Yu Xiaofeng had never been treated like this before. After a moment of stunned silence, she finally let out a loud "Wah!"
"You bastard Wang Tianren! You heartless scoundrel! You can't beat others, so you bully your own wife. What kind of man are you? Why don't you just die? You wicked seed, you big wicked seed! I can't live like this anymore! Hit me, just kill me! If you kill me, you brothers can all die together!"
Wang Tianren hit his wife in a fit of rage. He was genuinely stunned by Yu Xiaofeng's beating and only retaliated on the spot. But he quickly regretted it, rolled off his wife, and lowered his voice to say, "Stop yelling. Let's talk about this at home, okay?"
“Go back to home? I’m not going to live like this anymore. I want to go back to my parents’ home.”
Yu Xiaofeng scrambled to her feet, braced her strong body as she descended into the pit courtyard, and quickly pushed her bicycle, with her youngest son, Wang Hongwei, on the back. Little Hongwei, only about two years old, was terrified by his parents' display and burst into tears.
Sun Xiaolan, the fourth son's wife, hurriedly tried to calm her down. Wang Tianren also followed behind, holding onto the car seat. Unable to withstand Yu Xiaofeng's desperate punches and kicks, he finally succumbed to the pain and had no choice but to let her take his youngest son away.
He watched his wife ride away on her bicycle, then his gaze returned to the curtain at the entrance of Wang Tianxiao's cave dwelling, his face filled with hatred and his eyes flashing with malice.
After a long while, he concealed the fierce glint in his eyes and went back to poking the chimney.
When the third son's family had a conflict, Wang Tianxiao didn't bother to pay attention.
Because the chimney was blocked, he couldn't cook, so he had to take the mud stove to the yard, put the pot on it, and cook some corn porridge for lunch.
They only eat two meals a day here, one around 10 a.m. and the other around 3 or 4 p.m.
It's mainly to help with fieldwork.
I would get up early in the morning, eat a steamed bun or a pancake, and then go to work in the fields. I would work until around nine o'clock, when I got hungry, and then come back to cook and eat. After eating, I would rest, and then go back to work in the afternoon until evening.
The people living down the mountain have a slow pace of life and don't get to work for long each day.
While Wang Tianxiao was cooking the porridge, the third son's daughter, Hua'er, came home from school and called out to him, "Erda."
Wang Tianxiao smiled and asked, "School's out?"
"Hmm." Hua'er was a rather introverted child and rarely spoke. After entering her family's cave dwelling, she probably didn't see anyone, so she came out and asked Wang Tianxiao again, "Erda, have you seen my mother?"
Wang Tianxiao looked at his little niece, not knowing how to answer for a moment, so he could only say, "Your mother took Hongwei to your maternal grandmother's house."
"Oh." Hua'er noticed Wang Tianren on the edge of the cliff, thought for a moment and said, "Erda, did your mother really fill in the chimney?"
Wang Tianxiao nodded and said seriously, "Hua'er, don't follow your mother's example. You should be a good child."
Hua'er seemed to understand but not quite, then rolled up her sleeves and went inside to cook.
Children from poor families mature early. She was very good at housework from a young age, but she was not liked by her parents. They would beat and kick her at the drop of a hat, often making her run all over the ground.
In her past life, Hua'er was sold to the mountains by the third brother's family for 200,000 yuan. She couldn't get along with the man, so she went to Beijing to work alone, but her life wasn't good either.
Wang Tianxiao didn't have much of a concept of this niece. There were more than a dozen children in the Wang family, and he had a tense relationship with his brothers, so he didn't have a very good relationship with many of the younger generation.
When Wang Fang heard that Hua'er had returned, she ran to Lao San's house to play.
Wang Tianxiao thought for a moment and decided not to call the girl out. The affairs of the previous generation had nothing to do with the next generation, and he couldn't leave any barriers or shadows on the children from a young age.
Just as they were getting into it, the door was pushed open, and two young men, one tall and one short, came in.
They were Wang Tiancheng, the fifth son, and Wang Tianxin, the sixth son, who had gone out to visit relatives.
The cousin of an elderly woman in the next village passed away. It was neither too far nor too close, so the Wang family arranged for two younger members of their family to go and perform the funeral rites. They stayed overnight and only returned after the burial.
Wang Tiancheng just turned eighteen this year. He is handsome and tall, standing at 1.8 meters. Because he has aspired to be a soldier since he was a child, he deliberately imitates the way soldiers walk and stand in movies, which makes him look very dignified.
The sixth brother, Wang Tianxin, who was walking beside him, was unremarkable in appearance and looked carefree. He was only a little over 1.7 meters tall, just a tiny bit taller than the third brother, Wang Tianren.
With the introduction of his eldest brother Wang Tianzhong, Wang Tiancheng was to join the army in the spring. He then passed the entrance exam for military academy while in the army, married the daughter of a leader, and rose through the ranks step by step, eventually becoming a senior colonel in the border armed police. But that's another story.
Wang Tianxin dropped out of junior high school and refused to study anymore. He spent his days idly and even learned to gamble. His wife was no pushover either. Under the instigation of Wang Tianren and Wang Tianyi, a very serious incident occurred with Wang Tianxiao's family in their previous life, resulting in Wang Tianxin being sentenced to three and a half years in prison and Li Yali being seriously injured and almost not being able to be saved.
Therefore, Wang Tianxiao and Wang Tianxin were basically enemies in their previous lives, and they wished the other would die immediately.
Right now, Wang Tianxiao was somewhat dazed as he looked at his two younger brothers walking towards him.
At this time, Wang Tianxin had not yet revealed his malicious nature; on the contrary, he liked Wang Tianxiao very much.
Grandpa Wang passed away too young. His youngest daughter, Wang Xiaozhu, was only about two years old when he died, while Wang Tianxin was only five and Wang Tiancheng was nine.
The eldest son, Wang Tianzhong, went to join the army early on, and the third son, Wang Tianren, was simply no match for him.
So when life was very difficult, Wang Tianxiao and his mother worked hard to make a living and barely managed to raise his younger siblings.
The production team distributed a limited number of grain coupons, so it was impossible for everyone to have enough to eat. Wang Tianxiao gave all the grain to his younger siblings and ate alfalfa until his belly was completely green.
During the most difficult time of the year, when he had no other choice, Wang Tianxiao went to the production team's canteen to steal steamed buns for his younger siblings. He was caught and almost beaten to death, but he still managed to bring back the steamed buns he was carrying.
Everyone felt his efforts; some were grateful, like the fifth brother, while others took it for granted, like the sixth brother.
People are different.
But that happened later. At least until now, Wang Tianxin still likes his second brother very much.
"Brother, why are you back?" Wang Tiancheng asked excitedly, taking a few quick steps forward.
"Second brother, you didn't even say you were coming back." Wang Tianxin ran over, and his quick mind immediately noticed the problem. "Second brother, why are you cooking in the yard? It's so cold. Where's my sister-in-law?"
"Isn't your second sister-in-law pregnant? Why are you asking? I'm just showing my love for her, you wouldn't understand," Wang Tiancheng joked.
“Then there’s no need to go into the yard.” When it comes to cleverness, Wang Tianxin is no less clever than the others.
Wang Tianxiao gestured upwards, and the two brothers looked in that direction and saw Wang Tianren poking at the chimney on the edge of the cliff. Their eyes met, and they both understood what was going on.
Their smiles also faded.
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