Chapter 95

Lin Hongwu, stunned by the slap, was barely able to react before Wang Honghua jumped on his stomach and delivered a few punches, causing him to howl in pain.

“Dad, Mom, help! My wife is going crazy!”

Hearing this, Wang Honghua seemed even more deranged, singing loudly, “I will never forget the hardships endured after our marriage. All men are unfaithful! Oh, oh, oh!”

The night in the mountain village was eerily quiet. The villagers had gone to bed early, and the fields were only filled with the sounds of frogs and insects. Wang Honghua’s dramatic singing at midnight was particularly frightening.

In the main room of the Lin family, Lin Daguo and Li Aifeng were deep in sleep but were suddenly awoken by the eerie singing outside.

Lin Daguo was furious.

“Damn it, who’s causing this racket at this hour?”

“Who knows? It sounds like a funeral.”

“Why does it seem like the voice of that harbinger of doom in our family?”

“Harbinger of doom? Honghua?”

Li Aifeng, listening intently at the window, realized it was Wang Honghua. Enraged, she jumped out of bed, “It’s that little wench! Staying up all night, trying to turn the world upside down!”

Li Aifeng, adopting the stance of a fierce old hag, rolled up her sleeves and went outside. But when she saw the scene, her hands began to tremble.

Lin Daguo also followed angrily. As he stepped outside, he saw Wang Honghua in the dark yard, holding a flashlight, singing while sharpening a large chopping knife on a whetstone. Lin Hongwu cowered nearby, shivering in fear, his pants soaked.

Wang Honghua, hearing the noise at the door, looked up at Li Aifeng’s harsh face. She immediately glared at her with the knife and kicked Li Aifeng to the ground. Lin Daguo and Li Aifeng rolled on the ground, caught off guard by the force of her kick.

Wang Honghua, brandishing the large knife, continued to act out, jumping up and down like a notorious village shrew.

“You eggless hen! You can’t give our family a son and still have the nerve to argue!”

“Still standing there, rolling up sleeves against me? Do you think you can reach the heavens? I’ll sell your daughters to the slave traders tomorrow!”

Wang Honghua raged and cursed, waving the large knife around.

Li Aifeng, afraid of getting cut, hurriedly backed away, while Lin Daguo also scrambled to keep up, the couple clinging to each other in fear.

“W-What’s wrong with Honghua? Is our family haunted?”

Li Aifeng, terrified, thought her daughter-in-law must be possessed.

Lin Daguo, having seen more in his time, stammered, “N-No, it’s not that. Maybe she’s always been mad and is just acting up now!”

He recalled a similar case in the town where a girl would act normally but go mad at night, almost setting her whole house on fire once.

Mad?!!

So, Wang Honghua was truly insane!

Li Aifeng, coming out of her shock, immediately thought about confronting the Wang family. Just as she was about to storm off, Wang Honghua pulled out the sharpened knife and began chopping at the Lin family’s door frame, dismantling it for firewood. She not only tore it apart herself but also forced Lin Daguo and his family to help.

If she didn’t obey, Wang Honghua would use force to suppress her. At first, Li Aifeng tried to argue back, but Wang Honghua wasn’t having any of it. Grabbing the door frame she had just removed, Wang Honghua, with a fierce look in her eyes, seized Li Aifeng by the hair, pushed her to the door, and snarled, “You dare to be so arrogant when you can’t give birth to a boy. If you don’t work, I’ll make you carry manure tomorrow!”

After finishing her threat, Wang Honghua brandished a wooden stick and watched Li Aifeng menacingly.

Li Aifeng, beaten by her daughter-in-law, could only whimper as she trembled and followed Lin Daguo to dismantle the door frames in the house. As for Lin Hongwu, he had already scampered off to dismantle the windows to avoid the beating.

Li Aifeng felt a lump in her throat, thinking, “Good grief, how did I end up with such a useless child!”

*

This spring has seen a lot of rain. Last night, the sound of rain disturbed Deputy Director Gu’s peaceful sleep, and now that he finally had some free time, he started clinging to his wife.

In the past, Lin Yao could use their chubby son as an excuse to push Gu Shi’an onto the ground.

Since Gu Doudou turned ten months old, after having a bottle of milk before bed and a full belly, he would fall asleep and stay asleep until morning.

Gu Chunmei was envious, saying how easy it was to take care of the chubby baby. Her own Tangyuan, almost one year old, still insisted on sleeping with her and Xu Xiangqian.

Despite Tangyuan being only one year old, this little rascal was quite the troublemaker. At night, Xu Xiangqian would eagerly try to put the squirming child in the small bed.

Tangyuan would wail loudly, waking up Father and Mother Xu, who would then scold Xu Xiangqian, blaming him for making their precious grandson cry.

Mother Xu valued her grandson more than her own life. When she got angry, Father Xu would blow his beard and glare, dragging Xu Xiangqian outside to teach him a lesson.

“….”

In summary, this father and son duo caused chaos every day.

In contrast, Gu Shi’an and Gu Doudou were much more harmonious.

Knowing that his chubby son couldn’t sleep without his mother, Gu Shi’an had a carpenter come to the county to expand their 1.8-meter double bed into a 2.2-meter super king-sized bed.

He set up a small space on the bed for Gu Doudou, with a small pillow, a small blanket, and a plush toy, so the little fat boy could sleep comfortably. This was supposedly to ensure that the family of three could enjoy harmonious and ample space together.

In reality, the scheming father waited until the chubby baby was asleep, then moved the child to one side, and prepared to wait for his wife to return.

Lin Yao didn’t know about this plan. After taking a comfortable hot bath in the bathhouse, she came back to the bedroom to change into a new cotton camisole she had made for herself. Since giving birth to Gu Doudou, her chest had grown quite a bit, so her old sleepwear and camisoles no longer fit. She thought about whether to alter her old pajamas or make new ones and went into the bedroom to change and admire herself.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she entered the room, she was embraced by her husband who launched an advance. Lin Yao begged him repeatedly, trying to keep quiet to avoid waking the baby, biting her lip to stay silent.

That night, the wooden bed in the east wing creaked loudly for half the night.

The next morning, Lin Yao still felt a bit weak and sore.

Just like last year, the county was starting its rural training program again.

Early in the morning, Gu Shi’an took Da Tou Brother away, and Lin Yao went back to the room to help pack his luggage for the next day.

When she returned to the room, she found that Gu Shi’an’s luggage was already packed neatly, with the bedding folded and tied up securely. She didn’t need to help at all.

In reality, Gu Shi’an didn’t have much luggage—just an aluminum lunchbox, a military water bottle, two sets of clean police uniforms, and two pairs of military shoes. She didn’t have to worry about underwear or such.

With nothing else to do, Lin Yao opened her wardrobe to organize her clothes. The evolution of clothing over the decades was like a mirror, reflecting changes over time. At the beginning of the liberation, a variety of styles like the Republican jackets, fur robes, and qipaos were popular. Later on, the current styles such as the Zhongshan suit, military green attire, and Blaji skirts became trendy. The original owner had many dresses, all made of top-quality materials, but they were no longer suitable for wear.

*

At the Dongfanghong Production Team.

Lin Daguo’s family spent the whole night dismantling door frames. The old Lin house only had a few dilapidated rooms, and it didn’t take long to tear them down.

The house was now bare, and Wang Honghua became visibly irritable, wielding a large knife and chopping haphazardly around the house, making a lot of noise.

Li Aifeng fumed with anger, wishing she could jump up and tear Wang Honghua apart.

Unable to muster the strength to fight back, she could only endure and quietly submit.

After going on a rampage for a while, Wang Honghua’s stomach began to rumble. With her hands on her hips, she pointed her chin at Li Aifeng and bossily commanded, “You useless hen, get me a bowl of noodles! Our Wang family is so unlucky to have married you, you can’t even produce a son. What good are you? If you don’t become more virtuous, watch out or I’ll have Er Gouzi divorce you. You’re just a useless thing! Ever since you came into this family, we’ve had nothing but bad luck. You’re a harbinger of doom!”

Li Aifeng: “…”

She used to be the one doing the scolding and acting tough at home. Who would have thought that one day she’d be the one being scolded by her daughter-in-law, called a useless hen.

Li Aifeng took a deep breath and unwillingly went to the kitchen to prepare a bowl of noodles.

Cooking late at night was troublesome—she had to start a fire, knead the dough, and wash the pot and boil water.

After much effort, Li Aifeng finally managed to serve a bowl of noodles to Wang Honghua.

Wang Honghua glanced at the noodles with a vicious look and immediately overturned them, glaring at Li Aifeng and giving her a hard shove.

“You’re a hen that doesn’t lay eggs! Not even a single egg for me? Are you planning to steal the eggs from our home and take them to your parents? You’re nothing but a thief!”

After being beaten repeatedly, Li Aifeng could no longer contain her anger. She lunged at Wang Honghua with claws bared, “You little wretch, how dare you—”

Before Li Aifeng could finish her tirade, Wang Honghua, brimming with rage, grabbed a large knife.

The Lin family quickly went on their knees. Li Aifeng, distraught, had no choice but to prepare a bowl of egg noodles, complete with two plump, fried eggs.

Wang Honghua slurped down the noodles and, finally exhausted from the commotion, demanded to go back to her room to sleep.

The Lin family scrambled to make the bed and arrange the pillows. Only after Wang Honghua’s head touched the pillow and her snoring started did they breathe a sigh of relief.