Chapter 28

Bai Jiaojiao was staring blankly at the raindrops when she suddenly heard a knock at the door.

The sky had darkened faster because of the rain, and the old courtyard looked a bit eerie. She glanced at Xiao Zhou, who was carrying dishes from the kitchen.

She thought to herself, Is there anyone scarier than this big villain?

Suddenly, she felt a surge of courage and walked to the gate. She asked through the door,
“Who is it?”

A woman’s voice came from outside—it was Auntie Xiao from the neighboring village.
“We’re here! Come to pay a New Year’s visit. Hurry, open the door!”

Bai Jiaojiao was speechless. Weren’t we already on bad terms? How could they still have the nerve to come over for New Year’s?

Then a middle-aged man’s voice chimed in.
“Xiao Zhou’s wife, I brought my woman to apologize. The rain came down so suddenly, and we didn’t bring an umbrella. Just open the door, will you?”

Bai Jiaojiao frowned. She really didn’t want to open the door. But it was New Year’s—refusing relatives at the door wouldn’t look good if word got out.

She considered that Xiao Zhou and his father were both home. There was nothing to be afraid of, so she opened the door.

The moment she saw Chen Erzhuang, she instinctively stepped back half a step.

What a coincidence—he was also one of the people from Chen Family Village who appeared in her dream at Xiao Zhou’s funeral.

Chen Erzhuang’s eyes lit up when he saw her. He couldn’t help but size her up, and when she stepped back, he reached out to “help” her.

“Careful there, little girl, don’t fall,” he said.

That filthy hand, stained with black grime and clearly unwashed, was intercepted just in time—gripped tightly by a large, strong hand before it could touch her.

Bai Jiaojiao was startled, nearly feeling defiled.

Xiao Zhou’s face was cold as he flung the dirty hand aside and stepped in front of her. “What do you want?”

Chen Erzhuang staggered a little and nearly fell over. He was about to lose his temper, but one look at Xiao Zhou’s cold, dark eyes, and his bravado evaporated. He chuckled awkwardly.

“I brought my woman to apologize, and also to wish you a Happy New Year.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for. You insulted my mother—you’re no longer family. Get out,” Xiao Zhou said sharply.

He glared at the hand that nearly touched his wife. If he weren’t still thinking rationally, he really would have chopped it off.

Chen Tiedan, the little boy, looked inside eagerly. “Mom, I’m hungry. Smells like meat in there.”

Auntie Xiao rubbed her son’s head and couldn’t help swallowing hard herself. “We’ll eat soon.”

Xiao Zhou and his father were both capable men. Despite having one adult and one child in the household, his father earned the most work points in the village, and their family was never short on food. Her own family couldn’t compare.

And Xiao Zhou? That guy had been specially recruited into the military—his salary was high. Just a bit of support from him, and the Xiao family lived like city folk.

Bai Jiaojiao felt speechless. She had never seen someone this shameless coming to freeload.

“No matter how much meat there is, it has nothing to do with you. Get out!” she snapped.

“Why kick people out on New Year’s? I just got back and found out about the stupid things my wife did. I already beat her for it—she knows she was wrong,” Chen Erzhuang said, stomach growling. He dragged his wife forward.

Auntie Xiao’s face was bruised and she looked utterly pathetic now. Gone was the arrogance from before. She started crying pitifully.

“I was wrong, okay? I’m here to apologize. We’re all family—there’s nothing that can’t be forgiven.”

“I can’t forgive it. Leave. I won’t say it again,” Xiao Zhou said, clearly running out of patience.

Just then, his father, Xiao Zhenguo, came out from inside after noticing something was wrong. He was about to ask what was going on when he saw the Chen family loitering at the gate.

Auntie Xiao’s eyes lit up when she saw him.
“Brother Zhenguo, we came to visit, but your son and daughter-in-law won’t let us in. No manners at all.”

But Xiao Zhenguo’s face darkened. Bai Jiaojiao had already told him everything that happened after that day—and they had even returned all the gifts they were given.

Once he heard that Auntie Xiao had insulted his daughter-in-law, he had decided to cut ties. They weren’t that close to begin with. He had just helped them occasionally because they were struggling.

“It’s getting dark. You’d best head home,” Xiao Zhenguo said.

Chen Erzhuang grew angry. “Damn it, Xiao Zhenguo! You got no manners? We came all the way here from another village in the rain, and now you’re kicking us out?!”

Xiao Zhenguo hesitated.

Bai Jiaojiao whispered something to Xiao Zhou and gave him a nudge.

Xiao Zhou frowned but then gave her a subtle signal with his eyes.

Bai Jiaojiao quickly whispered a few more words into his ear and ran inside.

Chen Erzhuang thought that meant they were letting them in. He tried to follow but was blocked by Xiao Zhou, who remained expressionless.

“You want in? Fine. But where’s your apology gift? Where’s the New Year’s present?”

The whole Chen family had shown up empty-handed—no shame at all.

Chen Erzhuang scoffed. “You didn’t bring gifts when you came to my house. Why should we?”

Auntie Xiao nodded. “Yeah, we already apologized. We’re family. Why be so petty?”

Xiao Zhou picked up a bucket of water nearby and splashed them all.

They hadn’t been fully soaked by the rain yet, but now they were dripping wet with dirty water.

If it weren’t for their thick winter clothing, they’d look like drowned rats.

“Xiao Zhou, what the hell are you doing?! We’re your elders!” Auntie Xiao screamed.

“Family, right? Let’s not be petty,” Xiao Zhou replied with a fake smile, tossing them a rag.

“Wipe yourselves clean and come eat.”

The rag had been washed, and it was dry—but it had been used to clean all kinds of dirty places, and no matter how clean it looked, it reeked.

Still, the water on them was worse, and the ground was freezing. If they didn’t dry off, they’d catch cold. Gritting his teeth, Chen Erzhuang dried himself off and rushed inside.

Auntie Xiao wanted to wipe herself too, but Chen Tiedan, who couldn’t stand the cold any longer, snatched the rag and used it first. After he was done, he threw it to his mother.

By then, the cloth was soaked and dripping.

Shivering, Auntie Xiao shot a resentful glance toward Xiao Zhenguo, then stepped inside, barely able to bear the cold.

Inside the house, it was warm—but when they saw what was on the table, their hearts froze.

“Where’s the meat?” Chen Tiedan looked around, unwilling to believe it.

In front of them was a big pot of mixed vegetable soup, and three bowls filled with little more than hot water and wilted greens—not even half-cooked. Not a shred of meat in sight.

“We come here as guests, and you feed us pig slop?” Chen Erzhuang slammed the table. He had already been in a foul mood. He thought at least they’d get a good meal, but this was worse than what he cooked himself.

Auntie Xiao’s face darkened too. “Where’s the food you were cooking earlier?”

Bai Jiaojiao, standing nearby, looked innocent.
“This is our food. What, you think we stole it from someone else?

And this isn’t pig slop—it’s called Pearl Jade White Jade Soup. Fancy dish, this.”

Chen Erzhuang didn’t buy it for a second.
“You clearly cooked meat. I saw it with my own eyes!”

“You saw wrong,” Bai Jiaojiao said calmly.

Xiao Zhou, losing his patience, snapped, “Don’t want to eat? Then get lost.”

Letting them in was already the limit of his tolerance.

Auntie Xiao looked pitifully at Xiao Zhenguo.
“Brother Zhenguo, your son and daughter-in-law are so rude. You really gonna let them treat us like this? What will the neighbors think?”

Bai Jiaojiao snorted.
“You’ve already thrown your face away—now you care about what people think?”

Auntie Xiao’s face turned red with fury. But looking at Xiao Zhenguo again, she softened her expression, trying to appear pitiful.

“Brother Zhenguo, I really know I was wrong. I’m cold, I’m hungry… for the sake of old times, can we please have something better to eat?”