Chapter Ten: Heaven's Wrath Has Arrived! Heaven's Wrath Has Arrived!
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately showed expressions of envy.
The leaders all said they would support Zhang Chunxue... Does that mean her family will be able to do whatever they want in the village from now on?
Zhong Chengfa and his brothers, who had been standing silently to the side, suddenly brightened up when they heard the leaders say these words.
"Boss..." Zhong Chengfa rubbed his hands together, "I'm looking for a job..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Chunxue shouted, "Get back!"
Zhong Chengfa was startled, then looked annoyed: "Mom! I haven't even finished saying a word!"
Zhang Chunxue looked at him coldly: "Don't think I don't know what you're trying to say! I'm warning you..."
She glanced at her other two sons: "And you two, don't even think about trying to get anything out of your sister in any way!"
Zhong Chengren, his face flushed with anger, exclaimed, "Mom! We're your sons!"
"What's wrong with my son? Does that mean my son can leech off my daughter?" Zhang Chunxue's tone grew increasingly cold. "Where do you get the nerve!"
Zhong Chengyi was a bit more shrewd, and upon hearing this, he quickly smiled apologetically: "Mom, what you're saying... Of course we wouldn't! Xiaoxiao is our most beloved little sister!"
Zhang Chunxue scoffed: "Is that so? I hope so!"
As soon as the town leaders left, the courtyard fell silent.
Zhang Chunxue, holding Zhong Xiaoxiao's hand with one hand and carrying the heavy woven bag with the other, was about to go into the house when Zhong Chengyi immediately fawned over her, his smile more like a grimace: "Mom, let me help you with your things!"
He reached out to take the prizes and gifts, and winked at Zhang Chunxue, saying, "These are for our family, we can't let outsiders covet them."
Zhang Chunxue snorted coldly and hugged the things to her chest: "Who are the outsiders? Your grandmother and the others are the outsiders!"
Liu Cuie was not to be outdone at this moment. She dragged Huang Xiaolan and Gao Xiuli behind her, cursing and swearing as they went into the house.
"Wow, so many good things!" Huang Xiaolan's eyes lit up, and she immediately tried to rummage through the bags. "Let's see what's inside..."
Gao Xiuli chimed in, "Chunxue, your family is so lucky! Now you won't have to worry about food and drink anymore, right?"
Liu Cuie was even more direct, slamming her cane on the threshold and sitting down with an air of authority: "I say, these gifts should have been for us old folks too. Guosheng died young, and we were the ones who suffered too!"
Zhang Chunxue's face instantly turned cold. Without saying a word, she snatched the big bag back, shoved it into the cupboard with a "bang," and then fastened the lock.
"These are scholarships, books, and clothes that the leaders specially gave to Xiaoxiao. What are you all doing, trying to interfere?" She raised her voice. "Usually, when you pass by my house, you'd almost spit on me. Now you know to come in?"
Huang Xiaolan awkwardly withdrew her hand, not daring to utter a sound, but could only sarcastically remark from the side: "Heh, you've really made something of yourself! From now on, you'll look down on us like that!"
Gao Xiuli was even more sarcastic, muttering under her breath, "Women are really something when they don't have a man to back them up. Let's see how long she can keep this up."
Liu Cuie was the most indignant and slammed her hand on the table, shouting, "Zhang Chunxue, no matter what, you're still my Zhong family's daughter-in-law! I'm your mother-in-law, how dare you treat me like this?!"
Zhang Chunxue glanced at her sideways, her tone icy: "Alright, old lady, stop trying to intimidate me with your title of 'mother-in-law.' Zhong Guosheng has been dead for years. To put it bluntly, we've been separated for over a decade, and my daughter hasn't even eaten a single meal at your house. What right do you have to interfere?"
Liu Cuie's face turned ashen from being choked, but her tongue remained sharp: "Don't think you're so valuable just because someone's flattering you now. Do you want to remarry? Let me tell you, what man would want a widowed woman like you, with a child to raise?! You must be dreaming!"
Zhang Chunxue wasn't angry at all, she just raised her eyebrows slightly: "What does it matter to you whether someone wants me or not? Anyway, I'm a free person, I can marry whoever I want, or stay single if I want. It's a hundred times better than being leeched off by disgusting relatives every day."
The three Zhong brothers looked at each other, then huddled in the corner like quails, not daring to interrupt.
Suddenly, Zhang Chunxue narrowed her eyes and stared at Liu Cuie: "Oh, right, there's something else. This morning I heard Matchmaker Li clamoring that the Wang family's betrothal money has been delivered... Old lady, what's going on with this money?"
The air seemed to freeze instantly.
Liu Cuie, who had been so self-righteous, suddenly lowered her head, her two cloudy little eyes darting around, refusing to meet his gaze.
Huang Xiaolan and Gao Xiuli exchanged a glance and quietly took a half step back, not daring to utter a sound.
really!
Zhang Chunxue sneered inwardly, her voice suddenly rising: "Since it wasn't my idea, whoever collected the bride price should marry into the Wang family themselves! Don't try to take advantage of Xiaoxiao again, and don't even think about trying to fleece us with this money!"
After a moment of silence, Zhang Chunxue raised her chin and said to her three sons, "Now, please ask your grandmother, aunt, and third aunt to leave. From today onwards, this house is our own place, a place for us widows and orphans. We don't welcome others interfering, and we especially don't welcome people who want to take advantage of us."
The three brothers hesitated for a second, not moving, each secretly observing the other out of the corner of their eye, to see who would speak up and take the blame first.
Seeing this, Zhang Chunxue added mercilessly, "You won't listen to me, huh? Then don't even think about stepping into this door again! The food, the bonus, everything—it's all yours! Go wherever you want, find your own way to survive!"
These harsh words finally worked. The three grown men shoved each other a few times, and with no other choice, rushed towards the group of elderly people.
"Grandma, why don't you go back and rest?"
"Third Aunt, it's time to go back!"
"Auntie, everyone's gone, what are you still doing lingering in the house..."
Liu Cuie was dragged and pulled by her three grandsons, but she refused to give in and started throwing a tantrum.
"This is outrageous! This is outrageous!"
She kicked her legs hard against the ground and clung to the door frame with her bare, bark-like hands, refusing to budge.
"Zhang Chunxue! You heartless, rotten whore! I, this old woman, have wasted my time raising you as my daughter-in-law!"
"Pah!" Zhang Chunxue spat on the ground, her voice colder than icicles in the dead of winter. "You've ever raised me? I married into the Zhong family and served you like a slave, have you ever given me a single kind word?"
"Don't talk about me! Have you ever even glanced at your own grandchildren? Have you ever taken care of them for a single day?"
Upon hearing this, the three brothers, Zhong Chengyi, Zhong Chengren, and Zhong Chengfa, looked at each other, and fragmented memories of their childhood involuntarily surfaced in their minds.
Indeed, Grandma Liu Cuie was never warm or indifferent to her grandchildren. Zhong Chengyi even vaguely remembered that one year Zhang Chunxue secretly slipped him a piece of candy, but before he could put it in his mouth, Liu Cuie snatched it away and gave it to his cousin from his uncle's family.
He was still young then, and all he remembered was his cousin's smug smile, his own empty palms, and his feeling of being wronged.
Thinking of these old stories, the last bit of respect the three brothers had for their elders vanished, and they used their strength again, dragging and pulling Liu Cuie as if they were carrying her out.
"Grandma, please stop making a fuss and go home to rest!"
"Yes, Grandma, we're just doing what my mom says!"
Seeing this, Huang Xiaolan and Gao Xiuli knew they wouldn't get the better of them today, so they could only slink away, muttering sarcastic remarks under their breath.
Liu Cuie's curses were sharp and piercing, fading away from the courtyard gate until they could no longer be heard.
"Zhang Chunxue, you son of a bitch! I curse you to die a horrible death! And you little brats, not one of you is any good, you're all siding with outsiders!"
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