Early in the morning, before Xiao Zhengde and his family were fully awake, they were woken up by loud banging on the door and wailing.
You can tell it's Grandma Xiao just by her voice.
Xiao Zhengde's wife grumbled unhappily.
"What kind of trouble is she causing this so early in the morning!"
I told her long ago to treat everyone equally and be nicer to Dayong's family, but she just acts like she has nothing but shit in her eyes. She can't see the two good kids and only cares about these worthless ones!
Just you wait! Da Yong has really abandoned her. If those people she treats like treasures treat her even half as well as Da Yong and the others, she'll be incredibly lucky!
"Sigh! Let's not talk about that now. I'll go out and take a look. You can get up too!"
After speaking, Xiao Zhengde put on his clothes and went out first.
The door was being pounded on by Old Mrs. Xiao. If it were anyone else, Xiao Zhengde would have given them a warning before opening the door, but Old Mrs. Xiao did it every now and then, and he was so fed up with it that he just opened the door!
Caught off guard, Grandma Xiao missed her target and, propelled forward by the momentum, rolled into the yard like a ball...
Xiao Zhengde took a step back and coughed lightly.
"Why are you two here so early in the morning? How is Peach Blossom doing?"
Grandma Xiao was still a bit dazed from the fall, and as soon as she heard Xiao Zhengde ask how Taohua was, she immediately wailed in pain.
"That wretched girl! A jinx, born to bring misfortune to my family!"
Village Chief! You have no idea, because of that wretched girl, Dayong has gone mad!
When he got home yesterday, he started smashing things everywhere. He broke several doors in my house and even smashed the cabinets in my room!
His eyes were glaring like a bull's! He almost smashed my old bones!
Oh my, this is incredible!
"Village chief, you have to do something about him! I can't live like this anymore!"
Old Man Xiao followed suit.
"That's right, Uncle. Dayong is being disobedient and unfilial. I think you should open the ancestral hall today and give him fifty lashes. If we don't stop this trend, other people's sons will follow suit, and the atmosphere in our village will be ruined!"
Go ahead and hit me, just don't cripple me!
"snort!
I think you two are beyond saving!
Your granddaughter is so badly injured, and neither of you has gone to see her even once!
She came to me first thing in the morning to complain!
If either of you cared about the child even a little, I guarantee Dayong wouldn't have done this!
I've told you two to be nicer to Dayong's family for a long time, but what have you two done?
They're just old folks from the countryside, can't they just live a simple, down-to-earth life? Why do they have to act like ladies and mistresses?
Da Yong is like this because of the two of you, do you know that?
A loving father and a filial son are a mutual relationship. Parents love their children and children are filial to their parents. Dayong is a good child by nature. If you had treated his family better, this would never have happened in your family!
And your Da Mei and Yan Zi! What kind of behavior is this, spoiling them like this! Brotherly love and respect are supposed to be between brothers, but the older sister doesn't act like an older sister, and the younger sister doesn't act like a younger sister at all. What kind of behavior is this!
You, Yuanhang, are supposed to be scholars, how did your family end up like this!
Tell me yourselves, which family in the whole village is like yours, doing one thing today and another tomorrow!
I'm telling you, if you keep doing this, I won't hide it from you when your fourth son takes the imperial examination and his character and family traditions are investigated!
Just look at all the things that have happened in your family: the younger sister bossing around her sister-in-law, the older sister beating her niece, and the parents showing favoritism. Any one of these things is a stain on your family's reputation!
Besides, your family gave most of the land to the fourth son, and you've ruined the second son's family. Just this alone means that if someone finds fault with the fourth son, it's questionable whether he can keep his scholar's degree!
I absolutely have to keep the ancestral hall open! Otherwise, you guys will really corrupt the atmosphere of this village!
"You two go back, the ancestral hall opens at nine o'clock!"
After Xiao Zhengde finished speaking, he turned and went inside!
Old Mrs. Xiao and Old Mr. Xiao wanted to go up and argue with Xiao Zhengde, but Xiao Zhengde threw down a sentence.
"You should go home and think it over first, then we'll talk about it at the ancestral hall!"
He slammed the door shut!
This kind of harsh and merciless reprimand is something Xiao Zhengde has never done since he became the village chief!
The two men were rebuffed. They had prepared a whole bunch of embellished complaints, but they were stopped before they could even begin. They were also afraid of angering Xiao Zhengde and making him really harm their fourth brother, so they had no choice but to slink home.
Xiao Zhengde's original intention was to point out the seriousness of the matter, to let them go back and reflect on their actions, and at least restore their lives to their original state!
But neither of them had any intention of reflecting on their actions. They were already convinced that the fourth son and Xiao Yan would be successful in the future, and the old couple were counting on them to enjoy their good fortune!
The eldest son is a rough and uncouth man, destined for mediocrity. Isn't it only right that he does more work to serve them?
This rebellious son, along with his jinxed wife, is going to turn the world upside down!
No, I have to act pitiful when the ancestral hall opens later. If I don't teach them a lesson, how will I be able to show off in front of them in the future!
As soon as Old Man Xiao and Old Woman Xiao got home, they went inside to discuss their plans. It wasn't until it was broad daylight and the family's stomachs were growling with hunger that they realized it was long past mealtime and that Li Shi hadn't gotten up to cook yet!
Grandma Xiao angrily cursed at the door.
"What's wrong with this lazy bum! Why isn't she up and cooking?! Is she trying to starve me to death?! She's got a death wish, she'll get itchy if I don't beat her for a day!"
In the past, she would have stormed over to their door long ago, but now that she thought of Xiao Dayong acting crazy, she only dared to curse a few words at Li's room from the doorway!
However, since they all lived in the same courtyard, and Xiao Dayong had chopped down the door, and Old Madam Xiao had deliberately raised her voice, she didn't believe that Li Shi couldn't hear her!
As for Xiao Dayong's words yesterday about not letting Li Shi do housework, she didn't take them seriously at all. She didn't believe that Li Shi could cause any trouble!
Li was indeed used to being suppressed by Old Madam Xiao. After a long day of trouble yesterday, she overslept. When she suddenly heard Old Madam Xiao cursing, she sat up with a start and got out of bed to cook!
Xiao Dayong and the children also woke up!
Seeing the terrified look on Li's face, Xiao Dayong, realizing what was happening, spoke up.
"Don't go! We've always been too obedient, which is why they don't treat us like human beings anymore. This time, we're going all out. At worst, I'll take you all out with me!"
With Xiao Dayong's words, Li felt more confident. The couple first checked on Taohua and saw that her complexion was better than yesterday, which put their minds at ease.
Li still put on her clothes and went out to cook. Xiao Dayong was about to stop her, but Li said...
"They may not eat, but we have to, and the children especially need to eat! I'll just cook and bring it in. Expecting to eat their cooking is like waiting for the moon and the monkey to come!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Dayong agreed and fell silent.
Li went straight to the kitchen. Old Mrs. Xiao heard the commotion from inside the house and quickly came out to see what was going on. Seeing that Li had gone to the kitchen to cook, she was secretly pleased. She knew that Li wouldn't dare to cause any trouble. She thought, "Wait until I teach her a lesson today. Otherwise, she'll have lived all these years in vain!"
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