Chapter 383 The Orphanage's Lies: The Handsome Flower Boy 383
"It seems the Shen family is doing quite well," Zhou's mother said in a low voice, not as poor as she had imagined.
"No matter how good it is, it's still the countryside. How good can it be?"
Mr. Zhou was unimpressed and arrogantly stepped forward to knock on the door. What good is a nice house in the village? It still means you have a rural household registration.
The door opened, and a woman in her thirties or forties appeared, wearing a blue cotton-padded jacket and an apron, her hands still covered in flour. This was Shen Ci's sister-in-law.
She looked at the two unfamiliar elderly men outside the door with suspicion. She had never seen them before; they looked like two beggars.
Who are you looking for?
“We are looking for Shen Ci. We are her in-laws and have come to take our grandson Zhou Jinnian home.”
The sister-in-law's face changed instantly; it was no different from seeing a ghost in broad daylight.
"What did you say?"
Zhou's mother stepped forward, speaking as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“I said, we are Zhou Jinnian’s grandparents.”
The child's father is Zhou Weimin. We are from Beijing and have come today to reunite with our family and let the child be recognized by his ancestors.
Upon hearing the name, the elder sister-in-law's hands began to tremble. She stared at the elderly couple, her eyes blazing with anger.
"You, you are that beast's parents?"
These words immediately angered Zhou's father!
"How dare you talk like that, comrade! What do you mean by 'beast'? That's my son!"
The eldest sister-in-law was furious, but she suppressed the urge to hit someone. She knew she couldn't possibly beat the two of them by herself, so she raised her voice and shouted into the house.
"Is he really your son?"
"Dad! Husband! Come out quickly! Zhou Weimin's parents have come knocking!"
This shout immediately alerted the neighbors, and soon several people poured out of the courtyard: Shen's father, the Shen brothers, and the children.
"What happened?" asked the oldest father, Mr. Shen.
Shen's eldest sister-in-law pointed at Zhou's father and mother and began to tell her story.
"Dad, they say they are Zhou Weimin's parents and they've come to take back the child!"
The name Zhou Weimin has always been a taboo subject in the Shen family. Everyone tacitly avoids mentioning it, as if he never existed.
That was the most painful memory for the Shen family.
Father Shen's eyes suddenly sharpened. He walked to the door and looked the person up and down.
"Are you Zhou Weimin's parents?"
Mr. Zhou was a little flustered by this scene. Why did this family seem unwelcoming to them? It didn't seem like the attitude one would show to one's in-laws. But he still straightened his back.
"Yes, we came today to pick up our grandson and take him home."
"These children are the bloodline of the Zhou family; they cannot be left to wander outside."
Father Shen gave a cold laugh.
"Bloodline? When Zhou Weimin threw the child away, why didn't he think about bloodline?"
Oh no, how did they know about this?
Zhou's mother hurriedly tried to explain, saying that she needed to be flexible now.
"That's a misunderstanding! We knew nothing about the child! If we had known, we definitely wouldn't have let him throw him away!"
"See, they rushed over as soon as they heard!"
The sister-in-law was so angry that her eyes turned red.
"Bullshit! You didn't see Xiao Ci when she was pregnant, and you didn't see her when she gave birth."
Zhou Weimin dumped my sister when he went back to the city, and you guys still don't know?
Mr. and Mrs. Zhou were speechless when asked. Mrs. Zhou braced herself, wondering how she could come up with an excuse. Finally, she managed to squeeze out a few words.
Let's not dwell on the past.
Now we admit our mistake, take the child back, and let Shenci go back to enjoy a better life.
Life in Beijing is better than life in the countryside.
These words, once spoken, completely enraged the Shen family.
Father Shen pointed at them with trembling fingers, never expecting that there were such shameless people in the world.
"Enjoying a life of luxury? My daughter was almost killed by your family! My child almost froze to death! And now you have the nerve to talk about enjoying a life of luxury?"
The eldest and second sisters-in-law seized the opportunity to grab the broom and fire poker by the door.
"That's right! Get out! Get out of the Shen family right now!"
Zhou Weimin's father also became furious. How could these rural people be so vulgar and unreasonable? They wouldn't listen to reason and even threatened to grab weapons?!
"How can you be so unreasonable! We came here to properly recognize our relatives, what kind of attitude is this?"
"This child is a member of the Zhou family, and we have the right to take him back!"
Mr. Shen stepped forward. If that incident hadn't happened back then, the two would be in-laws now. His eyes burned with rage.
"Want it back? Say that again?"
A number of villagers had gathered around, having come after hearing the commotion. Some of them realized the identities of Zhou's parents and began to whisper among themselves.
"Are these Chen Shimei's parents?"
"You dare come back to ask for your child? Your skin is thicker than a city wall!"
"Xiao Ci suffered so much back then, she almost died."
"Oh my, so this is what city people are like. Two old beasts raised a little beast, and they still have the nerve to come and ask for the child."
Seeing that the situation was not good, but already in a difficult position, Zhou's father stubbornly said.
"What's wrong with me saying it again?"
Zhou Jinnian is my grandson, and we're taking him away today!
If you don't allow it, we'll sue you! We'll sue you for illegally detaining our child!
Father Shen was so angry that he trembled all over.
"Sue? Fine, go ahead and sue! I want to see which court dares to award the judgment to the father who abandoned the child!"
He turned and shouted into the courtyard.
"Eldest brother, second brother! Grab your weapons! Anyone who dares to lay a finger on my grandson, I'll fight them to the death!"
Shen Ci's two older brothers, Shen Guodong and Shen Guoliang, stood beside their father, one carrying a shovel and the other holding a carrying pole, their eyes red.
They had been wanting revenge for so many years but couldn't find anyone to vent their anger, and these two dared to walk right into their trap. Unfortunately, it wasn't that beast himself who came.
Zhou's mother was so frightened that she stepped back. The scene was truly terrifying, but she still refused to back down.
"What are you doing? Assaulting someone is illegal!"
"We're going to beat you heartless bastards!" someone shouted from the crowd.
Then, someone threw a clod of dirt, which hit Zhou's father on the shoulder.
This was like stirring up a hornet's nest; the anger that the Shen family had been suppressing for years erupted at this moment.
The eldest sister-in-law of the Shen family was the first to rush forward, sweeping the broom indiscriminately at Zhou's mother.
Shen's second brother swung the carrying pole, but Shen Guodong stopped him, lest he hit someone with the pole and kill them. Instead, he used his hands to push, causing Zhou's father to stumble.
The Party Secretary now forbids people from being beaten to death.
The villagers who were watching were also busy.
Most of these people were relatives of the Shen family. Even if they weren't, they had received favors from Shen Ci. The village primary school was built with money donated by Shen Ci.
Someone shouted.
"Hit him! Avenge Shen Ci!"
The crowd surged forward.
Mr. and Mrs. Zhou had never seen anything like this before. They covered their heads and tried to run away, but there were people all around them.
Fists, feet, clods of dirt and twigs picked up at random, rained down from the sky like a storm, a 360-degree barrage of attacks.
"Stop hitting us! Stop hitting us! We're old people!"
Zhou's mother cried and covered her head.
"Old people? Do you even deserve to be called human beings?" A middle-aged woman shouted as she kicked someone.
"How old was Shen Ci back then? She was ruined and then abandoned by your son, and you still have the nerve to come back and ask for the child back?"
"Kill these heartless people!"
"Just because you're from Beijing doesn't mean you can bully people."
"An elderly person? We're beating up elderly people!"
Mr. and Mrs. Zhou were beaten until they rolled on the ground. Their cotton-padded coats were torn, and their faces and bodies were covered in dirt. Mr. Zhou's cotton hat was snatched away by someone and thrown into the stinking ditch.
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