Chapter 51 Now Mom's temper changes faster than flipping through a book
Zhang Chunxue became increasingly angry as she spoke, her chest heaving violently.
"Mom! We wouldn't dare! How could we dare!" Zhong Chengfa spoke first, hurriedly defending himself, "Yes, he started it! He even insulted Hongqing!"
Zhong Chengren retorted defiantly, his neck stiff with arrogance: "Bullshit! You started this with your sarcastic remarks! And you even insulted my daughter!"
"Shut up, all of you!" Zhang Chunxue shouted, cutting off their latest round of arguing.
She pointed to a corner of the yard: "Get over there and kneel down! No one is allowed to get up without my permission!"
Although Zhong Chengfa and Zhong Chengren were unwilling, seeing Zhang Chunxue's murderous gaze and the gleaming kitchen knife on the ground, they ultimately dared not argue any further.
Both of them had bruises all over their faces and looked utterly disheveled.
Zhong Chengfa walked dejectedly to the corner of the south wall of the courtyard and knelt down in silence.
Zhong Chengren didn't want to kneel with Zhong Chengfa, so he walked to the west corner of the wall with a displeased look and knelt down there as well.
The two brothers refused to look at each other, separated by most of the courtyard, each sulking.
Zhang Chunxue snorted heavily, then bent down to pick up the kitchen knife from the ground, turned around and went back into the kitchen.
In the kitchen, Zhong Chengyi was still holding Zhong Yuanyuan, awkwardly trying to coax her.
But Zhong Yuanyuan didn't know what was wrong with her. Her little face was red from crying, and her voice was a little hoarse, but she just couldn't stop.
Zhang Chunxue glanced at Zhong Chengyi suspiciously, then looked at her granddaughter who was crying uncontrollably: "Why are you still crying? It's been half a day."
Zhong Chengyi looked embarrassed and chuckled awkwardly, "I... I don't know how to comfort a child. The more I try to comfort her, the harder she cries."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhong Hongqing, who had been huddled by the stove watching everything silently, suddenly spoke up timidly.
"Grandma, I...I just saw Uncle secretly pinch my sister's bottom."
Zhong Chengyi's smile froze instantly, and he turned his head sharply to look at Zhong Hongqing in disbelief.
That little rascal!
He never expected that his good deed of pulling the kid away would result in the little brat telling on him!
Zhong Chengyi's face turned green with anger. He gritted his teeth and muttered under his breath, "I should have known better than to pull you away! I wish they would have beaten you up!"
Zhang Chunxue took Zhong Yuanyuan from her, her face so dark it could drip water.
She kicked Zhong Chengyi in the thigh and said, "You get out and kneel down too!"
Caught off guard, Zhong Chengyi was kicked and staggered, almost falling over.
His eyes widened, his face filled with grievance and disbelief: "Mom, I..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Chunxue coldly interrupted him: "Stop talking nonsense! Get out! You're no different from them, you're not someone to be trifled with!"
Zhong Chengyi gritted his teeth, but dared not talk back, so he could only scurry out of the kitchen with a bitter face and his head in his hands.
The wind was strong in the courtyard. As soon as he came out, he saw his two older brothers, one in the south corner and the other in the west corner, each kneeling with their heads down, ignoring each other.
He sighed, too lazy to choose a place, and simply found an open space on the east side, his knees buckled, and he knelt down with a "thump".
The three brothers filled the entire courtyard, looking just like clay bodhisattvas in a temple, only much more disheveled—one had a bruised and swollen face, one had blood on the corner of his mouth, and the other had gray stains all over his trouser legs.
Just then, the sound of footsteps came from outside the gate; it was Zhong Xiaoxiao returning from playing outside.
She froze as soon as she entered the courtyard: "Holy crap, big brothers, second brothers, third brothers, what's going on with you all? Are you all giving a collective confession?"
Zhong Chengyi winked at her and whispered, "Xiaoxiao! Come here quickly, I'm so sorry, this whole thing is a huge injustice!"
Zhong Xiaoxiao walked over suspiciously, glancing around carefully before whispering, "What happened? Did something explode in the house?"
"What else could it be!" Zhong Chengyi lowered his voice and recounted the whole story, embellishing it as he went along. He then patted his chest to emphasize how innocent he was. "I pinched Yuanyuan to stop them from fighting, to make her cry a little so that Mom would come out and break them up. But look what happened, I've become the scapegoat!"
As he said this, he added pitifully, "Could you put in a good word for me? Otherwise, my old back really can't take it."
To his surprise, Zhong Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes at him and bluntly exposed his words: "You still can't pinch a child's bottom! She's so small, you were too rough and hurt her badly! Serves you right!"
After saying that, she clapped her hands and stood up. "Alright, I'll go in and check the situation."
She turned and went to the kitchen, completely ignoring the three kneeling men.
The courtyard fell silent, with only the three brothers sulking, accompanied by the rustling of leaves in the wind.
After a moment, someone couldn't help but speak first—
Zhong Chengyi sighed, "Big brother, do you see? What are the three of us now? Xiaoxiao is the apple of Mom's eye."
Zhong Chengfa curled his lip, his tone sour, "The three of us combined are no match for that brat's word! Especially you, third brother, don't think you're anything special!"
"Are you on fire?" Zhong Chengyi immediately retorted, "Who are you going to insult? What did I do to you?"
Zhong Chengren, who had been silent all along, suddenly interjected:
"Didn't you used to dote on your eldest brother and Hongqing the most? Now Mom changes her mind faster than flipping through a book, can't you stand it?"
He shook his head, looking smug, "Anyone who didn't know better would think you're a baby being breastfed. Why are you acting so aggrieved?"
This sentence hit a nerve, and Zhong Chengfa's anger, which had subsided a bit, flared up again.
"Damn it!"
Zhong Chengfa's eyes widened in anger, his upper body heaving slightly, looking ready to pounce on someone again at any moment!
"Brother, stop!" Seeing the situation was getting out of hand, Zhong Chengyi quickly reached out to stop him, whispering a warning: "If you dare to get up and try, believe me, Mom will come out with a knife and kill all three of us!"
Upon hearing this, the air froze instantly.
Thinking of Zhang Chunxue's murderous appearance just now, and then looking at the shadow of a cleaver dangling at the kitchen door, they all shrank back and obediently straightened their posture to continue kneeling as punishment, each with their own thoughts, feeling utterly helpless.
The kitchen was filled with smoke at this moment.
Zhang Chunxue sat by the stove, gently coaxing Zhong Yuanyuan while holding her and patting her little bottom lightly. Her movements were so gentle that she was unlike her usual shrewish self, but her brows were still clouded with anger, showing that she was still furious.
Suddenly a tall, thin figure flashed into the room.
"grandmother……"
A soft, sweet voice came from the doorway. It was Hongqing leading Zhong Xiaoxiao in, holding her clothes. Her little head looked around, a mixture of fear and anticipation in her eyes.
"Mom," Zhong Xiaoxiao hesitated for a moment, but ultimately didn't dare to plead for her. She simply smiled and changed the subject as if nothing had happened: "Mom, let me hold Yuanyuan! You can start cooking first?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
