Old Mrs. Xiao called out to Xiao Yan for a long time, wrapped in a blanket, but Xiao Yan didn't respond. She was so cold that she had no choice but to go back inside, grumbling and cursing.
Back inside, the more she thought about it, the more suffocated she felt. She burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably, and started crying with Old Man Xiao.
"Oh dear! Tell me, what kind of life do I have, raising such ungrateful wretches!"
"We can't even get a glimmer of light; we're old and frail, and now we're stuck here suffering in the cold!"
Old Xiao was also too cold to sleep, so he puffed on his cigarette, lost in thought.
After crying for a while, feeling unsatisfied, she raised her voice and started yelling at Li's family.
"You damned lazy old woman! You heartless, rotten-bellied thing! Making your in-laws freeze in the dead of winter!"
Oh dear, what a life I have! I've raised my son for nothing! He's forgotten his mother after he got married! I can't live like this anymore!
"Oh God, look! This unfilial son and his heartless wife are rebelling! They're abusing their own mother!"
The voice was melodious and penetrating, and soon the Li family members were awakened!
Apart from Peach Blossom, everyone else is immune now. After all, they've been to the ancestral hall and received the punishment they deserved. What else can they do?
Li and Xiao Dayong discovered that the people who had been afraid of them for two or three decades were actually nothing special!
Aside from some initial instinctive fear, after two days of overcoming it, I was able to face it calmly!
After being woken up, everyone except Peach Blossom asked a question.
"Mom, it must be because Auntie and Second Aunt didn't heat the kang (heated brick bed) for Grandma yesterday. Do we really not need to heat it?"
Li Shi Yingdao
"No need. Before your aunt got married, we didn't have to take care of her. We've been doing this for many years, so it's time to give your aunt and the others a chance to show their filial piety. It's wrong of them not to take care of your grandma. You're still injured, so go to sleep!"
Peach Blossom nodded in relief after hearing this, and the family went back to sleep!
When Li woke up and went outside, she saw Xiao Yan and Xie Yujiao clearing away the dishes. The two women, looking like cross-eyed chickens, glared at Li before leaving.
The yard was full of firewood leaves. The chickens, ducks and geese in the coop were probably starving after two days without being fed. They were squawking and squawking. A few of the faster-growing ones with wings somehow flew out and saw rice grains on the bowl Xiao Yan was holding. They flew straight at Xiao Yan and landed on her!
Seeing this, Xie Yujiao screamed in fright, dropped her rice bowl, and ran away!
Xiao Yan's body was covered in scratches from the chicken's claws. The chicken droppings hadn't been cleaned up in the past two days, and the whole chicken smelled terrible. Her newly made clothes were also covered in several clumps of chicken droppings. Xiao Yan was furious. She grabbed the chicken by the neck and slammed it against the wall with a loud thud!
She threw down the bowl and chopsticks in her hands and ran back home crying loudly!
The poor chicken was ruthlessly thrown by Xiao Yan and fell to the ground motionless after a couple of flaps!
Grandma Xiao had been freezing all night and barely managed to eat a full meal. Before she could warm up, she heard a commotion outside and then saw Xie Yujiao running in, clutching her stomach!
"What's going on? I just asked you to collect the dishes, why are you wailing like a banshee!"
"Mom, that chicken has gone mad, it's lunging at people!"
I was just afraid of hurting your precious grandson!
Let Yanzi collect the bowls!
That gave me quite a fright! My heart is still pounding! I'm going back to rest now!
After Xie Yujiao finished speaking, she returned to her own courtyard!
No sooner had Xie Yujiao left than Xiao Yan ran in crying.
"Let whoever wants to do this job do it. I'm not doing it anymore. Look at my hands, they're all scratched up by that dead chicken. How am I supposed to get married now?"
Mother, if you force me to do these lousy jobs, I'll kill myself!
If I die, this marriage will be off, and you can forget about enjoying your daughter's blessings!
Grandma Xiao wanted to scold her daughter, but when she saw the bloody red marks on her daughter's hands, she couldn't bear to do it. In addition, she thought of Xiao Yan's in-laws and how she really wanted Xiao Yan to enjoy a good life. So she coaxed Xiao Yan a few more times and sent her back to her room.
Xiao Yan left, and Old Mrs. Xiao had nowhere to vent her anger. So she started nagging Old Mr. Xiao again.
Old Man Xiao had long since grown tired of her repetitive refrain, so he took a pipe and went out!
Seeing the mess in the yard, Li hesitated for a moment, but ultimately didn't do anything. Instead, she took away the chicken that Xiao Yan had killed. She couldn't bear to kill it herself. The day Tao Hua was injured, she wanted to stew a chicken to nourish her, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.
Xiao Yan actually granted her wish today!
Mrs. Li stewed a pot of chicken and steamed a pot of steamed buns, and the whole family enjoyed a delicious meal.
The aroma of chicken filling the yard made Xiao Yan and the others grumble and complain again!
Grandma Xiao wanted to take some over, but when she went to the kitchen, she saw that Li had taken the whole pot! She was so angry that she stood under Li's window with her hands on her hips and cursed for a long time, "Greedy woman, spendthrift!" before angrily going back to her room.
As for Old Man Xiao, he went out with a belly full of resentment. In the dead of winter, he had nowhere to go. Others could gather at someone else's house to chat, but his house was the laughing stock of the whole village. He was too lazy to go to other people's houses. Somehow, he ended up at Widow Liu's doorstep!
Just then, Widow Liu was feeding the chickens in the yard. When she saw Old Man Xiao, she warmly went up to greet him.
"Brother Xiao, what are you doing here?"
"Oh my, you've gotten so thinner in just a few days!"
"Ugh! Don't even mention it, there's not a single person in my family who gives me any peace of mind!"
"Hey! What are you saying? Everyone has their troubles, but we all get by."
Why don't you come in and sit for a while?
If something's bothering you, tell me!
Old Man Xiao hasn't been cared for and comforted like this in so long!
Liu's understanding nature touched Old Man Xiao's heart. Looking at Liu's smiling face, Old Man Xiao's legs moved uncontrollably and he followed Liu into the house!
After breakfast, Liu's two sons went up the mountain to catch pheasants with the village lads, and she sent her daughter to gather firewood!
Old Man Xiao stayed there until 1-3 PM, and no one knew what the two of them did in the room.
But when he got home, and Old Mrs. Xiao started complaining and throwing a tantrum again, Old Mr. Xiao sighed deeply.
"Li is still angry because of Tao Hua. She still needs their help for the fourth son in the future, so we can't let things fall apart all at once. She's just feeling resentful. Let her rest for a while and calm down!"
"Pah! Why should she rest? She's just a servant, why should she..."
"Shut up!"
Having experienced Liu's understanding nature, Old Man Xiao became even more intolerant of Old Mrs. Xiao's shrewish behavior. Seeing Old Mrs. Xiao throwing another tantrum, he suddenly roared.
Grandma Xiao was startled. Grandpa Xiao's rare outburst frightened her, so she shut her mouth, feeling resentful.
Old Man Xiao continued
“Yanzi is getting married in about half a month, and the fourth son’s wife is pregnant. You—you haven’t done these kinds of chores for over ten years. You’ve been with me for most of your life, and I can’t bear to see you doing these chores in your old age…”
This sentence was indeed something Old Man Xiao came up with on short notice to get Madam Liu to come over.
However, Grandma Xiao loved to hear it, and all her anger vanished!
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