Chapter 200

Over there, Butcher Hu chuckled coldly, “Stabbing at the neck is all the same. What’s the difference? If you ask me, humans aren’t as strong as pigs. It’ll be even easier!”

Uncle Huang, Uncle Two, and Fan Jin widened their eyes in disbelief, their legs trembling uncontrollably, feeling utterly weak.

Did they hear correctly? The butcher really intended to use his knife!

Butcher Hu continued, “Daughter, don’t be afraid! Dad has your back. I didn’t know you were having such a hard time at your in-laws’, where anyone and everyone dares to act superior! Fortunately, it’s not too late now. After I deal with these three, I’ll go to their place and eliminate any future trouble. Then you can finally live in peace.”

Deal with future trouble?

Did he mean to wipe them out entirely?

Uncle Huang and Uncle Two didn’t bother with further threats. They shoved Fan Jin forward and stumbled as they turned to run towards the courtyard gate.

Fan Jin cursed under his breath about the two stubborn old men and quickly followed suit, taking advantage of his youth to leave the two old men far behind.

Behind them, voices of dissuasion could be heard: “Dad, if you do that, you’ll end up in jail! It’s not worth it.”

“Yeah, Head of the House, the officials will come after you, and you could lose your life.”

“Don’t worry, I’d trade my life for theirs several times over. Don’t try to stop me!”

The three men, terrified, ran to Fan Jin’s home, closing the courtyard gate and bolting the door to catch their breath, which had been so ragged.

After a brief rest, they regained their senses and realized they had been deceived!

If Butcher Hu had killed them, Hu Shuiqing and Hu Wenhua would be accomplices to murder, their family’s assets would be confiscated, and their wives and children might be implicated. If Butcher Hu cared about his daughter, he would dare not harm them!

“We’ve been fooled!”

“What a miserable situation!”

“Devious!”

Each of them spat on the ground and cursed.

Inside the house, Sun Jinhua and Fan’s mother had come out by now. Sun Jinhua was still composed, but she couldn’t understand why these three men looked as if they were being chased by evil spirits.

Upon seeing her two older brothers, Fan’s mother’s eyes filled with tears of emotion, her voice hoarse as she asked, “Big brother, second brother, why are you two here?”

Were they worried about her because of the flood?

Indeed, family is family. Even at life’s critical moments, they still cared about their little sister!

Uncle Huang and Uncle Two frowned upon hearing their sister’s hoarse voice.

How poor was their sister’s family? They had to resort to such unheard-of labor to get by.

Enough! This whole family was getting into trouble year after year.

Impatiently, Uncle Huang ordered, “Enough talking. We’ll discuss later. First, go prepare some food. Both your second brother and I are starving!”

“And if there’s chicken, that’s best. Stew a chicken, and we can wait,” Uncle Two added.

After rushing for most of the day, thinking of slipping into the youngster’s home to enjoy some good chicken, duck, and fish, they went straight to his home.

They hadn’t expected to be scared out like that. Now drenched in cold sweat, tired and hungry, they would have eaten a whole cow and were only able to chomp on a chicken or two.

Sun Jinhua pursed her lips, noting they immediately wanted chicken. Were they wolves in sheep’s clothing?

Fan’s mother looked embarrassed, hesitantly saying, “There’s none left at home.”

Uncle Huang and Uncle Two looked at their sister disbelievingly. Who didn’t keep chickens?

Their sister’s large family was really too lazy.

Uncle Huang, impatient again, said, “Then just gather a few more eggs.”

Worried they might claim there were none, he added, “If there aren’t any, go borrow some!”

Honestly, they had come all this way and couldn’t even get a chicken to eat.

Fan’s mother shot a glance at her eldest daughter-in-law and scolded, “Why aren’t you hurrying to make it?”

Afraid that her eldest daughter-in-law might not be diligent enough and would mistreat her relatives from her mother’s side, Fan’s mother took out flour and duck eggs from her room and went into the kitchen to supervise the cooking herself.

Before long, she brought out three bowls of noodle soup made with duck eggs floating in them.

The aroma of the food made the three men ignore the risk of burning their mouths as they eagerly ate.

Until the last drop of soup was finished, the three of them sighed contentedly.

Uncle Two picked his teeth with a bamboo stick and suggested, “Since we’ve already entered the village to visit the youngster, let’s wait for him at the village entrance. It’s best that he decides. Once he agrees, his wife will behave.”

If she doesn’t behave, a beating will set her straight.

Thinking of the fierce Butcher Hu, Uncle Two shrank back, but then considered that he could still fight against the entire Shanshui Village.

Filial piety toward one’s mother is a matter of course. If the Hu family dares to oppose, can Shanshui Village tolerate them?

Even the youngster wouldn’t dare!

“Exactly,” agreed Uncle Huang.

He had already decided not to go if he could avoid it. The things for his nephew to honor him with could be sent over by the youngster.

Sun Jinhua nodded approvingly.

Fan’s mother didn’t understand and looked at her eldest son. “What does this mean?”

Fan Jin, who had been lying comfortably on the back of a chair after eating and drinking his fill, immediately looked pained upon hearing the question. “I feel sorry for Mother too. Nowadays, Second Brother is living well, and Mother is left to eat scraps with me. It pains me deeply.”

“But when we first separated households, Mother, you followed me. I was afraid Hu Shuiqing wouldn’t want to serve you, so I invited Big Uncle and Second Uncle to come!”

“Now, people from the Hu family are living it up at Second Brother’s place. Mother, you are Second Brother’s birth mother and Hu Shuiqing’s mother-in-law. They should be respecting you. All that meat and eggs should be going into your stomach.”

“It’s all because I’m useless and can’t provide good food and drink. I’ve made Mother suffer with me. But Mother, rest assured, even if it’s hard to part with, I won’t drag you down to endure hardship with me.”

Sun Jinhua couldn’t help but feel overjoyed at the thought of her mother-in-law not living with her from now on, almost wanting to set off firecrackers.

She was so happy she couldn’t even cry, so she tried to act like the head of the household, saying with a mournful face, “Mother should be living in comfort. If Hu Shuiqing dares to disrespect you, I’ll fight her to the death!”

Great! Her family was finally going to prosper.

People in the village said that Hu Shuiqing had only endured hardship because she had been suppressed before, but she was thriving more and more after separating households. Sun Jinhua was certain that her mother-in-law’s presence in their home was the reason for their previous hardship.

Finally, they would be able to live a good life.

Fan’s mother thought about the days in her second daughter-in-law’s home, where they could eat meat and eggs freely, and couldn’t help but smile wider.

She also thought about the idle people and two girls she had raised at home. Once she moved in, wouldn’t they all be her servants?

She never expected to live to see herself living the life of an old lady from a drama.

Uncle Huang glanced sideways at his sister and reminded her, “When you live a good life, don’t forget your surname is Huang. You are part of the Huang family, and the Huang family relies on you.”

“And my whole family. If your second son lives in a big mansion with a big courtyard, just a small leak from his finger would be enough to get us through a disaster year. He also has cattle and carts, which could conveniently transport grain back to us.” Uncle Two was unwilling to be left out, fearing he might lose his share.

Fan’s mother readily agreed, and her smile deepened with wrinkles.

Her second son could give things and money to her family, making her brothers take notice. It was really good.

The family split up and waited in batches at the village entrance for Fan Jin’s return.