As the heir to a family of renowned physicians, her grandfather had taught her from a young age that she must not only possess superb medical skills but also a strong physique. That was why Yan Shu had never neglected her martial arts training.
Most importantly, having eaten had restored her strength. Seeing Old Madame Qi's thick, dark hand reaching for her, Yan Shu pulled Mrs. Han aside to dodge, then kicked a small stone on the ground toward the acupoint on Old Madame Qi's ankle.
Old Madame Qi's leg suddenly gave way, and due to momentum, she pitched forward, landing flat on her face in a clumsy fall. Her entire body ached, and she cried out through gritted teeth.
Mrs. Han moved forward to help, but Yan Shu grabbed her and held her back.
Mrs. Han looked over and saw her daughter-in-law shake her head in displeasure. Realizing she was useless anyway, she thought it fortunate that her son had married such a capable wife.
From now on, the family would have to rely on her daughter-in-law, so it was better to listen to her. Thus, she dared not step forward.
Seeing Mrs. Han lower her head and stay put, Yan Shu thought to herself that although this mother-in-law was weak-willed, at least she had some sense. Little did she know that Mrs. Han was simply cowed by her "overbearing authority."
Mrs. Zhao, who had been watching the commotion from the side, saw her mother-in-law lying on the ground with her head down and wondered whether she should go help.
Her eldest daughter, Qi Sanniu, urged, "Mother, go help Grandmother!"
Mrs. Zhao shook her head and said, "Yan Shu is too formidable. Even if I go, I'll just be wasting my effort for no thanks."
"Mother, Grandmother has always favored the second branch. If you don't help her now and show your face in her good graces, all the household chores might end up falling on you in the future."
Mrs. Zhao found this reasoning sound and hurried out, grabbing Old Madame Qi and asking, "Mother, Mother, are you alright?" She tried to pull Old Madame Qi up, but the old woman was too heavy. Even using all her strength, she couldn't budge her.
Old Madame Qi was sore all over from the fall, and being yanked by this third daughter-in-law only made her arm hurt more. She angrily shook her arm off and snapped, "Mrs. Zhao, you venomous woman, are you trying to tear my arm off?"
Mrs. Zhao collapsed to the ground, feeling utterly wronged. Who told her to be fatter than the family pig?
She should have known better than to come help!
Mrs. Chen, having finished feeding the pigs, walked to the front yard and saw her mother-in-law lying on the ground and her sister-in-law sitting on the floor. She hurried over and asked, "Mother, what happened? Why are you on the ground? Get up quickly." But she made no move to help her up.
Old Madame Qi struggled to her feet, her whole body aching terribly. She glared at Yan Shu with even more fury and shouted, "Second daughter-in-law, third daughter-in-law, you two beat that shrew Yan Shu, and I'll take care of that wretch Mrs. Han!"
Yan Shu sneered mockingly, "It seems some people not only don't care about their face, but also don't care about their reputation. They're determined to earn the name of a wicked mother-in-law! In that case, we won't move. Go ahead and hit us. After you do… heh!"
Yan Shu didn't finish her sentence, but that cold laugh sent a chill down everyone's spine. Especially Mrs. Chen, who felt certain Yan Shu was plotting to harm her son again. She tugged at Old Madame Qi and asked, "Mother, didn't you call the eldest sister-in-law over to feed the pigs and clean the pigsty? How did this turn into a fight?"
Old Madame Qi pointed fiercely at Yan Shu and said, "It's all that wretch's fault for stirring up trouble!"
"Is it the wretch stirring up trouble? You came to tear my mouth, and I'm not allowed to dodge? You fell on your own and now you're taking it out on me. Old Madame Qi, can you be reasonable?"
Mrs. Chen played peacemaker and said, "Yan Shu, just say less. No matter what, Grandmother is still your elder!" Then she turned to Mrs. Han and said:
"Elder sister-in-law, we've severed ties, but your family is still living here. If you went to live elsewhere, you'd have to pay rent too, wouldn't you? Mother lets you stay in a nice brick house. Is it so wrong for her to ask you to do some work?"
Old Madame Qi, knowing she was in the wrong and unable to out-argue Yan Shu, could only vent her anger on Mrs. Han. She raised her voice and said, "Mrs. Han, if you live in my house, you must work for my family for over ten years. Otherwise, get out right now!"
The moment Mrs. Han heard they had to move out immediately, her face turned pale and tears welled up in her eyes. She stepped forward to beg Old Madame Qi, but Yan Shu pulled her back and said, "Fine, we'll move out. Who wants to live in this dump anyway? A nest of filthy things—I can smell the stench and feel contaminated just being here!"
Old Madame Qi gnashed her teeth and cursed, "You little slut! Who are you calling filthy?"
"I didn't name anyone. Whoever answers to it is! It seems some people have quite the self-awareness."
Seeing that Old Madame Qi was no match for Yan Shu, Mrs. Chen quickly pulled her aside and said to Mrs. Han, "Elder sister-in-law, since you're moving out, hurry up and do it! Even if you've severed ties, Mother is still your mother. If word gets out that you've angered her like this, it won't look good for you either."
Seeing that things had escalated to this point and begging was useless, Mrs. Han could only say, "Fine, fine. We'll go pack our things right away."
Old Madame Qi said, "Get out of here within a quarter of an hour, or you won't be taking anything with you!"
Yan Shu shot Old Madame Qi a glance, then pulled Mrs. Han and turned to walk out the door.
Once outside, Mrs. Han wept and said, "Shu'er, what are we going to do? The old house is uninhabitable, and Mother is forcing us out this quickly. Where are we supposed to live?"
As soon as Yan Shu stepped out of the gate, she felt specks of fluorescent light entering her body with each breath.
Looking at the rice paddies not far away, she became even more certain that this fluorescent light was the energy of plants. Gazing at the vast stretches of fields and the lush green mountains in the distance, Yan Shu couldn't help but feel delighted—from now on, all of this would be her energy reservoir.
"Mother, what does Shao Daqiang's house look like?"
"Shao Daqiang's house? Oh, the house they rent is a mud-brick house with three main rooms and three side rooms. Why do you ask?"
"Mother, with such a big house and only Shao Daqiang and his daughter living there, we should go stay at his place."
"But… but will Shao Daqiang agree?"
"Why wouldn't he? Isn't he your cousin?" Yan Shu said with a smile.
Mrs. Han was taken aback, then said sheepishly, "You know that was just to fool everyone. We're not actually close. Wouldn't that be inappropriate?"
"Mother, don't worry about it. Go find the Village Chief now and ask him to gather some people to help move your son-in-law and our belongings out."
Mrs. Han nodded and said, "The Village Chief is already helping out at our old house! Our house isn't far from Shao Daqiang's place."
When they arrived at the Shao residence, Mrs. Han pointed to a spot not far away and said, "That house over there is ours!"
Yan Shu looked up and saw a fork in the road about a hundred meters ahead—one path led out of the village, the other went up the mountain. On the hillside, about a hundred meters up, there was a courtyard.
The wall was about half a meter tall and covered in weeds, while the weeds in the yard were even more overgrown, reaching over a meter high. She could barely make out Qi Zhishan's figure among them.
The weeds were truly taller than a person!
A dozen or so men stood on the walls of the house, pulling at the rotten wooden beams and thatch on the roof. Weeds sprouted from the cracks in the mud walls, and as the men tugged at the rotting wood, the earthen walls swayed back and forth.
This house would be rejected even as a haunted house.
Good thing they planned to build a new one—otherwise, the winter wind might actually blow this place down.
She then glanced at the mud-brick house nearby and felt a bit helpless. This mother-in-law of hers was far too honest!
Having a house like this and not mentioning it earlier—they could have avoided all that arguing with Old Madame Qi and all that frustration. They could have just moved in here directly.
Seeing Yan Shu standing at the door, Mrs. Han thought she was too shy to go in. After hesitating for a moment, she said, "Shu'er, why don't I go find Shao Daqiang?"
Yan Shu shook her head and said, "No need! You go find the Village Chief. I'll go talk to Shao Daqiang myself." Seeing that the door was open, she walked inside.