Chapter 41: It Feels So Good to Be a Shrew

Talk all you want, try to persuade all you want.

“Feng’s wife, we all know you’ve suffered, but let’s talk this out nicely. You can’t just go and hit your mother-in-law like this.”

“Yeah, let’s talk it out. If you really hurt someone, you could end up in jail.”

Lu Lan leaned on her stick, breathing heavily with anger, but her eyes were fixed tightly on Old Lady Qian.

Old Lady Qian, who was usually so mighty, was actually scared by Lu Lan this time.

This crazy woman really had nothing to lose. If it weren’t for the youngest son holding her back, she might have actually beaten Old Lady Qian to death.

She rarely kept quiet, but this time she didn’t continue to provoke Lu Lan.

On the other side, Feng Oldest was so angry he threatened to beat Lu Lan to death, but Feng Feng held him back tightly.

“Big brother, you can’t hit her. Lanlan is just a woman—how could she take a blow from your stick?”

Feng Oldest snapped, “You useless coward, can’t even deal with a woman and you still have the nerve to talk? Get out of my way.”

“Big brother, no!” Feng Feng held him back with all his strength.

Feng Oldest was furious. “You’re still stopping me? Mom’s love for you was all for nothing. You just watch our mom get beaten by your wife? If you don’t hit her, how can you face mom? Move aside, or as your older brother, I’ll teach you a lesson for Mom and Dad.”

Feng Feng still refused to let go. Feng Oldest angrily swung the stick at him.

Lu Lan saw Feng Feng, unarmed, couldn’t fight Feng Oldest who had a stick. She took several hits herself and tears flowed nonstop.

This man made her feel both love and hate. Why was he so foolishly filial? Why was he so dumb?

She felt that although it was hard to escape with her daughter, it wasn’t impossible.

But to abandon this man before her, or to escape with him, that was as difficult as climbing to the sky.

“Stop fighting! Everyone stop!”

“Dawa, you’re wrong! That’s your own younger brother.”

“Who told him to stop me?” Feng Oldest snapped.

“If you didn’t stop him, he’d hit his sister-in-law. You’re an elder cousin, hitting your younger brother’s wife is definitely wrong.”

Just then, Fourth Grandpa Feng finally arrived.

“Stop it! Everyone, stop right now!”

“Oh, the squad leader is here! Squad leader, please come and calm them down—they’re about to kill each other.”

“Dawa, stop it!”

Feng Oldest didn’t listen.

Fourth Grandpa Feng saw this, grabbed a big broom, and started swinging it at Feng Oldest like chasing a dragonfly.

Feng Oldest didn’t dare fight Fourth Grandpa Feng. The old man was vigorous and skilled.

After two hits, Fourth Grandpa Feng gave him a kick that sent him stumbling into the drainage ditch.

This ditch was the village drainage—dirty and smelly.

Now Feng Oldest was covered in muck, becoming the laughingstock of the onlookers, who joked he was going to get rich.

Feng Oldest was quite annoyed. “Fourth Grandpa, you’re too biased!”

Fourth Grandpa Feng said, “Who told you not to listen?”

“Mind your own business. After Dad died, this family should be mine to run. It’s none of your business if I teach my own younger brother and sister-in-law a lesson.”

Fourth Grandpa Feng felt his authority was challenged. He raised the big broom and said, “What’s that supposed to mean? In this village, am I not allowed to interfere?”

“I…”

“Hmph, if you don’t want me to interfere, then you can get out of the village.”

While Fourth Grandpa Feng was lecturing Feng Oldest, Feng Feng turned and walked toward Lu Lan.

Seeing his face, Lu Lan tightened her grip on the stick in her hand.

Bruised and swollen face, bloodstains at the corner of his mouth.

“Lanlan, I…” As soon as he spoke, blood started spurting out again.

The stick in Lu Lan’s hand clattered to the ground. She almost forgot that she had made up her mind to stand up for her daughter. Now, she couldn’t care about anything else and hurried forward to support Feng Feng.

“You damn bastard, where did you get hit? Why are you still coughing up blood?”

The few hits she had dealt were controlled, but his current state was all thanks to his big brother.

“It’s nothing, nothing. Just some broken skin in my mouth. Only superficial wounds.”

How could these wounds look like just superficial injuries?

Lu Lan was furious and stared at Feng Oldest, who was climbing out of the filthy ditch. “Call the police. We have to report this. How can someone be beaten like this?”

Feng Oldest was also angry. “Was I the only one hitting? Don’t forget, you started it.”

Lu Lan went all out. “Then we’ll both go to jail together, elder cousin. Even if I go down, I’m taking you with me.”

“You… you crazy woman!”

“Alright, alright, both of you say less,” Feng Fourth Grandpa intervened to calm the escalating argument.

“Someone tell me, what exactly happened here?”

Feng Mian patted Feng Rongrong on the shoulder.

She had just talked with Feng Rongrong and decided to explain the situation to Fourth Grandpa Feng.

She was eight years old but not a little kid, and she was smart enough to explain the whole story clearly.

Everyone listened carefully to her detailed account.

Their family’s matters were not a secret in the village. Old Lady Qian was strict and favored boys over girls without showing any face.

Her granddaughter had grown up without even getting a single piece of candy from her, and the money from the youngest son’s family was always taken to support the eldest son’s family—everyone knew this.

In the past, the three of them might have just endured it.

But for some reason, this time, they didn’t.

Rongrong didn’t hand over the candy, Lu Lan went crazy resisting and hit Old Lady Qian.

They felt maybe people do have limits to endurance.

Like a spring, being pressed down a little today, a little tomorrow, eventually it hits bottom and suddenly snaps back.

They thought Lu Lan was that kind of person.

The people around whispered quietly. Feng Fourth Grandpa heard all of it.

He more or less understood it the same way.

Why was it that bullying her before caused no problem, but now it did? Probably because Lu Lan’s spring had been pushed down to the limit, so she snapped back.

“Old Qian, look at what you’ve done. You favor your grandsons, but you can’t bully people too much. It’s one thing to be biased about your own things, but why do you steal from others? You’re decades old, stealing your granddaughter’s candy—your old face can compete with the stones in the outhouse, both stinky and hard, and really thick.”

Old Lady Qian’s face turned pale and then flushed with anger. “Our family’s business is none of your concern. Mind your own business.”

That sounded just like Feng Oldest. No wonder they’re mother and son.

Feng Fourth Grandpa snapped, “Don’t want me to interfere? Fine, then report to the police. Lu Lan and Dawa both hit the kid, and no one knows who hit with which stick—then they can all go to jail together.”

Hearing that, Old Lady Qian’s face changed drastically.

Feng Fourth Grandpa continued, “And forget about your eldest grandson joining the army.”

Old Lady Qian snapped back, “What does that have to do with my eldest grandson?”

Over here, Gu Yuelin, who had been in the army, said, “If someone in the family has been to jail, the army won’t accept them.”

“What? There’s such a rule?”

“Yes. If Big Brother Feng had been in jail, his children and grandchildren can’t join the army. Not only the army, but if they want to find a decent job in the city in the future, it won’t be possible. Any good job will check three generations back.”