Chapter 33: Venting Initial Malice
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In the end, the two of them guiltily went back to their respective homes without making any further moves.
Instead, they were both battered black and blue, covered in bruises and injuries, which naturally drew the attention of the other villagers.
“Goodness, Qionghua, what happened to your face? How did it swell up so badly?”
“I fell! I went into the woods to dig for wild greens and tripped over a stone!” Liu Qionghua answered casually, her eyes darting away.
“Qionghua, you’re lying, aren’t you? That doesn’t look like a fall to me. Who gets hurt in a fall with all the marks on their face and body about the same size? The bumps on your face are spread so evenly. It looks much more like someone beat you!”
The woman had to be given credit—she had hit the truth dead-on.
The others widened their eyes and examined Liu Qionghua carefully.
“Oh my, she’s right! Look closely. The injuries on both sides of Qionghua’s face are swollen to exactly the same size. She really does look like a monkey’s bottom split in two! Ha-ha!”
“Wait, look at Wang Dagui! His face is all black and blue too. It looks just like Qionghua’s. Don’t tell me you two fell in the same place?”
The village women loved gathering whenever they had nothing better to do, chattering away about gossip. Every one of them had a sharp tongue.
Some even deliberately shifted their gazes back and forth between Liu Qionghua and Wang Dagui, secretly guessing that something suspicious was going on between them.
When Liu Qionghua realized they had hit the mark, she flew into a rage out of embarrassment.
“I said I fell, so I fell! If you keep spouting nonsense, I won’t let you off!”
The other women snickered quietly and said no more. Liu Qionghua liked scratching people’s faces with her fingernails whenever she fought, and none of them wanted to provoke her for real.
Once they fell silent, however, Liu Qionghua had nowhere to vent her anger. It remained trapped in her chest, making her gasp for breath as it surged restlessly inside her.
If she had not secretly met Wang Dagui in the woods and feared that the person who had beaten her might expose them, she would have questioned every villager and hunted down the bastard responsible.
Su Jinyu noticed the commotion and smiled smugly to herself. Leaning lazily against a tree, she whistled and hummed a tune.
She took out some health-restoring pills she had bought from her spatial realm and handed them to Chen Shulan.
“Auntie, I made these myself from medicinal herbs. Take eight to ten pills every day. Within a month, your health will improve considerably.”
Chen Shulan opened the little embroidered pouch and looked inside, delighted as though she had received a precious treasure.
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“Thank you, Jinyu. You treat your auntie so well, yet I can’t do anything for you. Even the meat at home comes from the game you hunt in the woods. I’m truly useless…”
As she spoke, Chen Shulan lowered her head, her eyes turning red. Su Jinyu could not bear to see a beautiful woman cry, so she hurriedly comforted Chen Shulan as though soothing a child.
Patting her on the back, she said gently, “Auntie, you already do so much. Without you, how could I eat three hot meals a day? You make my shoes and mend my clothes too. The way you care for me is just like a mother.”
Sure enough, Chen Shulan’s eyes lit up at once.
The scene left the two brothers, Li Zhean and Li Chuxiu, staring in amazement. Their little sister was far too good with words! They had to memorize every word and learn the art of speaking from her. That way, they could make their mother happy in the future too.
Chen Shulan then asked her niece, “Jinyu, you were even humming just now. What has you so happy?”
“Could it be that you found something valuable while digging for wild greens?” Wang Qiaohui recalled that her granddaughter had said she would gather medicinal herbs while she was out.
Su Jinyu shook her head and beckoned them over. Immediately, everyone in the Li family, from the eldest to the youngest, leaned closer in curiosity and formed a circle around her.
Su Jinyu lowered her voice and said, “I just dealt with the villains who deliberately pushed over a tree to crush me. I went into the woods, stuffed them into sacks, and gave them a good beating.”
“Jinyu, tell me who they were! I’d like to see which murderous bastard dared harm my precious niece!” Li Tianhe’s fury shot straight to his head. He looked ready to go beat someone up on the spot.
The two brothers, Li Zhean and Li Chuxiu, clenched their teeth, their faces brimming with the determination to fight. Even Su Jinxiao balled her little fists, silently planning to avenge her sister.
Only Old Master Li gave a quiet chuckle. He had already figured out whom his granddaughter meant.
“Looks like you did a good deed and saved Zheng Hu, only to bring trouble upon yourself.”
“Zheng Hu? You mean you saved Zheng Dali’s son, and his father repaid your kindness by turning against you?” Li Tianhe had not inherited his father’s intelligence. Whenever something happened, he could never think his way around it.
“Tianhe, Daniu, Eru, grab your weapons. Anyone who dares bully our Jinyu—I’ll skin him alive!” Wang Qiaohui said, bracing herself against the cushion as she tried to stand.
Su Jinyu finally understood where her uncle had inherited his temperament. Li Tianhe’s recklessness was exactly like that of his fierce and fiery mother.
“Grandmother, it wasn’t Uncle Zheng. His wife ordered Wang Dagui to do it,” Su Jinyu hurriedly explained.
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She was afraid that if she spoke too slowly, her grandmother would rush over and beat the wrong person. By then, it would be too late.
Granny Wang had already risen to her feet, planting both hands on her hips.
“Liu Qionghua only cares about her own biological son. She resents the fact that you saved her stepson. But what reason did that bastard Wang Dagui have to harm you? Could it be that he and Liu Qionghua have something going on?”
The members of the Li family then watched as Su Jinyu nodded.
“Grandmother is wise!”
Su Jinyu lowered her voice and instructed them, “You don’t need to avenge me just yet. That pair of adulterous dogs is planning to attack me again tonight. When the time comes, I’ll put on a grand show for everyone. Just wait and watch. Once I’ve vented my anger and feel satisfied, you can go beat them up.”
“Fine. We’ll do as Jinyu says.”
As long as Su Jinyu was happy, the Li family would let her do as she pleased. After all, once she had finished venting her anger, they could vent theirs too!
Su Jinyu bought mushrooms from her spatial realm and cooked them together with chicken. Chen Shulan had her eldest son, Li Zhean, cut everything into pieces so the meat would absorb more flavor while it braised.
“Mother, do the mushrooms really have to be cut into such small pieces? Won’t they fall apart while the meat is stewing?”
Chen Shulan’s kindly face immediately darkened.
“If I tell you to cut them, then cut them. Why are you talking so much? Are you unhappy because I asked you to prepare the vegetables?”
“No, no!”
Li Zhean quickly shook his head. He absolutely could not afford to anger his mother. His father was frightening enough when angry—one beating would follow. But if his mother lost her temper, he would suffer a combined beating from both parents.
Chen Shulan turned and instructed her second son, “And you, Eru, hurry up and wash the scallions and garlic. I’ll need them for the fish soup later!”
“Daniu, Eru, listen to your mother. Even men have to know how to cook. In the future, when you marry, your wives may be tired from preparing meals. If you don’t know how to cook, won’t you leave them to go hungry with you? If you can’t even take care of your own wives, what sense of responsibility do you have? And don’t even think of calling yourselves true men who can hold up the sky!”
“A man who knows how to cook will be loved by his wife. Keep your eyes wide open and learn properly while I’m cooking. One day, your mother will be waiting to eat a meal prepared by you.”
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