Chapter Ten

After hearing the whole story, Bi Chunliu and her siblings didn’t go any further. Instead, they crouched behind a house not far from the Bi household.

From a distance, they could clearly hear Third Aunt Bi cursing back and forth with one of the brigade leader’s sisters‑in‑law—either the second brother’s wife or the third brother’s wife. The insults were vicious, every word stabbing right at the sore spots. After all, everyone in the same village knew each other’s dirt. The whole fight was about one thing—no one leaves unscathed.

The siblings all drew in a sharp breath, “Tsshh~”—Third Aunt’s fighting power was even stronger than they had imagined!

“Shut your trap! What’s it got to do with you anyway? The real grandmother hasn’t even spoken yet, and here you are, a distant granny, jumping up and down. What, you think those kids are your grandsons? Useless! You couldn’t even give birth to a son yourself, so you cling to your nephews? Bah!” Somehow the quarrel veered off course, and Third Aunt Bi began attacking the brigade second brother’s wife for not having sons, even implying something shady with her brother‑in‑law.

The crowd shifted uneasily, glancing between the two Wang wives. Wang Lao’er’s wife flushed crimson with fury. What filth is this Cai woman spouting?!
“You filthy bitch! Mind your own damn ass before slinging mud at others! Acting all high and mighty—as if you’d birthed a dozen sons yourself! Look at your weak, sickly boy—give him to me for free and I’d still throw him back!”

“You—you dare curse my son?! He’s frail because of your jinxing, isn’t he?! You barren hag! I’ll curse your ancestors! I’ll—” Third Aunt Bi’s mouth spewed venom while her body lunged straight at Wang Lao’er’s wife!

Onlookers: Whoa—are they actually going to fight?!

Wang Lao’er’s wife had been tough all her life. Yes, she had three daughters, all good and dutiful, and her inability to bear more children wasn’t her fault—but she had suffered endless scorn for not producing a son. The one thing she could never tolerate was being called “childless.”

“Ahhh—you dare hit me?! You wretch, pawning off your daughters like cattle—you still have the face to talk about me?! I’ll kill you!” She clawed at Third Aunt Bi with both hands, determined to scratch that Cai woman’s face to ribbons today.

And so, the two women fought. Their “battle stances” were identical: bodies leaning back, one hand clamped in the other’s hair, the free hand raking at each other’s faces. One went for the nose, the other for the cheeks. Their legs weren’t idle either—kicks and stomps sent dust flying all over the road.

“Stop fighting! Quick! Somebody, help pull them apart!” cried Wang Lao’er’s wife toward the crowd, though even as she tried to break it up, she snuck in two hard pinches at Cai Juhua. This foul hag, let’s see her run her mouth again!

Only when the brigade leader’s family members spoke did the crowd finally stir. They muttered things like, “Come on, break it up,” and “We’re all from the same village, what’s the point of this?” Yet no one really moved—just a bit of shoving back and forth, no one daring to actually step in.

Tsshh~ The two women clawed and scratched, neither showing much injury on the surface, but who knew what bruises hid under their clothes? Clearly, they were both seasoned fighters. Who would be foolish enough to step into the middle and risk getting hurt? Didn’t they see Wang Lao’er’s wife had already taken two solid kicks from Third Aunt Bi?

While the fight raged, Bi Xiahe tugged on Bi Chunliu’s sleeve and pointed. “Big Sis, that person ran off.”

“Mm, she must’ve gone to fetch the brigade leader. Let’s keep hiding. Aside from Granny Wang, no one’s noticed us yet.” Chunliu had no desire to get dragged into Third Aunt’s mess, let alone break up a fight.

“Okay!” The four of them quietly slipped farther away.

Sure enough, not long after, they saw the brigade leader storming over in a rage, Third Uncle Bi hurrying behind him. From their distance, even straining their ears, Chunliu and her siblings could only catch faint echoes of the brigade leader’s furious scolding.

Chunliu murmured, “He’s probably almost done chewing them out. Let’s wait a bit longer before heading over.”

Bi Qiuguo pouted, “Big Sis, can’t we go now? I can’t hear a thing from here—I want to see how the brigade leader settles it!”

Bi Weiguo, looking smug like a know‑it‑all, patted his younger sister’s head. “Silly, that’s not how you watch a show. You stay at the edge, that’s the safe spot. If you rush too close, you’ll get dragged in. What if they pin it on you?” He spoke from experience. Just last week, he’d stood too close to a fight at school. Even though he hadn’t thrown a punch, the teacher lumped him in with the brawlers. He wasn’t scolded, but the teacher’s look said it all—it was a misunderstanding, but still bitter.

“Your second brother’s right.”

“Big Sis, they’re scattering now!” Bi Xiahe pointed out.

“Let’s wait a little longer. Third Uncle’s in a foul mood for sure. If he doesn’t bring some offerings to the brigade leader tonight, the coming days won’t be easy for him…”

Bi Qiuguo asked, “Then what should we do?”

Bi Xiahe snorted, “What else can we do? Nothing but sit tight!”