Chapter 16: Shock After Shock (Part 1)

Fifteen minutes later, the entrance of Shi Xinggui’s house was surrounded by layers of people from the brigade.

In the center, Shi Chuncao clutched Shi Dabao who was wailing and crying, “Dabao! Oh my poor Dabao! Who was the damned one who beat you like this?!”

“There’s no justice! No fairness! No—”

Before she could continue, Zhao Meihua barged in, already furious after learning what had happened. She immediately launched into a tirade, “Justice my foot! Shi Chuncao! Have you even looked at what kind of person your grandson is?!”

While the two elderly women were engaged in a shouting match, Mu Fugui, considering himself a man who wouldn’t argue with old women and children, focused on Shi Xinggui instead. With a darkened expression, he grabbed Shi Xinggui by the collar and landed two solid punches.

Shi Xinggui cowered, covering his head, looking utterly pathetic. “Brother Fugui! Brother Fugui! It wasn’t me! I swear I never said anything like that!”

Mu Fugui didn’t care in the slightest. “Your son said it, and you have no responsibility?!”

While the men were in chaos on one side, the women weren’t faring any better. Tang Cuixiang, upon hearing that the red mark on Mu Wan’s forehead was caused by Shi Dabao pushing her, immediately went after Shi Xinggui’s wife, Li Guiyan.

In the scuffle, she even managed to land a hit on Shi Dabao. Seeing her precious grandson being beaten again, Shi Chuncao charged forward, attempting to grab Tang Cuixiang’s hair.

But before she could, Zhao Meihua who was still seething, wouldn’t stand by and watch her daughter-in-law get bullied. Without hesitation, she lunged at Shi Chuncao, and the two elderly women ended up wrestling together.

Since her mother-in-law and sister-in-law were all like this, Liu Shuangcui also joined the battlefield.

This left Mu Mian and Mu Wan standing on the sidelines, exchanging glances. They wanted to help but didn’t know where to start.

Besides, it didn’t seem like they needed to—clearly, their side had the upper hand.

The chaos only came to an end when the brigade leader finally arrived, shouting loudly.

Xu Yongshou, who had just managed to push his way through the crowd, scowled, “What’s going on here?! You’re all grown adults! Is this how you behave? Can’t you talk things out properly?!”

Tang Cuixiang, her hair disheveled, pulled Mu Wan to her side and snapped, “It’s not that we didn’t want to talk! Brigade leader, look at what Shi Dabao did to my daughter! She was lucky she hit a tree—what if she had hit a rock instead?!”

Shi Chuncao opened her mouth to wail again, but Xu Yongshou shot her a sharp look, immediately silencing her. He turned to Mu Wan and asked, “Wan girl, tell me exactly what happened.”

Before Mu Wan could speak, Xu Lele excitedly interjected, “I know! I know! Dad, ask me!”

Xu Yongshou winced at his daughter’s chatter and said, “You can tell me later.”

Xu Lele pouted unhappily.

Still clutching the snake in her hands, Mu Wan explained, “Shi Dabao tried to steal my things. I was the one who saw this snake first, and I was the one who killed it. I wanted to call Fang Fang over to take a look, but Shi Dabao suddenly ran out of nowhere, grabbed it, and ran off. When I tried to take it back, he pushed me!”

Fang Fang was Mu Wan’s desk mate. The two girls were the same age and often played together.

Xu Lele nodded in agreement. “That’s right! Sister Mianmian and I both saw it happen!”

Mu Mian also nodded. At this point, her round baby face, despite being a little dirty, looked completely innocent—there was no sign at all that she had just pinned down and beaten a boy who was both taller and stronger than her.

Xu Yongshou turned to Shi Dabao, who was still hiding behind Shi Chuncao with his bruised face. “And what about this? What happened here?”

Mu Mian raised her hand obediently. “I hit him. But he started it. And he was saying nonsense.”

The people of the brigade who had been watching all twitched at her words.

This girl really was something else!

If they hadn’t witnessed it themselves, who would have believed that the one who started the fight ended up looking like this?

Xu Yongshou then looked at Shi Dabao and asked sternly, “What do you have to say for yourself?”

Shi Dabao shrank back and mumbled under his breath, “I wasn’t making things up… My grandma said it first.”

The surrounding people: “……”

Wow. What a ‘filial’ grandson.

As the Women’s Director of the brigade, Liu Guizhi was responsible for matters like this. She took over from her husband and pointed at Shi Chuncao “Aunt Shi, I have to give you a proper lesson on this. Do you think you can say things like that so casually? Is your Shi Dabao a landlord, able to pick any girl from the brigade to be his wife as he pleases?”

Shi Chuncao hadn’t even reacted yet when Shi Xinggui was already scared stiff by these words. “No, no, my old mother is just confused. What landlord? Director Liu, you know our family—going back eighteen generations, we’ve always been farmers.”

Liu Guizhi didn’t stop talking. “So you do understand. Mian girl is only eight years old now, but if she were a little older, you’d be facing charges for ruining a young woman’s reputation.”

Mu Fugui snorted, “I think it already counts now.”

Liu Guizhi was briefly interrupted but quickly recovered and continued speaking as if nothing had happened.

Mu Fugui stood beside her, occasionally throwing in a few curses.

Mu Mian had been tilting her head up to watch her father, but when she casually glanced over the crowd, she suddenly noticed that Shi Xiaolian was there too.

The little girl was small and hidden behind an old woman, with only her small head visible. Her eyes, filled with hatred, were locked onto Old Lady Shi.

To others, it was normal for a young girl to dislike her grandmother.

After all, Shi Chuncao was notoriously biased. The conflicts between the Shi family’s first and second households had always been intense. In the past, Shi Xingfu had been there to mediate, but now that he was gone, life for the mother and her two daughters had become miserable.

But to Mu Mian, there was a difference between simple dislike and the kind of hatred that seemed to overflow from one’s eyes.

Perhaps it was because she herself had experienced falling asleep and suddenly jumping backward several decades that she instinctively thought in that direction whenever she noticed something unusual.

If she could experience such a thing, maybe others could too.

But this was just a guess. A secret like this was something she wouldn’t even tell her family, let alone bring it up with a stranger.

While Mu Mian was lost in thought, she suddenly heard her father’s voice from above, “Daughter, do you think this is fair?”

Mu Mian looked up in confusion. “Huh? What?”

What had they been talking about?

Seeing the little girl in a daze, Liu Guizhi repeated the final decision again.

Only then did Mu Mian realize that while she hadn’t been paying attention, the situation had already been resolved.

Mu Wan’s case was easy to settle. The injury on her head wasn’t too serious, so Liu Guizhi decided that the Shi family would compensate her with two eggs.

Mu Mian’s case, however, was trickier. It could be blown up into a big issue or minimized into a small one.

In the end, they settled in the middle—Mu Mian was compensated with one yuan.

One yuan was no small amount. Eggs cost three cents each, meaning they’d need to trade about thirty eggs at the purchasing station to get that much money.

As for Shi Chuncao’s demand that they pay for her eldest grandson’s medical expenses, Zhao Meihua immediately shot that down.

Shi Dabao had not only lied but also physically attacked someone first. Losing the fight was his own fault, and no amount of complaining from Shi Chuncao would change that.

Before the crowd dispersed, Mu Fugui grabbed Shi Xinggui by the collar again. “Keep your old mother and that little brat in check. If this happens again, believe it or not, I’ll throw you straight into the manure pit!!”

Shi Xinggui was lifted so high that his feet barely touched the ground. He clung to Mu Fugui’s arm, looking utterly terrified. “B-b-brother… let go, let go, I can’t breathe! I promise, I promise, they won’t say anything like that again!”

He really hadn’t known about this. He had no idea his mother was thinking this way.

Everyone in the brigade knew how much Mu Fugui doted on his daughter. While Shi Xinggui thought his own son was pretty good too, he had enough self-awareness to understand that a marriage between their families was impossible.

His mother could daydream all she wanted, but why did she have to say it out loud?

Mu Fugui threatened him a couple more times before letting him go. Then he turned to look for his daughter, only to find her staring off in a certain direction, seemingly lost in thought.

Mu Fugui called out, “Daughter! Time to go! What are you looking at?”

Mu Mian turned back and gave her father a sweet smile. “Nothing. Dad, you were really impressive just now!”

She had just seen Shi Xiaolian quietly slip away from the crowd, giving Old Lady Shi a meaningful smile before she left.

Something told Mu Mian that the Shi family’s second household was in for big trouble.

She didn’t know why, but she just had a gut feeling about it. And her instincts were always spot on.

Unfortunately, no one else could understand this feeling. She was the only one who could enjoy this juicy melon.

Mu Fugui held his daughter’s hand, completely accepting her half-hearted compliment. He then reminded her, “If any brat dares to say something like that again, just keep hitting them! Don’t be afraid—if you hurt them, your dad will take care of it!”

Mu Mian nodded seriously, wearing an expression that said, “With Dad backing me up, I have nothing to fear.”

The nearby aunties who hadn’t left yet: “………………”

As expected, a bold daughter was always raised by an even bolder father.

Who would ever dare to marry into the Mu family in the future?

—

Meanwhile, at Shi Xiaolian’s house.

Shi Xiaozhu, who had been tending to their private plot, looked toward her younger sister as she entered through the front door. “Where did you run off to this time?”

Ever since Shi Xiaolian had her head injury two weeks ago, she had been sneaking out frequently. Sometimes, she would be gone for half the day, and it was starting to worry Shi Xiaozhu.

Shi Xiaolian walked over to help without a care. “I went to watch Shi Dabao make a fool of himself. Where’s Mom?”

Shi Xiaozhu gestured with her chin. “She started coughing again, so I told her to go rest.”

Shi Xiaolian didn’t want to face her sister’s constantly questioning gaze, so she stood up. “I’ll go check on Mom.”

She truly didn’t know how to answer those unspoken questions.

Shi Xiaolian knew that, in her family’s eyes, she had been acting strangely lately. But she had no choice—time was running out, and she couldn’t afford any unexpected changes.

Fortunately, all the trouble over the past half month had not been in vain. The man who caused her sister to jump into the river in her past life should now be under investigation.

Just to be safe, she had sent out several anonymous reports. She also took hidden paths when going to the commune, ensuring that no one saw her.

With this major problem resolved, the only thing left to deal with was that wretched old woman.

Thinking about how her vile grandmother had just shielded Shi Dabao, Shi Xiaolian sneered coldly.

Tian Hongjuan looked at her youngest daughter. “What are you laughing at?”

Shi Xiaolian walked over to her mother. “I just thought of something funny. Didn’t sister tell you to rest? Why are you sitting up again, Mom?”

Tian Hongjuan coughed twice. “It’s nothing serious. I just wanted to patch up your pants. Otherwise, you won’t have anything to wear. A young girl can’t go around with her bottom exposed.”

Shi Xiaolian reached out to take her pants. “Just leave them. I’ll sew them myself later.”

Tian Hongjuan dodged her hand and changed the topic. “What happened over at your grandmother’s place?”

Shi Xiaolian pouted. “Nothing much. Shi Dabao got beaten up.”

That hadn’t happened in her previous life. She had just happened to pass by and saw Shi Dabao’s bruised and swollen face. It looked so satisfying. If she weren’t so small and weak right now, she would have already dragged him into an alley and given him a proper beating herself.

Tian Hongjuan was curious. “Who hit him?”

Shi Xiaolian replied, “Mu Mian.”

In her past life, Mu Mian and Xu Lele had never been found, so this incident naturally never happened.

Tian Hongjuan continued sewing. “Why?”

Shi Xiaolian sneered. “What else? That shameless toad wanted to eat swan meat. Ugly as he is, he still dares to dream big.”

Tian Hongjuan: “……”

Ever since her youngest daughter got beaten up last time, the little girl had become prickly like a hedgehog, especially when it came to the second branch of the family.

Tian Hongjuan reached out and tapped her daughter’s forehead. “You mustn’t talk like this outside.”

Shi Xiaolian nodded. “I know.”

Since they weren’t going to talk about that, she decided to bring up something else.