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Chapter 26.1
When Mother Zhou burst in, Ruan Mingfu was still having breakfast.
In the courtyard, Zhu Hong was hanging clothes. She had the day off and didn’t go to work.
Just as she was about to speak, Mother Zhou stormed in like a madwoman, raising the hoe in her hand and swinging it at Ruan Mingfu by the table.
“Watch out—”
Ruan Mingfu’s pupils contracted as she quickly moved to the side.
The hoe struck the spot where she had just been sitting, tearing the leather off the chair.
Ruan Mingfu took a sharp breath.
Fortunately, she dodged in time; otherwise, she could have lost her life.
Realizing this, Ruan Mingfu turned and glared at Mother Zhou.
Damn it, this old woman isn’t just putting on an act; she really wants to kill me!
“Little bitch!”
Mother Zhou’s expression was frenzied, her hair a mess, and her clothes filthy, stained with patches of dirt and emitting a terrible odor.
She used to be a proud and vain person, but now she has become a madwoman.
The imprisonment of Zhou Dahu hadn’t cast a significant shadow on Mother Zhou.
What truly upset her was Zhou Peng.
Her most promising son had been ruined and sentenced to twenty years in prison. Whether Mother Zhou would still be around when Zhou Peng got out was uncertain.
Zhou Xiaohu had suffered a great misfortune and was still bedridden, unable to get up.
Moreover, the Lin family had extorted a thousand yuan from the Zhou family because of Lin Yujiao.
Mother Zhou felt like the sky had fallen.
Upon hearing that Ruan Mingfu had returned to the educated youth camp from the hospital, she could no longer stay calm.
“If I had known you would ruin my family like this, I should have killed you sooner!”
Ruan Mingfu frowned, “The current state of your family is a result of your own misdeeds. Zhou Dahu and your son ended up like this because they deserved it!”
Zhou Dahu had been involved in countless dirty deeds over the years.
If they were all tallied up, it would be enough for him to face several rounds of retribution.
He should be grateful he only had one life.
Mother Zhou’s eyes were bloodshot, “You bitch, I’ll kill you!”
Mother Zhou was determined to see Ruan Mingfu dead, even if it meant one life for another.
Anyway, she must die today!
Zhu Hong was startled and hurriedly said, “Educated Youth Ruan, quickly hide in the room. I’ll go get help!”
At this hour, everyone was out in the fields, a mile away from the commune. By the time she got help, Ruan Mingfu might be dead. Zhu Hong advised her to hide in the room to at least buy some time.
Just as she turned, a hoe came swinging at her.
Zhu Hong was terrified, but Ruan Mingfu, seeing the danger, pulled her away, saving her from harm.
“No one is leaving today!”
Mother Zhou had specifically chosen this time to come, and she wasn’t going to let Zhu Hong get help.
The hoe in Mother Zhou’s hand was made of iron, heavy and sharp. Since she was used to farming, her strength was comparable to that of a strong man. A blow could be fatal.
The two had to hide in a place stacked with objects.
After a while, the entire yard of the educated youth camp was in a mess.
There was nothing in the educated youth camp to use for defense or resistance.
Ruan Mingfu and Zhu Hong were hiding in a sorry state.
Mother Zhou relentlessly pressed forward, leaving them no chance to get inside the house.
In the chaos, Zhu Hong accidentally stepped on a broken stick and twisted her ankle. Her face turned pale, and the pain in her ankle made it impossible for her to stand.
Although Zhu Hong had never wronged the Zhou family, Mother Zhou, in her madness, wouldn’t spare her.
As Mother Zhou’s hoe was about to come down on her, Zhu Hong’s eyes filled with despair.
She thought she was doomed!
Zhu Hong closed her eyes, but after a long time, nothing happened.
She carefully opened her eyes to see Ruan Mingfu wielding a large stick, hitting Mother Zhou’s hand. Mother Zhou almost lost her grip on the hoe, which fell to the ground.
Ruan Mingfu continued to strike Mother Zhou vigorously.
Zhu Hong, enduring the pain, seized the opportunity to grab the hoe and wrest it from Mother Zhou’s hand.
Without her weapon, Mother Zhou was subdued, and the two women finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Mother Zhou, having been beaten by Ruan Mingfu, lay on the ground groaning in pain.
Ruan Mingfu tossed the stick aside.
This is when she saw Zhu Hong in danger, she suddenly thought of the bolt used to lock the door. It was very thick, and Ruan Mingfu took a lot of effort to pick it up.
It was heavy, and it really hurt when it hit someone.
Zhu Hong picked up the hoe in her hand, limping as she walked over, still keeping a wary eye on Mother Zhou lying on the ground.
“Educated Youth Ruan, what should we do now?”
Ruan Mingfu exhaled a slow breath of frustration.
“Report it to the police,” she said with irritation as she looked at Mother Zhou. “She’s seeking revenge for her son, so let her join her son.”
“Huh?”
Zhu Hong was taken aback.
She had thought Ruan Mingfu would go to the team leader, but instead, she was going straight to the police.
It was typical of Ruan Mingfu, so different from the rest of them.
In Zhu Hong’s impression from childhood, conflicts were usually resolved on their own, and calling the team leader was rare. After all, people still believed in keeping family scandals private.
Taking matters to the police was even more unusual.
Zhu Hong tilted her head, suddenly having a different thought.
“You little bitch, you’re going to die a miserable death! You’re a slut who’s been skinned and stripped of your tendons. You need a man…”
“Smack—”
Seeing Mother Zhou’s curses getting more and more outrageous, Ruan Mingfu, with a stern look in her eyes, smashed a porcelain bowl from the only intact table onto the side of Mother Zhou’s head.
The broken pieces of porcelain flew out and cut Mother Zhou’s cheek.
“If you don’t want your mouth anymore, keep cursing.”
As she stepped outside, she happened to see Xu Zhu observing the scene.
“…”
Wow, Educated Youth Ruan is getting fiercer.
He reached out and patted Xie Yanzhao on the shoulder with a hint of sympathy in his eyes.
Marrying such a firecracker, he was somewhat looking forward to Old Xie’s married life.
Xie Yanzhao met Xu Zhu’s gloating gaze, roughly swatting his hand away and brushing off the non-existent dust on his shoulder.
Xu Zhu: “…”
He felt insulted, and there was evidence.
Xie Yanzhao walked over with big strides and stared at Ruan Mingfu, “Are you injured?”
She shook her head.
Ruan Mingfu dropped the stick she was holding, her voice soft and aggrieved, “Why did you only just arrive?”
She almost died.
Ruan Mingfu appeared somewhat disheveled, her neatly braided hair loosened with some stray strands falling out, and her delicate white face had a few black marks from who knew where.
She looked both obedient and soft.
Xie Yanzhao’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his voice husky, “What are you planning to do with her?”
Ruan Mingfu repeated what she had said to Zhu Hong.
For those who wanted to kill her, Ruan Mingfu always preferred to cut through the mess quickly, never giving them a second chance to harm her.
“I’ll go,” Xu Zhu resigned himself to being an errand boy, “I’ll just take her away, and save the public security comrades from having to make another trip.”
Zhu Hong pressed her lips together, wanting to say something but ultimately remained silent.
“You bitches, you will all die a horrible death!” Mother Zhou rolled in the mud, her body very dirty.
Her eyes were bloodshot, and her face was flushed red.
“You’ve all been deceived by her pretty face!”
Mother Zhou tasted blood in her mouth and spat out, “She only came to you to get rid of my son. This shameless woman will treat you the same way once she meets someone better, kicking you aside without mercy.”
Ruan Mingfu couldn’t understand.
Could it be that facing death made Mother Zhou suddenly become so smart?
But Mother Zhou was bound to be disappointed.
Who was Xie Yanzhao?
From the beginning, he knew her intentions.
Besides, the guy’s original intention of agreeing to this marriage was not pure.
Neither of them owed the other anything.
Seeing the two remain calm, Mother Zhou’s schemes fell through, and she was driven to madness. As she saw Xu Zhu coming to grab her, she struggled fiercely.
He wasn’t careful, and his arm got scratched.
“Don’t grab me! Get away! Scoundrel, get away from me!”
With a quick grab, Xu Zhu restrained Mother Zhou’s hands behind her back.
Her struggles were in vain.
Mother Zhou spat out a mouthful of blood, “Ruan Mingfu, may you have a terrible death!!!”
Her voice was hoarse, filled with a terrifying hatred as she stared at Ruan Mingfu. Her eyes were locked on Ruan Mingfu, cursing with extreme foul language.
Xie Yanzhao approached, “If you dawdle any longer, the police station will close.”
Xu Zhu: “…”
He didn’t want to bother with Xie Yanzhao and was about to leave with Mother Zhou.
“Wait!”
The team leader and other villagers happened to arrive, seeing Mother Zhou’s disheveled appearance, her bloodied mouth, and her overall miserable state. One of the young men quickly walked up and tried to hit Xu Zhu.
But Xu Zhu dodged with a tilt of his head.
Xu Zhu’s face was serious as he looked at the young man.
“Who are you?”
As someone accustomed to handling ideological work, his serious demeanor was quite intimidating.
The young man’s hand shook, and seeing Mother Zhou beside him made him even angrier, “You hit people, I’m going to report you!”
Mother Zhou spat at him, “What are you looking at? Hurry up and help your old mother!”
This son was indeed not as considerate as Zhou Peng.
“Hey,” the young man, Zhou Jiandang, Mother Zhou’s eldest son, quickly reached out but was avoided by Xu Zhu.
“Comrade, what is your relationship with Mrs. Zhou?”
Xu Zhu scrutinized Zhou Jiandang.
He didn’t look like Zhou Peng. His thin appearance bore some resemblance to Zhou Xiaohu, his real father. Zhou Jiandang was not as smart and cute as his younger brother Zhou Peng when he was young. When he grew up, he used Zhou Dahu’s connection to work in the transportation team.
Because he was a simple-minded person, Zhou Dahu would not call him when something happened, so he was not implicated.
Zhou Jiandang had come back on leave due to family issues.
The team leader pulled Zhou Jiandang aside and shook his head at him.
The Zhou family was a complete mess, but Zhou Jiandang was a decent young man, and the team leader was willing to give him a chance.
“Comrade Xu, I heard that the Zhou family went to cause trouble for Educated Youth Ruan,” the team leader glanced into the room but saw no one, “Is Educated Youth Ruan injured?”
Xu Zhu spoke up, “Educated Youth Zhu is injured.”
The team leader was startled, his face going pale, thinking someone might have been killed.
“Then… is the person, is she alright?”
The team leader had heard that Mother Zhou had gone after Educated Youth Ruan with a hoe to seek revenge, which is why he hurried over. On the way, he ran into Zhou Jiandang who had returned home from leave, so he came along with him.
Xu Zhu thought for a moment and said, “She twisted her ankle.”
The old man let out a sigh of relief, his tense expression relaxing considerably.
Mother Zhou, seeing Zhou Jiandang was present, struggled even harder.
“Let me go! I tell you, as long as I have one breath left, I won’t let that little bitch get away,” Mother Zhou glared at Zhou Jiandang, “You bastard, you saw me being caught and why didn’t you come to help me?”
Zhou Jiandang scratched his head, “Oh… oh!”
“Shut up!” The team leader shot Mother Zhou a furious look and grabbed Zhou Jiandang, who was about to step forward, “Don’t you think things are chaotic enough?”
“Team Leader, why are you siding with outsiders!”
When Mother Zhou saw the villagers arriving, her demeanor was much less arrogant than before. She assumed these people were here to help her since the Zhou family was a large clan that had lived in the village for generations.
If they weren’t siding with her, who else would?
Upon hearing the team leader’s words, Mother Zhou was stunned.
The recent turmoil had left the team leader exhausted.
At the end of the year, it was not even certain if he would be evaluated for anything, let alone be pulled out as an example.
The team leader was worried.
“Be quiet,” the team leader said, clearly frustrated, “If you keep causing trouble, I’ll have your whole family moved out of the village!”
A family of troublemakers!
Anyway, the Zhou family had no special ties to the team leader.
Mother Zhou fell silent.
With the Zhou family in its current state, moving out would mean they’d have no livelihood.
The team leader peeked into the educated youth camp, “Educated Youth Ruan, are you here? I’d like to discuss something with you.”
“Team Leader, what is it?” Ruan Mingfu, followed by Xie Yanzhao, walked out.
“Educated Youth Ruan,” the team leader looked troubled, but he had to speak. The old man sighed, “Mother Zhou did indeed do wrong. Could you be lenient and not send her to the police?”
He really felt he owed the Zhou family from his past life.
“Team Leader, she tried to kill me!”
Ruan Mingfu widened her eyes, looking incredulously at the team leader.
In her mind, the old man, though quick-tempered, was fair and considerate towards her.
The team leader didn’t want to make this request but spoke earnestly, “Educated Youth Ruan, now that the Zhou family has its share of troubles, with some in jail and others sick, it’s clear Mother Zhou has made a mistake. I will punish her appropriately, but please don’t send her to the police…”
The affair between Ruan Mingfu and Zhou Peng had dragged the Zhou family into the mess.
Due to this, the villagers had started to subtly exclude the educated youths. The locals had already had numerous minor clashes with the educated youths.
Sending Mother Zhou to the police today would only worsen relations between the village and the educated youths.
Otherwise, the team leader wouldn’t be pleading on Mother Zhou’s behalf.
Zhou Jiandang, though simple-minded, was not stupid. “Educated Youth Ruan, it was my mother who was in the wrong. I can make compensation, but please don’t send her to the police.”
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Ayalee[Translator]
**•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚***•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚