Gu Shizhu glared viciously at Lin Baozhu, who stood among them, and questioned her furiously. “Fourth Sister-in-law, your mind is truly vicious. You and my wife only had a few verbal disputes at home, and yet behind our backs you tried to push our entire Eldest Brother family into the gates of hell, didn’t you?”
Lin Baozhu stared at Gu Shizhu’s murderous expression and, frightened, turned to run.
Gu Shizhu roared in anger. “Lin Baozhu, stop right there!”
The Lin family nearby rushed forward, trying to block him.
In a fit of rage and losing all restraint, Gu Shizhu lifted his foot and kicked Lin Dabao hard in the lower body.
“Ah! Father, Mother…”
Lin Dabao’s miserable scream also startled Lin Baozhu. She stopped and turned back, shouting angrily, “Gu Shizhu, are you crazy?!”
Gu Shizhu barked back, “Yes, I am crazy! You’re trying to send me to my death, so before I die, I’ll drag all of you Lin family bastards down with me!”
Mother Lin cried out loudly, “Daughter, what exactly have you been doing outside? Look at what they’ve done to your brother! Hurry and go with them! Don’t come back here until you’ve settled this properly!”
Lin Baozhu felt deeply disappointed. She could not understand why her parents and even Gu Shicheng were acting so cold toward her today. She was clearly the lucky koi wife, the female lead of this world, so why did everything feel like it was falling apart?
Gu Shizhu strode forward, grabbed Lin Baozhu’s wrist like an iron clamp, and dragged her out as if she were a dead dog.
Gu Shiye sat waiting on the tractor, watching the efficiency of the two brothers. He felt relieved that they were not as useless as the characters in the short drama he remembered.
He restarted the tractor.
With a single press of the accelerator, the journey from the commune back to Qingshan Production Brigade took only a little over ten minutes.
Gu Shicheng, who had walked back on foot, had just stepped into the courtyard when Gu Shizhu and Gu Shinian arrived, dragging Lin Baozhu behind them.
Gu Shicheng was completely stunned when he saw her.
“Wife, you…”
Enraged, Gu Shizhu stormed forward and punched Gu Shicheng in the face. “Fourth Brother, you bastard! Since childhood, we brothers have turned a blind eye while you drained us. That was one thing, but now that you’re grown, you’re nothing but a treacherous wolf! I still have to support our parents, yet you’re scheming against me behind my back!”
Gu Shicheng, who had grown up as a bookish man who avoided labor, had no ability to fight back. He could only protect his head while being beaten.
Gu Shinian and Gu Shiye simply stood by and watched.
Only Mother Gu rushed out of the house upon hearing the commotion, her heart breaking. “Stop! Eldest son, you heartless thing, how can you beat your younger brother like this?!”
Old Gu, however, did not intervene. He already had strong dissatisfaction toward Gu Shicheng.
Wang Lihua rushed out from the main hall. “Mother, you’re so biased it’s unbelievable! Eldest son is the one who will support you in your old age, and you’re cursing him like that!”
Then she rolled up her sleeves and charged toward Lin Baozhu. “You shameless woman! You’ve barely been married, and you’ve already turned our family upside down!”
Lin Baozhu was no match for her. She crouched down and screamed, “Acheng, save me!”
“Baozhu…” Gu Shicheng wanted to help, but he was still being punched by Gu Shizhu and had no chance to move.
Seeing this, Mother Gu had no choice but to step in and break them up for the sake of her son.
“Alright, alright, stop fighting. Let’s just talk things through.”
But Wang Lihua ignored her completely.
Only when Lin Baozhu could no longer bear it did she finally scream, “Sister-in-law, do you believe I’ll go to the mechanical factory tomorrow and report your husband for improper relations so he loses his job?!”
At that moment, the beating stopped.
The couple immediately moved closer together for protection.
Seeing this, Ma Sufen walked out from the main hall.
“You can report us if you want, but as long as Brother Gu and I don’t admit it, who can convict us?”
Gu Shizhu’s expression turned complicated when he saw her. Truthfully, he did still have feelings for her. Over the past few months, they had both simply been using each other. He had become arrogant after having money and a job.
While he was distracted, Wang Lihua slapped him hard across the face and grabbed his ear. “Gu Shizhu, you bastard! My parents scraped together money to buy you a city job, and you’re out there fooling around with women! Tell me honestly, how many have you kept outside?!”
Gu Shizhu immediately knelt down. “Wife, I was wrong, I really was wrong. Only this one, I swear I only had this one, I swear I only love you!”
Lin Baozhu looked at Ma Sufen, who remained calm and rational, then at Gu Shizhu kneeling and begging for forgiveness. She clutched her head in complete breakdown.
This was not how it was supposed to be. Why wasn’t Ma Sufen forcing things to the death? Why wasn’t Gu Shizhu threatening divorce?
What she did not know was that Ma Sufen had already informed the child’s biological father, who was waiting at the village entrance. When Gu Shiye and the others returned on the tractor, Gu Shizhu had recognized that man hiding behind a tree. He was also a temporary worker at their factory.
At that moment, Ma Sufen spoke again in a conciliatory tone. “Sister-in-law, you and Brother Gu should just live your lives properly. I won’t interfere anymore. I’ll go back and terminate the pregnancy.”
Lin Baozhu suddenly looked up. “Wait, how can you terminate it? Aren’t you supposed to give birth to the child?”
Mother Gu frowned and immediately slapped Lin Baozhu on the head. “Fourth daughter-in-law, if you can’t speak properly, then shut up!”
Ma Sufen stared coldly at Lin Baozhu. “Whether I can keep this child or not, it’s all because of what you did. If I lose it, I will make sure my child’s misfortune is counted on your head.”
Lin Baozhu felt a chill run through her entire body. When she secretly met Ma Sufen’s cold gaze, she felt all strength drain from her and collapsed against Gu Shicheng.
Just like that, Ma Sufen left the Gu courtyard smoothly.
Gu Shicheng was also stunned that his eldest brother and sister-in-law had simply let Ma Sufen go. He even wondered if they were next to be punished.
He quietly tried to pull Lin Baozhu away to escape.
But Wang Lihua spotted them immediately. “Fourth Brother, stop right there! You and your wife are getting out of the eldest branch household registry tonight!”