Chapter 19 – The Fight

When Monkey returned with the meat and drove over to find Liu Shuning, he saw her zoning out by the corner of the wall.

“Sis-in-law, you bought all this furniture? It looks pretty new—doesn’t even seem like secondhand stuff.”

“Uh… most of it is new. The previous owners couldn’t take it with them when they moved, so they sold it. I just got lucky and snagged a huge bargain.”

Monkey unloaded the meat and looked over the furniture, eyes filled with admiration. “Sis-in-law, you’re amazing. You really scored big.”

Liu Shuning smiled modestly. “Just luck. It’s getting late—let’s hurry up and load this onto the truck and head back. I hope Aunt Yang hasn’t been waiting too long.”

Monkey had originally thought about finding help at the market, but he was stunned when he saw the deputy commander’s wife lifting the sofa all by herself. “Sis-in-law, how are you so strong?”

“I’ve been strong since I was little. Haven’t you heard the rumors that I’m a powerhouse?”

Monkey shook his head in confusion. “Nope. I haven’t been to the family compound the last couple of days, so I didn’t hear anything.”

“Yesterday, someone saw me gathering firewood on the mountain. I thought the whole compound would be talking about it by now!” Liu Shuning felt a bit regretful. She had planned to keep up the image of a delicate little lady, but one slip and she was seen as a brute again.

“Oh, that explains it. I really didn’t hear anything. But, sis-in-law, your strength is no joke—it’s even more than us men!”

Monkey now looked at Liu Shuning with genuine admiration. With strength like hers, she must have trained in some secret martial arts that gave her superhuman power.

If only she’d teach him her techniques, maybe he could make a big splash at the next competition and become the most dazzling star of the Northeast Military District.

Once the last chair was loaded onto the truck, Liu Shuning clapped the dust off her hands. “Alright, that’s everything. Let’s go pick up Aunt Yang and head home.”

As they approached the new home in the family compound, a crowd had already gathered before the car had even come to a full stop.

“Deputy Commander Lu’s family is really extravagant. If they want furniture, why not just go to Qingshan Village and have a carpenter make it? Why go all the way to Harbin?”

“As if a rich young lady would like carpenter-made furniture. You bumpkins just can’t compare.”

“Zhang Lianhua, shut your mouth! You can’t just throw around words like ‘rich young lady’!”

She had just meant to comment on their extravagance—she hadn’t meant any harm. But Zhang Lianhua was vicious. A few words and she’d labeled someone a capitalist heiress.

“Tch. Just look at her behavior—what part of her doesn’t scream capitalist heiress?”

Zhang Lianhua’s eyes were practically burning with jealousy as she stared at the brand-new furniture in the truck. Why should that vixen get to have such nice things?

It was all that woman’s fault for seducing Deputy Commander Lu. She had already made a plan—get her sister close to him, then force him to marry her.

She had no idea where this vixen had come from, but she had bewitched Deputy Commander Lu into marrying her!

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. If looks could kill, Liu Shuning would’ve been dead a thousand times over.

Those around her saw that Zhang Lianhua was on the verge of losing it and quickly stepped back. They were just here to watch—not to get dragged into drama.

Liu Shuning had heard everything Zhang Lianhua said. She was so furious, she wanted to stuff a pile of dog poop into her mouth.

A bully who only picked on the weak—she wasn’t even worth worrying about. But since she kept coming back to provoke her again and again, Liu Shuning wasn’t going to be merciful.

She got out of the car, pushed through the crowd, walked right up to Zhang Lianhua, and slapped her hard across the face.

“If you don’t want that filthy mouth of yours, I’ll help you ruin it. We’re all military dependents here, yet you go around assigning fake identities. Are you some kind of enemy agent trying to divide us?”

“I’m not an enemy agent! Don’t say that!” Zhang Lianhua’s face turned ghostly pale at the accusation. This was bad. Really bad.

“Everyone heard what you said. You gave me the label of a capitalist heiress without any proof. If that’s not sabotage, what is?” Liu Shuning wasn’t planning to let her off easy. She loved spreading rumors, didn’t she? Then let her have a taste of public shame.

“I wasn’t making things up! You really act like some spoiled heiress. Just look at your clothes—they’re so flashy. Nothing like how the rest of us dress.”

Every time Zhang Lianhua saw Liu Shuning, she was wearing a long skirt. Her coats were either bright yellow or red—completely over-the-top in her eyes.

She looked like a damn seductress, and it made her uncomfortable just to see her.

“What I wear is none of your business. In Shanghai, girls dress way fancier than I do.”

Liu Shuning glanced at her own outfit. She thought it was totally ordinary. It was just plain cotton—not even silk.

“You’re twisting the facts. People like you should be dragged out and denounced. Dressed like this all the time—who are you trying to seduce?”

Zhang Lianhua glared at her with open hostility. She was dying to tear the clothes off Liu Shuning on the spot.

Smack! Liu Shuning slapped Zhang Lianhua across the face again.

“Ah! You hit me again, you shameless tramp! I’ll beat you to death!” Zhang Lianhua lunged forward, grabbing at Liu Shuning’s hair. She was determined to scratch up that vixen’s pretty face this time.

Liu Shuning dodged to the side, avoiding the attack, and kicked Zhang Lianhua in return.

The two women went back and forth, neither willing to back down. The scene quickly descended into chaos.

Liu Shuning looked like she was scared and trying not to fight, but in places others couldn’t see, she was pinching Zhang Lianhua hard, over and over.

Zhang Lianhua was almost in tears. She hadn’t landed a single hit on Liu Shuning, but her thighs were covered in bruises from those pinches.

That woman was too strong—her thighs were definitely going to be black and blue.

The crowd rushed in to separate them once it turned into a real fight.

When they finally pulled the two apart, Zhang Lianhua’s hair was a mess, her face covered in red marks. She looked utterly disheveled.

Liu Shuning, on the other hand, looked just fine—aside from slightly messy hair, she didn’t have a single scratch on her.

At that moment, a stern voice called out from outside the crowd: “What’s going on here?!”

Everyone turned and saw that it was Commander Hu.

Zhang Lianhua immediately put on her most pitiful face and began sobbing. “Commander Hu! She hit me! You have to get justice for me!”

Commander Hu looked at Liu Shuning and asked cautiously, “You started the fight?”

Liu Shuning nodded. “I didn’t want to, but she crossed the line. First, she randomly labeled me a capitalist heiress, then she insulted my character—saying I dress well to seduce people.”

Commander Hu’s face darkened with anger. “Zhang Lianhua, you’re a military dependent. Instead of setting a good example, you spread rumors and maliciously slander others. If you do this again, I’ll report you to the unit.”

“Go home and copy the phrase ‘speak with caution and act with integrity’ one thousand times. If you don’t know how to write, have Commander Yang teach you. That’s it—everyone disperse.”

Even though Zhang Lianhua was unhappy with the punishment, she didn’t dare argue. She could only leave, grumbling under her breath.

The crowd slowly dispersed, leaving only Liu Shuning, Aunt Yang, Monkey, and Commander Hu standing at the door of the house.