Chapter 15: Zhao Menglan Backs Her Up, Fire Burns the Village

Under Zhuang Meifeng’s repeated urging, Lu Hailiang reluctantly walked out, his expression as sour as if he had stepped in pig manure.

As for Zhuang Tiedan, he was completely oblivious. He couldn’t sense Lu Hailiang’s unwelcoming attitude at all. Instead, he immediately tugged at his aunt’s sleeve and said: “Aunt, I’m hungry.”

“We’ll eat soon. I’ll take you to wash your face first.” Zhuang Meifeng replied affectionately. She placed great importance on her younger brother’s child—after all, he was a child of the Zhuang family, and would eventually carry on the family line.

Zhao Menglan hadn’t said a word throughout the exchange. When she saw Zhuang Meifeng leading her nephew into the house, she sighed heavily. Her back hunched a few inches more, and she waved at her eldest grandson. “Tianjie, come here.”

Lu Tianjie was still just a child, his eyes filled with tears of grievance. He looked up and asked: “Grandma, why does my mom treat Tiedan better than me?”

“Your mom has no brain. Your grandpa and I love you.” Zhao Menglan said as she hugged her grandson and gently patted his back.

Maybe the entire Zhuang family was born lacking awareness. When the whole family sat down to eat, Zhuang Tiedan smacked his lips noisily as he ate, using his saliva-soaked chopsticks to rummage through the dishes, which made everyone feel sick.

Several adults frowned but said nothing. Zhuang Meifeng seemed completely unaware of her in-laws’ stares. She lovingly picked up a piece of shredded meat and placed it in her nephew’s bowl. “Tiedan, open your mouth—this one’s big and meaty.”

Zhuang Tiedan swung his legs while sitting on the stool. Zhuang Meifeng sat beside him, spoon-feeding him mouthful after mouthful. Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought they were mother and son.

Seated on Zhuang Meifeng’s other side was Lu Tianjie, who wasn’t willing to be outdone. He called out: “Mom, I want to be fed too!”

Zhuang Meifeng gave her son a piece of meat too and coaxed him: “Tianjie is a good, understanding child. Your little cousin Tiedan is still young. I’ll feed him first, then feed you.”

Lu Tianjie saw that his mother hadn’t even spared him a glance. Enraged, he reached out and gave Zhuang Tiedan a shove, shouting angrily: “Get out! This is my house!”

Zhuang Meifeng’s expression changed instantly. “Tianjie, don’t be so rude!”

“Whose mom are you, anyway?” Lu Tianjie pouted as he cried miserably, tears and snot streaming down his face. Zhuang Meifeng thought her son was just being petty and quickly pulled him into her arms.

“There, there. Of course Mom is Tianjie’s mom. But your cousin Tiedan is staying with us, so you can’t be rude to him, understand?”

Lu Tianjie shoved his mother away and turned to hug his grandmother instead, sulking. “Grandma, I want to sleep.”

“Alright.” Zhao Menglan shot Zhuang Meifeng a fierce glare first, then spoke with thinly veiled annoyance: “Tianjie will sleep with me tonight. You go cuddle your nephew instead.”

“Okay!” Zhuang Meifeng, still clueless about the meaning behind her mother-in-law’s words, foolishly thought Zhao Menglan was just being considerate about her having to care for two children. She agreed immediately. Lu Tianjie’s crying only got worse.

Zhuang Tiedan seemed completely unaware of the adults’ emotions and reached his filthy hands into the dish to pick out meat, making everyone lose their appetite. Wu Laidi was so angry her chest heaved visibly.

Just then, she saw her mother-in-law give her a signal. Wu Laidi immediately understood and slammed her chopsticks down as she stood up. “Eldest Sister-in-law, what’s the meaning of this? We’re eating peacefully—who are you trying to disgust?”

“Just look at this table of food. Is it still edible? There’s dirt under his fingernails—who wants to eat that?”

Zhuang Meifeng instinctively defended her nephew and snapped back with her hands on her hips. “Second Sister-in-law, you’re an adult—why are you picking on a child? Tiedan’s still young; he doesn’t know better.”

“If you’re not going to eat, then go hungry. You’ve been living in the Lu family for years and now you act all proper? We all know what kind of life your natal family lives. Even dung beetles get eaten—what’s there to be picky about?”

When things were tough, they even ate tree bark, burning their hands raw. Despite that, people still stripped bark to fill their stomachs. Now that she had lived a few good years, she wanted to forget where she came from?

“How is this the same? If you were entertaining guests in your own house, eat however you like. But as long as you live in this house, you follow the rules. Just because we call you ‘Eldest Sister-in-law’ a couple of times, you really think you’re something?”

Just as the two sisters-in-law were about to start a full-blown argument, Wu Laidi stood firm, emboldened by her mother-in-law’s support. She glared fiercely at Zhuang Meifeng. Suddenly, the front door of the Lu house swung open, and Lu Hailiang stormed in, his face black with rage.

“Zhuang Meifeng! Hurry up and send Zhuang Tiedan back!”

Lu Hailiang wiped his face, his back drenched in cold sweat. As soon as he stepped foot into Zhuang Family village, he heard from the villagers that Zhuang Tiedan had used a fire poker to set several thatched houses ablaze.

One house even belonged to a solitary elderly man. When he tried to go back in and save his money, the fire took him, and he was badly burned.

When Lu Hailiang arrived, several men quietly advised him: “I heard a bunch of families want your wife’s family to pay for the damage. Don’t get involved. After all, a married daughter is like spilled water—no one’s going to come for your family.”

Upon learning that Zhuang Tiedan was at the Lu home, the men grew even more anxious and urged him: “I heard the Zhuang family doesn’t plan to compensate anyone. You’d better send the kid back fast, or those families might come make trouble at your house.”

Homes and land were everything to rural folk. Now that someone had destroyed their homes, if they got desperate enough, they’d stop caring about consequences. If it came to that, the Lu family would be dragged down with them.

After thanking the men quietly, Lu Hailiang ran all the way back, not daring to stop. When he got home and heard his wife still defending Zhuang Tiedan, he exploded and immediately demanded the boy be returned.

Although Zhuang Tiedan was young, he wasn’t stupid. He knew he had done something wrong. His mother had told him to go hide at his aunt’s, so that’s why he came.

When he heard Lu Hailiang wanted to send him back, he instantly protested. He grabbed Zhuang Meifeng’s leg and wailed: “Auntie, I don’t want to go back! Auntie, I was wrong! Just let me hide here!”

A child playing with fire had burned down several homes in the village. If the Zhuang family had a shred of conscience, they’d apologize and offer compensation immediately. The villagers wouldn’t even ask for much—just enough to rebuild the homes. But now someone had been badly burned.

As long as the victim lay in Xiancheng Hospital, the Zhuang family would owe daily medical fees. Father Zhuang and Mother Zhuang obviously didn’t want to pay, and that’s how things had escalated to this point.

Zhuang Meifeng hesitated. “Honey, Tiedan didn’t do it on purpose. Let him stay a couple more days. My parents… they have it tough too.”

“Your parents have it tough? And what about those people whose homes were burned down for no reason—do they have it easy?” Lu Hailiang hated how muddle-headed his wife could be. He immediately picked up the crying and screaming Zhuang Tiedan. “Even if you don’t want to go back, you have to. This isn’t your home—the Zhuang family is your home!”

Since when was it so easy? You make a mess and just hide away at someone else’s place like it never happened? If those victims came knocking at the Lu house, Lu Hailiang would be too ashamed to show his face in the village.

“Auntie, save me! Auntie—Auntie—!”

Zhuang Meifeng panicked and tried to snatch her nephew back from Lu Hailiang, jumping around in desperation. “Tiedan, don’t be afraid. Auntie’s here. Auntie won’t let you go!”