't involved, even though the person involved was right there?
However, before she could speak...
"Village Party Secretary, you have to stand up for my Yaozu!!!"
Wearing small cloth shoes, the woman with short legs walked very fast, pulling the injured She Yaozu, who had a broken head, and started howling from a distance.
Wow, more gossip to watch!
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