The mourning hall was set up, and white cloth and white silk were hung all over the courtyard, blending in with the vast expanse of white snow.
Zhang Xiaohu was taken away by Lu's mother. Liu was dejected and worried that no one would take care of the child.
Gu Nanjiao didn't know how to comfort Liu Shi, so she could only stay by her side closely, afraid that Liu Shi might do something rash.
A rope always breaks at its thinnest point, and misfortune always befalls the unfortunate.
Liu was weak-willed and easily manipulated by her mother-in-law and sister-in-law, never knowing how to fight back. Now that Zhang San is gone, who knows how badly the widow and her orphan will be bullied!
Just as Gu Nanjiao was sighing, she suddenly heard a noisy shouting and cursing outside.
“I’m going out to take a look,” she said to Liu, who was standing listlessly to the side.
"Liu Meihua, you jinx! You killed my son! Why don't you just die?"
As soon as Gu Nanjiao stepped out, she heard a series of fierce curses, followed by a shrew with a pointed mouth, monkey cheeks, and triangular eyes walking over with a stick.
That was Liu's mother-in-law, Granny Zhang.
"I'll beat you to death, you slut, you jinx!" Granny Zhang cursed and swore, raising the stick in her hand to hit Liu.
Liu remained motionless, not even glancing up.
Just as the stick was about to fall on Liu, Gu Nanjiao could no longer hold back and grabbed the shrew Zhang Pozi.
"Why are you pulling me? I'm going to beat this little brat to death!" Granny Zhang slapped Gu Nanjiao's hand away and, still cursing, was about to go forward and hit Liu Shi.
Gu Nanjiao was speechless. She had never seen anything like it before. Her own son had died, but she didn't care or seem sad. Instead, she started hitting and scolding her daughter-in-law. What a jerk!
“Aunt Zhang, Liu has already suffered enough. How can this be blamed on her?”
"Yes, yes, Liu's life has been miserable,"
"Zhang San was perfectly fine yesterday, who knew this would happen? How can we blame her?"
The neighbors all chimed in with their advice.
To everyone's surprise, Granny Zhang jumped up and yelled, "Shut your dog mouths that only know how to eat shit!"
“My son was clearly killed by her. You’ve all been drinking donkey urine, and you’re all speaking up for him.”
The neighbors were immediately silenced by the insults.
Seeing that no one was saying anything, Granny Zhang cursed even more fiercely, raising the wooden stick in her hand towards Liu.
"Aww—"
A scream rang out, and Granny Zhang collapsed to the ground, leaving everyone staring in shock.
Liu was holding the wooden stick that Zhang had used earlier, and she was hitting Zhang with it again and again.
"I'll beat you to death, you old bastard! You beat and curse me all day long."
"You really think I'm someone you can easily bully, huh?"
"From now on, I'll beat you every time I see you, and I'll beat you ten times if I see you ten times."
Cao Xinrou is a role model for us all!
Gu Nanjiao and the neighbors were all shocked. No one could have imagined that the introverted and honest Liu would rise up in resistance, especially at her own husband's funeral, and that she would beat her own mother-in-law.
"Zhang San is gone; Liu's mind must have been traumatized."
I think so too.
"Poor thing, such a blow. But it's for the best, at least it saves them from being bullied by everyone."
Granny Zhang rolled on the ground, wailing, "I don't want to live anymore! My son just passed away, and she dared to hit her mother-in-law! How unfilial! I don't want to live anymore!"
"Alright, Aunt Zhang, the house is already messy enough. Just calm down. Besides, you say she's unfilial, but have you, as her mother-in-law, ever been kind? If the mother isn't kind, how can the son be filial?"
"Yes, when Zhang San got into trouble, you didn't even ask him a question, and you just came up and threatened to beat and kill him."
Granny Zhang got up from the ground, so angry that she wanted to skin Liu alive, but she didn't dare. She never expected that Liu, who was always weak and submissive to her, would dare to resist.
Liu was young and strong, and used to farm work. Unexpectedly, she could hit people quite hard. Granny Zhang was a little scared. In fact, she was only a bully at home.
Coupled with the accusations from her neighbors, she felt utterly ashamed, dusted herself off, cursed, and ran away in a flash.
Everyone, disperse.
There was no more excitement to be seen; most of the neighbors had already left.
Gu Nanjiao walked up to Liu Shi, took the wooden stick from her hand, and grasped her trembling hands.
Upon seeing this, Liu burst into tears.
"I... I've never hit anyone before, she forced me to."
When Gu Nanjiao saw her crying, she quickly tried to comfort her.
"Sister-in-law Plum Blossom, I know you were driven to desperation. But you did the right thing; one must look forward!"
"Think about it, now that Brother Zhang is gone, you and your child are left behind. You'll inevitably be bullied by the neighbors. Today you hit your mother-in-law, and none of the neighbors said you were unfilial, which shows that you've been bullied terribly all along."
"You've established your authority this way. Don't feel guilty," Gu Nanjiao earnestly advised, hoping that Liu would cheer up for Xiaohu's sake.
"Yes, I still have Xiaohu. I can't be weak." Liu wiped away her tears. Her husband was gone, and she was a widow. She knew she would be looked down upon and even bullied by men. Her child was still young, so she had to shoulder everything.
If you're not strong and brave, who will you show your weakness to?
Seeing Liu's positive spirits, Gu Nanjiao felt very gratified.
After settling Liu Shi in, Gu Nanjiao was a little tired. She hadn't rested since last night, and Lu Yanzhao was still helping with the funeral arrangements at Zhang San's house; she didn't know when he would return.
Lu's mother steamed some egg custard and was feeding it to Zhang Xiaohu spoonful by spoonful.
Seeing Gu Nanjiao return, Lu's mother looked up and asked, "How is Meihua?"
Gu Nanjiao recounted the events of the day to Lu's mother, who could hardly believe her ears:
"She dares to hit Granny Zhang?"
"Yes, she was driven to desperation, but she was also very clever. She knew how to establish her authority in front of the neighbors, so she started by taking down Granny Zhang."
After hearing what Gu Nanjiao said, Lu's mother nodded in agreement. Liu was doing well, unlike herself who couldn't stand up for herself. Her husband had died, and all she knew was to cry and whine. Yanzhao had borne everything at such a young age.
After feeding Zhang Xiaohu, Lu's mother asked her younger sister to play with Xiaohu while she went to see if Liu Shi needed any help.
As soon as she stepped out, she saw Aunt Lu walking towards her with a beaming smile.
"Sister-in-law, where are you going?"
Seeing her smiling face, Lu's mother frowned. This second aunt of the Lu family usually wanted to stay far away from her whenever she saw her. What was she up to today?
"Go and see Liu Shi." As the saying goes, one cannot hit a smiling face, so Lu's mother still responded to her.
"Then, sister-in-law, I'll go with you," said the second aunt of the Lu family, affectionately reaching out to take Lu's mother's arm.
Mother Lu took a step back, avoiding Aunt Lu's hand, and walked towards Zhang San's house. Aunt Lu gave an awkward laugh and quickly followed.
Lu Yanzhao's father has a brother, whom the villagers call Lu Lao Er. The woman who just chatted with Lu's mother is Lu's second aunt, Li.
When Lu's father was alive, they got along fairly well. But as soon as he passed away, Lu's second uncle and aunt immediately turned ruthless and seized Lu Yanzhao's family's land. Not only that, they also drove Lu's mother and the other two to the dilapidated old Lu family house, which is where Gu Nanjiao and the others are now living.
It perfectly embodies ruthlessness and ingratitude.
When Li went to the town to prepare for the New Year, she happened to see Lu's mother and her two companions selling pig offal. She secretly hid and observed, and found that customers were coming in droves. Before noon, Lu's mother had a pile of copper coins in front of her, which she estimated to be about one or two ounces.
When Li got home, she told Lu Er about it. Lu Er listened to Liu Shi's embellished account and became extremely jealous.
"This sister-in-law is really heartless. She doesn't think about her own family when she has a profitable business."
"That's right, Lu Yanzhao is still studying in town, and her tuition alone is more than ten taels a year. She must be making a lot of money, but she's keeping it from us. I don't know what she's up to." Liu Shi glanced at Lu Er's face and immediately chimed in with more embellishment.
"Go and try to get some information from her. It's not appropriate for me, a man, to get involved directly. Yanping is getting married and is short of money. As his aunt, she should at least lend a hand."
“Okay, I’ll go right away,” Li replied.
Thus, the scene that occurred when Lu's mother went out and saw Li Shi came about.
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