But before she could strike, Bai Jiu’s palm slapped her across the face. After delivering two hard slaps, Bai Jiu shoved her straight to the ground.
"Spending my husband’s money while beating and scolding his wife and children—what do you think you are? Who gave you the nerve? Are you the young lady of a landlord’s family? You’re so good at oppressing and enslaving people." Bai Jiu was not someone to be trifled with. She wasn’t the original owner of this body who would endure everything. If you took a step back, these shameless people would advance a mile. She would never let anyone walk all over her.
By the time Gao Yulan reacted, her face stung with a fiery pain. Not only did her face hurt, but her rear end was also aching terribly. Right then, Old Mrs. Song walked out of the house, only to see her precious daughter being beaten. Having always treated her youngest daughter like a treasure, she naturally couldn’t stand seeing someone bully her daughter like this, especially not Bai Jiu.
"Bai Jiu, you black-hearted thing! You cheap bitch! You even beat your own sister-in-law. Are you even human?" Old Mrs. Song rushed over and swung her hand to slap her.
Bai Jiu didn’t care who this person was. Whoever dared to touch her, she would pay them back a hundredfold. Before Old Mrs. Song’s slap could land, Bai Jiu simply shoved her away. Of course, she held back her strength. Whether it was the original owner of the body or herself, their strength was much greater than that of a normal person. Otherwise, the original owner wouldn’t have survived this long after doing so many years of hard labor.
"Mom, what you’re saying is ridiculous. I’m hitting her for her own good. Who has ever seen a younger sister raise a hand against her sister-in-law? Those who don’t know any better would think she has no upbringing. She lacks manners even while her parents are still alive; she’ll have a hard time finding a husband in the future."
Bai Jiu looked at the two of them with a smile. Actually, the moment Bai Jiu had made her move, Eldest Sister-in-law Gao had already retreated into her own room.
"I’m teaching her a lesson for her own good, to save her from being disciplined by her in-laws when she marries. What did I do wrong?"
Hearing this, Old Mrs. Song glared at Bai Jiu as if she wanted to eat her alive. "No matter how wrong your youngest sister is, it’s up to your father and me to discipline her. Since when is it a sister-in-law’s place to teach her a lesson?"
"Mom, you can’t put it like that. When my youngest sister is being unreasonable, of course I, as her sister-in-law, have to step in. It saves her from going out and embarrassing the Gao family, doesn’t it? It wouldn’t be good if she ended up dragging down the younger kids."
Seeing her precious, delicately raised daughter being belittled like this, Old Mrs. Song was furious. "You black-hearted, stinking bitch! So what if she’s young and doesn’t do any chores? As her sister-in-law, don’t you know how to show some sympathy for your own sister?
"You insist on forcing her to work in the fields. Can’t you stand seeing her do well? Can’t you stand seeing her have a more comfortable life than you?"
These words were utterly shameless. Did she really think her daughter was a delicate flower? Did she really believe her daughter could marry into the city acting like this? Other than old bachelors, who would be willing to marry a thing like her?
Bai Jiu laughed in anger at Old Mrs. Song’s absurdity. "She is lazy and loves to eat. The fact that she developed this kind of personality has everything to do with you, Mom. Young?
"Is she younger than Xiuxiu and Zhengyang?"
Hearing this, Eldest Sister-in-law Gao didn’t dare stay in her room any longer. She had long been displeased with Gao Yufa, but because her mother-in-law suppressed her, she had kept her mouth shut. Now that Bai Jiu had pointed it out, she could no longer stay out of it. "Mom, it’s really not good for our youngest sister to be like this. How about she joins everyone in the fields tomorrow? She’s eighteen now, an adult, not a child. How can she not do any chores? Just look around our production team—who else has a girl this old still lazing about at home?"
The reason Eldest Sister-in-law Gao hadn’t spoken up before was because there had been someone to bear the brunt of it. With the third branch taking the fall, it hadn’t tired her out anyway. Thus, she couldn’t be bothered to care. But now that it involved her own interests, she had to speak up.
Seeing her eldest daughter-in-law come out, Old Mrs. Song immediately marched over and delivered several slaps. "You black-hearted thing! Has your youngest sister ever treated you poorly? You have the nerve to criticize her! I think the laziest person in this house is you." After the beating, Eldest Sister-in-law Gao stood to the side, not daring to utter another word. She was truly terrified of this mother-in-law.
After dealing with her eldest daughter-in-law, Old Mrs. Song plopped her bottom onto the ground. "None of you act like proper sisters-in-law! You’re so petty that you can’t tolerate your own sister-in-law. The Gao family really suffered a stroke of bad luck marrying you two things! Oh, heavens..."
Bai Jiu stood aside and quietly watched her performance. She waited until the old woman finished cursing before speaking unhurriedly, "Mom, people need to have a conscience. Anyway, I’m laying it out right now: if our youngest sister doesn’t work, Xiuxiu and Zhengyang won’t work anymore either." She could wrong anyone, but she absolutely would not wrong her own children. Now, Xiuxiu and Zhengyang were her very own son and daughter.
When Old Mrs. Song heard this, she was furious. Her face instantly darkened. "No way! If your whole family doesn’t work, are you expecting to drink the Northwest wind and starve?"
The third branch was indeed capable; she had to admit that. Other men only earned ten work points a day, and the wife of the third branch could earn ten work points all on her own in a single day. How could she bear to part with those ten work points?
"Mom, the three of us have Zhijun’s allowance, which is enough to feed us. But as for our youngest sister, your and Dad’s work points aren’t enough to support her. Why shouldn’t she work? If you disagree, we can go to the production team captain and let him judge. I’m not afraid even if we take this to the commune."
Bai Jiu was exceptionally unyielding. Seeing this, Eldest Sister-in-law Gao, Lin Guihua, was no longer afraid of her mother-in-law and immediately chimed in, "Mom, it was fine when she wasn’t of age, but she’s eighteen now. It really is time for her to work. You can’t expect us to keep supporting her forever. Someone her age should have been married off long ago anyway. Regardless, if my third sister-in-law doesn’t go to work, I’m not going either. Whoever wants to go can go. The whole family can just wait to drink the Northwest wind."
Although Lin Guihua feared her mother-in-law, she was no pushover either. Her fear stemmed from the fact that her mother-in-law controlled the food rations for the entire household. Now that an opportunity had presented itself, she certainly wasn’t going to miss it. If the third branch stopped working, her own branch definitely couldn’t afford to take the loss. Her own children were even older than the third branch’s.
At this moment, everyone who had been eating inside the house came out. They had been arguing for so long that anyone who could hear had already heard everything. Old Mrs. Song wanted to throw another fit, but she was stopped by Old Man Gao, who had just walked out.
"That’s enough! All of you do nothing but bicker all day. I guess the work in the production team isn’t tiring enough for you, huh? Don’t you find this embarrassing?"
As the head of the household, Old Man Gao cared deeply about his reputation in the production team and didn’t want people laughing at them. When he came out, he had already noticed a crowd gathering outside.