Chapter 18

Lan Yun’er quietly smirked to herself.

Huo Junli was the husband of her second sister-in-law, Zhong Cuitao. Usually, Cao Yunxia did everything she could to make life difficult for Zhong Cuitao. Huo Junli was a fool if he would help Cao Yunxia testify now.

As for Aunt He, Aunt He had just received a gift from her the day before. Lan Yun’er was sure Aunt He wouldn’t side with Cao Yunxia and testify against her.

“Since Big Sister-in-law is so sure, Mom, you should go ask Second Brother and Aunt He,” Lan Yun’er said, glancing at the injury on Cao Yunxia’s face. “The injury on Big Sister-in-law looks like it was caused by an animal bite. You wouldn’t want to say I bit her, would you? You’re really going overboard.”

Cao Yunxia and Huo Junli were both stunned. They hadn’t expected Lan Yun’er to deny everything.

Cao Yunxia was furious and snapped at Lan Yun’er, “Some of my injuries were from rat bites, but my bones are still hurting, and those were from your kick! Lan Yun’er, stop denying it! You kicked me and now you must pay for my medical bills!”

She bared her teeth as she spoke, looking terrifying like a fierce woman. Lan Yun’er pretended to be scared, shrinking her shoulders and moving closer to Huo Jincheng. “Jincheng, I really didn’t kick Big Sister-in-law. Why is she accusing me? Could she be trying to swindle our money? We don’t have money just blowing in from the wind. How could she do this to us?”

Everyone knew what Cao Yunxia was like. Last time, when Huo Tianhe hurt someone, the person came to demand medical fees, but Cao Yunxia refused to pay. In the end, it was Huo Jincheng who paid. Now, with both Cao Yunxia and Huo Junli injured and needing to go to the health center, they clearly didn’t want to pay for the treatment themselves, so they were trying to get money out of Lan Yun’er.

Yao Guizhi’s face darkened, and she stared at Cao Yunxia. “Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? How dare you try to swindle Yun’er’s money and drag Jiao Li and Aunt He into this? Unfortunately for you, neither of them is on your side! If you want to swindle Yun’er’s money, you’re out of luck!”

Cao Yunxia was stunned. “Mom, what are you saying? What do you mean…?”

“Huo Junli says he was asleep and didn’t hear anything, and Aunt He, although she did hear, says she didn’t hear Yun’er kicking you. Instead, she heard you cursing Yun’er with a lot of ugly words. Cao Yunxia, I’ve never seen anyone as shameless as you. What kind of sin did our family commit to marry you in?” Yao Guizhi was so angry she almost wanted to hit Cao Yunxia with a broom.

Cao Yunxia was shocked. “That’s impossible! Aunt He must be lying! And Huo Junli, the noise was so loud, there’s no way he couldn’t have heard! Unless he’s deaf!”

These words completely angered Yao Guizhi. Her greatest sorrow was her second son, who was now bedridden and unable to do anything, spending each day in despair. And Cao Yunxia, this woman, had the nerve to insult him by calling him deaf. It was simply unbearable! She grabbed a pair of chopsticks from the table and threw them at Cao Yunxia, shouting angrily, “Shut your filthy mouth! If you don’t, I’ll tear it apart!”

The chopsticks hit Cao Yunxia’s scarred face, causing her to scream in pain. She covered her face with her hands and looked up at Yao Guizhi, “Mom…”

But when she saw the extremely dark expression on Yao Guizhi’s face, she couldn’t continue speaking. She lowered her eyes, afraid to say another word.

But she was angry because she couldn’t get the medical fee from Lan Yun’er, nor could she get Lan Yun’er to buy milk powder for Tianhe. Her frustration was bubbling inside her.

The meal ended on a sour note.

Huo Jincheng was about to leave after breakfast. He had to go to the neighboring village to work and wouldn’t be back until the evening. Lan Yun’er looked at his thin figure and reached out to grab his arm, feeling a bit distressed. “Jincheng, why don’t you just skip going to work? The neighboring village is too far, and I don’t want you to go…”

Before she could finish, Cao Yunxia came out of the house with a pile of dirty clothes, “What are you two going to eat if you don’t work? Are you going to have us support you? We can’t afford to feed idle people. We can barely feed ourselves, so where would we get the money to feed you?”

Lan Yun’er’s gaze turned slightly, and she looked at Cao Yunxia, smiling sarcastically. “Big Sister-in-law, who exactly is supporting whom? I remember not long ago, your son injured someone, and it was Jincheng who paid the medical bills, right? And in this family, your whole family of four has never paid any grain money, but Jincheng, he pays every month. It’s really pitiful. He has to support four idle people.”

Cao Yunxia was speechless. She didn’t expect Lan Yun’er, that little bitch, to be so sharp-tongued. One sentence had completely refuted her. She froze for a moment, unsure of how to respond.

But soon, she shamelessly said, “My family has many people, and Jun Da’s earnings aren’t enough. Since Jun Da and Jincheng are brothers, what’s the harm in Jincheng helping us out?”

“Yeah, they’re brothers, so what’s the harm? But why did Big Sister-in-law say such things earlier?” Lan Yun’er coldly sneered; her eyes filled with mockery as she looked at Cao Yunxia.

Cao Yunxia was left speechless again. She turned to glare at Zhong Cuitao and vented her frustration on her. “What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and wash these clothes! They need to be cleaned properly. The ones you washed last time weren’t clean enough, and I was laughed at when I went out wearing them!”

Zhong Cuitao glanced at the pile of clothes thrown in front of her. She bit her lip and quietly said, “Okay, I understand.”

Seeing Cao Yunxia’s haughty attitude, Lan Yun’er’s eyes turned cold. A cold smile curved at the corner of her mouth. Suddenly, she raised her hand and performed a spell.

In less than a minute, two large black birds swooped down from the sky. The birds quickly flew towards the pile of dirty clothes, grabbing Cao Yunxia and Huo Junda’s underwear and flying upwards.

The entire scene happened in an instant. By the time Cao Yunxia realized what was happening and tried to stop them, it was already too late. The birds flew towards the village entrance.

At the village entrance, a group of women were gossiping, knitting, and mending shoes. The two birds dropped the clothes directly onto two of the women’s heads.

One of the women, Miao Cuihe, the village’s barefoot doctor’s wife, had a piece of underwear fall onto her head. She had worn it for a week, so the smell was unbearable. Miao Cuihe took it off, gagged, and shouted, “Damn it! Whose underwear is this? Who threw this around?”

The other piece of underwear landed on the head of Gu Shaoli, the team leader’s wife. She picked it up and saw that it was men’s underwear. She was so angry that she started cursing loudly, “Whose dirty thing is this? Who threw this filthy stuff around?!”