Chapter 56 : Baldness

The tall woman, Sun Xiufang, was seething with anger. She tried to grab Jiang Li’s hair, shouting, “You bitch, you shameless, unfaithful woman! I’ll beat you to death today!”

Jiang Li sneered, then kicked Sun Xiufang hard in the abdomen.

A loud slap followed one, two, three Jiang Li counted up to thirty before stopping.

Sun Xiufang, dizzy from the blows, collapsed to the ground.

The onlookers were stunned by the ruthless violence Jiang Li displayed, especially towards the delicate young wife.

“Shaoqiang’s wife, that’s enough! What did she do to deserve such treatment?”  

“Exactly, we all live in the same village. We see each other every day. If someone offends you, why not just ask them to apologize? Why be so aggressive?”

Jiang Li sneered and retorted to one of the speakers, “Your mother cheated on your father, and your father is a cuckold. You’re the bastard of your family.”

The person being insulted immediately became angry, rolling up his sleeves to strike Jiang Li. “What did you say? You’re so vile! Believe it or not, I’ll beat you to death!”

Jiang Li calmly responded, “Didn’t you just say we’re all from the same village? If someone offends you, why not just ask them to apologize? Why are you so upset now? If it bothers you, I’ll pretend I didn’t say anything.”

The man, completely speechless, shrank his neck and muttered angrily.

“Who bullied my Lizi?” Chen Xianyun’s voice rang out before she arrived. Jiang Li looked at her, seeing the sweat on her forehead, and felt a warmth in her heart. Her eyes turned red.

Chen Xianyun, holding a harpoon made of a wooden stick, immediately rushed over Sun Xiufang, who was lying on the ground. “You shameless old gossip, the older you get, the thicker your skin gets.”

She turned to the other woman, “And you, you blind, heartless fool! Two of you against one, bullying my little girl because she’s young, huh?”

Chen Xianyun swung the harpoon down on Sun Xiufang’s head. Tao Xiaofeng, unable to escape, was beaten as well, screaming in pain.

Jiang Li stood by, also ready to act. When two men tried to intervene and strike Chen Xianyun, Jiang Li took action to stop them.

“The captain is here!”

This was the first time Jiang Li met the captain of Bailutang. She was a little surprised that he was so young, no more than in his early thirties. He had a straight posture, handsome features, and a commanding presence.

When he arrived, the crowd instinctively parted, showing their respect.

Tao Xiaofeng, crying, complained to the captain, “Captain, look at what these two bitches did to me! My body is covered in bruises. We can’t let this go. I want them to pay!”

Zhuang Daqiang, Sun Xiufang’s partner, glared at Jiang Li with malice. If no one had stopped him, he would’ve rushed over to punch her.

“Qi Shaoqiang’s wife is bullying my wife because of her family’s wealth? What right does she have? This little bitch hit someone. She should at least pay five dollars!”

Qi Yupeng shot a fierce glare at Zhuang Daqiang. “Did you lose money gambling again? You’re dreaming! Get out of here!”

He then pointed to two women in the crowd and asked, “What happened here?”

One of them replied, “Tao Xiaofeng and Sun Xiufang were talking badly about someone, and then Jiang Li started fighting with them.”

Zhuang Daqiang was furious. “You beat someone up just for saying a few words? How much will the medical treatment cost? She’s standing here. If Qi Shaoqiang doesn’t give us an explanation today, don’t blame me for being rude!”

“How can you be so rude? If you dare to hit someone in front of me, come and try! Zhuang Daqiang, I’m warning you for the last time, don’t talk nonsense here, or I’ll call the militia over!”

Qi Yupeng was also angry. Zhuang Daqiang and his wife, one a gambler and the other a gossip, were responsible for many of the troubles in the village. Today, they were touching someone’s vegetables, tomorrow, they might steal someone’s eggs. Both of them were shameless and unscrupulous.

“Sun Xiufang, tell me, what bad things did you say about Jiang Li just now?”

Sun Xiufang muttered, “God knows what… What did I say about Jiang Li? She just felt guilty about doing something shameful, so she grabbed me and beat me.”

“Have you heard that Qi Shaoqiang’s new wife has many lovers in Dashuping…”

Sun Xiufang didn’t finish her sentence, but Jiang Li repeated word for word what she and Tao Xiaofeng had just said, with a blank expression, exposing everything.

Tao Xiaofeng’s face turned pale. Was this person human or a ghost? How did she even imitate her tone of voice?

The people watching the commotion began pointing and whispering, “I can tell that’s Sun Xiufang’s voice! She always talks like that!”

“Then they weren’t wronged for being beaten. A woman’s reputation is everything. They slandered her, saying she had an affair and spread false rumors. If she had a strong temper, she might have jumped into the river, right?”

“The Daqiang family is outrageous! What grudge do they have against her? They’re using her reputation for their own bragging rights!”

Tao Xiaofeng shrank back, terrified. She had just gotten married, and now Sun Xiufang was dragging her into this. Seeing everyone pointing at her, she was scared out of her wits. Her mother-in-law was very strict and would beat her to death if she found out about today.

“It wasn’t me who said that. Sun Xiufang said it, I was just listening.”

Seeing that Tao Xiaofeng was trying to distance herself from the matter and place all the blame on Sun Xiufang, the latter grew anxious, “I’m not the first to say it! Chen Qiuxiang said it , and she even added details!”

The web of lies grew, drawing in another person.

Chen Qiuxiang, who had been hiding in the crowd watching the spectacle, never expected Sun Xiufang to blurt everything out. Her gloating expression was caught by the crowd, and immediately, Chen Xianyun rushed over with a roar.

“I told you not to say bad things about my daughter-in-law! You’re so uneducated. I don’t even want your daughter because you’re her mother. If I marry such a black-hearted thing, the Qi family will suffer!”

Jiang Li wasn’t to be outdone. She quickly grabbed Chen Qiuxiang by the hair and twisted it hard.

Chen Qiuxiang’s proud figure, which she had always relied on, became her weakness today.

The mother and daughter-in-law teamed up to pull out half of Chen Qiuxiang’s hair.

Seeing that the situation was nearly out of control, Qi Yupeng stepped in and slowly called out to Jiang Li, “Shaoqiang’s family, let’s settle it this way. They are wrong in this matter. I’ll ask them to compensate you two dollars. If they don’t have money, I’ll give it to you in installments, okay?”

Qi Yupeng, wanting to give face to Qi Shaoqiang, decided on the compensation without consulting the wrongdoers. After all, these three gossipers were in the wrong from the start.

Jiang Li smoothed her hair and said, “Captain, anyone who can prove that Er Laizi from our village is an adulterer, must be someone familiar with the Dashuping. I’m sure the rumor didn’t come from them.”