Chapter 83 : Completely cut off the relationship with her

Jiang Sui and Xiao Hechuan separated at the doorstep of their home, one went to find the old village chief, while the other returned home to fetch Mother Xiao and Xiao Yi to confront the Jiang family.

Mother Xiao didn’t yet know exactly how Jiang Sui had been bullied, but after hearing her youngest son’s words, she immediately left with Xiao Yi without saying a word. Xiao Yi also took a hoe with him.

Xiao Lanlan and Zhou followed without hesitation, and the five of them marched toward the Jiang household with great determination.

They were bold enough to bully someone from the Xiao family? Now was the time to show true unity, when one person in the family is bullied, the whole family fights back together.

Meanwhile, Jiang Sui jogged all the way to the old village chief’s house. His son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren were all there preparing dinner.

Her legs felt weak from running, and she was gasping for breath.

The old village chief’s daughter-in-law recognized Jiang Sui right away. Seeing her in such a state, she assumed something serious had happened and that Jiang Sui had come seeking help. After all, their family was the one that governed Xianhe Village, whenever the villagers had issues they couldn’t resolve, they came to the village chief.

“Hey, isn’t this Jiang Sui? What brings you here? You look so anxious, what’s going on?”

“Auntie, I want to ask the old village chief to get justice for me!” Jiang Sui straightened her back as she replied firmly.

The village chief and his wife exchanged a puzzled glance.

“Why do you want that the old village chief to step in? Let me be clear, he’s quite old now. If it’s not too serious, I can go with you instead. Don’t trouble him if it’s not necessary.”

Even though the old village chief was aged, his senses were still sharp. When he heard someone calling him from inside, he came out leaning on his cane.

“Who’s looking for me? Let me have a look!”

He hobbled into the yard, and his grandchildren quickly stepped up to support him. When he got close to Jiang Sui, he studied her carefully and soon recognized her.

“Oh, it’s you, young lady. Tell me, what happened?”

The old village chief remembered her well. She had once insisted on marrying Xiao Hechuan to fulfill a promise to her adoptive father. He admired her deep loyalty and strong sense of responsibility, so she had left a deep impression on him.

Jiang Sui didn’t hesitate any longer. She recounted everything that had happened that day, how Chen Jinhua and her daughter had plotted against her and even added some exaggeration, describing the many ways Chen Jinhua had threatened her.

As she spoke, she squeezed out a few tears. Her choked voice and tearful expression made her look incredibly pitiful.

“Old village chief, you have to stand up for me. Chen Jinhua is heartless. Even though I’m not her biological daughter, after my adoptive father died, she abused me every single day. I had to do all the chores. If she wasn’t pleased with something, she’d beat and scold me and even starve me.”

“Later, I married into the Xiao family. They treat me like a precious treasure and have always respected my adoptive mother, never failing in courtesy. But Chen Jinhua didn’t appreciate it at all. Instead, she slandered the Xiao family and called Hechuan a fool.”

“Now that my mother-in-law is selling noodles in town and doing good business, Chen Jinhua got jealous and wanted the recipe for the hot and sour noodles. Today, she even tried to frame and threaten me, she said if I didn’t listen to her, she’d destroy my reputation, get the Xiao family to divorce me, and force me to marry her nephew. All I want is justice. I’m begging the old village chief to help me completely cut ties with her.”

She made the whole situation sound even more tragic and followed it with tears, which deeply moved everyone present. They all felt nothing but sympathy for her. Once a person’s sympathy is triggered, their sense of justice naturally rises to the surface.

Chen Jinhua had always had a bad reputation in Xianhe Village. She often clashed with others and was generally disliked, so everyone believed she was fully capable of doing what Jiang Sui described.

The village chief’s wife felt sorry for Jiang Sui and quickly wiped away her tears.

“Jiang Sui, don’t cry. Your adoptive mother has never acted like a decent human being, she’s practically a beast. You didn’t have a good life in that household. She treated you like a work animal, and you suffered a lot. The Xiao family even gave her five taels of silver when they married you. You could say the debt of raising you has pretty much been repaid.”

The old village chief was also angered by what he heard. He gave a heavy snort and struck the ground firmly with his cane.

“Since you’ve come to me for help today, I’ll handle this personally. Let’s go, I’ll go with you to the Jiang house. You two can lay everything out clearly. What she’s done is shameful and disgraceful, and I want to hear what she has to say for herself.”

In the end, supported by his son, the old village chief followed Jiang Sui to the Jiang family’s house.

By this time, the gate of the Jiang family home was already surrounded by villagers who had come to watch the drama unfold. The reason? The Xiao family had shown up in full force and looked ready for a fight. As soon as Xiao Yi arrived, he began banging loudly on the door, looking like he was ready to start a brawl. Mother Xiao had rolled up her sleeves, ready to throw punches.

In this village, people loved to gather and watch whenever something stirred up. The Xiao family was always a hot topic in Xianhe Village, and Chen Jinhua was infamous for her aggressive, stingy, and overbearing nature. She often took advantage of others. Now that two families who were related by marriage were about to clash, well, who wouldn’t want to see that kind of show?

Chen Jinhua and her daughter had just returned home and were still debating whether to get the village’s barefoot doctor to check her nephew’s snake bite. But Chen Jinhua was feeling uneasy after all, she’d just done something shady.

Just as she was thinking about it, there was a loud bang on the door, followed by Xiao Yi’s voice yelling from outside. “Chen Jinhua, come out! If you’ve got the guts to bully someone, then have the guts to face us openly!”

Chen Jinhua’s heart was pounding like a drum. She never expected to be exposed so quickly. She had thought that little brat Jiang Sui would stay silent after running away after all, young girls care about their reputations. But she completely underestimated her. That brat didn’t follow the usual rules, she aired everything out in public. Wasn’t she afraid of being gossiped about?

But Jiang Sui wasn’t afraid. She wasn’t a traditional woman on the inside, she had a modern mindset. She was the victim, and in the end, nothing had actually happened. More importantly, she wanted to use this incident to completely sever ties with the Jiang family.

Jiang Qiaoqiao was terrified, and so was Chen Shu. He covered his face in regret and said. “Aunt, I shouldn’t have listened to you. Now I’ve been bitten by a snake for no reason, and people are here to make trouble. I’m telling you, you better explain everything clearly later. Your only support now is the Chen family, so you better think carefully. Don’t drag me into this or my mother will come for you.”

People say that when things get tough, even relatives will cut ties. In a crisis, self-preservation comes first.

Chen Jinhua glared at her cowardly nephew, then looked at the front gate of her house, it would probably be broken down if she didn’t open it soon.

So she gritted her teeth and went to open the door. ‘Let’s see what happens,’ she thought. ‘It’s not like they can really do anything to me.’

“What are you yelling about? If you break my door, you’d better pay for it!” Even though Chen Jinhua was feeling guilty, she didn’t show any weakness in her attitude.

But the moment she opened the door, Mother Xiao lunged without hesitation. She had been waiting for this. As soon as she saw Chen Jinhua, she grabbed her by the hair and shouted furiously. “You old widow! You dare bully my daughter-in-law? I’ll tear you apart!”