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Zhang Lan never expected her youngest daughter to be more capable than her as a mother. A young child dared to confront adults. She joyfully lifted her daughter. “Qianqian, well done. I want to fight them too. If anyone dares to bully you in the future, you fight back. I’ll handle the aftermath.”
Today, Zhang Lan was determined. She had never educated her children this way before. Wang Qian suspected that her mother was also driven to this by the people from the Wang family.
Hearing her child’s words not only relieved Zhang Lan, but also made her realize that it was best to have no such relatives. They were not family; they were enemies, even more terrifying than class enemies.
“Where’s your dad?”
Zhang Lan was truly relieved by her husband’s decision today. Her man finally didn’t disappoint her.
“Mom, I asked Dad to go to the reservoir to calm down and reflect.”
Watching her daughter with her head held high, Zhang Lan felt that she was becoming more and more like an adult. She smiled and pinched her little cheek. “You little thing, you know what reflection means. That’s something only people who have made mistakes would say.”
Wang Qian didn’t know about this custom and stuck out her tongue. “Mom, you shouldn’t go to Aunt’s place. It’s best not to see those people. I think they won’t know how to hate after what I did today. I’m a child, so they can’t do anything to me, but it’s different for you. Don’t go there for a few days.”
Wang Qian was genuinely worried that Zhu Qiyu would take out her anger on her mother after losing face today. She didn’t have much affection for her so-called grandmother, and with the memories left by the original owner and the events that had occurred since she arrived, she was growing to dislike this somewhat ruthless old lady even more. So, she was determined to protect her closest people with all her might.
Zhang Lan understood that her child was looking out for her, and her smile deepened. “Alright, I won’t go anywhere.”
Leaving her two daughters to watch the house, she went to work. The sisters had nothing to do at home, so they locked the door and went out with a small basket to forage for wild vegetables to feed the chickens.
As soon as they stepped out of the house, they saw a crowd at the Wang family’s place. Wang Qian felt that something was amiss and quickly ran over with Wang Xuan. When they arrived, they were horrified. Zhang Lan was lying on the ground, being dragged back home by her younger uncle and aunt. Others were trying to intervene, but they were stopped by her younger aunt. Her aunt was demanding an apology from Zhang Lan.
Seeing their mother being mistreated, the two children rushed forward. They tried to push the people away, but being small, they lacked strength. Wang Qian bit Wang Mei’s wrist, not letting go, and tore off a piece of flesh. In pain, Wang Mei struck her face with her hand. Wang Qian couldn’t dodge it, and her cheek felt excruciatingly painful. It immediately swelled up. Despite this, she couldn’t let her mother be bullied. Wang Qian felt overwhelmed with guilt. Her mother’s suffering was her fault, and this self-blame made her lose control.
She turned around and found a broken kitchen knife in a nearby basket. She swung it at Wang Mei, wishing to kill the scoundrels. Unfortunately, the knife was too blunt. Wang Mei felt the pain but wasn’t bleeding. Wang Xuan, following her sister’s lead, took out a knife and charged at Wang Zhenguo. However, he had already fled back home upon sensing the situation.
The sisters stood guard in front of their mother with the knives. At this moment, Zhang Lan seemed to be having a heart attack, and her breathing had become rapid.
“Mom, please don’t let anything happen to you. You still have us. Mom, take it easy, don’t get agitated,” Wang Qian said, trying to calm her. Mingcheng and his brother returned from the field and noticed that something was wrong. They heard crying that sounded like their sister. They dropped their baskets and ran over. When they arrived, they were heartbroken. Their sister’s face was severely swollen, and their mother was lying on the ground while their sister tried to comfort her. Some people helped Mingcheng and his brother to lift their sisters up.
“Sister, what happened? Who bullied you?” Mingcheng asked anxiously.
Wang Qian pointed angrily at the house. “It was Aunt, Aunt, and Uncle. They attacked our mom. Brother, I’m going to avenge our mom today. They’re addicted to bullying honest people. There’s no such cheap thing in this world.”
Saying this, she grabbed the knife and rushed into the yard, but the people around her stopped her. “Qianqian, you need to take care of your mom first. I don’t think she’s doing well,” said the person speaking, who was Wang Zhenli, their grandfather’s third uncle.
As soon as they were helped up, Zhang Lan’s lips had turned purple. Wang Qian looked inside with hatred in her eyes. “Uncle, help take my mom to the hospital. Brother, you go with them. I’ll go home to get the money and follow.”
Wang Zhenli carried Zhang Lan, followed by the three siblings and a few close female friends of Zhang Lan. They rushed to the hospital. Wang Qian went home to get the money her mother had hidden in the large cabinet and then hurried to the hospital.
When Wang Zhenhe returned from his walk in the mountains, he was stopped by his sister-in-law. Wang Juan and the others only found out about the incident after it had happened.
“Zhenhe, go to the hospital quickly. Zhang Lan is in bad shape,” Wang Zhenhe didn’t ask any unnecessary questions and ran to the hospital.
When he arrived, Zhang Lan was already receiving intravenous therapy. Wang Zhenhe looked at his four children, all crying with red eyes. His youngest daughter’s face was swollen and blood was visible at the corner of her mouth.
His wife lay on the hospital bed, and his children were in a similar state. He didn’t know what had happened during this time.
Wang Zhenli briefly explained what had happened at noon. Wang Zhenhe burst into tears after hearing it. He never expected that the closest people would be the ones to hurt him the most. His daughter’s words from noon were still fresh in his mind, and now everything had come true.
Wiping away his tears, “Mingcheng, you all stay here and take care of your mom. I’ll go seek justice.”
After saying this, he rushed out of the ward. Along the way, he thought about a lot. From the time he got married to the present, everything was vivid in his mind. Zhang Lan hadn’t wronged anyone in their family. He wouldn’t dwell on the past, but what she was going through now was intolerable to him. His children almost lost their mother, and his wife almost lost her life. Wang Zhenhe was overwhelmed. If he didn’t do something today, he felt he wouldn’t have the face to see his children and wife again.
He hurried home, and on the other side, Wang Mei was at home, crying out in pain from the bite she received from Wang Qian. The old lady was applying medicine to her wound and bandaging it, while Huang Youcai made sarcastic remarks. “Look at you, a grown adult, being bullied by a child. You’re so big, yet you let a kid bully you.”
Wang Mei glared at her husband. “If it weren’t for you, would I have been bitten like this? Ouch, be gentle, it hurts.”
“By the way, Mom, what about those brats? Will they come with knives to attack us later?” Huang Youcai was still feeling anxious. If he hadn’t run fast earlier, the knife would have really struck him.
“Sister, look at you, so timid. You’re really scared by a few kids. If it were me, I’d kick them hard. You’ve been eating for so many years for nothing.”
Wang Zhenhe walked into the yard and heard his younger sister’s words. He felt extreme regret. Over the years, he had indulged and pampered them, and even his own children couldn’t compare to them. He never expected that he would treat such people as family. He grabbed a stick from the yard and barged into the house.
Upon seeing his son with red eyes storming in, Zhu Qiyu sternly shouted, “Third son, what are you doing? Do you still see me as your mother? You’re becoming more and more unruly.”
Wang Zhenhe didn’t say a word. There was nothing to say to these people. He started swinging the stick at Wang Mei and her husband. If it weren’t for this couple, his wife and children wouldn’t have suffered so much.
Wang Mei and Huang Youcai had already been hit several times with no place to hide. They took refuge behind the old lady, who tightly protected them. Wang Zhenhe raised the stick, glaring at his mother. However, the stick never fell. This woman was his biological mother, but she was sitting at home, waiting for his wife to come and apologize to her.
Unable to hit the old lady, he swung the stick at Wang Zhenguo, cursing as he struck, “You ungrateful wretch! I’ve been suffering for you all these years. The good things my wife brought back were devoured by the dogs. You even dared to harm your niece. Today, I’ll make you understand what fear is.”
Wang Zhi had already fled in fear, and Wang Zhenguo was hopping and yelling in pain. The old lady hurried over and shielded her youngest son with her body. “Third son, you scoundrel! How dare you hit your own siblings? You might as well kill us all, including your mother. I don’t want to live anymore.”
Zhu Qiyu held her son and began to cry and wail. Wang Zhenhe stood with the stick in his hand, speaking coldly, “Mom, I advise you to stop. Zhang Lan almost lost her life. If you continue crying and someone dies, none of you will escape. I’ll tell you one more thing. I am your son, but I am also the father of four children and the husband of my wife. Besides giving you the respect you deserve, our families should not have any further contact. Also, Wang Mei, if I see you bothering my wife and children again, you can forget about your leg. I can go to jail, but you won’t have it easy either.”
After speaking, he threw the stick on the ground and ran to the hospital.
Seeing her son leave, the old lady’s crying stopped abruptly. “Mei, you and Youcai go to the city. Don’t come back unless it’s necessary. We don’t know what will happen to Zhang Lan. It’s not worth going to jail for her.”