Chapter 4

“Alright, stop wailing already!”

Leng Daguai shouted, and Li Chunhua immediately stopped crying.

But Leng Tianbao didn’t listen—he wailed even louder, shaking the heavens and the earth.

“Hurry up and take the boy to the clinic!”

Putting on the authority of the head of the household, Leng Daguai lashed out at Li Chunhua.

“You’re already decades old and still can’t even watch a child properly. Wasting all that food—what good are you? Can’t you see the in-laws are still here? Why haven’t you taken Tianbao to the clinic yet?”

Leng Daguai’s eye twitched a few times. After sharing a bed with him for over twenty years, Li Chunhua immediately understood what he meant.

She turned to the crowd and yelled, “What are you all looking at? What’s there to see? When our Zhaodi died, none of you came to help—what are you hanging around here for now? Go on, get lost!”

Earlier that morning, Li Chunhua had gone to the firewood room, ready to ask Leng Zhaodi if she had made up her mind about getting married.

She found her lying motionless on the floor. She immediately called for Leng Daguai, and together they moved Leng Zhaodi to the main room.

The two, who valued money above all else, barely checked her breathing. When they didn’t detect any, they announced to the brigade that Leng Zhaodi was dead and called them over to help and hopefully collect some condolence money.

This was also why, when Leng Xue transmigrated into Leng Zhaodi’s body, the couple had accepted it so quickly after the initial shock.

After all, they weren’t doctors. They just assumed they had misjudged her state that morning and would never have imagined that someone from another world had taken over Leng Zhaodi’s identity.

“Ugh, these two really have thick skin. Who holds a funeral for a teenager?”

The villagers, who had been shooed away, muttered in irritation.

“Exactly. She was so young—it’s not like she died of old age. They should just bury her quietly. But no, only Leng Daguai and his wife would think of calling people over for condolences.”

“Pfft, it’s a scam. Leng Zhaodi looks perfectly fine—how is she dead?”

“Let’s go. Clearly we’re not welcome here. Honestly, I didn’t want to stay anyway. Junjun, don’t play with Leng Tianbao anymore. His parents have no shame—he won’t grow up to be anything decent.”

The people were no fools. Everyone could clearly see what kind of people Leng Daguai and Li Chunhua were.

And since no one in the Leng family held any official position, the villagers didn’t bother giving them any face and spoke their minds openly.

Their voices weren’t hushed at all. Leng Daguai, being a man, was humiliated by being called shameless in public. His face turned from white to red—flashing through all shades.

Li Chunhua, on the other hand, had thick skin and a bigger ego. Not only was she unfazed, she even stood with her hands on her hips and yelled:

“Pah! My Tianbao is the best child! He’ll go to the city one day and land a secure government job. He won’t play with your wild brats!”

Hearing her insults, some of the mothers with children turned to go back and fight Li Chunhua, but their husbands held them back.

“Let it go. No point lowering yourself to that crazy woman’s level. That Leng Tianbao doesn’t seem quite right anyway—always hitting others, violent temper. Kids like that? Ours should stay far away.”

It wasn’t that the men were afraid of conflict—they just didn’t think it was worth getting into a fight over a few words.

Besides, if they ended up hurting someone, they could go to jail. It just wasn’t worth it.

“Enough,” Leng Daguai said impatiently. “Go to the brigade clinic already.”

As the head of the household, Leng Daguai still had authority. Li Chunhua obediently took Leng Tianbao and headed toward the clinic.

Before leaving, she glared at Leng Xue and scolded, “Zhaodi, marrying into the city is your good fortune. Don’t be stupid. Marry properly!”

Leng Tianbao had tripped today while trying to kick Leng Xue. If it had been a normal day, Li Chunhua would’ve jabbed Leng Zhaodi with a needle in retaliation.

But right now, they were in the middle of marriage talks with Xu Zhonghong, so she had no choice but to hold herself back.

After scolding “Leng Zhaodi,” Li Chunhua took Leng Tianbao and kept calling him “good boy” as they prepared to head to the clinic.

At that moment, Leng Xue sneered loudly, “If you think it’s such a great blessing, then you marry him!”

Li Chunhua froze in her tracks. Her blood boiled. She spun around, ready to hit Leng Xue. It was her usual reaction—whenever things didn’t go her way, she took it out on Leng Zhaodi.

“You wretched girl! Haven’t been hit for three days and you’re climbing the roof already, huh? Watch how I beat you into obedience today!”

Li Chunhua stormed over, lifting her rough, yellowed hand and aiming it at Leng Xue’s face.

But Leng Xue swiftly grabbed her wrist with her left hand, and with lightning speed, smacked her across the face with her right hand.

“Smack!”

“You little brat! How dare you hit me?!”

“It’s already done—what’s there to be afraid of?”

Leng Xue replied coldly, and then landed two more slaps.

Because she used her right hand, all three slaps landed on Li Chunhua’s left cheek. After that, her left cheek swelled up like a pig’s head.

Li Chunhua’s head buzzed, stars filled her vision, and her left cheek burned in pain.

“Waaah! That wretched girl hit her mama! Tianbao’s dad, you better do something!”

Facing Leng Xue’s cold, ruthless gaze, Li Chunhua didn’t dare retaliate herself. She howled for her man to step in.

She cried so loudly that villagers who hadn’t gone far heard everything clearly.

“Huh? Leng Zhaodi hit Li Chunhua?”

“Sounds like it. Has Leng Zhaodi finally grown a backbone?”

The villagers buzzed with gossip. In their minds, Leng Zhaodi had always been a timid little thing—always walking with her head down, and speaking like a buzzing mosquito.

“She should grow a backbone. If she doesn’t fight back, those two will torture her to death.”

“Exactly! Just last month, I saw Li Chunhua holding her head down and trying to drown her in the river. If I hadn’t shouted at her, she might’ve died right then.”

The speaker was a nearly 50-year-old chubby auntie. Her husband was the brigade leader of Ankang, and she herself was the head of the women’s committee. Out of responsibility, she couldn’t let Leng Zhaodi be drowned in front of her eyes.

“Help! Leng Zhaodi hit her mom and now wants to hit her dad too! Someone save me! Help…!”