Shumei had already felt bad after listening to the conversation of those women, and now the villagers suddenly came to her house, making her feel really bad.
But she still tried her best to suppress the annoyance in her heart. After all, she was a woman without a man to support her at home. She had to endure it as much as she could. It was better to have less trouble than more.
"Haha, which ear did you hear me cursing? I'm telling the truth. Don't talk nonsense to me. Look how badly you beat my son. You have to give me an explanation!" The woman was talking with saliva flying everywhere, gesticulating, pulling her son in front of her and pointing the bruises on his body to Shumei.
Before Shumei could ask why, she just looked at Xiao Youchen, and Xiao Youchen hurriedly explained.
"Mom, I didn't mean to fight. They were the ones who started swearing and…"
Xiao Youchen explained aggrievedly, but was interrupted by the woman before he could finish his words.
"Shut your stinky mouth, Kang Shumei. You're not going to just listen to a child's one-sided story and try to shift all the blame, are you? Even if he says something fantastical, you have to give me an explanation today. The villagers have witnessed what kind of behavior your family has. It's fine if the adults are immoral, but I didn't expect a child to be so evil. You think this village is yours and you can do whatever you want."
The woman roared loudly and made far-fetched claims, determined to get Shumei to give her an explanation.
Shumei felt very aggrieved. Although she didn't know whether the children were wrong or not, she was afraid that she had to pretend to be nice in order to send the woman away.
"Kneel down!" Shumei shouted at Xiao Youchen and Xiao Shuangning.
Xiao Youchen looked at Shumei aggrievedly. Seeing the helplessness in Shumei's eyes, he knelt on the ground without hesitation.
Seeing that Xiao Shuangning didn't react, Shumei glared at her angrily, "You are brother and sister, and you should be punished together for your mistakes. Kneel down."
Xiao Shuangning lowered her head in grievance and knelt down in front of Xiao Youchen.
"Mom, it's all my fault. It has nothing to do with Ningning. I can kneel alone."
"Shut up! Didn't I tell you not to cause trouble? If we can't afford to provoke you, we can afford to avoid you. Look what you've done now! You're happy that I've brought trouble to our doorstep!" Shumei scolded harshly, completely different from her usual kind and gentle self.
She found a very thin branch in the yard and hit the two children with it. This thin branch was very painful but would not hurt bones.
Little Shuangning burst into tears, and little Youchen clenched his teeth, trying not to cry out loud. Their expressions showed both aggrieved and painful feelings.
Xiao Shuangning kept begging, "Mom, please stop hitting us. We won't do it again. It hurts so much. Please stop hitting us."
Shumei's heart ached as she looked at the poor children. Normally, she wouldn't even touch them, yet now she was beating them with her own hands. Little Shuangning's pleading voice made her even more heartbroken, tears welling up in her eyes.
She hated herself, hated herself for being useless, hated herself for being so cowardly and causing her two children to suffer.
But she still had to scold the two children against her will, "I'll teach you a lesson, I ...
"We did nothing wrong. Why should we apologize to them? I won't." Little Youchen was really a little manly when he got angry. He held his head high and spoke firmly. No matter how hard Shumei hit him, he would never apologize.
The woman looked so proud that she didn't even blink. Seeing the two children crying, she felt particularly relieved. Her son was so scared that he hid behind her and secretly peeked out to see.
"You are still stubborn. Apologize quickly." Shumei increased the strength of her hands. Although she was a stepmother, she did not have many taboos. She did not show mercy when it was time to hit, and every blow hit little Youchen hard.
Xiao Shuangning was quick to give in. She immediately kowtowed to the mother and son, "I'm sorry, it's all my brother and I's fault. I apologize to you, please forgive us. Please, please, there won't be a next time."
"Ningning, you--" Xiao Youchen didn't understand why Xiao Shuangning kowtowed to them when it was clearly not their fault.
Seeing this, Shumei finally stopped beating the child. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably. The pain she felt from beating the child was deep in her heart.
Shumei tried her best to suppress her discomfort and turned to the woman, saying, "Sister Hua, this should be enough, right? He's been beaten, scolded, and has kowtowed to apologize. I see, my child is also injured. Children play together! Bumps and scrapes are inevitable. I hope you won't make a fuss about it."
"Is that enough?" The woman asked with her eyes wide open, as if she was still not satisfied.
"So what do you want? Are you going to beat them to death?"
"this--"
"Otherwise, come here, I'll give you a stick and beat you until you're relieved. That should be okay, right?"
Shumei said this, thrusting the stick into the woman's hands. She turned her back, leaving the lives of the two children in her hands. Her palms were sweating, and her hands were clenched tightly, still a little worried and frightened.
The woman looked at the stick in her hand, then at the two children kneeling on the ground, and did not dare to go forward and hit them.
"Well—I'm too busy disciplining my own child to care for you. If I manage to do it, you won't provide for my retirement. You two brats, learn your lesson. If you dare to bully my son again, you won't get away with it this time."
She threw the branch in her hand to the ground and pulled her son, "Son, let's go home." Then the two of them walked out of Shumei's yard.
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