Chapter 10: Violent Beating

Aunt Zhou, originally named Zhou Xiangxiang, was once a renowned matchmaker in her youth. However, ever since she married Chen Wenming, her temper has become increasingly irritable each year. The reason for her temperament was simple: there were just too many annoying issues in the family!

Her father-in-law, Chen Sanye, was someone who only bossed around at home, while her mother-in-law, though sweet on the outside, was bitter at heart and tended to bully the weak and fear the strong. Her husband was the eldest son in the family, but he was spineless. If it weren’t for her bad temper, loud voice, and strong fists, she and her husband would have ended up being the family’s workhorses.

The family had not split up; both the homestead certificate holder and the head of the household were her father-in-law.

When choosing the compensation method, the family had a meeting to discuss it. Although her father-in-law only wanted to take all the cash, most of the family didn’t support this; instead, they decided to take six houses, with the remainder in cash. The four houses included one set for the old couple, and her family would get a house and a shop, since the original fruit and vegetable store was hers, while the younger brother’s family would take the remaining three houses. The total compensation received was over four hundred sixty thousand.

The family was very satisfied with the division of houses. However, when it came to the cash distribution, Chen Sanye only gave each of his two sons three hundred thousand. Zhou Xiangxiang thought this was acceptable; her small family had the shop, the house, and three hundred thousand—she had one son and one daughter, so it was more than enough.

But then!

When her sister-in-law returned today demanding her share, the mother-in-law accidentally let it slip that the father-in-law intended to buy a house for the younger brother’s family in the city center, an eighty-thousand-dollar house! Moreover, he wanted the sister-in-law to keep it a secret and not let her know.

Zhou Xiangxiang exploded, directly pushing the door open to confront her mother-in-law, asking what exactly this meant. Why should they buy a house for the younger brother’s family and not hers? Usually, Chen Sanpo’s wife didn’t dare assert herself against the eldest daughter-in-law and tended to favor the younger daughter-in-law since she worked in an office. This would have been acceptable in the past, considering that many household tasks depended on the eldest couple. But now it was different; the family’s money was in the hands of the old couple, and they could distribute it however they wanted!

Seeing her eldest daughter-in-law so furious that she looked like she was about to smoke, Chen Sanpo actually felt quite pleased: “Serves that wicked daughter-in-law right! Let her show off her power on normal days! I won’t buy her a big house in the city!”

The younger sister also disliked her big sister-in-law, who often spoke harshly, and supported her mother, saying, “My parents’ money is their business to divide; it’s not up to you, big sister-in-law, to point fingers.” Her mother agreed, deciding to give her the apartment that was originally meant for the second brother. After all, the second brother had already received a house in the city center, plus an additional compensation of three hundred thousand yuan.

“This isn’t a place for you to talk, shut up, or I’ll slap you later!” Zhou Xiangxiang forcefully pulled her younger sister aside, insisting that her mother-in-law clarify the situation.

Chen Sanpo was somewhat intimidated by her but mustered the courage to say, “It’s our money; we can give it to whoever we want. The Wenxing couple is filial; we’re going to rely on them for our old age. What’s wrong with giving them a little extra support?”

Zhou Xiangxiang tightened her fists. “The Chen Wenxing couple is filial? They barely come back once a month and always come back empty-handed, taking bags full of stuff with them when they leave. Can’t you see how busy Chen Wenming and I are? I think you’re blind and heartless to say such things!”

“You, you!” Chen Sanpo was almost intimidated by her but, with several million in savings as a backing, her voice grew louder as she retorted, “Look at you! Which daughter-in-law shouts at her mother-in-law like this? Don’t talk about us buying a house for Wenxing; if you keep talking to me like that, you can forget about the houses and shops in this family!”

The houses and shops were registered under Chen Sanye and Chen Sanpo’s names. If they held on to them and refused to distribute them, Zhou Xiangxiang and her family would really be at a loss.

Zhou Xiangxiang already had a fiery temper, and now that her mother-in-law was provoking her, she couldn’t control her anger any longer. The houses were built largely thanks to the hard work of her and Chen Wenming. Chen Wenxing had been living in the city with his wife and child for a year and hardly sent any money home. Now, after more than twenty years of hard work, they couldn’t even claim their family business? She truly regretted not separating from the family back then, which led to her being under the control of these two old folks.

Seeing Zhou Xiangxiang’s eyes fill with tears out of anger, Chen Sanpo felt a sense of satisfaction, believing she had found Zhou Xiangxiang’s weakness. She was quite pleased and thought to herself, “Let’s see if she dares to raise her voice at me again! From now on, every time I mention the houses or shops, she’ll have to behave!”

But Chen Sanpo’s happiness lasted less than a minute when suddenly a dark shadow loomed over her, and her left cheek was slapped hard. Before she could cry out in pain, Zhou Xiangxiang had already lunged at her with her left palm and right fist. “I’ll kill you, you old hag! Oh, so you’re not going to share with us, huh? Then take your money and go spend it underground!” Another slap followed.

“Using our hard-earned money to build a house and then thinking they can kick us out when the place is redeveloped? I wish you two old fools would just drop dead right now! You have money, but let’s see if you have the life to spend it!”

The younger sister was terrified by Zhou Xiangxiang’s frenzied demeanor. Her mother had already been slapped several times and had a swollen face, so she hurriedly stepped in to pull Zhou Xiangxiang away, but ended up receiving a few slaps herself.

“Help! Someone’s going to kill! Help!”

“Zhou Xiangxiang, you… ah! Help!”

Outside, Chen Sanye and his two sons quickly rushed in upon hearing the commotion. When they saw Zhou Xiangxiang on top of Chen Sanpo, hitting her and her daughter, Chen Sanye was so furious he stamped his foot, “Rebellion! How dare you hit your mother-in-law!”

Zhou Xiangxiang turned around and tried to slap him as well, “Why wouldn’t I? I’ll hit you too! You old fool! Sneaking around to buy a house for Chen Wenxing! Who do you think built this house? Who managed the land after it was contracted out? You old hag still dare to say you won’t give us a single house? Fine! If we can’t get a share, don’t think you can spend it; you should all just die!”

Chen Wenming had initially been blocking Zhou Xiangxiang, but after hearing her words, he loosened his grip around her waist.

Chen Wenxing defended Chen Sanye, saying, “If it’s for Mom and Dad, then of course they should divide it. If you were truly filial, how could they not share with you? Look at you, acting like a shrew.”

Zhou Xiangxiang glared at him as if he were her enemy, picked up a feather duster from the table, and swung it at Chen Wenxing’s face. “When we were supporting you through college, did you ever call me a shrew? You ungrateful wolf, you selfish thing, just like those two old fools! Let’s see if I don’t beat you to death!”

When Chen Jin arrived, Aunt Zhou was already being held back by several aunts, while the faces of the others—Chen Sanye, Chen Sanpo, Xiaogui, and Uncle Wenxing—were swollen, and their exposed arms bore multiple marks, as if they had been struck with sticks.

The crowd around was in a frenzy, and Chen Jin quickly pieced together what had happened.

The village chief arrived late, immediately broke a feather duster over his knee, and tossed it aside.

At that moment, Chen Jin thought the village chief looked particularly dignified.

He wanted to continue watching, but the village chief began sending people out, leaving only the old branch secretary and several respected elders in the village. Tian Miao expressed concern for Aunt Zhou, saying, “Chen Sanye and Chen Sanpo are too biased; they don’t want to give anything to Aunt Zhou!”

Though Aunt Zhou had a fierce temper, Tian Miao often chatted with her at the small shop, and they had a good relationship. Tian Miao told Chen Jin how hard Aunt Zhou usually worked, “She farms and grows vegetables and has to look after the fruit and vegetable shop. When Chen Sanpo was sick and hospitalized in March, it was Aunt Zhou who stayed with her. This old hag is truly heartless; she only remembers Aunt Zhou’s bad temper and forgets how much she works and even took her to the doctor.”

“Aunt Zhou also said she plans to add another floor to rent out by the end of the year. Just look at that; the money is coming from her and Uncle Wenming, yet they don’t want to give them any share. It’s really disheartening.”

Many villagers were also saying that Chen Sanye and Chen Sanpo had gone too far. No wonder Aunt Zhou was yelling that she wanted to kill them. After all, a lifetime of savings had gone into the house, and the main income in the family was all earned by her and her husband. Now that the redevelopment money was coming in, the parents were holding on to it tightly without wanting to share anything. Their own brother, whom they had helped through school, had settled in the city and didn’t bring money back. Now, he was taking money from the family. Tsk, tsk, even clay figurines have their limits; if you provoke people too much, it could lead to serious trouble!

So, Chen Sanye and the others deserved the beating they received!

The old branch secretary’s wife said softly, “I told you Zhou Xiangxiang’s violent temper is no good; what daughter-in-law acts like her? If I were her mother-in-law, I wouldn’t give her a house either.”

Unfortunately, her daughter-in-law overheard this and scoffed, “Good thing we separated early; otherwise, you’d be controlling us too.”

The old branch secretary’s wife was startled, and her daughter-in-law stared at her with a half-smile, making her too afraid to say anything more. She hurriedly left, looking defeated.

Seeing this, everyone burst into laughter, saying that when dealing with unreasonable old folks, you really have to be tough; otherwise, life would be unbearable.

After returning home, third Aunt sighed, saying that Chen Sanye and Chen Sanpo were indeed heartless, but she also noted that Aunt Zhou’s temperament was too explosive, making her prone to suffering losses.

“She, when she first got married, was tormented by Chen Sanpo for the first two or three years. Her family didn’t intervene, and when she couldn’t take it anymore, she tried to jump into the river. It was the river to the west; the channel has been changed now, but it used to be deep. In the middle of winter, she just jumped in without a second thought,” third Aunt sighed. “She was rescued after jumping in, and that’s when her temper changed. There was even a time she chased Chen Sanpo with a kitchen knife, and the Women’s Federation from the city sent someone over.”

Those were all old stories. If the elders didn’t talk about them, the younger generation wouldn’t know anything.

“I think they’re going to separate the household.”

Chen Jin replied, “Separating is fine; as long as the village chief still has some say, Aunt Zhou shouldn’t get too little.” It was definitely better than living every day under someone else’s thumb.

“Everyone in the village is watching. Who doesn’t know how their house came to be?” third Aunt shook her head, and noticing that her two sons were listening nearby, she decided to speak directly to them, saying that whatever was in the family would be equally divided among them in the future, and she and their father wouldn’t show favoritism.

Chen Yongan took advantage of the situation and smiled at her flatteringly. “Mom, could you buy me the latest game console?” The family had plenty of money, and the cost of the console was just a drop in the bucket for him.

thrid Aunt raised her hand and gave him a few hard pats on the back, gritting her teeth as she said, “Play, play, play! If your grades don’t improve, I’ll twist your head off and use it as a toy!”

Whenever it came to Chen Yongan’s academic performance, thrid Aunt transformed into an angry dinosaur. Chen Jin and her cousin Chen Yongfei exchanged glances, silently getting up to leave and avoid the “battle.”

“Sis, I’ve made plans with Erge to sign up for driving lessons tomorrow. Are you going?”

Chen Jin thought that having a car in the future would be convenient, so since she had the time, she might as well get her driver’s license.

“I’m going.”

“By the way,” Chen Jin looked at Chen Yongfei, “Has thrid Aunt agreed to buy you a car?”

“…Not agreed, but I can drive the one you buy.”