While Song Yuntang led the two children to feast freely in the kitchen—eating whatever they wanted—her black-hearted uncle’s family was in complete chaos.
As soon as Song Mingde returned home and saw the commotion, he learned that he had been cuckolded. Worse still, of all people, Ding Yuzhen had chosen the most useless old bachelor in the village—Lame Wang. His dignity had been utterly trampled.
Fury surged through him. Grabbing Ding Yuzhen by the hair, he slapped her repeatedly, then followed up with punches and kicks.
“You shameless woman! You dare put a green hat on me and let the whole village see it—how am I supposed to face anyone now? You wretch, you’re tired of living!”
Song Jiaojiao watched her own mother being beaten by her father without any intention of stopping him. Not only did she feel no sympathy, she even found Ding Yuzhen disgraceful.
“Mom, if you were going to fool around, you could at least pick someone better. How could you choose Lame Wang? That old man messes around with Widow Li all the time—so filthy. Aren’t you afraid of catching something?”
After being beaten, scolded, and publicly humiliated, Ding Yuzhen—already at her breaking point—finally exploded.
She was normally a fierce, shrewd woman. If not for being caught off guard, how could she have suffered such a loss at Song Mingde’s hands?
“Song Mingde! So what if I cuckolded you? Haven’t you done the same to me? Don’t think I don’t know about all the filthy things you’ve done outside!”
“And you, Song Jiaojiao! I’ve doted on you all this time, and now you turn against me? Even despising your own mother—who do you think I’ve been working so hard for?!”
Ding Yuzhen shouted hysterically, her eyes bloodshot. When Song Mingde tried to strike again, she immediately fought back.
Thus, the vicious couple fell into a full-blown brawl. Seeing things spiral out of control, Song Jiaojiao rushed forward, trying to stop them.
“Dad, Mom, stop fighting—ah—!”
But in a fight, fists had no eyes. Not only did she fail to separate them, she was dragged into the chaos and scratched several times.
In an instant, the fight escalated from two people to three.
Song Mingde’s family fought fiercely.
This was exactly the outcome Song Yuntang had hoped for. If she had witnessed it in person, she would have laughed out loud.
After more than ten minutes of fighting, Song Jiaojiao could no longer endure it and burst into tears.
“Waa—Dad, Mom, have you gone crazy? Why are you hitting me? I’m your daughter! If you want to hit someone, go hit that little bitch Song Yuntang!”
The moment the name “Song Yuntang” was mentioned, Song Mingde and Ding Yuzhen suddenly fell silent. Their rationality seemed to return. After all, the original host had always been their punching bag—taking it out on her was far more satisfying.
Ding Yuzhen, her hair in disarray and face flushed, gritted her teeth.
“That’s right! It’s all that little bitch’s fault! The one who should’ve slept with Lame Wang was her! That damned girl—how dare she knock me out and steal my nine hundred yuan!”
At the mention of nine hundred yuan, Song Mingde and Song Jiaojiao’s eyes lit up with greedy glints.
Compared to that money, Ding Yuzhen’s disgraceful affair meant nothing.
“Nine hundred! Mom, hurry and get the money back. We can’t let that cheap girl take advantage of it,” Song Jiaojiao urged immediately.
Just like that, the three who had been fighting moments ago united in a common cause. With shared hostility, they stormed out aggressively toward the cowshed to settle accounts with Song Yuntang.
Inside the cowshed—
Song Yuntang and the twins had just finished a hearty meal. It was the first time in their lives that Niannian and An’an had eaten so many delicious things. Especially when eating pork and eggs, they had initially been nervous and afraid to take a bite, worried that Song Jiaojiao might suddenly appear again.
But once the tender, oily meat entered their mouths, the rich flavor made them want more and more…
Song Yuntang could tell that the children were malnourished from long-term hunger.
Malnourished children shouldn’t eat too much greasy food at once, so although pork and eggs were good, they could only have a taste. The main staple was still steamed buns.
Even so, each child held a white flour bun as if it were a priceless treasure, their faces filled with joy.
Seeing this made Song Yuntang both comforted and heartbroken. She promised, “Niannian, An’an, once your bodies recover a bit, you can eat as many eggs and as much pork as you want.”
The twins looked at her, then at each other, speaking in unison with uncanny understanding.
“…Mama, that would be like a dream.”
Even in their dreams, they wouldn’t dare eat like that.
After filling their stomachs, the next issue was where to sleep.
Back in the cowshed, the two children happily curled up in their straw-covered corner, licking their lips as they savored the lingering taste of eggs and pork.
Song Yuntang, however, looked around with a frown. It was too crude—far too crude.
Just imagining sleeping here made her worry about insects crawling on her in the middle of the night. The thought alone made her skin crawl—she had always been a bit of a neat freak.
At that moment, an angry voice rang out.
“Song Yuntang! You little wretch, you’ve really gone too far—!”
The moment Ding Yuzhen’s furious voice appeared, Niannian and An’an, who had been smiling happily, instantly curled up. It was their instinct for self-preservation.
Niannian hugged An’an tightly, urging urgently, “Mama, hide quickly! Hide!”
“Mom, the bad people are here! They’re here to hit us—hide quickly!”
“Niannian, An’an, don’t worry. Mama already said no one will bully you again. You two stay hidden and don’t move.”
Song Yuntang had long expected that Song Mingde’s family wouldn’t let things go so easily. She had taken a bamboo rod from the kitchen—since they liked beating others so much, now it was her turn to teach them a lesson.
Having eaten her fill, her strength had returned. Her knuckles cracked softly.
Ding Yuzhen rushed in. The moment she saw Song Yuntang, she raised her hand to slap her.
But her wrist was effortlessly caught by Song Yuntang. A piercing pain shot through it, as if her weakness had been seized.
Song Yuntang had gripped a vital pressure point on her wrist, making her tremble in pain, completely unable to fight back.
“You… you… you dare stop me?”
Song Yuntang released her, then shoved her back hard. As Ding Yuzhen staggered, she swung the bamboo rod with force.
Whoosh—
The rod sliced through the air.
With a cold smile, Song Yuntang said, “Not only do I dare stop you—I dare to hit you. If you don’t believe me, come try and see.”
Ding Yuzhen still had a pounding headache from being struck earlier. Song Jiaojiao’s face was still swollen from the slaps. For a moment, mother and daughter truly didn’t dare step forward against the fierce Song Yuntang.
Since they didn’t dare fight, they could only shout.
“Song Yuntang, return the nine hundred yuan!”
“What nine hundred yuan? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Song Yuntang replied.
“Bullshit! I sold you to Lame Wang to bear children, and he gave me nine hundred yuan. Before you knocked me out, the money was on me—but when I woke up, it was gone. You must have taken it!”
“Oh… so you sold me to Lame Wang…” Song Yuntang’s expression turned mocking, her sharp gaze fixed on Ding Yuzhen. “Have you forgotten? I’m still not divorced from Fu Weicheng. He’s a soldier—so that makes me a military wife. This is a military marriage. Ding Yuzhen, do you know what crime that is? Not only are you trafficking women, you’re also interfering with a military marriage. I can report you to the Revolutionary Committee. When that happens, your whole family will be arrested.”
“You—you—you—Fu Weicheng abandoned you long ago! He hasn’t come back in five years!” Ding Yuzhen retorted angrily.
“So what?” Song Yuntang said indifferently. “As long as the marriage still exists, it’s a military marriage! Interfering with a military marriage is a crime worthy of death. The Revolutionary Committee can arrest you according to regulations. Just wait to go to prison—or be paraded through the streets.”
This time, Ding Yuzhen was left speechless.
Song Jiaojiao leaned in and whispered to her, “Mom, how did Song Yuntang suddenly become so clever? It’s like she’s a completely different person…”