Chapter 55

Lu Baiwei, however, thought it wasn’t so simple. 

The reason Zhao Yongsen and his siblings were often bullied was that their father passed away early, leaving their mother to raise them alone. A widowed woman raising her children naturally became an easy target. 

Lu Baiwei remembered from her previous life that when her cousin married into the Zhao family, she didn’t get along with her mother-in-law. 

To be fair, Zhao Yongsen’s mother was quite amiable, soft-spoken, and generally easy to get along with. 

But she had a habit of taking advantage of others and favoring those in power, which rubbed her cousin, who was straightforward and blunt, the wrong way. 

If not for Zhao Yongsen mediating between them, the conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law could have been much worse. 

Thinking back, even though she had distanced herself from her uncles’ families in her previous life, she had heard during a visit home that Zhao Yongsen became quite successful thanks to his carpentry skills. However, once he had money, he started chasing after women. 

People in the brigade gossiped that her cousin often went to the county furniture factory to confront him and even fought with the women Zhao Yongsen was involved with. 

Having been reborn, Lu Baiwei had been so preoccupied with her own little family that she nearly forgot about Zhao Yongsen’s questionable character. 

She didn’t want her cousin to suffer any losses. Even if it made her seem nagging, she couldn’t help but offer some advice. 

“Maybe Zhao Yongsen doesn’t have bad intentions, but Liu Cuifang might not be so honest!” 

“Think about it: even though He Ting and I are officially married, with a marriage certificate, she still had the nerve to cause trouble at my house. That either means she’s a bad person or she’s not thinking straight.” 

“Either way, someone like that shouldn’t be getting too close to Zhao Yongsen and his siblings. You should be careful.” 

Lu Baiwei added, “You went to middle school with me, so you can read just fine. Why would Zhao Yongsen need help learning to read from Liu Cuifang, a relative stranger, instead of asking you, his fiancée?” 

“Doesn’t that sound a bit suspicious?” 

Although Tang Yunling didn’t take it too seriously, she ultimately decided to listen to her cousin’s advice, if only partially. 

“Fine. I’ll have my aunt keep an eye on things since Zhao Yongsen lives next door to her.” 

Seeing Tang Yunling agree, Lu Baiwei finally relaxed. She pressed harder on the pedals, quickening their pace. 

As they neared Tang Yunling’s house, Lu Baiwei felt relieved. Despite being delayed for so long at the Red Flag Brigade, she had made it back just in time for lunch. 

She had to hurry home to cook—she couldn’t let the two little ones go hungry. 

Especially little He Yunqi, who, despite being just over five years old, had an appetite that rivaled half an adult’s. 

Just as she was thinking about He Yunqi, she suddenly heard her third aunt’s furious voice. 

“How dare you hit a child on our Tang family’s turf? Are you looking for trouble?” 

Who had been hit? 

Lu Baiwei quickly dismounted her bicycle, handed it to Tang Yunling, and rushed into the crowd in just a few strides. 

What she saw made her blood boil: little He Yunqi, standing with a few other Tang children, had a large, red handprint on his face. 

Lu Baiwei exploded with anger. “Who did this?” 

The moment He Yunqi saw her, he immediately clung to her, finding his source of comfort. 

Seeing Lu Baiwei arrive, He Yunqi immediately found his backbone. 

The little guy rushed over, tears brimming in his eyes, and hugged Lu Baiwei’s leg tightly. 

The kids from their cousin’s family pointed at the child Lu Jiaojiao was holding and began tattling to Lu Baiwei. 

“He bullied us! He called Xiao Qi a child with no parents!” 

“He even threw rocks at Xiao Qi!” 

“Yeah, yeah! He’s shameless—he couldn’t win against Xiao Qi, so he started crying!” 

“And that bad woman helped him hit Xiao Qi!” 

Lu Baiwei recognized the child Lu Jiaojiao was holding—it was the second child from Yin Zhihe’s eldest sister’s family. 

The boy, already seven or eight years old, was still being led around by the hand. 

Though the little tattlers were entertaining, Lu Baiwei pieced together the whole story from their fragmented accusations. 

The child from Yin Zhihe’s eldest sister’s family had insulted her Xiao Qi, calling him a kid without parents. 

Angered, He Yunqi, along with the little tattlers, gave the boy a good beating. 

Lu Jiaojiao intervened, and in the process, she slapped He Yunqi. 

While the child’s initial taunting was wrong, Lu Baiwei didn’t see the fight as a major issue. 

What she couldn’t tolerate was Lu Jiaojiao—a grown adult—not only interfering but also slapping a child. 

“Lu Jiaojiao, what kind of adult bullies a child? Don’t think today’s matter will end well.” 

When it came to Xiao Qi, Lu Baiwei was no longer her usual gentle and harmless self. 

She glared at Lu Jiaojiao, her expression full of menace. 

Lu Jiaojiao, prepared for confrontation, showed no fear. “Fine, let’s not end it well! Do you think I’m scared?” 

“My son said the little brat with the last name He has no parents—is he wrong?” 

“If he had parents, why would he be sent to the countryside to live with his uncle and aunt? Huh?” 

“Which part of what my son said is wrong? Your little brat is parentless—” 

Before Lu Jiaojiao could finish her venomous tirade, Lu Baiwei raised her hand and slapped her hard. 

The crisp sound echoed, and a bright red handprint immediately appeared on Lu Jiaojiao’s face. 

Just then, He Ting, who had been helping out at Tang Jingshan’s house, arrived with a few uncles in tow. A group of team members passing by after work also stopped to watch. 

Seeing the crowd, a glint of malice flashed in Lu Jiaojiao’s eyes. She suddenly staggered and fell to the ground dramatically, shouting at the top of her lungs: 

“She hit me! The niece of a military officer is bullying me with her power!” 

She shouted loudly, “She hit me! The niece of a military officer is throwing her weight around!” 

“So what if her uncle is an officer in the military? Does that make her special?” 

“Everyone, come and look! This is outrageous bullying!” 

Lu Jiaojiao rolled on the ground dramatically, while the child from Yin Zhihe’s eldest sister’s family bawled loudly. 

With He Ting came not only Lu Baiwei’s three uncles but also a man who looked like a cadre. 

Hearing Lu Jiaojiao’s loud wailing, Tang Jingchuan frowned as he squeezed into the scene. “What’s going on? What are you all making a fuss about?” 

Tang Jingchuan had always disliked Lu Jianguo’s stepdaughter, Lu Jiaojiao. Instinctively, he stepped in front of Lu Baiwei to shield her. 

“My Weiwei couldn’t have hit anyone—she’s never laid a hand on anyone before.” 

“I hit her,” Lu Baiwei said directly. 

Tang Jingchuan froze, momentarily stunned. 

The cadre accompanying him twitched the corner of his mouth, as though struggling to hold back laughter after seeing Tang Jingchuan dumbfounded. 

It was clear that more than just Lu Jiaojiao recognized the man as a cadre. She had seen him before when filing a report; everyone at the commune deferred to him. 

Having heard that her child had been in a fight, Yin Zhihe’s eldest sister also arrived and recognized the cadre. 

Previously, when Yin Zhihe was almost accused of hooliganism, they had sought connections to meet this very Cadre Qian. 

Now, her child had come home bruised and swollen from a brief outing with her sister-in-law. Furious, she approached him. 

“Cadre Qian, someone in Xiangyang Brigade is abusing their power. Please uphold justice for us!” 

“Weiwei…” 

Tang Jingchuan still hadn’t recovered from the shock of Lu Baiwei admitting to hitting someone. 

But he was sure that if his niece had struck someone, that person must have provoked her first. 

In his eyes, his niece could do no wrong. 

Even if this meant losing face in front of his old classmate, Tang Jingchuan didn’t care. 

His only concern was for Lu Baiwei. 

What could have possibly made his Weiwei so angry?