Quite a few of the Chen family showed up today—eight or nine burly men shouted in unison, “We know! The Yuans won’t let our Chen girl have any peace, so we won’t let them have any either.”
Their voices were loud and their hearts were united. The folks from Xiangyang Dadui who had originally wanted to mediate now dropped that idea entirely.
The main reason was that the Yuans had acted far too shamelessly—they deserved to be taught a lesson.
With a roar from Uncle Chen the Eldest, the brothers and nephews set to work.
Everything in the several rooms was dragged outside and smashed to pieces.
Clothes and bedding were all torn to shreds, with the cotton stuffing thrown into the latrine pit.
Some even unbuckled their pants on the spot and pissed on the bedding.
Seeing the door to the second room being forced open, Zhang Chunyu’s eyes turned red. “That’s my home—don’t you dare touch it!”
“The one we’re smashing is exactly yours. I’ve heard all about it—you and Yuan Mancang were carrying on, and you put him up to beating my sister, didn’t you?” Uncle Chen the Eldest walked up to Zhang Chunyu, eyeing her coldly.
Yuan Mancang was Yuan the Eldest’s given name.
“No, I didn’t!”
But it was too late to say anything now.
Everything in Zhang Chunyu’s room—the quilts, blankets, padded jackets, and cotton shoes—was all dragged out and ripped to shreds.
“What a sin! How dare you? Won’t someone come and stop this?” Zhang Chunyu wailed heartbreakingly. Her two children were scared stiff, huddled around her, crying along with her.
Someone wanted to intervene, but Old Captain stopped them. “Don’t get involved. This is their family business. Remember what this woman said back when she egged Yuan the Eldest on to smash the storage shed?”
“I remember now—Zhang Chunyu called us meddlers.”
“No, what she said was, ‘A dog catching mice—minding everyone’s business.’ Something like that.”
Old Captain tapped his pipe against the ground. “Exactly.”
Everyone looked at each other, then tucked their hands into their sleeves. Better to eat more steamed buns and talk less—don’t meddle in other people’s affairs.
Who wants to be a dog?
The Chens worked quickly, smashing everything in the Yuan family’s rooms to pieces before laying down the word: “Yuan Mancang, Zhang Chunyu—you know full well what filthy things you did. This is an eye for an eye.”
Yuan the Eldest lay stiff as a board in front of the main hall door, beaten to within an inch of his life.
Zhang Chunyu wasn’t hit, but the new jacket she was wearing had been torn to shreds, leaving her in just an undershirt, shivering uncontrollably.
Today’s lesson could be called unforgettable.
After the beating, Chen the Eldest was about to leave when he asked Yuan Ni, “Are you coming with us?”
Anyone with eyes could see that the Chens had gone all out—from now on, they were no longer in-laws with the Yuans, but enemies.
Yuan Ni, Zhaodie, and Pandie—they all bore the Yuan surname.
Yuan Ni’s mother could return to her natal family, but these three girls would have to decide for themselves.
“Uncle, we’re coming too. Otherwise, the moment you leave, those two will beat us three sisters to death,” Yuan Ni said firmly.
Zhaodie nodded in agreement.
As for Pandie, the child was only seven, so her decision was simply made for her.
“Alright then.”
In these times, many people didn’t bother with marriage certificates, so there was naturally no need for divorce certificates either.
The dowry that had been given for Yuan Ni’s mother had long since been squandered.
Yuan Ni’s uncles made a special trip to Old Captain’s house to pick up Pandie, and also to collect the grain rations allotted to Yuan Ni’s mother and her daughters.
Uncle Chen the Eldest weighed the sack in his hand and frowned. “This is way too little.”
With Yuan Ni’s mother bringing three girls back to her natal home, how could this pittance of grain possibly be enough?
Life was inconvenient, but her brothers could help out—yet no household had spare grain to spare.
Yuan Ni stepped forward. “Uncle, there’s a cement block. Could you help break it open?”
She had originally planned to bring the block along, but it was too heavy—best to break it apart and carry the pieces.
Uncle Chen frowned. “Yuan Ni, don’t mess around.”
After observing her uncles’ behavior, Yuan Ni decided they could be trusted, so she leaned in and whispered a few words to Uncle Chen.
For the mother and daughters, money was the most important thing right now. With money, returning to her maternal home would give them some confidence.
After all, her uncles had families of their own now—even if they were willing to help, it depended on whether their wives agreed.
“Really?” Uncle Chen found it hard to believe after hearing Yuan Ni’s words. How could such a stroke of luck have fallen into Yuan Ni’s lap?
“Really. It’ll just take some effort to break it open.”
“That’s no problem—your uncles have plenty of experience breaking rocks.”
Uncle Chen treated this as a serious matter. He called over his brothers and they discussed it together.
They decided to get to work right away, as long as they avoided the villagers of Xiangyang Dadui.
Anyway, there was still some junk to clear out in the storage room. The brothers divided the work—Uncle Chen took his two sons to break open the block, while the others helped tidy up and kept watch.
Yuan Ni went with Uncle Chen.
The three of them worked along the cracks of the cement block and soon pried it open. Inside were gleaming copper chunks.
Uncle Chen was astonished. “This—this is red copper, worth a good amount! Yuan Ni, how did you know there was copper inside the block?”
“I saw them break one open at the scrap station before.”
“So that’s it. This chunk of red copper weighs at least twenty jin. At the scrap station, it should sell for fifty or sixty yuan at least. With that money, it’ll be enough for you girls to get by.”
Uncle Chen felt deeply relieved. Heaven never lets a blind sparrow starve—this copper had come just in time.
Yuan Ni also breathed a sigh of relief. Copper was a precious metal second only to gold and silver. With her Special Ability, even collecting scrap could lead to a good life.
Uncle Chen picked up a tattered cotton quilt, wrapped the copper inside, and had his brothers carry the grain on their backs, ready to head to Hongqi Dadui.
Before leaving, he greeted Old Captain. “My sister has suffered and endured plenty since marrying into this family over the years—you’ve all seen it. I’ll take the children back first, then come back to handle the paperwork.”
“Go ahead. The Yuan family did wrong here. Don’t worry, I won’t hold up the paperwork for you.” Old Captain gave his word.
Yuan Ni specially left two cans of fruit for Old Captain, but he refused. “Child, you’re in your hardest time right now. I can’t take your things.”
Not only did Old Captain refuse the cans, he even packed a few fresh steamed buns for Yuan Ni to eat on the road.
Everyone walked back in silence, until Xiangyang Dadui was no longer in sight.
Chen the Fifth—Yuan Ni’s youngest uncle—suddenly spoke up. “Big brother, are we really letting Third Sister come back to the family home? Our house doesn’t have enough room either, does it?”
At those words, all the Chen brothers turned to look at Fifth. The Yuan family home had been smashed to pieces, and Yuan the Second and Old Mrs. Yuan had been sent to the study sessions. With such hatred and resentment, how could Yuan Ni’s mother possibly go back?
“Of course she’s coming back to her family home. You have a problem with that?” Uncle Chen said with a dark face.
“No, I was just thinking that our house isn’t big enough. Xiaofang is about to marry into the family, so where do you all suggest we put Third Sister?” Chen’s fifth son scratched the back of his head, looking utterly innocent.
All his older brothers had taken wives, and only he remained a bachelor. There was just one room left in the house. If Third Sister came back with her daughters, they’d have to occupy a room no matter what.
When that time came, wouldn’t it be his rights as the single younger brother that got sacrificed?
“None of us have the final say in this—it’s up to Mom and Dad. You all sit down and rest for a bit; Yuan Ni and I will go sell some things.”
Chen’s eldest son cut off his younger brother’s words. Just ahead was a scrap collection station, so he told his brothers to sit and rest while he took Yuan Ni inside.