“The Mei family… they’re downright barbaric!”
Han Laoer’s face, half illuminated by the campfire, was bruised and swollen, his expression dark and gloomy.
“We agreed to cause trouble only when their womenfolk were in the camp. Who told you to provoke them when Mei Erhu was around? Besides, they have knives!”
Han Laosan had barely finished muttering when Han Laoer kicked him.
“If you don’t know how to talk, then shut up!”
Han Laoer shot a disdainful glance at Han Laosan, his eyes filled with annoyance.
“We’ve been stirring things up for two days now, so why hasn’t the Chen family made any move?”
Huang Shi, who was eating a pancake, also turned to look at Han Laoer. Seeing everyone in the family staring at him, Han Laoer felt a surge of irritation.
“Don’t ask me—who am I supposed to ask?” Han Laoer snapped. “The people following the Chen family seem to be a mixed bag, but their patience is far greater than those following other wealthy families.”
They had done this before. They had pulled Péngcí schemes on smaller households under other wealthy families, but none had left them feeling as frustrated as this.
“But those smaller households following other aristocratic families aren’t all easy to deal with either, right?”
Even the smaller households under aristocratic families weren’t people they could casually provoke. Some even kept hired thugs.
Huang Shi brought up their past failures, her worry deepening. “Exactly! Back then, Biaozi, you and your ‘brothers’ got beaten up. We should still pick on the easy targets, shouldn’t we?”
The “brothers” Huang Shi mentioned weren’t Han Laoer’s biological siblings but rather the people he associated with, who made a living by robbing others.
“But even the easiest targets are hard to handle if someone’s protecting them.”
Han Laoer’s eyes darkened as he thought of the Mei family. Aside from Mei Erhu and Mei Shitou, who were somewhat capable fighters, every other member seemed easy to manipulate. Yet, that family was far too vigilant.
Suddenly, Han Laoer stood up. “I’m going to discuss this with my brothers.”
As he turned to leave, he didn’t notice the figure sneaking closer to eavesdrop on their conversation.
···
“Brother, are you sure?”
“Yes, they definitely have a plan. But I don’t know about the people Han Laoer associates with. I didn’t dare follow him.”
After returning from the Han family’s side, Mei Shitou shared the information he had secretly gathered.
Mei Qian looked at Han Shi, and Grandma Mei also turned her gaze toward her.
Han Shi blinked nervously, meeting Mei Qian’s eyes before asking, “Niece, what do you need me to do?”
Seeing that her aunt showed no resistance and even took the initiative, Mei Qian smiled and looked at Han Shi and Grandma Mei. “Then tomorrow, I’ll have to trouble Grandma and Auntie…”
The next evening,
“Mother—!”
A heart-wrenching cry startled Huang Shi, who was eating a Steamed Cornbread Bun. The freshly heated bun trembled in her hand and nearly fell to the ground.
Huang Shi: !!
Before she could lift her head to see what was happening, a dark shadow seemed to sweep before her eyes. Then, her hands felt as if they were tightly locked!
Immediately after, another large hand reached out and, right in front of Huang Shi, caught the half-eaten bun she had dropped.
“Mother!”
This time, the shrill wailing exploded directly in Huang Shi’s ears, instantly making her feel as if the top of her skull were about to be blown off.
Finally, Huang Shi noticed who was in front of her.
“Third Daughter, why are you here?”
Hearing Huang Shi call her, Han Shi looked up, and the slap mark on her face was immediately visible to Huang Shi.
“Oh dear, what happened to your face?”
As soon as Huang Shi asked, Han Shi cried even louder: “Mother, my wicked mother-in-law has been beating me these past few days because of you, and she won’t even let me eat!”
As she spoke, Han Shi took a big bite of the half-piece of cornbread she had just received from Huang Shi.
Huang Shi: !!
“Mother, I’ve suffered so much these years—rising earlier than the rooster, sleeping later than the dog, working harder than the ox, and eating worse than the pig. What sin have I committed to deserve this”
Huang Shi: …
Huang Shi also wanted to ask what sin her ears had committed to endure such torment.
She wanted to push this wretched girl away, but Han Shi’s strength was surprisingly great, and Huang Shi couldn’t budge her no matter how hard she pushed!
“Pfft!”
Mei Qian and Mei Shitou, hiding behind a tree and peeking, couldn’t hold back their laughter.
Mei Qian recalled how her aunt had worried last night, saying what if her acting wasn’t good enough and she couldn’t fool Huang Shi?
Mei Qian had given her advice—”Aunt, just keep crying and wailing so she won’t have time to analyze whether what you’re saying is true or false.”
Now, looking at it again, her aunt had learned it quite convincingly.
“Clearly, I’m the eldest daughter-in-law, but my mother-in-law won’t even let me manage the family’s grain sack, wuwuwuwu!
These past few days, I’ve seen you and Second Brother coming over. I told my mother-in-law that you must be in trouble, otherwise you wouldn’t come to my place every day.
I thought since I had already scolded you, and I, the person involved, had forgiven you, my mother-in-law should let it go too. I wanted to get some grain from home to help you out in this emergency, but before I could finish speaking, my mother-in-law hit me, aaaaah~~”
Hearing Han Shi mention the grain sack, Huang Shi suddenly felt her ears stop hurting and immediately stared intently at Han Shi, asking, “My dear Third Daughter, you poor thing, how much grain does your mother-in-law actually have? To beat you over it?”
“This much!”
Han Shi didn’t give a specific number but simply held up three fingers, making Huang Shi gasp in shock!
Goodness!
Three hundred catties!
The Mei family actually brought this much when they fled!
That was far more than she had imagined.
Thinking this, Huang Shi’s previously disdainful expression toward Han Shi suddenly turned gentle. Just as she was about to pry for more information, she caught sight of Mei Shitou and Mei Qian walking over expressionlessly from the corner of her eye.
“Aunt, Grandma wants you to go back and fetch water to start the fire.”
Mei Qian abruptly interrupted the mother-daughter reunion. Huang Shi was displeased, and seeing Han Shi also looking furious but not daring to speak up, she believed another three-tenths of what Han Shi had just complained about.
Thus, Huang Shi, who hadn’t managed to extract more information, felt even more restless and eager to know more.
“Mother, Grandma is still waiting for you to go back and work. Hurry up.”
Even Mei Shitou looked displeased, urging Han Shi to leave with them. How could this look like a son treating his mother?
Because of this, Huang Shi wanted even more to have a proper talk with Han Shi. Han Shi once again buried her head in Huang Shi’s chest, looking utterly wronged.
On the way, right within Mei Qian’s line of sight, she saw her aunt wipe all the snot and tears from her earlier crying onto Huang Shi’s chest.
Mei Qian looked up at the sky.
She had to think of every sad thing from this lifetime and the last just to keep from laughing out loud in front of Huang Shi.
“Mother! Next time I come to see you, don’t miss me!”
After saying this, Han Shi turned and ran off, covering her face. As she passed Mei Qian and Mei Shitou, Mei Qian noticed that her aunt’s raised corners of her mouth were stretched so wide they could hardly be covered by her arm!
It had to be said, her aunt was truly a character!
…
“What?! Mother, are you serious?”
Han Laoer never expected Huang Shi to bring such shocking news.
“Of course. Your sister, that brainless one, got hit a couple of times by her mother-in-law and came crying to me, all aggrieved.” Huang Shi snorted, then glanced at Han Laoer. “Just like your wife, who eats from the inside and betrays from the outside.”
At the mention of his wife, Han Laoer’s face twisted involuntarily again. He didn’t dwell on it, only asking Huang Shi, “Mother, are you sure this news isn’t fake?”
“Of course! If it weren’t for the Mei family showing up, I could’ve asked even more!”
Huang Shi went on chattering about Han Shi coming to see her. The three brothers listened nearby. Han Laosan listened without a word, just watching his second brother.
After thinking for a moment, Han Laoer said, “Anyway, if Sanya doesn’t come in the next couple of days, Mother, you find a chance to go see Sanya. You must get the information clear.
I hear we’ll reach Mingcheng territory in about three days. It seems a bit more stable there than it is now, so it won’t be convenient to act.”
“If it’s stable, why do we still need to do this?”
Han Laoda, who had been silently tending the fire, suddenly spoke up.
Although he had followed Han Laoer in doing this several times, he felt it was somewhat forced by the circumstances. If things were stable later and they still did this, it didn’t seem quite right.
“Stable? That stability is for those with money and grain. What stability do you have?”
Han Laoer sneered at Han Laoda, unable to hold back a derisive laugh. “If we don’t get anything before entering Mingcheng territory, you can just wait to starve to death peacefully over there!”