"Bang."
A piercing sound shattered the silence of the night, startling Zhou Sui, who was dozing off. She then heard a series of rough shouts.
"Li Qiuju, do you look down on me?"
"What's wrong with me having a drink? It's not like I'm eating your flesh or drinking your blood. Why are you bothering me?"
"I work like a dog all day, what's wrong with coming home and having a drink?"
"What's wrong? Tell me."
The man's low growl sent a chill down her spine. Zhou Sui was used to hearing such a roar in her previous life. At first, she would go in to break up the fight and mediate, but in the end, she was pushed out by her mother, Li Qiuju.
Over time, Zhou Sui gradually became less concerned about the situation, but when she saw her mother's injuries the next day, she couldn't help but feel remorseful, and this cycle repeated itself.
no!
Zhou Sui threw off the covers and rushed outside. In this second life, she would never allow such a thing to happen again.
As soon as she entered the courtyard, she suddenly turned around and went to the house of Old Lady Zhou next door.
"Grandma, Grandma, my dad has gone on a drunken rampage."
The old lady was a light sleeper, and Zhou Sui only called her twice before she came out. This old lady was nearly sixty years old, but she was tall and healthy. In particular, when her face was blank, it was frightening.
Seeing this familiar face, Zhou Sui couldn't help but tear up. Who would have thought that this robust old man would be bedridden with worry a year later because of family matters?
"Sui girl, what's wrong? What's wrong with your dad?" It was only early autumn, and although the autumn heat was intense during the day, it was still a bit chilly in the mornings and evenings. Old Mrs. Zhou got up in a hurry, putting on her outer clothes as she walked.
If it weren't for the urgency of the situation, Zhou Sui really wanted to hug the old lady. Fortunately, everything could start over, and many things could be changed.
"Grandma, Dad's been drinking and he's acting crazy at home."
Zhou Sui knew that her small frame would be no match for the fight, but with Grandma Zhou's help, things would be much more efficient.
"What!" Old Mrs. Zhou's eyebrows shot up, and she rushed to the next room without even closing the door.
Zhou Sui casually closed the door and followed, only to see Old Mrs. Zhou grab a wooden stick by the door. "Zhou Dayong, you little rascal!"
The main house door was unlocked, and the old lady kicked it open. Inside, Zhou Dayong tightly gripped Li Qiuju's wrist with one hand, while raising his other hand into a fist, about to strike Li Qiuju.
"Mom?" Zhou Dayong turned around and glanced back. When he saw the old lady's angry face, a hint of sobriety appeared on his face.
"You bastard!" Old Mrs. Zhou raised the wooden stick and struck Zhou Dayong. "You go crazy after drinking a couple of sips of horse piss a day? I'll show you what madness is."
Zhou Dayong, already confused, was hit twice more. Just as he was about to speak, he was beaten again. "Go crazy, I'll make you go crazy, I'll make you go crazy!"
If it were anyone else, Zhou Dayong would have fought back long ago, but this was his own mother. Even if he was furious, he could only dodge and weave.
As soon as Zhou Sui entered the room, she rushed to Li Qiuju's side. Time never defeats beauty; even though she was over forty and dressed in coarse linen clothes, one could still see that Li Qiuju was beautiful in her youth.
"Mom." Zhou Sui was incredibly excited to see Li Qiuju again, and her hand trembled slightly as she held her.
Li Qiuju stood up. She thought her daughter was frightened by what she saw, after all, Zhou Sui was a rather timid person.
"Sui Sui, did I scare you? Go back inside quickly."
As she spoke, she tried to push Zhou Sui out, just like she always did.
At first, Zhou Sui did not understand Li Qiuju's thoughts, but later she realized that as a mother, she also wanted to maintain a respectable image in front of her children and did not want them to worry.
"Mom, where did Dad hit you?" But Zhou Sui is not the same as before. Although she had a miserable life in her previous life, she also gained a lot of experience. She knows that things like hitting someone while drunk cannot be tolerated. Once it is tolerated, it will be out of control.
"No, I haven't hit her yet." Li Qiuju avoided her daughter's gaze and even tried to change the subject, "Why did your grandma come over?"
The Zhou family has two brothers. Zhou Dayong is the eldest son, and his younger brother is Zhou Dawu. The two brothers separated their households several years ago. Old Mrs. Zhou lost her husband early and has been a widow for many years, raising the two brothers alone.
When the family divided their property, neither family followed along. They only asked the two brothers to give them a small amount of money for their old age each month, and they would never let either family worry about them until the brothers were bedridden.
The Zhou family compound was also divided into three sections by two walls, with the two brothers living on the side and Old Mrs. Zhou living in the middle.
"I called Grandma over." Zhou Sui said, pulling on Li Qiuju's sleeve, revealing a bluish-red bruise.
Zhou Sui's eyes instantly reddened. "Mom, where else did you hit me?"
If it weren't for the fact that this place is inappropriate, Zhou Sui would have liked to examine her thoroughly.
"That's all, it's just that her wrist is constricted." Li Qiuju unconsciously pulled down her sleeve, looking down at her daughter's red eyes and distressed expression.
"Mom's fine, it doesn't hurt. Don't worry, it'll go away in two or three days."
Even at this point, Li Qiuju was still thinking about comforting Zhou Sui.
"Mom, Dad is already like this, didn't you ever think of fighting back?" In Zhou Sui's memory, Li Qiuju had always silently endured everything.
A moment of sadness crossed the woman's face. "Your dad... he just drank to drown his sorrows. He's feeling wronged, but he'll be fine once he sobers up."
"That's no excuse for him to hit you!" Zhou Sui couldn't help but growl.
"At her age, she's still not as sensible as a child." A voice suddenly came from beside them. The mother and daughter looked up and saw that Old Mrs. Zhou had come over at some point.
She threw the wooden stick on the ground. "Qiuju, Dayong is my son. If he does something wrong, it's only right that I, as his mother, discipline him. But there will come a day when I can no longer lift the stick, or even when I die. What will you do then?"
"Mom~" Li Qiuju called out meekly, "Dayong isn't the kind of person who's reckless and shameless, he~"
Before she could finish speaking, Old Mrs. Zhou interrupted her, "No matter what kind of person he is, hitting people is wrong. Qiuju and Sui'er both understand this, why don't you understand?"
“Your continued tolerance will only embolden him. I’ve told you this at least ten times, and I’m tired of repeating it now. This indecisive nature of his only annoys me. You should think about it yourself.”
Grandma Zhou was also very disappointed in her daughter-in-law. It was already a rare achievement for a mother-in-law to do what she did, but her daughter-in-law was still so disappointing. She couldn't very well just tell her to give up on the marriage.
"Alright, I'm going back."
Zhou Sui called the person over. Seeing the old lady go out, Zhou Sui said to Li Qiuju and hurriedly chased after her, "Grandma, let me see you off."
"Don't worry, this old woman has good eyesight and good hands and feet, she won't bump into anything or trip over anything."
Grandma Zhou raised her two sons on her own, which fostered her independent and strong personality. She rarely asked for help when she could handle things herself.
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