Chapter Twenty-One: Has Your Conscience Been Eaten by Dogs?
Upon hearing this, the faces of the Wang family members turned pale, and even the most arrogant Wang Laowu couldn't help but shudder.
Zhang Chunxue's words didn't sound like a joke!
When this woman goes crazy, she's probably capable of anything!
The Wang family was used to being domineering and tyrannical in the village, but they had never seen anyone so reckless.
For a moment, no one dared to speak again. Under the old locust tree at the village entrance, only Zhong Yuanyuan's soft sobs and the heavy breathing of the others could be heard.
Wang Laowu's elder brother swallowed hard, glanced at his mother, and then at Zhang Chunxue's desperate stance. He was already having second thoughts.
It's not worth risking your whole family's lives for a hundred yuan and a wife you're not even married into yet!
He cleared his throat and forced a smile that looked worse than a grimace.
"Well... Aunt Zhang, it's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding."
“Since Liu Cuie received the money, then… then let’s go and talk to her about it.”
"We were reckless today, please don't take it to heart."
The other members of the Wang family echoed his sentiments, their previous arrogance vanishing.
Zhang Chunxue snorted coldly, still holding the wooden stick in her hand, her eyes fixed sharply on them.
The Wang family dared not linger any longer. Wang Laowu was pulled back by his brother, and the group slunk away, almost fleeing in disarray, muttering things like "crazy woman" and "bad luck" under their breath, but their voices were so low they were almost inaudible.
Only after the Wang family members disappeared around the corner of the village road did Zhang Chunxue slowly breathe a sigh of relief and throw away the wooden stick in her hand.
"Mom!" Zhong Xiaoxiao's tears were still on her face, and her voice was thick with nasal congestion. She took a few steps forward and hugged Zhang Chunxue's arm tightly.
Zhang Chunxue reached out and took the still sobbing Zhong Yuanyuan from her arms, gently patting her granddaughter's back.
Zhong Xiaoxiao looked up, her tear-streaked face filled with the relief of surviving a disaster and a deep admiration for her mother.
"Mom, you...you were really amazing just now!" Her voice trembled slightly, a mixture of lingering fear and excitement.
Zhang Chunxue looked at her daughter, the fierce look on her face gradually dissipating, revealing a hint of fatigue, but her eyes remained firm.
"Xiaoxiao, remember this: dealing with unreasonable and stubborn people like the Wang family, being weak and giving in won't work," she said, taking Zhong Yuanyuan from her and touching her slightly cold face. "If they're arrogant, you have to be even more arrogant and fearless than them! Only by completely scaring them and making them submit will they dare not provoke you again!"
"Otherwise, if you back down one step today, they can force you to back down ten steps tomorrow, until they drive you to your death!"
Zhong Xiaoxiao nodded heavily.
When they got home, they couldn't help but stomp their feet.
As soon as Zhang Chunxue entered the kitchen, before she could even catch her breath, she casually placed the tofu on the cutting board, complaining, "This weather is really awful... Xiaoxiao, close the door."
Zhong Xiaoxiao quickly responded and shut the door to keep the cold wind out of the doorman.
Zhang Chunxue lifted the pot lid, intending to add tofu to enhance the flavor, but what she saw there completely stunned her.
What about the fish? The whole crucian carp was stewed until it was tender and flavorful, and now you can't even see a single bone! The milky white fish soup has been reduced to just the bottom broth.
Zhang Chunxue's face changed instantly, and anger surged from her heart to her head. She slammed the pot lid back on.
"Mom! Everything's gone!" Zhong Xiaoxiao stared wide-eyed, unable to believe her eyes. "Who...who ate the fish?"
"Who else could it be!" Zhang Chunxue gritted her teeth.
She shoved Zhong Yuanyuan, who was in her arms, into her daughter's arms, ignoring whether the child was crying or not. She grabbed a piece of firewood as thick as her arm from beside the stove and strode towards Zhong Chengfa's room.
Zhong Chengfa's door was ajar, and the sounds of talking and clinking dishes could be heard inside.
Zhong Chengfa was sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), one foot dangling from a slipper, picking his teeth as he exclaimed, "What's wrong with Mom today? She suddenly decided to stew fish, and it smells so good!"
Li Hongjuan hugged her child and kept putting fish into her bowl with her small, delicate movements.
Her expression flickered, but her words were perfectly measured: "Mom said this fish is for Mingli to improve her health."
Zhong Cheng was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously retorted, "But didn't you just tell me that it was made especially for the two of us?"
“I mean, Mom cooked such a big pot, what’s wrong with us having a couple of bites?” Li Hongjuan quickly lowered her head and ate her rice, stuffing the last bit of fish into her mouth, and then scooped a spoonful of soup and fed it to Zhong Hongqing: “Drink up, drink more, this is a rare treat.”
The child didn't understand any of this; he slurped up the hot fish soup, his cheeks bulging, looking incredibly satisfied.
Just then—
Bang!
The door was kicked open, and Zhang Chunxue stood in the doorway, her face clouded with gloom.
The room fell silent instantly, with only the soft sounds of the child swallowing food and Li Hongjuan's nervous sniffling.
Seeing the two empty bowls on the table and the mountain of fish bones and scraps piled up in the plate, Zhang Chunxue was furious and stepped forward to hit Zhong Chengfa on the back with a stick!
"You bastard! What did I tell you to do?! Huh?! Instead of going to work, you ate the fish I cooked for your sister-in-law? Does your rotten mouth deserve to eat?"
Zhong Chengfa knew his mother had a fiery temper, so he jumped up from the kang (a heated brick bed) with a start, covered his head with his arms, and paced around the room in circles.
"Mom! Don't hit me, don't hit me! I was wrong, I was wrong! Hongjuan said it was okay to eat it..."
Before he could finish speaking, he was hit again with a stick, this time directly on his buttocks. He grimaced in pain, crying out "Ouch!" as he frantically searched for an exit to escape the house.
Li Hongjuan thought she could escape, and tried to run away with her child in her arms, but Zhang Chunxue caught her red-handed and swung her stick across, striking her thigh with a "smack".
She screamed and fell to the ground: "Oh my god, they're trying to kill me—"
She covered her legs and wailed loudly. Zhong Hongqing was stunned and started wailing too, louder than anyone else.
"You little brat, you got some too!" Zhang Chunxue pointed at her grandson, who was slurping up the last few drops of soup. "If you dare to steal any more, I'll beat you to a pulp!"
The little boy immediately threw down his spoon, tears streaming down his face. He cried and begged his grandma to spare him, creating a scene of utter chaos and wailing.
Hearing the noise inside, Zhong Xiaoxiao peeked out the window.
Seeing the terrible scene inside, she shrank back for two seconds, then quickly ran out to tell her second sister-in-law the news.
After all, she was genuinely afraid that her mother might lose control and wipe out everyone in the entire courtyard in this chaotic situation!
The chaos inside the house continued to escalate. Li Hongjuan limped to the corner of the wall, wiping her tears with her sleeve while still trying to justify herself: "Mom, Hongqing is starving. I thought there was so much food... Besides, Mingli is alone, she might not be able to finish it all..."
"Can't finish it?" Zhang Chunxue sneered. "That's for her to recover! She'll need to breastfeed after she gets better, not for you to waste your lives on! You three are ganging up on a sick person, are you even human? Have you lost your conscience?"
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