The moment Li Chunhua heard this, she flew into a rage. How had this little brat changed so much in just a few days?
“You little brat! I’m only gone a few days, and you’ve already started rebelling? Looks like I’ve been too soft on you all along.”
“Today, I’m going to beat you to death, so you don’t remain a living disaster, turning this house upside down!”
With that, Li Chunhua raised her hand to strike Su Muxue.
Quick as a flash, Su Muxue grabbed her hand and countered with several slaps to the old woman’s face.
“Ah… ah! That hurts so much!”
“You little brat, you actually hit me! Do you even have any respect for the law? How dare you hit your elder! Didn’t your teachers teach you to respect the old and care for the young?”
“Since your teachers didn’t teach you, this old lady will teach you today! You need to know your place!”
Li Chunhua stormed into the kitchen, grabbed a rolling pin, and swung it at Su Muxue with menacing force.
Su Muxue casually pulled Su Haijun in front of her, and the rolling pin landed squarely on her son instead.
“Ah!” The scream was so loud it rivaled the sound of a slaughtered pig.
“Mom, why are you hitting me? Weren’t you going to hit Su Muxue, that little brat? You hit me instead! It hurts so much—I think my left arm might be broken!”
Only then did Li Chunhua realize what had happened. Seeing Su Muxue standing unharmed and looking pleased only made her angrier.
“You little brat! You actually pulled your father in to take the punishment for you? Don’t you know this will bring heaven’s wrath down on you?”
Su Muxue slapped the old woman across the face.
“You old hag! Did you forget to brush your teeth this morning, or did you eat something terrible?”
“You keep calling me a little brat. Looks like my first slap wasn’t enough to shut that filthy mouth of yours.”
“And you, with your black heart, half-buried in the dirt, speak properly! Even if heaven struck, it would strike things like you, not me!”
Su Haijun roared, “Su Muxue! No matter what, she’s still your grandmother! How dare you hit her and speak so disrespectfully!”
“Ungrateful, completely lacking respect for elders. If I’d known you were like this, I would never have agreed to take you in.”
“Ha! What grandmother? Don’t drag me into your lies. I have no grandmother. I remember clearly how she treated me.”
“She called me a worthless, unlucky girl, said I ate for free—what grandmother would ever speak to her granddaughter like that?”
“Oh, right. I wasn’t even her biological granddaughter, so she could say whatever she wanted.”
“Now, I can hit and scold as I please. We’re unrelated, and even if the police come, this is self-defense. If she reaches for me, am I supposed to just stand there?”
“Let me tell you, I am no longer the Su Muxue who let you beat and scold me. The new Su Muxue is someone you can’t mess with.”
“I was peacefully resting, and yet some headless fly comes disturbing me. Consider this a warning: anyone who dares disturb me again, I’ll slap against the wall so hard you won’t be able to pick yourself up. Don’t test me.”
With that, Su Muxue returned to her room, slammed the door, and startled everyone.
At that moment, Su Qingrou whined, “Dad, our temp work is almost done. What if we lose the job? What will we do?”
“Dad, you need to help us get a job. We don’t want to go to the countryside and live that miserable life.”
“Hmph! You’re already grown. Why don’t you figure it out yourselves? Always expecting me to solve everything?”
“I work hard all day, and you don’t even cook for me. Now you ask me to find you jobs?”
“Look at this mess in the house! Go cook now! Do you want me to do everything for you?”
Su Qingrou and Su Qingchu protested, “Dad, we don’t know how to cook. You know it’s always that little brat cooking and doing chores for the house. We just don’t know how.”
Su Haijun shouted angrily, “If you don’t know, then learn! You’re grown adults, and you don’t know how to do this or that. What use are you to me?”
“All you do is laze around and cause trouble. How did I end up with daughters like you?”
The two girls had no choice but to head to the kitchen. When they saw the dirty, chaotic state of the dishes, they tried to clean up but, being inexperienced, dropped and shattered all the bowls and plates.
Li Chunhua, who favored males over females, was enraged and scolded them mercilessly.
“You’re worthless! All you do is laze around! Can’t do anything right! Always leaving food behind!”
Even though they were her own granddaughters, in her eyes daughters were useless and only good to be married off, while only her grandson could inherit the family and take care of her in the future.
So she needed the little brat to give up her job so her grandson could take it. As for the granddaughters, it was up to fate. If lucky, they might marry a rich, handsome man; if not, they were of no concern to her.
It took the girls over two hours to prepare the meal. When they finally started eating, their expressions tightened in disgust.
The dishes were overly salty and burnt, barely edible—probably not even fit for dogs.
Su Haijun, furious, glared at Su Qingrou and Su Qingchu, slammed down the bowls and stormed out.
Li Chunhua, equally furious, pointed at them and scolded, “Look at the food you made! So much salt and burnt! How can I have granddaughters like you?”
“No jobs, can’t cook, can’t find a suitable partner—what are you doing all day? Just eating and waiting to die?”
Su Qingrou muttered quietly, “You old hag, if you’re so capable, why don’t you do it yourself? We worked hard making the food, and you still complain! It’s not as good as the little brat’s, but it’s still edible.”