Chapter 32

“You filthy old hag, you cheap old hag! All of you are a bunch of shameless flirts, and you still dare to say my Xiaodie is dirty? Say that one more time, and I swear I’ll tear your mouth apart!”

Wang Dafeng had been chatting idly when she suddenly heard Sun Shi cursing Xiaodie. That was the last straw—she grabbed the dog-beating stick beside her and charged forward.

Sun shi, screaming, ran off on tiptoes as she was being hit. “Mother, mother! I didn’t bully her!”

“Still trying to deny it?” Wang Dafeng was about to chase her down when Zhang Xiu pulled her back. “Let it go, Mother.”

By then, Sun Shi had already run back to her shared room, slammed the door shut, and didn’t dare poke her head out again.

The villagers who witnessed the scene found it hilarious. The old lady had been quite the boss these past two days—yesterday she beat the eldest daughter-in-law, today the second one. It was thrilling to watch.

What made it even funnier was how Ding Xiang didn’t even flinch seeing her mom get hit. Instead, she apologized to Ding Xiaodie: “Cousin, I’m sorry.”

Seeing Ding Xiang so well-behaved, the villagers all sighed in admiration.

To think someone like Ding De and Sun Shi could raise such a good kid—what a blessing for them.

Ding Xiaodie gave a bitter smile and shook her head. “I’m fine. Let’s finish your braid.”

She carefully braided Ding Xiang’s hair and sent her off to play with the other girls, reminding her again and again, “Don’t go home right now—your mother is definitely still fuming.”

Ding Xiang nodded.

And Ding Xiaodie’s guess was right. Sun Shi sobbed in frustration for a long time after locking herself in the room. Eventually, she irrationally blamed the whole beating on Ding Xiang.

If that ungrateful girl hadn’t gone off to play with Ding Xiaodie, would she, as the mother, have tripped and fallen?

When Ding De got home, Sun shi immediately started complaining. She even lifted her skirt to show him the bruises from the old woman’s beating.

Earlier, Ding De had only paid attention to the group assignments and hadn’t noticed what the women were up to.

Seeing his wife’s bruises now made him furious. Just then, their daughters Ding Mei and Ding Xiang returned home.

Trying to vent his wife’s anger, Ding De called Ding Xiang over and slapped her a few times on the butt, then ordered her to stand by the wall and not move.

Tears welled in Ding Xiang’s big eyes, but she obediently stood still: “…”

“Ding Mei, watch her. If she moves even a little, use the stick on her.”

After saying that, Ding De stormed off to argue with the old lady.

Only then did Sun shi finally calm down. She immediately got up and followed her husband outside.

Left in the house, the two sisters stared at each other.

Ding Xiang, still teary-eyed, suddenly chuckled. “Sis, can I sit down for a bit? Mom and Dad aren’t here—they won’t know.”

“No way. You helped Ding Xiaodie and got Mom in trouble. You deserve to be punished,” Ding Mei declared righteously. “Move again and I’ll hit you!”

Ding Xiang had no choice but to quietly pout: “…”

Meanwhile, in another room, Ding Gui had also returned and immediately asked what had happened.

All the men had been standing with their backs turned while waiting for the village chief’s instructions, so they didn’t know what went on.

Still fuming, Zhang Xiu explained everything: “That Sun shi is so full of herself. Who does she think she is to look down on our Xiaodie? Even in her next life, she won’t match up.”

Now Ding Gui understood what was going on—and why his wife had such a strong reaction.

Truth was, Zhang Xiu’s anger stemmed from the previous life. Back when they were struggling, the sisters-in-law had said similar things, both openly and behind their backs.

Zhang Xiu, proud and protective of her daughter, had endured it back then because of messy family ties. But in this life, she had no intention of putting up with it anymore.

“Alright, alright. Next time something like this happens, leave it to me. If they want to fight and shout, I’ll handle it. I refuse to believe I can’t put them in their place,” Ding Gui said, trying to comfort her.

Then he added, “I have to go out tomorrow to move some corpses. See if you can find any scrap cloth to make me some gloves.”

Zhang Xiu calmed down a bit. “That’s easy. Some of the clothes they left behind should work.”

She planned to dismantle those clothes and sew three pairs of fingerless gloves—layering them would be safer.

Hearing this, Wang Dafeng, who was nearby, looked confused.

She quietly asked Ding Xiaodie, “Hey girl, don’t you think your dad has changed?”

Ding Xiaodie pretended not to understand. “Changed how?”

“His temper. Don’t you think he suddenly has a man’s courage?”

“What does ‘a man’s courage’ mean?”

“…”

Just then, they heard Ding Gui mention the word “gloves.”

Wang Dafeng asked curiously, “What’s a glove?”

The three members of the Ding family went silent: “…”

They realized they’d need to be more careful when talking in front of the old lady. If they kept throwing around strange terms, she might grow suspicious.

Ding Gui quickly explained, “Mother, it’s something you wear on your hands. I heard someone talk about it before.”

Wang Dafeng squinted at him. “You’ve barely been out of the valley. Where’d you hear that?”

Ding Gui remembered the original host had once gone to town to sell herbs—though he’d been timid and often swindled.

He used that as an excuse: “I heard it from an old herbalist while selling herbs. He was very knowledgeable and even had a book. He explained it to me with pictures.”

It sounded convincing enough, so Wang Dafeng believed him for now.

But right after that, shouting erupted outside.

“Mother, I’m asking you—why did you hit Yangshi? Even if she did something wrong, she’s still a mother. What gives you the right to hit her? Can’t you just talk things out? Let me tell you something—you favor the third branch now, don’t forget how you used to treat them. Trying to suck up now? You think they’ll be grateful?

For all you know, they’ll abandon you tomorrow. Then we’ll see who you turn to! Hmph! You can’t even treat everyone fairly, and you still think you deserve to be called Mother?”

…The room fell silent.

Ding De’s sudden outburst was one thing—but he had hit a nerve.

Everything he said was true: how Wang Dafeng treated the third branch in the past, and how she was now trying to cozy up to them.

The atmosphere turned awkward fast.

No one felt more humiliated than Wang Dafeng.

She really had treated the third branch like dirt before. Not even just badly—she hadn’t considered them human.

Now, she couldn’t even meet their eyes.

And the three of them were just as embarrassed, not knowing what to say.

Meanwhile, outside, Ding De, taking their silence as guilt, concluded he’d hit a sore spot. The old lady didn’t even dare make a sound now.