Chapter 15: My Heart Itches Like a Little Cat

The man wanted to pull her sleeve, his brows furrowed with a cold intensity: “Wife, don’t worry, no one dares to bully you.”

Seeing his serious and vigilant expression, Xia Li felt that he genuinely cared for her.

She smiled slightly, “No one can bully me. Remember, you must not come out later.”

She was afraid that in a moment of impulse, he would rush out, so she turned to him and softly reminded, “Be obedient.”

With a fierce expression, the man nodded obediently.

Inside, he felt a fluttering sensation, like a little cat scratching at his heart.

His wife wanted him to listen…

Her tone just now was so gentle… Her voice sounded sweet.

Those two short words made his ears feel warm.

For no reason, he chose to listen to his wife.

He stayed by the door, listening to the commotion outside. If anyone dared to scare his wife, he would immediately go out, beat them up, and throw them into the latrine.

“You worthless scum, who gave you the guts to deceive our family’s Yingzhen?! Just wait until I break your legs, you…”

Xie Shuangxiu’s furious voice pierced through the air as she pounded on the door.

Suddenly, the door was swung open, and she missed her target, almost falling over from the momentum and landing face-first into the dirt.

Xia Li stood at the door, meeting Xie Shuangxiu’s furious glare, then glanced at the pale-faced Xia Yingzhen behind her, her eyes cold:

“What’s going on tonight? Aunt, have you been possessed or are you seeing ghosts? Coming to my door to make a scene?”

Xie Shuangxiu was known for her sharp tongue, and she never expected her niece to retaliate so sharply.

This made her even angrier, and she raised her hand to slap her: “I’ll teach you to be stubborn!”

Xia Li quickly closed the door, and Xie Shuangxiu’s hand hit the doorframe, causing her to cry out in pain, like a pig being slaughtered.

“Mom!” Xia Yingzhen’s eyes widened as she hurried to support her mother.

Furious, she pounded on Xia Li’s door heavily: “Xia Li, you shameless thing! How dare you play tricks on us?! That old man clearly meant to propose to you! You shameless person, how dare you deceive us! I will make you pay for this today!”

Xia Yingzhen had been spoiled by her mother and spoke just as crudely as Xie Shuangxiu.

Xie Shuangxiu’s hand throbbed with pain, and she thought angrily about how she couldn’t find this worthless scum anywhere today!

It turned out that they had been prepared in advance, tricking Zhenzhen into thinking they were discussing a marriage proposal for her!

That evening, as soon as Xia Yingzhen returned home, she quickly made a scene.

She pointed at the butcher Liu’s nose, cursing him for being ugly, old, and fat, saying he was at an age close to the grave yet still wanted to marry a young wife—how shameless! She spewed harsh words like a toad wanting to eat swan meat.

Xie Shuangxiu was confused and didn’t know what was going on. While trying to persuade her, her face turned red and pale in turns.

When Liu finally flipped the table and stormed off in anger, she realized that her daughter thought the marriage was meant for her, which caused such a ruckus. Xia Yingzhen even huffed that she would rather hang herself than marry such an old man.

Xia Wei chased Liu the butcher out of the village, humbly apologizing, but Liu wouldn’t even acknowledge him, just snorting coldly as he left.

Xia Wei initially supported Xie Shuangxiu in helping her niece propose to Liu, hoping to get cheaper meat from his shop in the future.

Now, he was in charge of the food supply for the forest farm, and every month’s pork procurement was a significant expense. If he could get meat cheaper from now on, the profits he could make would be considerable.

But now, look at this! The marriage proposal fell through, and they ended up deeply offending him!

In the future, when he went to buy meat, he would surely be treated poorly!

Xia Wei returned home with a dark expression, scolding both Xie Shuangxiu and his daughter harshly.

Xie Shuangxiu was cleaning up the messy table and dishes, so furious that she couldn’t speak, retorting that it was all because of that shameless niece of hers causing trouble!

She didn’t care anymore and, that evening, took her daughter angrily to Xia Li’s place, wanting to teach that rebellious girl a lesson.

It didn’t matter that they hadn’t worked in the fields for a few days; did she think she had grown wings? How dare she cause trouble and lie about their family?!

Under the night sky of the village, Xie Shuangxiu and Xia Yingzhen sang a duet, itching to rush in and give Xia Li a good pinch.

They thought that this little scoundrel really had some guts, getting clever! She even knew how to hide and not open the door!

Xia Li was indeed waiting.

She waited another two hours, preparing to go out when unexpectedly, with a creak, the neighbor’s door opened before hers.

Soon, an old lady’s voice rang out:

“Who’s making such a mess! Are you not letting this old woman get her sleep tonight? You, Xie, you better shut your filthy mouth! How dare you spew filth at my door, it’s outrageous…”