Just as they were talking, the Sun siblings entered the courtyard.

Sun Er shouted, “Lin Yue, get out here!”

Lin Mother, terrified, grabbed Lin Yue’s hand, “Don’t go out, don’t let him hit you.”

Lin Yue was also trembling; he was very afraid of Sun Er and of being beaten.

Years ago, when Sun Er caught him and Sun Xiaohong in the barn, he gave Lin Yue a severe beating and threatened, “If you mess with my sister, I’ll mess with your third sister, I’ll castrate you, I’ll kill you, I’ll kill your whole family,” and so on.

It was as if Sun Er would have killed him if not for Sun Xiaohong’s intervention.

Later, Lin Yue realized it was all an act by Sun Er.

But the fear remained.

Even after marriage, Sun Er would occasionally threaten him with his fists, and Sun Xiaohong would use her brother to threaten him whenever he didn’t listen to her, or she wouldn’t let him touch her.

Over time, to keep the peace and avoid trouble, he chose to let her control him.

Now, Sun Er was here again, threatening with his fists, possibly ready to beat him.

Lin Yue’s instinctive reaction was fear, to avoid and escape, to surrender and beg for mercy.

But hearing his parents’ trembling voices, his previously soft courage suddenly hardened.

He clenched his fists and turned to go out.

Mrs. Zhou and several other women followed, saying, “Someone go call for help, get the men! Let’s see if the Sun family dares to hit anyone!”

Seeing Lin Yue come out, Sun Xiaohong glared at him viciously, “From now on, don’t even think about sleeping in my room!”

She had offended her parents for him, and he still didn’t placate her properly.

She was furious and decided to teach him a serious lesson that night.

She stormed off to the west room after throwing and hitting things.

Sun Er also confronted Lin Yue, grabbing his collar and threatening him. “You think you’re tough just because you haven’t been beaten up? You dare show my sister disrespect?”

Mother Zhou pushed Aunt Lin’s forward, scolding Sun Er. “What are you trying to do? Beat someone up? Your sister beat up her mother-in-law so badly she’s nearly had a heart attack, and you come here causing trouble? Is there no law anymore?”

She hit Lin Yue, trying to get him to stand up for himself.

With his mother’s condition and his sister’s change in behavior weighing on him, Lin Yue felt a surge of anger and blurted out, “I want to divorce Sun Xiaohong!”

“What?” Sun Er was stunned. “Say that again?”

Sun Xiaohong was shocked too, rushing out and shouting, “Lin Yue, you worthless bastard, what did you just say?”

For someone weak, finding the courage to resist is incredibly difficult.

The first “no” is the hardest to say, but once it’s out, the next ones come more easily.

“I want to divorce your sister! My family can’t afford her!”

“Bang!” In his rage, Sun Er punched Lin Yue in the face.

Aunt Lin and Mother Zhou screamed, “Why are you hitting him?”

Lin Yue fell to the ground, his head ringing and his face in pain.

This was the kind of beating he’d feared, but it wasn’t so bad after all!

He suddenly felt a surge of fury and jumped up to fight Sun Er.

Aunt Lin and Mother Zhou grabbed sticks and joined in, hitting and poking Sun Er to help Lin Yue.

Seeing them attack her brother, Sun Xiaohong also jumped in to claw at them.

Aunt Lin saw the chance and took her opportunity to hit Sun Xiaohong in the head.

The elderly women crowded around Sun Xiaohong, hitting her and shouting, “Help! The Sun family is attacking us! Sun Xiaohong is beating up her mother-in-law again!”

Inside, Lin’s mother heard the commotion outside and, realizing Lin Yue was likely getting beaten by Sun Er, was anxious and pained.

Her heart started to ache, and she pleaded, “Don’t… don’t hit him…”

Lin’s father saw her distress and yelled, “Lin Yue, stop fighting! Your mother is having another heart attack. Hurry, call a doctor!”

Soon, the barefoot doctor from the village leader’s house came to set up an IV for Lin’s mother.

Aunt Lin’s son, a peace-loving young man, shouted into the courtyard, “If something happens to Auntie because of your scare tactics, expect the police at your door tomorrow!”

Sun Er still wanted to act tough, but Zhou Weimin had already brought a group of men who pinned Sun Er down and gave him a good beating before throwing him out.

Sun Xiaohong, unable to fight back, started cursing loudly.

Aunt Lin and Mrs. Zhou, along with a few other women, took turns pinching and hitting her, causing her to scream in pain until they, too, threw her out.

Sun Er yelled, “You all wait! I’ll go back and get people, and then I’ll come back and kill you!”

He dragged Sun Xiaohong back to Sunjia Village.

After this fight, Lin Yue, who was previously uncertain about the divorce, was now completely determined.

Uncle Lin no longer spoke about the shame of divorce or the bride price and children.

“Divorce, quickly! The Sun family is just a bunch of unreasonable barbarians!”

Both Mrs. Lin and Mr. Lin felt that it was best to get divorced.

Otherwise, they would live the rest of their lives in constant fear of being beaten by the Sun family.

Today, Mrs. Zhou and others came to help, but who would help if they got beaten every day?

---

This event stirred up the brigade.

The brigade secretary, the brigade leader, the production team leader, and the heads of their families all came over.

The secretary of Lin Family Village, a retired soldier with a fiery temper, had someone ride a bike to Sunjia Village to scold their secretary harshly, warning them not to act tough over trivial matters.

Stirring up the militia company of the commune would bring no benefit.

If both brigades were named and criticized, where would their pride go?

What’s so shameful about getting a divorce?

The entire brigade being named and criticized by the commune and county, causing shame for all brigade cadres, that would be truly disgraceful!

“Everyone, keep your heads down. If you want a divorce, sit down and talk properly. Whoever makes a move first is disrespecting me, and I’ll beat them so bad their ancestors won’t recognize them!”

---

The next day in Lujia Village.

The ground had dried up a bit, but the fields were still muddy.

Walking into them would ruin the ridges, so the production team leader had to stop work and call everyone to clear the roadside and field ditches.

After a few more rains, the sweet potato vines would grow wildly and needed to be turned over in time, or they would spread roots everywhere and affect the harvest.

The members were always kept busy.

At home, they had just cut down a tree.

The locust tree had thorns, and Lin Shu, afraid that the children might get pricked, took the kids out in the morning with picture books to play with Huahua and Huzi.

She worked on trimming the branches, picking the suitable ones for bean poles, rose trellises, and to fence the chicken and duck pens.

In the afternoon, she made cornbread…

She was busy preparing some tree branches with a small axe when she looked up and saw Lin Yue coming in.

He looked so disheveled that she barely recognized him.

Just yesterday, Lin Yue was a handsome, cheerful young man, but today he looked like a vagrant.

In just one day, he had gone from being carefree and smiling to looking worn out, with a scruffy beard, messy hair, bruises on his face, a cut on his lip, and torn clothes.

Lin Shu thought, “Did he get into a fight with Sun Xiaohong?”

Yesterday, Sun Xiaohong had come over in a fury to confront Lin Yue.

She had been restrained by Lin Shu and her mother-in-law and had to work the whole day at the Lu family’s place, venting her frustration when she got home.

Lin Shu had hoped to expose Sun Xiaohong’s true nature to Lin Yue, but she didn’t know the details of Sun Xiaohong hitting Lin Yue.

Lin Yue’s eyes welled up with tears as he choked out, “Sister…”

Lin Shu said disdainfully, “Why are you crying over being beaten by your wife?”

Lin Yue wiped his tears and said, “It was Sun Er who hit me.”

Lin Shu frowned, “Sun Er hit you because of the sewing machine?”

Lin Yue realized he hadn’t told his sister everything.

He didn’t want to go into details about how Sun Xiaohong had beaten their mother, so he just briefly explained and then told her about his decision to divorce Sun Xiaohong and the trouble they were having with her family.

Lin Shu frowned further.

She had expected Sun Xiaohong to cause trouble over the sewing machine, but not to the extent of hitting Lin’s mother.

It seemed Sun Xiaohong’s malice was deeply ingrained in her nature.

When there was no significant benefit involved, she acted civilized, but when conflicts arose, her true, vicious nature emerged, regardless of past sacrifices made for her.

In the original story, Lin’s mother had been left to starve to death after becoming ill and unable to work, with Sun Xiaohong showing no compassion.

Lin Yue was busy working in construction to support his family, and Sun Xiaohong constantly sabotaged his efforts, whether he tried to start a business, learn new skills, or improve his life, fearing that he might succeed and find someone else.

If Lin Yue didn’t make a change this time, they would still be under Sun Xiaohong’s control in the future.

Lin Yue reassured Lin Shu that Sun Er no longer dared to hit him.

Last night, when the Sun family tried to cause trouble, the village chief intervened.

Early this morning, before dawn, Old Sun and his wife, along with their four sons and daughter, rushed to Lin’s house.

Meanwhile, Aunt Lin and Mother Zhou had spread the word about how Sun Xiaohong had violently attacked Lin’s mother, causing severe injuries and even a heart condition.

The news spread throughout the village and even to other production teams, with people coming to watch the commotion.

The barefoot doctor had also provided evidence, as Lin’s mother had needed another IV.

The women in the village were united in their anger and quickly gathered the men and sons to help.

The situation was unacceptable: a daughter-in-law had brutally beaten her mother-in-law, causing severe injuries and inviting her family to join in.

Everyone came to support the Lin family.

Lin Shu observed Lin Yue, who no longer had his bright, sunny smile but looked more mature and steady.

It seemed that enduring hardship had helped him grow.