Chapter 3 : Putting the blame on others

Zhang Qianyun was stunned by the scene. She thought Su Xieqiu must have lost her mind.  

How else could she be so bold as to hit her sister-in-law? Wasn’t she afraid of what her mother-in-law would do when she came back?  

“Second sister-in-law, help me!” Han Meili cried, begging Zhang Qianyun for assistance.  

But Zhang Qianyun didn’t dare move. She wasn’t sure if Su Xieqiu was truly insane. What if she stepped in and ended up getting beaten too?  

However, fearing that her mother-in-law might blame her for doing nothing, she shouted, “Sister-in-law, don’t hit her! If there’s a problem, let’s talk it out nicely…” Yet, she stayed rooted in place.  

Su Xieqiu, recalling the cruel words Zhang Qianyun had spoken to the original owner, had no intention of sparing her.  

She deliberately dragged Han Meili toward Zhang Qianyun.  

When they were almost face-to-face, Su Xieqiu released Han Meili’s hair.  

Han Meili quickly clung to Zhang Qianyun and hid behind her, crying out, “Second sister-in-law, help me! This crazy woman is out of her mind!”  

“Second sister-in-law, step aside,” Su Xieqiu said coldly. “Today, I’m teaching this foul-mouthed girl a lesson on behalf of our parents-in-law. She’s so young yet dares to insult her sister-in-law. If word gets out, it’ll disgrace the Han family.”  

Even as she spoke, she didn’t hesitate to wield the fire poker, striking both of them mercilessly.  

Earlier, it had been just Han Meili screaming. Now, Zhang Qianyun joined in, and the combined cries of the two echoed far and wide.  

The two women tried to fight back, but Su Xieqiu’s relentless swings gave them no chance to resist.  

Although Han Meili usually had a sharp tongue, she was nothing more than a bully at home. She had learned many vulgar insults from the old women in the village but had never been in a real fight. She only dared to pick on the meek and timid original owner.  

As for Zhang Qianyun, she was a city-raised educated youth who excelled at scheming and playing dirty tricks but had no experience with physical confrontations.  

Su Xieqiu, on the other hand, was entirely different. In her previous life, after her grandparents passed away, her parents stopped caring about her. She was often bullied by boys in her village and at school.  

At first, she didn’t dare to resist, which only made her tormentors more aggressive.  

One evening during her third year of junior high school, she was ambushed by three high school boys as she left the school gates.  

The boys teased her, saying they’d take her to an internet cafe, and one even placed a hand on her shoulder in a lewd manner.  

Terrified, she didn’t know where she found the courage, but she grabbed the boy’s arm and bit down hard.  

Then she picked up a brick from the ground and smashed it against the head of the boy who was holding her.  

As blood gushed from his head, she didn’t feel scared. Instead, a strange sense of satisfaction welled up inside her.  

She turned to the other two boys with a dark glare, advancing on them with the brick in her hand.  

Her expression was wild, as if to say, “Life is so damn boring, let’s all die together.”  

Though the boys were in their late teens and up to no good, they were still just kids. Her crazed demeanor terrified them.  

The injured boy didn’t even bother with his bleeding head as he and his friends fled in panic.  

From that day on, no one dared to mess with her.  

She even earned the nickname “Crazy Sue.”  

Su Xieqiu didn’t care about the label. As long as people left her alone, she was content.  

That incident also taught her an important lesson.  

The poor fear the arrogant, the arrogant fear the reckless, and the reckless fear the desperate.  

Su Xieqiu understood this truth well. Alone in this harsh world where the strong prey on the weak, survival demanded courage and the readiness to fight.  

With her reputation as “Crazy Su,” she had navigated her junior high and high school years quietly in her hometown county and had even been admitted to a university more than 2,000 kilometers away. Later, in the workplace, she worked tirelessly, overcoming all obstacles in her path.  

Now, encountering the time-traveled Su Xieqiu, Zhang Qianyun and Han Meili could do nothing but suffer a beating.  

The commotion they caused attracted nearby neighbors, who began knocking on the door.  

Because the village was close to the mountains, wild animals occasionally ventured down, so every household kept their doors closed and walls high. As a result, outsiders couldn’t see what was happening within the yard.  

A woman’s anxious voice rang out, “Meili, Qianyun, what’s going on? Open the door quickly!”  

Su Xieqiu instantly recognized the voice, it was Yang Chunhua, Han Meili’s aunt. She was also the matchmaker who had facilitated the marriage between the original owner and Han Zhenyu.  

Since the original owner married into the Han family, Yang Chunhua often criticized her, emphasizing how difficult it had been for Han Zhenyu’s parents to raise him. She constantly reminded the original owner to be filial and avoid being ungrateful.  

The original owner, being timid and submissive, had foolishly taken these words to heart, working tirelessly and treating her mother-in-law’s commands like imperial decrees.  

When Zhang Qianyun and Han Meili heard their savior’s voice, they screamed, “Auntie, help us!” as they ran crying toward the gate.  

Su Xieqiu knew she couldn’t directly confront the incoming crowd. These old women were far more challenging to handle than the likes of Han Meili and Zhang Qianyun.  

As the saying goes, a wise person knows when to retreat. Sometimes, showing weakness is the best strategy.  

Su Xieqiu, ever resourceful, decided to take the initiative.  

She chased after the two women and delivered a few final, heavy blows before discarding the fire poker. She then untied the rag covering her forehead wound and grabbed some mud, smearing it on her face and body.  

Just as Zhang Qianyun and Han Meili opened the door to let in the outsiders, Su Xieqiu ran out with disheveled hair.  

Running and crying loudly, she screamed, “Help! They’re trying to kill me! Han Meili and Zhang Qianyun want to beat me to death!”  

Before the people at the door could react, Su Xieqiu had already darted far down the road.  

Zhang Qianyun and Han Meili stood frozen, their pain momentarily forgotten as they stared blankly after her.  

It was the end of the workday, and the road was crowded with villagers returning from the fields.  

They were startled to see a disheveled woman crying so miserably. Upon closer inspection, they realized it was Su Xieqiu.  

An elderly woman hurriedly asked, “Zhenyu’s wife, what happened? What’s wrong?”  

Su Xieqiu saw more and more people gathering around her. She tugged at her hair to reveal her forehead wound and cried weakly, “Aunties, please help me. I can’t live like this anymore. I do all the dirty and exhausting work at home, yet my sister-in-law and my brother’s wife still beat me. My mother-in-law doesn’t even give me enough to eat. My sister-in-law said my husband wasn’t even her real son and that I was only good for working, not eating. She threatened to kick both me and my husband out if I didn’t obey her!”  

When Su Xieqiu said this, her body swayed as though she might faint at any moment.  

Two women quickly stepped forward to support her. Being from the same village, they were well aware of the Han family’s situation. However, since it was a personal family matter, they felt it was not their place to intervene.  

Moreover, Yang Lanhua, the mother-in-law, was known for her domineering personality, and no one wanted to get on her bad side.  

As more people gathered around, an older woman asked, “Where’s Zhenyu?”  

Su Xieqiu shook her head and replied, “He hasn’t been home for several days, and my mother-in-law hasn’t let me eat. I was so hungry that I secretly ate a piece of steamed bread, and then my sister-in-law beat me so badly that I had to stay in bed for two days.”  

She looked up at the sky, mimicking the sorrowful expressions of TV drama heroines, and began to cry softly, muttering in despair:  

“If only I could leave this world, I wouldn’t have to suffer their abuse anymore. Why did they let me wake up? Now my sister-in-laws say they’ll kill me sooner or later. I’m terrified and don’t know what to do.”  

The women around her exchanged sympathetic glances. They tried to encourage her to be tougher, but in their hearts, they doubted how feasible that was.  

After all, she was just a 17 or 18-year-old girl, isolated and without support. Her husband was an unreliable troublemaker, while her stepmother-in-law and sister-in-law were notorious for their cruelty. How could she possibly stand up to them?  

At that moment, a middle-aged man approached. It seemed he had overheard Su Xieqiu’s words, as he began scolding her sternly.  

“Zhenyu’s wife, is there anything you can’t settle within the family? Why are you making such a scene here?”  

Seeing her disheveled appearance, he frowned with disapproval. “Your parents-in-law are out working in the fields and left you to rest at home. How can you be so melodramatic? As the eldest daughter-in-law, you should set a good example for the younger members of the family. This is a new society, who’s trying to kill you? Your sister-in-law probably made a joke, and you’re taking it too seriously. You’re truly ignorant!”  

Su Xieqiu narrowed her eyes, carefully observing the man. She recognized him.  

He was Han Baoqiang, a brigade team leader and Han Zhenyu’s cousin. His wife had close ties to Yang Chunhua and Yang Lanhua, and their families’ yards were adjacent.  

This man clearly had no intention of siding with her. His tone of reproach suggested he viewed her as a troublemaker rather than a victim.