Font Size:
Jiang Ning used a handkerchief to wipe the water stains off him and then dressed him in the neatly placed clothes nearby.
After dressing Zhiqi, Jiang Ning took his hand, “Come on, let’s go down.”
Huo Zhiqi walked with Jiang Ning, occasionally focusing on the warmth of her hand holding his.
On the way down, Jiang Ning slipped on some moss, but fortunately, Zhiqi pulled her back, preventing her from sliding down like on a slide and embarrassing herself.
Sister Li saw Jiang Ning coming down and greeted her, “Sister Jiang, I’ve put the fish in your bucket.”
She then noticed Jiang Ning’s dirty clothes covered in mud, “What happened to you? Did you fall?”
“It’s nothing,” Jiang Ning said, ignoring the mud on her clothes. She walked over and saw two grass carp in the bucket, “Sister Li, why did you give me two? One is enough.”
She felt a bit embarrassed since she hadn’t caught any fish herself.
Sister Li waved her hand generously, “It’s fine. With two nets, I caught four fish. You take two, and I’ll take two. That’s enough for both of us.”
“Alright, thank you, Sister Li,” Jiang Ning said without being overly polite.
After talking to Sister Li, she turned to Zhiqi, “Zhiqi, put the fish in the bucket.”
Zhiqi nodded and placed the fish he had been holding into the bucket.
Sister Li also noticed and came over to take a look, saying, “Oh my, this fish looks different from the dark grass carp. It’s quite beautiful.”
“This is a Seven-star Thunder Dragon Fish, not a grass carp,” Jiang Ning explained.
Sister Li nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite, “Sister Jiang, you really know a lot.”
Just as Jiang Ning was about to say something, they heard someone shouting angrily, “Who the hell beat my precious grandson!”
Her loud voice caught the attention of many women washing clothes by the stream.
Wang Xiaotian, being led by his grandmother, pointed at Jiang Ning and said, “Grandma, it was this woman who hit me. It hurt so much, waaa…”
Jiang Ning looked up and met a sharp, bitter face, clearly here to pick a fight.
She also noticed the child she had spanked with the bamboo strip earlier, who had gone to get reinforcements.
Grandma Wang marched up to Jiang Ning, her eyes filled with venom as if she wanted to devour her, and said indignantly, “So you’re the one who hit my grandson? What’s your name?”
“Jiang Ning,” Jiang Ning said, flipping her hair. “Isn’t your grandson pointing at me? Are you blind?”
Grandma Wang was so angry that her face contorted, and she began to size Jiang Ning up, “You woman, you admit to hitting my grandson.”
Jiang Ning nodded, her expression indifferent, “Yes, I hit him.”
Grandma Wang had never met someone who hit someone else and was so brazen about it. She was so angry she couldn’t speak properly, pointing at Jiang Ning, “You, you…”
After stammering for a while, she started spewing a string of curses that Jiang Ning couldn’t understand.
The onlookers frowned, and even though Jiang Ning didn’t understand the words, she knew they weren’t good.
After Grandma Wang finished her rant, Jiang Ning raised an eyebrow and looked at her, “You’re quite old, don’t get so angry. It’s not good for your health. You might get liver fire or liver qi stagnation, and that could shorten your life.”
Her words were so drawn out and taunting that they were infuriating.
“Pfft—”
Sister Li, who was standing nearby, couldn’t help but laugh out loud. She hadn’t expected Jiang Ning to be so sharp-tongued, managing to anger someone without using any foul language.
There were also some low chuckles from the surrounding people.
Grandma Wang’s son was a high-ranking official, and she had never suffered such humiliation. If it weren’t for the crowd around, she would have slapped Jiang Ning several times to shut her up.
Grandma Wang’s face was contorted with anger, her features squeezed together in an ugly expression, “Since you admit to hitting my grandson, apologize to him!”
Jiang Ning narrowed her eyes, “Madam… why don’t you ask your grandson why I hit him? I’m an educated person, and I only hit him because he made a mistake.”
Sister Li chimed in at the right moment, “Exactly, Aunt Wang. I think we should get to the bottom of this.”
Others also agreed.
“Let’s clear this up properly and not ruin the harmony.”
Grandma Wang was determined to protect her grandson, completely disregarding what the people around her were saying. Besides, her son was a high-ranking official, so she wasn’t afraid of these people.
She then said to Jiang Ning with conviction, “Even if my grandson made a mistake, you shouldn’t have hit him. He’s not your child, so it’s not your place to discipline him!”
“What if it was a serious mistake that could endanger someone’s life? Would you only discipline him if he committed such a grave error? It’s the parents’ fault if the child is not properly taught. I think I should have a chat with the head of your family,” Jiang Ning said solemnly.
Grandma Wang stammered, “W-what serious mistake? My child is only a few years old. How could he possibly do something like that?”
Jiang Ning crossed her arms and said, “Fine, then ask him what happened just now.”
Grandma Wang turned to her grandson, “Xiaotian, tell me, why did she hit you?”
Wang Xiaotian pointed upstream and said, “Up there, Huo Zhiqi caught a fish. Me and Xiaodii thought we’d bring it back for Grandma. But Zhiqi wouldn’t give it to us. Grandma, you said that Zhiqi’s things are mine and Xiaodi’s. But when we asked for the fish, he wouldn’t give it to us, so I pressed his head underwater.”
“We were just playing around, and Zhiqi was fine, but this woman came up and hit me on the butt with a bamboo strip. Grandma, my butt still hurts, can you hit her for me?”
Grandma Wang initially thought everything her grandson said was reasonable, but by the time he got to the latter part, she wished she could have covered his mouth. It was too late.
Children at this age tend to say whatever is on their minds without considering the consequences. Unlike Huo Zhiqi, who had grown up under someone else’s roof and learned to be cautious, the Wang brothers had been spoiled by Grandma Wang and had no sense of what was appropriate to say.
Hearing this, Jiang Ning’s brows furrowed.
She knew the child was malicious, but she had thought it was just typical childish behavior without understanding the consequences. It turned out he had been taught to act this way.
With a grandmother and grandson like this, it was no wonder Huo Zhiqi had suffered so much living under their roof.
The child’s unfiltered words were heard by everyone who had gathered to watch, and murmurs began to spread among the onlookers.
The people present were all military families living in the same compound, so they knew each other well.
The pretty girl arguing with Grandma Wang was a stranger to them, but everyone knew Grandma Wang.
She was notorious for being greedy and had a habit of flaunting her son’s high-ranking position.
But many people simply let her be, not wanting to argue with an old woman.
Everyone knew Huo Zhiqi as well. It was well-known that Chief Wang had adopted the orphan of a fallen soldier. However, Grandma Wang never acknowledged this, saying that she would send Zhiqi to a better family when one was found.
Chief Wang couldn’t argue with his mother, so he told others that Huo Zhiqi was being fostered at his home.
Although many people sympathized with Zhiqi’s background, very few actually offered help.
“But… but you still shouldn’t have hit my grandson. You should apologize to him first,” Grandma Wang stammered, trying to steer the conversation back to the issue of Jiang Ning hitting the child.
Jiang Ning smirked inwardly but put on an innocent expression, “This child was disrespectful and even pushed me. Look at all the mud on me. He didn’t apologize, so I…”
Jiang Ning sniffed, “I only hit him twice. If you think I should apologize for that, I can. But I’d prefer to do it in front of his father.”
When dealing with such an exceptional grandmother, you have to fight fire with fire.
Jiang Ning wasn’t exactly lying; the child had indeed pushed her.