It was none other than Wang Xiao’e who spoke.
Earlier, when the brigade leader’s wife and several members of the militia had burst into the yard, she had been squeezed into a corner by the crowd. After that, she just huddled there, craning her neck to watch what was happening, not daring to make a sound.
But now, seeing Ye Qing preparing to leave, Wang Xiao’e grew frantic.
She knew that once tonight passed, the twenty-five yuan debt would be reduced to just over two yuan—and her son’s chance at a job would vanish completely.
With the job slipping out of reach, Wang Xiao’e finally lost her temper.
She hurried out from the corner, grabbing Ye Qing by the arm. “No way! You have to promise first to give Xiao Yang’s job to us. Otherwise, no one leaves this yard tonight. If you want to head up the mountain, you’ll have to kill me first!”
“Hey, Xiao’e, have you lost your wits?” someone said. “Right now, lives are at stake up there! How can you still fuss over just two yuan and change? Can’t we settle this tomorrow?”
“It’s not the money I care about!” Wang Xiao’e blurted out, her anxiety making her slip up and reveal her true motive. “It’s the job! My son needs it to get married!”
Hearing this, the faces of the villagers standing nearby immediately turned sour, and they shot her sharp, disapproving glances.
Throwing all sense of decency and reason to the wind, Wang Xiao’e stamped her foot and shouted, “I don’t care! Back when our parents were alive, they always favored the eldest brother’s family. Now Xiao Yang has a wife, but my son Youcai is still a bachelor! We’re all cousins—don’t you owe us a little help?”
Using the debt as an excuse, she had now fully resorted to making a scene and acting shamelessly.
Chen Xiuzhi, watching Wang Xiao’e carry on in her own yard, felt a surge of anger. Remembering how the woman had schemed against her family in the past, she rolled up her sleeves, grabbed a broom, and prepared to chase her out. Even a cornered rabbit will bite—she wasn’t one to be pushed around either.
No sooner had Chen Xiuzhi lifted the broom than another figure darted forward like a gust of wind, stopping right in front of Wang Xiao’e and slapping her hard across the face.
It was the brigade leader’s wife. Her own palm stung from the force of the blow. She had just managed, with great effort, to calm Ye Qing down—only for Wang Xiao’e to come along and make a mess of everything. The woman was seething with rage.
“Wang Xiao’e! Dare to repeat what you just said? My son is up on the mountain right now, surrounded by wild boars, and we don’t know if he’ll survive the hour—and you dare pester me with such petty nonsense? Get out of my sight this instant!”
Wang Xiao’e immediately dropped to the ground, slapping her thighs and wailing at the top of her lungs. “Help! The brigade leader’s wife is abusing her power! She hit me—she slapped me across the face! Tomorrow I’ll go to the commune and file a complaint!”
“Can’t you see what time it is, Xiao’e? Have you no sense at all? Whatever grudges you hold, we can sort them out tomorrow. Go home right now—you’re making a fool of yourself! Youcai, drag your mother away!”
“Qiuju, calm down,” someone else cautioned. “Even if you’re worried, you shouldn’t have hit her. When Xingfa gets back, he’s sure to have words with you.”
As Wang Xiao’e grew louder and more unreasonable, insisting that the Xiao family hand over Xiao Yang’s job, several villagers could no longer stand by. They began speaking up against her.
Some tried reasoning with her gently, while others, losing patience, shouted their disapproval.
The general sentiment was clear: while it was true she had every right to collect what was owed, this was no time to cause a scene—not when lives were on the line.
But Wang Xiao’e had come tonight looking for trouble, and she was already spouting absurd claims. She was like a whetstone—no matter how much people scolded or reasoned with her, she just sat there, throwing a tantrum and demanding the job.
“We’re all family,” she repeated over and over. “If my son doesn’t have a proper job, he’ll never find a city girl to marry. Surely you have a duty to help him?”
The more she spoke, the more offensive her words became. Even the onlookers who had initially kept out of it grew angry. When their scolding failed to faze her, someone called out over the wall toward her home:
“Xiao Jianguo! Are you going to rein in your own wife? How can you stand there and let her bully your elder brother’s widow? It’s only been a few years since he passed away, and already she’s making trouble on their doorstep!”
“That’s right, Xiao Jianguo!” another chimed in. “Your wife keeps going on about how your parents favored the eldest son—but we neighbors all saw the truth! When they were alive, they always gave you the best of everything! Get over here this minute! If you can’t control your own wife, you’re no man at all!”
Seeing the situation spiral further out of control, the members of Ye Qing’s household could no longer stay quiet.
Xiao Lei stepped forward, his face grim, and grabbed Xiao Youcai by the collar, lifting him slightly off the ground. “Youcai, we grew up together like brothers. Your mother is making all this fuss for your sake—are you just going to stand there and say nothing?”
“I… I…” Xiao Youcai stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence.
“Brother, don’t waste your breath on him,” Xiao Yang said with a sneer. “He’s long forgotten how he ate every meal at our house and how we two looked after him when he was little.”
“Watch this!” Xiao Yang marched to the wall, picked up a stone, and hurled it hard into the neighboring yard. Then, drawing in a deep breath, he roared, “Xiao Jianguo! If you keep hiding like a coward and let your wife raise hell in our home, I’ll come over and give your son a beating myself!”
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing? I have two chickens in there!” Wang Xiao’e cried out.
The stone crashed into the yard, startling the chickens. They flapped their wings wildly, squawking in panic, and feathers drifted over the wall into the yard.
Hearing the noise, Wang Xiao’e scrambled to her feet and grabbed Xiao Yang’s arm. “You owe me for those chickens!”
Xiao Yang shook her off roughly and stared coldly at Xiao Youcai.
The neighbors all spoke up in agreement. “Serves her right! Good shot! She’s got no conscience at all—when her kids were little, the elder sister-in-law here looked after them every day. And now look at her, making a racket all night and keeping everyone awake. Her chickens deserved a scare!”
As Wang Xiao’e’s behavior turned the entire crowd against her, movement finally came from the other side of the wall.
The gate creaked open, and out stepped Xiao Jianguo, his hair disheveled and messy.
He looked as if he had just woken up, rubbing sleep from his eyes as he walked.
“What on earth is going on?” he asked, fumbling to button his shirt. “Why is my wife over here at the elder sister-in-law’s house?”
He strolled in with feigned confusion, pretending not to know what had happened.
But with all the noise and shouting coming from the yard, no one believed he hadn’t heard a thing. Everyone in the village also knew that Xiao Jianguo was the one who called the shots in their household—Wang Xiao’e usually did exactly as he said. This whole incident was clearly pre-planned between them. Now that things had gotten out of hand, he was suddenly showing up to play the innocent.
The villagers exchanged knowing, mocking glances, their expressions cold. Not a single person answered him.
Xiao Jianguo’s words hung in the air, ignored.
His heart sank. He had never expected Wang Xiao’e to be so aggressive—and so foolish. When things turned bad, she should have backed off, but instead she had only made matters worse.
Left with no choice, he muttered to himself, “Xiao’e, what are you doing here? I was fast asleep inside and didn’t hear a sound.”
He turned to her sharply. “Tell me right now—what brought you to the elder sister-in-law’s place?”
Wang Xiao’e saw her husband frantically signaling her with his eyes, but she didn’t catch on. “Honey, I came to collect what they owe us—and also to settle the matter of the job.”
Before she could finish, Xiao Jianguo stepped forward and slapped her hard across the cheek—right on the opposite side from where the brigade leader’s wife had hit her earlier.
This blow, however, carried far more force. Wang Xiao’e’s cheek immediately swelled up and turned red.
Putting on a great show of outrage, Xiao Jianguo shouted, “You fool! How dare you come here demanding a job like that? Have you no shame? It’s only been a few years since my brother passed away, and already you’re bullying his widow! Come on—we’re going home right now!”
He grabbed his wife with one hand and his son with the other, ready to drag them away.
Everyone present was stunned by his dramatic performance.
Most of all, no one had expected Xiao Jianguo to strike his own wife like that—beating one’s spouse was simply not done in their village. Surely, everyone thought, Wang Xiao’e would now throw an even bigger fit.
All eyes turned back to her. She stood there clutching her cheek for a moment, then suddenly rushed forward and seized Xiao Jianguo’s hand. “Jianguo! Are you alright? Did you hurt your hand hitting me? You could have just spoken to me—you know I always listen to you! Why did you have to raise your hand?”
Witnessing this unexpected display, even those who knew the couple well couldn’t help but roll their eyes in disgust.
Ye Qing, seeing this for the first time, nearly choked on her own saliva. After coughing to clear her throat, she spoke up. “Couldn’t you have settled this without hitting her? If you dare lay another hand on a woman in front of me, I’ll make sure you regret it!”
She glared directly at Xiao Jianguo.
But no sooner had she spoken than Wang Xiao’e spun around and shot Ye Qing a fierce look. “This is between my husband and me! It’s none of your business! Whatever Jianguo does is right, and I’m happy with it! Mind your own business!”
She finished with a defiant toss of her head and rolled her eyes.
Ye Qing was taken aback. She had never encountered such a woman who welcomed mistreatment.
But since the couple clearly agreed to their own way of living, she said nothing more, just gave a cold laugh. “Very well. The next time he really beats you, don’t come running to me for help.”
One of the villagers pulled Ye Qing gently aside and whispered, “Don’t let her get to you, little Ye. We’re all used to this. Wang Xiao’e has been this way ever since she married into the family. It’s just that Jianguo never used to hit her before.”
“That’s why we knew Jianguo was behind tonight’s trouble,” another added quietly. “They’re two peas in a rotten pod. Whenever we tried to step in when they fought at home, Wang Xiao’e would turn around and yell at us for interfering and ruining their marriage. So from now on—just ignore them.”
Xiao Jianguo’s face darkened, and he shot another warning look at Wang Xiao’e before pulling her and their son toward the gate.
But before they could step outside, Xiao Yang leaped forward and blocked their path. “Wait a minute! You came here in the middle of the night demanding money, wailing and causing a scene, even shoved my mother, and demanded my job as well—and you think you can just walk away?”
“When you two were out working the fields, you’d dump Youcai at our house and leave. For years, he ate every meal my mother cooked for him—and we never asked you for a single cent. I admit we do owe you money, and we will pay it back. But does that give you the right to storm in here and make such trouble?”
“Not until Wang Xiao’e apologizes to my mother will you leave this yard!”
Though seething with rage inside, Xiao Jianguo had no choice but to force a smile. He nudged Wang Xiao’e roughly. “You foolish woman—hurry up and apologize to the elder sister-in-law.”
Wang Xiao’e could see now that the tide had turned against her, and carrying on further would do no good. With a sullen, resentful look, she turned to Chen Xiuzhi. “I’m sorry, sister-in-law. I just got carried away… You know how it is—my Youcai still hasn’t found a wife…”
Chen Xiuzhi waved her hand sharply, cutting off her excuses. “Xiao Jianguo, Wang Xiao’e—my husband is gone, and I am now a widow. From this day forward, our two families are done. Don’t ever claim we are relatives again. And don’t you dare step foot on my property.”
Her tone was firm and unyielding. “As for the remaining two yuan and change, I will pay it back in a few days—and that will be the end of it. We are finished.”
Hearing those words, Xiao Jianguo could barely contain his fury.