“I believe Comrade Xiao Su is not the kind of person who would abuse her mother-in-law.”
The Women’s Director, holding Fubao, spoke up in support. “I support Comrade Xiao Su’s idea to wake Chen Pozi up for a face-to-face confrontation.”
The Women’s Director dealt with the women frequently in her daily work and was crystal clear about Chen Pozi’s and Wang Chunhua’s characters.
These two were always together, gossiping and stirring up trouble everywhere. They never lost an argument or a fight with the villagers, managing to argue their way into being right even when they were wrong. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call them shrews.
A person like that, bullied by the thin and petite Su Nian?
She didn’t believe it!
“Secretary, Comrade Xiao Su has made quite a few contributions to the village. Don’t chill the heart of a good comrade.”
The Women’s Director snorted coldly. “You’ve been fair your whole life. Don’t stumble over this Chen family mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.”
“Then let’s have a face-to-face confrontation,” the brigade party secretary nodded in agreement, giving Su Nian a deep look. “It’s better to get things cleared up, lest Comrade Su say I’m being partial.”
His sharp gaze was filled with condemnation, as if to say she was ungrateful and making a scene.
Since she was leaving anyway, Su Nian shrugged indifferently and met his gaze frankly. “Then in the secretary’s opinion, what should the punishment for this matter be?”
“Whoever is in the wrong will be punished. They must be paraded through the village for a struggle session and sent to the cowshed for labor re-education to relearn the spirit of the proletarian revolution. This will prevent the other mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law in the village from following their example.”
“The secretary’s words are reasonable. We’ll do as you say.”
This was the very sentence Su Nian had been waiting for from the brigade party secretary.
She already had a way to prove her innocence.
By using the confrontation to blow the matter up, she could, first, make Chen Pozi admit to slandering her with her own mouth, preventing Chen Pozi from pushing all the blame onto Wang Chunhua after being exposed.
Second, it was to set the punishment in advance, leaving Chen Pozi with no escape.
Su Nian walked over to Chen Pozi and squatted down. The tip of her embroidery needle glinted coldly under the warm yellow light of the storm lantern. “Could an auntie come and help unbutton her shirt?”
“I’ll do it.”
Wang Chunhua volunteered. Under the guise of arranging the clothes, she whispered a reminder in Chen Pozi’s ear.
“Endure it, old sister. After Su Nian pokes you a couple of times and nothing happens, I’ll cause a scene, say her skills are no good, and send you to the commune’s clinic.”
Chen Pozi nodded secretly.
She was determined to see the feigned fainting through to the end. Not only would she make Su Nian get punished by the village secretary and obediently hand over the gold bars, but she would also make Su Nian lose face in front of the villagers!
That was the plan, but when the cool breeze hit her chest, Chen Pozi couldn’t help but squint for a peek. Just one glance was enough to make her shiver uncontrollably, and the thought of backing out began to sprout.
How much would it hurt to have such a thick needle stuck into her body?
Chen Pozi squeezed her eyes shut, her eyeballs darting around beneath her lids.
Should she pretend to wake up?
Just as she was hesitating, her trembling body was held down by Wang Chunhua.
Wang Chunhua warned in a low voice, “If you wake up now, not only will the plan to get money from the commune clinic be ruined, but they’ll also bring up the matter of Yaozu harassing Granny Niu again. If he’s branded a hooligan, Yaozu will have to go to prison!”
“Furthermore, if the brigade party secretary finds out you were faking it to fool him, he’ll definitely have you tied up for a struggle session!”
Her son was Chen Pozi’s Achilles’ heel.
The moment she thought about how waking up now would shift everyone’s attention back to Chen Yaozu sneaking into Su Nian’s room in the dark and harassing Granny Niu, Chen Pozi’s body instantly stopped shaking.
She clenched her jaw tightly, cursing the Women’s Director’s ancestors eight generations back in her heart.
That meddling bitch! Why can’t she mind her own business!
Sticking her nose into other people’s family matters all day long. Serves her right to have a sickly child and die without descendants!
[Hahaha, the evil mother-in-law is shaking all over.]
[Hmph! Trying to frame Mama won’t work. Mama will poke her!]
Hearing Fubao’s thoughts, Su Nian took in the pair’s subtle actions.
Seeing Chen Pozi thinking of backing out, she curled her lips into a sneer.
Too late to regret it now!
Falling into her hands while feigning unconsciousness, Chen Pozi was in for a treat!
Chen Pozi would soon find out just how capable her medical skills really were.
“Aunt Chunhua, please step aside.”
Su Nian pushed Wang Chunhua away. Her fingertips landed below Wang Pozi’s chest and pressed lightly.
The Jiuwei acupoint. Acupuncture here could provide immediate relief for discomfort caused by liver and stomach abnormalities.
But everything had two sides. If the Jiuwei acupoint was overstimulated, it would cause unrelenting pain and a sensation of air rushing between the ribs. In severe cases, it could even be fatal.
“Comrade Su, are you really capable or not? If not, then hurry up and get out of the way. Don’t delay sending her to the doctor and cost your mother-in-law her life.”
“I think she’s just putting on a show. She can probably only handle headaches and fevers, nothing else.”
Su Nian turned a deaf ear to the villagers’ doubts.
After locating the spot, she applied force with her fingertips, and the long, thin embroidery needle accurately pierced the acupoint.
The next second, a blood-curdling scream startled the onlookers.
“Aah! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! Su Nian, you bitch! What the hell did you do to me!”
The moment the silver needle went in, a sudden, unbearable stabbing pain erupted in Chen Pozi’s chest and abdomen, as if her entire body was being pressed onto a bed of nails. The pain made her roll around uncontrollably. “It hurts! It’s killing me!”
“Murder! A wicked daughter-in-law is murdering her mother-in-law! Someone grab her!”
The shriek was piercing, making everyone’s ears ring.
Su Nian cleaned out her ear, a faint smile on her face. “Seeing how mother-in-law looked like she was on death’s door earlier, I thought the Chen family was about to plan a funeral. But looking at her now, her curses are so full of vigor. It seems like it’s nothing serious.”
“Su Nian, you venomous woman who deserves a thousand cuts! You saw I didn’t freeze to death, so now you’re trying to kill me with pain!”
The agony was unbearable. Chen Pozi curled into a ball, her face a mess of snot and tears, but she didn’t forget to sling mud at Su Nian. “Oh, my life is so bitter! How did I end up with such a vicious daughter-in-law?”
“Secretary, you must get justice for me!”
The brigade party secretary’s brows furrowed into a deep frown. His scrutinizing gaze fell on Su Nian. “Comrade Su, what’s going on with her?”
“I don’t know. The medical books say that stimulating this acupoint will cause an unconscious person to slowly wake up. For mother-in-law to have such a big and fast reaction, could it be that she was faking it?”
Su Nian enunciated the word ‘slowly’ loudly and deliberately.
The gazes of the surrounding villagers shifted from sympathy to suspicion as they looked at Chen Pozi.
Su Nian clicked her tongue and spread her hands with an innocent look. “Oh dear, if she was really faking it, this is going to be tricky. A normal person shouldn’t have this acupoint touched. If it’s stimulated and not treated in time, the pain can be fatal!”
“You’re full of shit! I was not preten—”
Chen Pozi’s retort died in her throat when she heard the words “can be fatal.”
She stared blankly at Su Nian, her whole body trembling like a sieve.
“What did you say? It will keep hurting, and be fatal?”
Seeing her terrified appearance brought Su Nian immense satisfaction. She nodded with a grave expression. “That’s right. This is a major acupoint. If it’s not used to cure, it’s used to kill!”
Still want to be stubborn?
She wanted to see how Chen Pozi would get out of this one.
Would she admit to faking it and deceiving everyone, or would she remain stubborn and endure the pain?
Suppressing a smile, she offered comfort in a virtuous and gentle tone, “Don’t be afraid, mother-in-law. It’s not like you were faking it. Maybe the pain will go away on its own.”
Chen Pozi shrank back, a flash of guilt in her eyes.
She wanted to be stubborn, but she was afraid she would actually die from the pain.
“I…”
She mumbled for a long time, squeezing out a smile that was uglier than a crying face. “I think I was starting to wake up just now. I couldn’t open my eyes, but I could hear you all talking…”
“Third Son’s Wife, I think it’s better to treat it, just to be safe…”