Chapter 57

The three adults had not expected this situation, and they all felt furious.

It must have been Liu Guifang who taught them that.

How could a child possibly know words like “bastard” or “harbinger of misfortune“?

It seemed that the beating in the morning had been too light.

“Da Bao, from now on, if anything happens outside, remember to come home and tell your family right away. Don’t be afraid. I believe you wouldn’t do anything wrong.

As for today’s matter, we really should properly thank your friend Er Dan. Once the soap is ready, Mom will personally go with you to deliver it to him.”

Gu Qinghuan forced herself to stay calm and speak gently, afraid of scaring the children even more.

Da Bao had always been used to bearing everything on his own. In the past, whenever he and his younger sister suffered grievances outside, he would swallow the pain and never speak of it.

No one would stand up for them, and no one would believe that they hadn’t done anything wrong.

So, his first instinct had been to tell his sister not to say anything to their family about what had happened to them.

He was afraid of being despised and hated.

If it hadn’t been for Er Dan’s involvement, he wouldn’t have planned to tell the truth at all.

Gu Qinghuan’s words were like a clear spring, gentle and calming.

Da Bao and Bei Bei had thought about many things, but they had never expected to receive Gu Qinghuan’s concern and acknowledgment.

Aren’t adults usually afraid that children will cause trouble outside?

Xu Huai’an watched the scene unfold before him, his heart filled with a thousand emotions.

If he had had a mother like Gu Qinghuan when he was young, how happy he would have been.

Unconditional trust, unwavering support, gentle encouragement—his children were truly fortunate.

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Meanwhile, back at the Old Xu Family’s house, as soon as they got home, they subjected Lin Xiaomeng to a harsh interrogation, forcing her to explain the matter of the wild ginseng.

Lin Xiaomeng, however, was as fearless as a dead pig unafraid of boiling water. Since there was no evidence at the moment, she outright denied everything and even turned the accusation back on Gu Qinghuan, claiming she was deliberately sowing discord.

The two elders were skeptical but had no choice but to let the matter rest for now.

Liu Guifang, having been beaten black and blue, was covered in bruises. Though she was injured, at least her bones were intact.

Xu Mingshan had been unwilling to spend the money to take her to the county town to see a doctor, so he just found a barefoot doctor to prescribe some medicine for her.

After taking the medicine, Liu Guifang rested at home. She even secretly sneaked into Lin Xiaomeng’s room to search through her belongings. However, she found nothing suspicious—Lin Xiaomeng had hidden everything inside her storage space.

Liu Guifang took the opportunity to instill bad ideas into Da Cheng’s mind, telling him that Da Bao and Bei Bei were bad children.

She instructed him to bully them whenever he saw them in the future, to help Grandma get revenge.  

That afternoon, Da Cheng gathered a few friends and ganged up on Da Bao and Bei Bei.  

However, in the end, he was the one who got beaten up by Da Bao instead.  

Da Bao was not an ordinary child. Having endured the hardships of life, he could be as fierce as a wolf cub when necessary.

He never held back in a fight because he knew that if he went easy, he would be the one to suffer. That was a lesson life had taught him through hardship.  

Da Cheng ran home crying after the beating and told Liu Guifang everything.  

Liu Guifang immediately came up with a plan for her grandson, telling him that he must find a way to get back at Da Bao.  

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The next day was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the factory was on holiday. Xu Huaizhi would be home by dusk, and Lin Xiaomeng would also return around the same time after finishing work.  

The past few days of labor had left Lin Xiaomeng feeling exhausted and frustrated. She was determined to find herself an easier job as soon as possible.  

Even better, she planned to force the two old folks to divide the family assets so she could live separately. That way, she could finally take out all the valuable things hidden in her storage space.  

Liu Guifang was extremely stingy. Even though the family had food, she still made them eat black flour pancakes for one meal and corn buns for the next. Lin Xiaomeng had long had enough of it.  

The moment she arrived home, she saw her son, Da Cheng, with a swollen face, crying as he wailed: “Dad, this afternoon, I was playing by the river with Shi Tou and the others, but Da Bao and Er Dan bullied me! They pinned me to the ground and beat me up. They even almost threw me into the river! My whole body hurts so much!”  

Hearing this, all of Lin Xiaomeng’s past and present grudges exploded at once.  

That damned wild brat dared to bully her son!  

Xu Huaizhi, though somewhat doubtful, hesitated. After all, he had lived with Da Bao for a few years and knew that the boy was sensible. It didn’t seem like something he would do without reason.  

However, seeing his son crying so miserably and lifting his shirt to reveal the bruises on his body, he couldn’t help but believe him.

A child this young wouldn’t deliberately injure himself just to frame someone else, right?

Xu Huaizh felt a surge of anger in his heart. Seeing that Lin Xiaomeng had already stormed out with their child, ready to settle the score, he quickly followed after her.  

At that moment, the Gu family was in the middle of dinner. Today, the whole family had worked together—not only had they made soap, but they had also planted vegetables in the field.  

To reward their efforts, Gu Qinghuan had specially cooked white rice for dinner, pairing it with the spicy pork chili sauce made by Zhong Zijun, along with stir-fried tomatoes and eggs, sautéed long beans with eggplant, and vegetable soup. The aroma filled the entire house.  

Hearing the loud and aggressive knocking on the door, Gu Qinghuan immediately sensed trouble. She quickly instructed Zhong Zijun to hide away with his bowl and not show himself.  

As soon as Xu Huai’an opened the door, he was met with the sight of his elder brother, sister-in-law, and their son standing there, their faces dark as soot.  

On the way over, Lin Xiaomeng had exaggerated and twisted the morning’s events—particularly how Xu Huai’an had hit Liu Guifang—while telling Xu Huaizhi. Now, his heart was filled with anger and disappointment.  

Although he was genuinely happy that his younger brother had been given a second chance at life, he couldn’t understand how he had become this kind of person—someone who would even turn his back on his own parents.  

“Big Brother, you’re back? What brings you here?” Xu Huai’an still held respect for his elder brother.  

Back when he had been seriously ill, their parents had completely ignored him. It was only when his elder brother returned home that they would put on a false show of concern.  

But Xu Huaizhi had always been different.

Every time he came back, he would help him change and wash his clothes, wipe his body, feed him, and talk to him.

Xu Huai’an had never forgotten that kindness.  

“What big brother? Don’t try to act close!” Lin Xiaomeng snapped angrily. “You don’t even want your own parents anymore, so what kind of relatives are we to you? Hand over those two little brats of yours! Just look at what they did to my Da Cheng!”  

Xu Huaizhi also frowned in disapproval and said: “Lao Er, you’ve recovered, and I was happy for you. But I never expected you to become like this. You’ve really let me down.”  

Xu Huai’an was completely stunned. What did I do?  

Inside, Gu Qinghuan had already heard the shameless words of the couple at the door.  

Da Bao and Bei Bei looked at her with fear in their eyes. Their uncle and aunt had come looking for trouble—would Mom be mad at them?  

Gu Qinghuan gently patted their heads to reassure them. “Don’t worry. Mom won’t let anyone falsely accuse you.”  

With that, she stormed outside.  

“Who’s out here spewing nonsense?!”