Chapter 40

“Cough, cough, cough.”

Jiang Ailing’s face turned red.

Everyone followed her gaze and saw Li Chen standing at the doorway, holding Xiao Bao in his arms.

Li Sanhong noticed Li Chen’s cold expression.

He suddenly recalled what his wife had just said.

Could his second brother have heard it?

Li Sanhong felt uneasy. Among the three brothers, he was the youngest. If someone asked him who he feared the most in the family, it was not Father Li, not Mother Li, and not even his eldest brother, Li Dabin. It was his second brother, Li Chen.

He had no choice—it was all due to painful experiences.

In this era, the eldest son was usually the most relied upon by the parents, while the youngest son was the most doted upon. The middle child, however, was often ignored.

The Old Li’s Family was no exception.

His eldest brother, Li Dabin, had been trusted by Father Li and Mother Li since childhood, so he grew up honest and responsible. Li Sanhong, as the youngest, was the most pampered, which made him mischievous by nature.

Compared to his eldest brother and himself, his second brother had always been somewhat overlooked by their parents. As a result, he became rather unruly—constantly getting into fights and causing trouble.

If something could be solved with fists, he would never waste words.

He was both fierce and ruthless.

Back when Li Sanhong was just a little boy, he had no idea what trouble awaited him. One time, he had a craving and secretly took two yuan from his Mom to buy snacks.

Two yuan was a significant amount at that time. After spending all of it, he started to panic and tried to shift the blame.

It wasn’t the first time he had done something like this. Usually, he would push the blame onto his eldest brother or his younger sister. But that particular day, neither of them was around—only his second brother was home.

So, he claimed that it was his second brother who had stolen the money.

As a result, his second brother had beaten him up right in front of their parents, making him cry out loud.

He was nearly beaten to death.

Meanwhile, their parents stood to the side, nervously trying to mediate, but afterward, they didn’t scold his second brother at all.

It was then that he realized—his second brother was the true “boss” of the family, the kind that even their parents feared.

From that day on, he carried a shadow in his heart.

He no longer dared to provoke his second brother, nor did he ever attempt to frame others again.

At this moment, Li Sanhong was terrified that his second brother might get angry because of his wife’s words and end up beating her as well. He immediately stood up and forced a smile.

“Second Brother, don’t take this crazy woman’s words seriously. You will always be my second brother!”

Li Chen tugged at the corner of his lips. “So, you’re also blaming your second sister-in-law for not giving Tiezhu any fish?”

“No, not at all!” Li Sanhong hurriedly denied. “The fish Second Sister-in-law caught is hers to give to whomever she wants. How could I possibly be upset about that?”

Seeing Li Sanhong acting so obsequious made Jiang Ailing grit her teeth in frustration.

How could the man she married be so cowardly?

He didn’t even dare to stand up for his own son.

Jiang Ailing was displeased. She straightened her neck and said: “Second Brother, Sanhong is right. Second Sister-in-law caught the fish, so it’s her decision who to give them to. We have no right to interfere. But there’s one thing I don’t understand.”

She completely ignored Li Sanhong’s desperate attempts to signal her to stop. With an air of righteousness, she pressed on:

“Even though we’ve split households, we are still family, aren’t we? Second Sister-in-law caught so many fish, and even outsiders like He Weidong and He Fugui got some. Why couldn’t she give any to Tiezhu? Does this mean that in her eyes, Tiezhu—her own nephew—is worth even less than an outsider?”

Li Chen did not directly answer Jiang Ailing’s question. Instead, he looked toward Li Tiezhu, his gaze cold. “Do you want me to say out loud what good deed you’ve done?”

Everyone was stunned upon hearing this and turned their eyes to Li Tiezhu.

Realizing that he was being watched, Li Tiezhu felt guilty and quickly hid behind his Mom.

Er Bao, being quick-witted, immediately stepped forward and shouted: “It was Big Cousin who bullied us! He stole Wangcai’s fish and refused to apologize. That’s why my Mom didn’t give him any fish!”

“I already apologized!” Li Tiezhu retorted loudly. “But Second Aunt-in-law still wouldn’t give me fish.”

“You only apologized later!” Er Bao puffed up his cheeks angrily. “And my Mom said that unless Big Brother, Xiao Bao, and Wangcai accepted your apology, she wouldn’t give you any fish. You pushed me and Wangcai into the drainage ditch—I don’t accept your apology at all! Hmph!”

Mother Li’s face turned pale with shock. She hurriedly stepped forward and pulled Er Bao over to check him. “You fell into the drainage ditch? Were you hurt? Huh? Let Grandma take a look.”

“Grandma, I’m not hurt.” Er Bao reassured her, though he still pouted unhappily and complained: “But Grandma, Big Cousin bullied us.”

Hearing that Er Bao wasn’t injured, Mother Li sighed in relief. However, when she turned to look at Li Tiezhu, her eyes were filled with disappointment.

The situation suddenly took a turn. Li Sanhong was instantly furious. He grabbed Li Tiezhu and started hitting him. “You little brat! Who gave you the guts to bully your younger cousins? You even pushed them into a drainage ditch! I’ll beat you to death!”

Li Tiezhu screamed and cried miserably.

Jiang Ailing’s expression changed. “Li Sanhong, what are you doing? Isn’t this just normal playfight between children? Didn’t we all grow up the same way? Do you really have to make such a big deal out of it? Stop it! Don’t hit him anymore! Li Sanhong, you’re going to beat Tiezhu to death! He’s your son!”

With his second brother watching, how could Li Sanhong dare to stop? If his second brother wasn’t satisfied and decided to personally beat Li Tiezhu instead, that would truly be the end of him.

He was clearly protecting Tiezhu—why was this stupid woman so clueless?

Li Sanhong gave Li Tiezhu a harsh beating, then apologized to both Li Chen and Er Bao. Only after that did Jiang Ailing, wiping away her tears, drag Li Tiezhu back to their room did the matter was finally settled.

Li Chen was quite satisfied. He approvingly patted his little son’s head and then said to Mother Li: “Mom, you and Dad should come over to our house for dinner tonight.”

“Huh?” Mother Li was still feeling guilty for having misunderstood Shen Yiyi earlier, and she felt too embarrassed to go. “We’ll just eat at home. The food is already being prepared.”

“Grandma, my Mom has already served the food! There’s plenty of delicious fish. You and Grandpa should come over~” Er Bao grabbed Mother Li’s hand and tried to pull her outside.

Xiao Bao, eager to join in, chimed in: “Grandma, come eat!”

“Oh…” Worried that her grandson might trip, Mother Li took a couple of steps forward but still hesitated. “But your grandpa isn’t back yet.”

Father Li wasn’t home—he had gone to discuss some matters with the village chief. As soon as he returned and stepped inside, he heard his name being mentioned and asked in confusion: “What’s going on?”

“Grandpa, my Mom wants you and Grandma to come to our house for dinner!” Er Bao immediately ran up and pulled at his grandfather’s hand.

Unlike Mother Li, Father Li wasn’t conflicted at all. As soon as he heard that Shen Yiyi had invited them and that even Li Chen was there, he agreed without hesitation and followed Er Bao out.

Since her husband was going, Mother Li struggled internally for a moment before reluctantly following along.

Inside the house, Jiang Ailing, who had been comforting Li Tiezhu, nearly coughed up blood in frustration.