Chapter 3: I’ll Beat You If You Dare to Go to the Countryside

Lin Xiangnan genuinely wanted to go to the countryside, not for the sake of family harmony, but simply for herself. The room in the city was too small, she couldn’t get used to it, and there were too many people at home, she had no privacy…

Ignoring Hu Meili’s cold face, she continued to insist, “Just stop bothering me. When I graduate, I’ll go sign up.”

Hu Meili exploded upon hearing this, slammed her hand on the table, and stood up abruptly. “You coward. I’m fighting for you in the front, and you’re holding me back in the rear?”

She looked around, grabbed the feather duster from the cabinet, and without a word, swung it at Lin Xiangnan.

“Ah? Why are you hitting me without a word?” Lin Xiangnan, who had never experienced this kind of treatment, ran for cover.

“I’ll beat you to death, you disobedient thing. Stand still!”

“You don’t speak normally, and no one treats you like a mute. Why do you open your mouth now? You just want to make your old mother angry with every word you say.”

“Run, run! If you run, you better not come back!”

While scolding, Hu Meili chased after Lin Xiangnan with the stick, not even taking a breath, her lung capacity obviously very good.

The ladies in the courtyard watched the commotion while cooking, laughing and asking, “Xiaonan, what did you do to make your mother angry again?”

“Hu Meili, you too, you scold your husband and then beat your child, there’s no peace in your life.”

Hu Meili sneered, “Don’t talk about me. Didn’t you beat your child yesterday?”

This was the inconvenience of living in a large courtyard. There were many people living there, and there were always things happening every day. Moreover, the houses were not soundproof, and everyone in the courtyard knew about everyone else’s little secrets.

Seeing Hu Meili being held back by an old lady, Lin Xiangnan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, and looked terrified. “Close call. Luckily I ran fast, otherwise that stick would have landed on me. Fierce, she’s really fierce.”

She had never been beaten before, she had no idea Hu Meili would actually do it.

The sound of Hu Meili swinging the feather duster, the whooshing wind, clearly showed that she had used force. Moreover, her angle was tricky, aimed directly at Lin Xiangnan’s butt, making her heart sink.

She had dodged it now, but Hu Meili’s anger didn’t seem to have subsided. If she appeared in front of Hu Meili, she would definitely get another beating.

She stood outside the courtyard, observing secretly, sneaking around, afraid to go in.

“Second Sister, what are you doing? Why aren’t you going home?”

A young man wearing a shirt and carrying a satchel walked over and grabbed Lin Xiangnan’s arm, asking with concern, “Are you feeling better?”

“Xiao Xi is back.” Lin Xiangnan looked at the person who came, smiled awkwardly, “I’m fine now.”

Lin Xi looked into the courtyard and saw Hu Meili still holding the feather duster. He instantly understood, “Sister, you made Mom angry?”

“Yeah. It’s all because of the countryside thing.” Lin Xiangnan pouted, “I said I wanted to go to the countryside, and she directly hit me with the feather duster.”

Hearing this, Lin Xi also got angry. “Why should you go to the countryside? Liu Honghe should go. Did they say something to you?”

“No.” Lin Xiangnan quickly shook her head.

Lin Xi advised earnestly, “Sister, you’re just too naive. Anyone who encourages you to go to the countryside has ulterior motives, don’t listen to them.”

There were six children in the family, divided into two camps. Lin Xiangdong, Lin Xiangnan, and Lin Xi were siblings, while Liu Hongying, Liu Hongshan, and Liu Honghe were siblings, and the two sides had never gotten along well.

The three Liu siblings felt that Hu Meili was biased, giving all the good food and clothing to her own children. The three Lin siblings felt sorry for Hu Meili, thinking that she had been helping the family with laundry, cooking, and taking care of the children for so many years, and the Liu children didn’t know how to be grateful.

Actually, Hu Meili was a pretty good stepmother. Although she had a bad temper, she also beat and scolded her own children, and she didn’t withhold food and clothing from her stepchildren. She raised them all well.

It’s just that in the courtyard they lived in, there was another stepmother who raised her own daughter thin and pitiful, while she pampered her stepson. This comparison made Hu Meili seem like a vicious stepmother.

Especially this year, Liu Honghe graduated from junior high school and Lin Xiangnan graduated from high school. Hu Meili insisted on sending her stepson to the countryside and keeping her own daughter in the city. Liu Hongying and her siblings secretly cursed her a lot. Hu Meili’s reputation as a “vicious stepmother” was half the fault of the Liu siblings.

Now, middle school was a two-year program, and Lin Xi would be in second year junior high next semester. If he couldn’t get into high school, the family would continue to be in turmoil next year because of the countryside issue.

With Liu Hongying, a stepsister who had returned from the countryside due to illness, Lin Xi couldn’t let his own sister go to the countryside. Although he was young, he was far more responsible than Liu Honghe.

“Second Sister, don’t be afraid, just listen to Mom. I’ll go to the countryside, you have to stay in the city. You’re a girl, alone in the countryside, I wouldn’t feel at ease.”

Lin Xiangnan looked up in surprise at her fifteen-year-old brother. He had a childish face, but he spoke and acted with great responsibility.

There were six children in the family. Hu Meili worked during the day and did housework after work. She only took care of the children’s food and clothing, and didn’t have much time to care about their mental health.

Lin Xiangnan was the second child and a girl, she couldn’t play with her brother and younger brother, and she was like an invisible person at home. Unexpectedly, at this critical moment, Hu Meili and Lin Xi were both planning for her, making her feel a little overwhelmed.

“What are you looking at me for? Come on, let’s go back to the room. Mom put down the feather duster.”

Lin Xiangnan looked in and saw that Hu Meili was already cooking in the kitchen. She immediately felt relieved and went back to the room with her younger brother.

As soon as she stepped into the door,  a sound, Hu Meili’s stick hit her butt.

“Mom!!!” Lin Xiangnan’s cry was genuine and heart-wrenching.

Hu Meili threw the stick away, “If you don’t get beaten for three days, you’ll climb onto the roof. If you dare to do anything reckless, I’ll beat you to death.”

She was deliberately doing this, wanting to give Lin Xiangnan a lesson.

This daughter of hers was usually quiet, and she was really afraid that Lin Xiangnan would lose her mind and secretly go to sign up on her own. If that happened, it would be too late to discipline her.

And sure enough, Lin Xiangnan really had the intention of secretly signing up to go to the countryside. Although she couldn’t get her household registration, she had a graduation certificate after graduating from high school. It was completely no problem for her to sign up for herself, so she didn’t intend to yield to Hu Meili’s intimidation, she looked stubborn.

Hu Meili was angry when she saw the expression on her face, “You’re not going to college anyway. Don’t go to school these days, let your brother continue to call in sick for you. Combine it with May Day and the weekend, take a ten-day leave.”

Lin Xiangnan took a step back defensively, “Why take leave?”

“Isn’t it the busy farming season? You love farming, I’ll arrange it for you. Tomorrow I’ll send you to your second uncle’s house in the countryside to work.”