Chapter 21: Society’s Sister Wei

The third sister-in-law from the Lin family’s distant relatives was a woman in her fifties. Upon hearing Lin Bingwei’s words, she rolled up her sleeves, her fleshy face twisted in anger as she snapped, “You disrespectful brat, looks like you need some discipline! As your elder, I’ll give you a good beating today and teach you some manners. Your mother should even pay me for my trouble.”

She was the first to step forward to teach Lin Bingwei a lesson. But before she could make a move, Lin Bingwei struck first. The moment she saw the woman rolling up her sleeves, she slapped her twice across the face.

Lin Bingwei had seen it with her own eyes just now—this woman had been the one who kicked down their courtyard wall.

Why was Lin Bingwei so bold? She never tolerated injustice—if it wasn’t fists, it was feet, and if that wasn’t enough, she’d grab a knife.

This was all thanks to her father’s strong genes and his excellent upbringing.

Her father had been a street thug in Hong Kong during the ’90s. He was tall, strong, and an exceptional fighter, the right-hand man of a gang leader, and had made plenty of enemies. Later, when his boss died unexpectedly, he became the top target for revenge. Beaten half to death, he managed to escape to the mainland.

At his lowest point, he dined and dashed at a restaurant and was nearly handed over to the police. It was her mother who pitied him and paid his bill. Perhaps because no one had ever treated him kindly without expecting anything in return, he latched onto her mother. After going through many hardships together, they ended up as a couple.

Lin Bingwei had inherited her father’s fiery temper. Since childhood, she had ruled her street as the undisputed leader—no one her age could beat her in a fight.

That said, she was a law-abiding citizen. This was a society governed by law, and she normally wouldn’t resort to violence unless someone really pushed her too far. Even then, she always exercised restraint.

Take the current situation, for example. These shameless people—utterly deserving of a beating.

“You’ve got some nerve barging into my home to discipline me?”

She was always the one disciplining others. Back in her neighborhood, even the stray dogs tucked their tails and avoided her. And now these people dared to show up at her house to put her in her place? As if she’d let that slide.

The third sister-in-law of the Lin family was utterly shocked, but she quickly regained her senses and lunged at Lin Bingwei, clawing at her.

“You little wench, how dare you hit me? I’m your third aunt-in-law!”

“That’s exactly why I hit you.” Lin Bingwei dodged behind the door, grabbed the broom from behind it, and started swinging at the group of middle-aged women.

Her main target was Bihua. The others? They were just collateral damage as she shoved them outside.

With yelps and curses, the women were driven out of the courtyard, shouting angrily, “You wretched girl! We’re your elders! How dare you lay hands on us? Heavens above, is there anyone else in these ten villages who would dare hit their elders?”

Lin Bingwei tossed the broom aside and picked up an iron shovel, standing at the entrance.

“Hah! You dared to come to my house and attack me? If you push me any further, I’ll treat you all to a flying shovel strike.”

The women were scared out of their wits. The Lin Bingwei they remembered was meek and obedient—never talking back, never fighting back. Compared to the person before them now, it was like she had become a completely different person.

The one who suffered the most was Bihua. She had taken several hits and was now clutching her thigh, wailing, “See? I told you she’s not the same person, but you didn’t believe me! Before, she wouldn’t have dared to treat me like this!”

The third sister-in-law of the Lin family bared her teeth and muttered, “Could it be that Daoist Zhang really cast some kind of spell on her? How come she changed so drastically after getting married?”

She had initially dismissed the rumors, but now she was starting to believe them.

Lin Bingwei spat on the ground and sneered, “Bihua, I’ve endured you for far too long. I’ve been waiting for this day for thirteen years.”

“Huh?”

The women were all dumbfounded.

“I’ve known for a long time that you swapped me and Ye Bingyu. You’ve been holding onto my household registration, beating and scolding me, and I had no choice but to endure it. Now that I’ve finally left your house, why should I put up with your abuse anymore?”

The three women Bihua had brought with her all turned to look at her.

Bihua suddenly felt a little panicked. Could it really be that Lin Bingwei had known the truth all along? Had she been secretly enduring everything all these years?

Was that why she turned on them the very day after getting married?

“Heh, you little wretch, you sure know how to endure. Even I was fooled by you! If I had known you’d turn out like this, I would have drowned you in the toilet back then.”

Lin Bingwei said indifferently, “Ladies, you all heard that, didn’t you? She’s not my mother—she’s the one who switched me at birth. She’s my enemy. Why should I treat her kindly? Her family abused me for years, and I haven’t even taken revenge yet. Think carefully—do you really want to get involved in this crime?”

If the child-swapping was real, it was illegal. A crime that could land people in prison.

Someone wavered.

“Aunt, is it true that you switched the kids?”

Bihua adamantly denied it. “True? What true? That wretched girl is just delusional, dreaming of being a rich man’s daughter! She’s making things up!”

“If she’s really your own flesh and blood, then why do you treat her like an enemy?”

Bihua: “…”

“Don’t talk nonsense! When did I ever treat her like an enemy? I even gave her twenty yuan when she got married! You all saw it! If she wasn’t my real daughter, why would I give her money?”

Lin Bingwei sneered. “Ha, you swapped me for 888 yuan and gave me 20 in return. Nice deal.”

Bihua was momentarily speechless.

The three women Bihua had brought with her exchanged glances, feeling that something wasn’t quite right.

Lin family’s Fourth Sister-in-law hesitated, then said, “Aunt, I just remembered I have something to do at home. I’ll be leaving first.”

She turned and ran.

Bihua was frustrated. “Hey! Fourth Sister-in-law, I gave you two white radishes!”

“I’ll return them later!”

She had only come along for show, all for the sake of two radishes.

But if the baby-switching thing turned out to be true, that was a crime. No way was she risking jail time over some vegetables. Better to run first.

Once one person left, the rest started to falter. The remaining two also found excuses to leave.

“I’ve got something at home too, I’m going!”

“Hey, Fifth Sister-in-law—”

Seeing everyone leaving, Lin family’s Third Sister-in-law also tried to escape.

Bihua quickly grabbed her. “Third Sister-in-law, she slapped you twice just now! You’re just going to take that lying down?”

Third Sister-in-law paused. She was already furious—getting slapped by a young girl at her age was humiliating. Of course, she couldn’t just let it go.

“You little wretch, you ill-fated thing! Serves you right that your husband’s about to die! Hah! So now that you’re married, you don’t have to listen to your mother anymore? Let’s see if you come crying back to the Lin family when you’re widowed!”

Bihua immediately chimed in. “Pah! A jinxed widow! If she dares to come back, I’ll throw a bucket of manure on her!”

They had been cursing for a while now, yet Zhang Tingyuan still hadn’t come out. That confirmed their belief—he really was on his deathbed.

Bihua had heard from someone that Zhang Tingyuan was in critical condition. He had been carried home yesterday—supposedly to wait for death.

It seemed true. He was probably going to die any day now.

If Zhang Tingyuan died, what could a young widow do? She’d be at their mercy.

Why should they be afraid of her?

The more they cursed, the more arrogant they became.

Until Lin Bingwei propped herself up with her shovel and sent them both flying into the sweet potato ditch with a single kick.

“Ahhh!”

The two of them tumbled into the ditch, flat on their backs.