Chapter 4

“Mom, who hit you?!”

Pang Hai was stunned for a moment, then, like a furious little lion cub, he turned his head toward the others in the house, panting angrily and roaring:

“Who dares to bully my mom—I’ll kill them!”

As soon as he finished yelling, he saw Su Yuwei and Zhao Fang sitting to the side. His furious expression froze, and he asked in disbelief:

“Su Yuwei, did you lay a hand on my mom?”

“……”

Su Yuwei, hearing he didn’t even call her sister-in-law, sneered coldly in anger:

“Can’t you see for yourself? You’re a big kid already—don’t you have eyes? Or are you blind?”

As soon as Pang Hai heard that, he yelled in rage. He pulled off the military green schoolbag on his shoulder and threw it to the ground, shouting at Su Yuwei:

“I don’t want your stupid schoolbag anymore! You hit my mom—I’m gonna fight you to the death!”

Then, despite Liu Chunhua trying to pull him back, he lowered his head and charged at Su Yuwei and Zhao Fang like a chubby little locomotive.

“……”

Su Yuwei and Zhao Fang were speechless for a second, then both stepped aside at the same time as he came charging.

All they heard was a loud “thud”…

Pang Hai couldn’t stop in time and slammed straight into the earthen wall behind them. He let out a pained wail, and a large, bloody bump quickly swelled up on his forehead.

“…Xiao Hai!”

Liu Chunhua, who hadn’t managed to stop him in time, screamed and rushed over to hug the dazed Pang Hai, crying in heartache.

When she saw the big swelling on his forehead, she plopped down on the ground and started slapping herself while wailing:

“I can’t live like this anymore! This is bullying—so cruel—how can they even go after such a young child?!”

“Pfft! Don’t even think about playing the victim with us…”

Zhao Fang exploded like a firecracker. She leapt up and spat toward Liu Chunhua, shouting:

“If you can’t live, then just go die on your own! Don’t even think about pinning this on us. Everyone here’s got eyes—we all saw it—your little bastard charged at the wall like a rabid bull. If he cracked his head open, that’s on him. What the hell’s it got to do with us?!”

After she finished yelling, she saw her daughter walk forward, pick up the military green schoolbag from the floor, crumple it up, and try to shove it into the brick oven under the bed.

But it was summer—there was no fire under there.

So Zhao Fang turned straight around, grabbed a pair of scissors from the sewing basket on the bed, snatched the schoolbag from her daughter’s hands, and began cutting it to shreds while cursing:

“That was my money that bought this for my daughter—I’d rather rip it to pieces than let that ungrateful little bastard use it!”

She was absolutely furious. If they dared bully her daughter right in front of her, she didn’t even want to imagine what kind of abuse she’d suffered behind her back.

“Waaah… my schoolbag!”

Pang Hai, still in Liu Chunhua’s arms, saw the shredded schoolbag and burst into tears, snot and tears running down his face.

The villagers crowding around the doorway watched the whole drama unfold, wearing schadenfreude-laced grins as they pointed and whispered.

The village head was furious too and finally shouted:

“Enough chatter! Do you all even want this matter resolved or not?!”

Only then did the crowd fall silent. No more whispers—just wide eyes watching the show.

When Su Yuwei and her group finally sat back down, her older brother Su Yunxiang and father Su Jianguo, both working in the mines, came rushing back in a hurry.

The two of them were still in their dirty work clothes, looking confused and anxious.

Some nosy villagers quickly filled them in on what happened, riling them up even more.

The village head sighed and looked at the two men:

“Alright, since you’re here, let’s sit down and try to settle this peacefully.”

…

During mediation, Zhao Fang calculated the money her daughter had brought over as dowry—200 yuan—and added everything she had spent on them in the past year.

“All in all, with the 300 yuan dowry and over a year of support, that’s easily another 200 yuan. Pay that back, and then we’ll talk about the rest.”

After saying this, she angrily patted Su Yuwei on the arm, scolding her:

“You fool. That money was for you to use in emergencies—and you spent all of it on that heartless bastard.”

Su Yuwei rubbed her arm and grimaced but didn’t dare talk back.

Honestly, thinking back on the past year, even she was surprised at how generous she had been—it didn’t even feel like her. Maybe she really had been influenced by that ridiculous novel plot…

The village head took a few puffs on his pipe, then turned and asked Liu Chunhua:

“Lao Pang’s wife, what do you say?”

Liu Chunhua was quiet for a moment. She grabbed the angry Pang Wenli next to her, then said:

“As long as they stop making trouble, I’ll pay them.”

Right now, getting Chuanzi divorced was the more pressing matter.

As for the 500 yuan—it wasn’t a small amount—but Chuanzi had sent home a good sum in allowances over the past year. With a daughter-in-law and her own family occasionally helping out, they hadn’t really needed to spend much. She’d managed to save most of it.

Even if she paid what Zhao Fang demanded, she’d still have some left over.

All in all, it wasn’t a losing deal.

The village head nodded and tapped his pipe against the brick bed, then turned to the Su family:

“Jianguo, do you agree with her terms?”

“What’s there not to agree with?”

Zhao Fang snorted coldly, casting a sideways glance at Liu Chunhua, then said to the village head with a mocking smile:

“Uncle Village Chief, I’m only asking for compensation for the dowry my daughter spent at the Pang family. As long as she pays me back, I won’t say another word—I’ll take my daughter and grandson and leave immediately.”

The village head nodded decisively:

“Alright, since both sides agree, that’s settled then. Lao Pang’s wife, go get the money.”

Liu Chunhua hadn’t expected Zhao Fang to agree so quickly and was momentarily stunned. Fearing they might change their minds, she hurried off to her room to fetch the money.

Pang Chuan’s father was still lying on the bed in that room. He must have heard what was going on and started shouting incoherently from inside.

Liu Chunhua ignored him. She grabbed the money and quickly came back, handing it over to Zhao Fang with a sour expression:

“Count it yourself. Now we don’t owe you anything. You can have Su Yuwei sign that divorce—”

“Cut the crap. Hand it over!”

Zhao Fang interrupted her and snatched the money from her hand. She licked her fingers and counted it on the spot, then stuffed it into Su Yuwei’s pocket.

“Daughter, grab the baby—we’re leaving.”

She put the divorce letter back into the envelope, and Su Yao quickly took it from her. That document was important—she had plans for it.

With the envelope and money safely tucked away, Su Yuwei climbed onto the bed and picked up her little girl.

The child had apparently woken up at some point but wasn’t fussy. Her big black eyes stared curiously, with little milk bubbles forming at her lips.

Su Yuwei’s heart softened…

She wrapped the baby securely in a small quilt and got off the bed. Her father and brother came over to take a look too.

They were covered in dirt, so they didn’t reach out to hold the baby. Zhao Fang, annoyed by them getting in the way, pushed them aside and took the baby herself. Then, without hesitation, she turned and walked out.

…Everyone was stunned.

Liu Chunhua was the first to react. She rushed over to block them, shouting:

“You can’t leave yet—the divorce letter Chuanzi sent back still hasn’t been signed!”

“……”