It had to be said—Xiao Fugui understood the village chief almost better than the chief understood himself.
The village chief truly could not expel the old Xiao family from the clan or drive them out of the refugee group.
It wasn’t because he respected Xiao Fugui for being the father of a scholar, but because he was concerned about Xiao Dalang and his wife, as well as Yijie and Xiangjie.
Yang Shi had always bullied and oppressed Xiao Dalang and his wife, and the couple never dared resist because Yang Shi held control over the household registration documents.
Before fleeing the famine, Xiao Dalang and his wife had already failed to split from the family register. Now that they were refugees on the road, it was even more impossible.
If the village chief drove the old Xiao family away, it would instead doom Xiao Dalang’s family.
“Hey! Everyone, look! The sweet potato’s hidden inside Fatty’s crotch!” Fan Shi, who was searching for stolen goods, yanked down Da Pang’s pants and suddenly screamed, even making an exaggerated retching motion.
If she hadn’t seen the sweet potato skin, she would’ve thought the orange lump in his pants was a pile of shit.
Because Fan Shi’s voice was as loud as a gong, everyone present immediately turned to look between Da Pang’s legs.
The next moment, the entire crowd burst into laughter.
One woman laughed so hard she doubled over. “Hahaha! I’ve seen funny things before, but never anything this ridiculous!”
Hearing the roaring laughter around him, the village chief glared at Qian Shi and barked angrily, “Qian Shi, you disgusting woman! Of all places to hide something, you had to stuff it in a child’s crotch? Aren’t you disgusted with yourself?”
He had seen shameless people before, but never someone this outrageous. Even the village chief felt nauseated by Qian Shi.
“Oh my, everyone look! Fatty got his pants pulled down and doesn’t even know to resist. Could he be an idiot?” Lin Shi suddenly chimed in.
Everyone looked over at once. Sure enough, Da Pang was grinning foolishly from ear to ear.
Qian Shi had just been scolded for being disgusting, and now her son was being mocked as a fool. She glared at Lin Shi with bloodshot eyes and roared, “Bullshit! My son isn’t stupid! Yours is!”
But before Lin Shi even had the chance to curse back, Qian Shi was immediately slapped in the face by reality.
And the one doing the slapping was her own son.
“Hehe… Mommy’s funny! Mommy’s funny!” Da Pang giggled stupidly as he looked at Qian Shi’s furious expression.
Qian Shi was so angry she nearly coughed up blood. She wanted nothing more than to beat her foolish son to death and remake him from scratch.
In truth, she had already noticed half a month ago that something was wrong with Da Pang’s mind.
Seeing how the Jin-Mu-Shui-Huo siblings that the second branch had casually picked up by the riverside were not only beautiful, but each smarter and more clever than the last, the more she looked at her own son, the more displeased she became.
Comparison truly was the thief of joy.
When Mu Mu had run forward to ram into Yang Shi earlier, Qian Shi hadn’t even hesitated before secretly attacking the child.
At that moment, she had even wished all four siblings—Jin, Mu, Shui, and Huo—would just die.
Now, looking at her son’s idiotic grin, the more she thought about it, the sadder and more resentful she became. Her eyes, venomous as poisoned blades, swept one by one over Lin Shi, the four children, and finally Song Jin.
Qian Shi’s snake-like gaze eventually stopped on Song Jin’s face, and all her hatred settled squarely on her.
Song Jin noticed the poisonous look and frowned unhappily. She suddenly said to Fan Shi and Lin Shi, “Aunt Fan! Aunt Lin! Hurry and search my mother-in-law. Don’t let her touch anyone!”
Qian Shi had better not be stupid enough to seek death. If she truly enraged her, next time it wouldn’t end with just a swollen pig’s head.
“Right, right! Let’s search Yang Shi now!”
Hearing Song Jin’s reminder, Fan Shi and Lin Shi immediately released Da Pang and moved together from both sides—one restraining Yang Shi while the other searched her body from top to bottom.
“You two sluts ridden by thousands and slept with by tens of thousands, let go of me!” Yang Shi naturally refused to let them search her, and every filthy insult imaginable came pouring out of her mouth.
Fan Shi and Lin Shi were notorious shrews in the village. To dare insult them and ruin their reputations?
That was practically asking for death.
Even the village chief couldn’t bear to listen anymore. Turning around, he shouted harshly, “Fan Shi, Lin Shi, stop searching! Just beat them! Don’t spare any of the three women! If we don’t give them a brutal lesson today, they’ll think I, as village chief, can’t do anything without opening the ancestral hall!”
After thinking it over, the village chief decided the simplest solution was to beat the women of the old Xiao family half to death.
One severe beating would make anyone behave.
Hearing the village chief openly backing them up, Fan Shi and Lin Shi were practically ecstatic.
Damn right! Yang Shi had cursed them so viciously—only an idiot wouldn’t beat her back!
“Haha! Alright then!”
“Lin Shi! Hit Yang Shi first! Beat her to death!”
The two women lunged at Yang Shi like starving wolves pouncing on prey.
Then came a storm of thuds as they kicked Yang Shi viciously again and again.
Every time Yang Shi got kicked, Qian Shi’s mouth twitched violently, and her body shuddered.
Xiao Jinlian suddenly let out a scream, rolled her eyes back, and fainted on the spot from fright.
But even unconsciousness couldn’t save her from getting kicked as well.
In the end, all three women passed out together—Yang Shi and Qian Shi were literally beaten unconscious.
The three men of the old Xiao family eventually dragged the women back to their family’s campfire area.
When the village chief ordered Xiao Fugui to carry Yang Shi, he was reluctant.
The twenty taels of silver were gone, the sweet potato field and water source couldn’t be found anymore, and he still didn’t want to lose his share of the food sacks.
How could the village chief not know what Xiao Fugui was thinking? He glared furiously at him and cursed, “What? You really think that just because you’re the father of a scholar, I wouldn’t dare touch you?”
He glanced at the silent Xiao Dalang couple before continuing, “Get back there and keep your women under control! If they dare bully Second Son’s family again, dare stir up trouble again, or let Yang Shi torment Xiao Dalang’s family, then forget being a scholar’s father—even if you were an official’s father, I’d still expel your Xiao family from the clan!”
When had the village chief ever spoken so harshly to Xiao Fugui before?
Terrified of angering him further, Xiao Fugui could only obediently lower his head and submit.
Watching Xiao Fugui flee with his tail tucked between his legs, the village chief felt utterly exhausted.
But the matter still wasn’t fully resolved. An even bigger problem was waiting for him to handle, leaving him no time to rest.
Although he had dealt with the old Xiao family, the women, children, sick, and elderly of Xiao Village—as well as refugees from other villages—had not dispersed. Everyone remained gathered around.
Xiao Dalang and his wife, along with sisters Ruyi and Jixiang, were also still there because they were worried about Xiao Yanzhi. The family stood silently to the side, intending to speak with him once the crowd dispersed.
When Song Jin saw the village chief’s reproachful gaze finally land on her, she rubbed her nose and smiled awkwardly.
“Village Chief, I really didn’t want to cause you trouble. But didn’t I promise you and Third Granduncle that the father and his four children wouldn’t go hungry?”
Village Chief: “…”
So after all this chaos, it was somehow his fault?
Seeing the village chief’s face slowly turning green with anger, Song Jin quickly added tactfully, “But don’t worry, Village Chief! I know how to handle things from here. You can just rest at the side!”