Seeing his father's expression, Shen Zijing knew he was definitely upset. He weighed the pros and cons but remained silent.
Shen Zicheng was known for his explosive temper, like a powder keg ready to ignite at any moment.
Sure enough, when he saw that Ma Aning was completely ignoring his father sitting there and wouldn't even call him "father," his anger flared up instantly, and he felt like he was about to explode.
Shen Zicheng glared angrily, pointed at Ma Aning's nose, and shouted, "You, Ma Aning! Are your eyes on the top of your head? Can't you see your father sitting right here? You don't even know how to call him 'father,' do you have any manners at all?"
The sound was so loud that it made the ears of those around it ring.
Ma Aning, on the other hand, calmly looked at Shen Zicheng, who looked like a fierce demon, and slowly replied, "Oh ho, my affairs are none of your business. Besides, what gives you the right to lecture me?"
Her tone was neither humble nor arrogant, and she was not intimidated by the other party's imposing manner in the slightest.
"Hmph! I'm your second brother-in-law!" Shen Zicheng shouted, making his voice ring out.
However, Ma Aning remained unmoved. A slight, mocking smile appeared on her lips as she said, "You important people are so busy, you've probably completely forgotten about the severance agreement we signed."
"Since we've all signed the severance agreement, it means our two families have nothing to do with each other anymore. We're no longer family." After saying that, she gently shook her head, seemingly full of disdain for the group of people in front of her.
Shen Zicheng, who had been so arrogant, suddenly deflated like a punctured balloon and became speechless upon hearing Ma Aning's words.
Seeing this, Shen Zijing, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but curse inwardly: "What a useless piece of trash!"
However, on the surface, he quickly put on an extremely hypocritical smile and said to Ma Aning in a friendly manner, "Oh dear, third sister-in-law, although we have indeed severed ties, as the saying goes, even if the bones are broken, the tendons are still connected."
Before Ma Aning could speak, Shen Bo, who was standing to the side, couldn't wait to interject: "Since ancient times, those who sever ties have meant that they will never see each other again in this life, and will never have anything to do with each other until they die. So how can there be any talk of 'broken bones are still connected by tendons'?" His words were sharp and merciless.
Upon hearing this, the smile that had been on Shen Zijing's face vanished instantly, replaced by a gloomy expression.
"Uncle Bo is right, but this is a family matter of the Shen family, and Uncle Bo doesn't need to worry about it."
Shen Zijing deliberately emphasized the weight of the words "family matter" to stress that it was none of anyone else's business.
“Brother Shen, you’re joking. Uncle Bo is right. We’ve severed all ties and have no connection whatsoever. If we happen to meet in the future, please let me know if you’re so inclined.”
“Of course, if we meet, we can pretend we don’t know each other.” Ma Aning cut off Shen Zijing’s words cleanly and decisively, showing no weakness.
"Hmph! Fine! Since you're so eager to sever ties with us, from now on, if we, the Shen family, happen to meet you and your spouse on the street, we'll pretend we don't know each other. We just hope you won't come knocking on our door for help in the future!"
Shen Zijing's expression grew increasingly cold as he glared fiercely at Ma Aning.
"Haha! Don't worry! Even if I end up begging on the streets, I'll definitely stay far away from your house!"
Ma Aning sneered, glanced at him indifferently, and then kept her lips tightly shut, refusing to speak again.
He sat there silently, his eyes fixed straight ahead, his face ashen, his chest heaving with rage.
Although he was furious, he restrained himself from going up to argue with Ma Aning.
He thought to himself, "These three old men are completely unreliable! They may say they don't regret it, but that's just a lie to deceive themselves. You know, the third son is the one who earns the most money in the family."
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh heavily, a mixture of helplessness and disappointment.
At this moment, the huge village branch office was completely silent, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Everyone sat silently, their gazes occasionally meeting and then quickly shifting away, seemingly waiting to see how things would unfold. However, unexpectedly, the scene fell into complete silence.
Just as everyone was waiting anxiously, the village chief finally walked in slowly.
His steps were somewhat slow, and his face showed a hint of weariness, as if confirming the old saying—the police are always the last to arrive at the crime scene.
"Is everyone here? Is anyone missing?" the village chief asked loudly, looking around. The villagers turned to look at each other, but no one responded.
Seeing this, the village chief cleared his throat and continued, "Now that everyone is here, I won't keep you in suspense any longer. I suppose many of the men here only got home this morning? The noise last night was deafening, and you should all have heard about it to some extent."
At this point, the village chief paused slightly, then continued with a serious expression: "That's right, thieves broke into our village last night, and these guys are incredibly audacious. They didn't just come to steal grain; they openly robbed us!"
As soon as the village chief finished speaking, the audience erupted in a commotion.
People whispered amongst themselves, their faces showing a mix of surprise, fear, and anger. Those who knew the inside story were all talking about it.
"Oh my goodness! This is terrible! My husband came home and immediately started telling me all about it!"
Seeing that everyone's curiosity had been piqued, he continued with a sense of accomplishment, "They said more than a dozen strong and burly men had arrived! Each of them had their faces covered with black cloth, and they were holding large, gleaming knives in their hands."
"They rushed in without saying a word and robbed us of our food! Then they turned and ran away, faster than rabbits! It was terrifying!" Ma Xiaocui, who loved to gossip and chat, recounted the story in her loud voice.
The village chief quickly spoke up, otherwise she would go on and on.
"The reason we've gathered everyone here today is to remind you all to make sure you hide your grain at home well!"
The village chief was still a little angry as he spoke, “Especially you women, don’t run back to your parents’ home so easily, and keep your mouths shut, don’t let everything slip out!” The village chief said with a serious face.
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