“Where did brother-in-law go?” Yu Banxia asked curiously.
She also hadn’t seen where the twins had gone.
Yu Bantao tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and replied, “Your brother-in-law went to the neighboring village to help out. A family there is building a house, paying five wen a day and providing a meal.”
“When Yingyue got hurt earlier, Dashuang and Xiaoshuang went to the neighboring village to call him back,” Yu Bantao added.
Then, as if remembering something, she said, “Oh, right, third brother, fourth sister, little sister, why did you come to Little Zhang Village to see me?”
“It’s like this…” The siblings returned to the main hall to sit and talk.
After hearing everything, Yu Bantao’s mouth hung open in shock.
So much had happened back home—her little sister had nearly died, and after recovering, she had even managed to hunt a huge wild boar. What surprised her even more was that her older sister said their little sister had decided to cut ties with that Xu Xiucai.
She knew how obsessed her little sister had been with Xu Xiucai, and she herself had often sent money home to support her.
Now, to be told that her little sister was giving up on Xu Xiucai—how could she not be shocked?
“Wife, how is Yingyue?” Just as they were talking, brother-in-law Zhang Quangui returned, carrying one son in each arm as he strode into the main hall.
Seeing his brother-in-law and sisters-in-law sitting there, he paused for a moment before anxiously asking again.
Yu Bantao quickly replied, “She cried herself to sleep earlier and is in bed now. She’s fine.”
“Today, it was all thanks to third brother and the others coming over that they saved Yingyue’s life.”
“Husband, Xiaxia said Yingyue was frightened and might develop a fever, so she suggested I go back to my parents’ home for a few days.”
“Alright, you go back with your brother and sisters. I’ll take care of things here. I’ll definitely have a serious talk with sister-in-law about what happened today,” Zhang Quangui’s face instantly darkened.
Yu Banxia’s eyes lit up. “Second brother-in-law, let’s go. I’ll go with you. We must get justice for Yingyue today.”
“Xiaxia,” Yu Banyue quickly spoke up, worried that her brother-in-law might get angry and hold a grudge against her second sister.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Quangui agreed directly. “Alright, let’s go together.”
Yu Banyue opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing.
“Second sister, you stay home and take care of little Yingyue. We’ll go get justice for you,” Yu Mancang also spoke up.
And so, apart from Yu Bantao, Yu Mancang and his three siblings all went to the Zhang family’s old house.
Lan Shi was sitting angrily in the courtyard, cursing loudly. “You little bitch, just wait until I go to the Yu family to demand justice. How dare you hit me!”
“You little slut, shameless little hussy. If you push me too far, I’ll make sure everyone knows about you. Let’s see if you can ever get married in this lifetime!”
“Go ahead and try. If you can really make it so I never have to marry in this lifetime, that’d be perfect.”
“My parents, brothers, and elders are all willing to support me. I’ll make sure you die of anger, you old hag!” Yu Banxia kicked open the old house’s rickety door, nearly knocking it off its hinges.
It hung there, swaying precariously, looking pitiful.
“You little bitch, you dare come here…” Lan Shi started running halfway but stopped when she saw her second son enter with a dark expression, too scared to say another word.
Zhang Quangui scanned the area but didn’t see Zhang Fuxiang, so he shouted loudly, “Zhang Fuxiang, get out here right now!”
Hiding inside the house, Zhang Fuxiang trembled at the sound of Zhang Quangui’s voice and scrambled under the bed.Meng Shi quickly put down the knot she was making, her expression also turning unpleasant, and walked straight out.
“Well, what’s got Second Brother so worked up!” Meng Shi sneered as she looked Yu Banxia and the others up and down, then continued.
“It’s just a little scuffle between cousins, is it really worth all of you coming here to make trouble?”
“Besides, Mother already said the little girl is fine now, isn’t she?”
Hearing this, Zhang Quanguai instantly grew even angrier: “Sister-in-law, listen to yourself—is that any way to talk?”
“Yingyue is his own cousin, and he was the one who snatched her things first. Instead of disciplining him, you and Mother blame my Yingyue. My Yingyue almost lost her life!”
“And in your mouths, it’s just a lighthearted ‘cousins roughhousing’?”
“Zhang Fuxiang, get out here right now! Don’t make me drag you out. Your father isn’t here to discipline you, but as your uncle, I can’t just let this slide.”
“If you steal toys as a child, when you grow up, won’t you be robbing people and killing for money?”
Meng Shi’s face instantly darkened at these words: “Second Brother, that’s going too far! How dare you say my Fuxiang will grow up to be a murderous robber?”
“What kind of uncle are you?”
“It’s just a little girl, yet you protect her like she’s the apple of your eye. Pah! If Fuxiang wants her things, she should hand them over.”
“She deserved to drown!”
Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Yu Banxia moved quickly. While Zhang Quangui couldn’t lay a hand on Meng Shi, Yu Banxia had no such reservations.
Meng Shi was stunned by the blows. Her face swelled instantly, and her small eyes widened in shock.
“Say one more curse, and I’ll knock your teeth out!”
Yu Banxia glared at her coldly. Meeting her gaze, Meng Shi had no doubt that if she dared say another word, this little wretch would make good on her threat.
“He snatched her things first, and you still dare to twist the truth? Do you think we won’t report this to the authorities?”
“This is attempted murder! How cruel for someone so young!”
“You wouldn’t dare!” Meng Shi’s eyes widened in threat.
Yu Banxia only sneered: “Hah, just watch me!”
“Mother, waaah, I don’t want to go to jail, I don’t want to go to jail…”
“Second Uncle, I’ll never do it again! I’ll go apologize to Yingyue, please forgive me, waaah…” Zhang Fuxiang had been eavesdropping all along. When he heard Yu Banxia threaten to report him, he was so scared he wet himself.
The pungent smell of urine filled the air. Yu Banxia stepped back in disgust, and Zhang Quangui frowned slightly.
Then he gave the boy’s backside several hard smacks, making Meng Shi’s heart ache, though she didn’t dare intervene.
Lan Shi stood to the side, weeping and slapping her thighs: “What a sin! For the sake of a little girl, you team up with your wife’s family to come here and beat your own nephew—you heartless wretch!”
“What a wretch!”
“Still think he hasn’t been hit enough?” Yu Banxia shot her a sidelong glance, and Lan Shi immediately fell silent.
The commotion had drawn the attention of nearby neighbors. A woman who didn’t get along with Lan Shi walked into the courtyard, cracking melon seeds.
“If you ask me, I’ve never seen a grandmother like this before.”“Zhang Fuxiang is your grandson, but isn’t Yingyue your granddaughter? No wonder Quangui is angry. If this were my grandson, I wouldn’t wait for Quangui to do anything—I’d beat this little brat myself first.”
“Why are you always sticking your nose in everything, you gossipy thing? Get out!” Lan Shi grew even angrier upon hearing this, grabbing a nearby broom and swinging it at the woman.
The woman was also furious. She spat in contempt and began shouting back at Lan Shi.
Zhang Quangui only struck a few times before stopping. Zhang Fuxiang burst into loud sobs and threw himself into his mother’s arms.
“Sister-in-law, spoiling a child is like killing them. You’d do well to remember that.” With that, Zhang Quangui turned and left without even glancing at his mother, who was still arguing.
Such a person was not worthy of being called his mother.
Lan Shi was so enraged that she argued even more fiercely with the woman.
“This is the wild boar meat we brought, and these are things we bought in town, along with the hairpin for Yingyue.”
“Oh, and this cloth is for you and your family, Second Sister.” As soon as Yu Banxia returned to her second sister’s home, she began unpacking the items one by one.