“Then why were you trying to grab my granddaughter the moment you walked over? Don’t tell me we’re close enough for that. Stay away from my granddaughter!”
Li Xiaoxiao’s face darkened instantly.
Turning to leave, she was blocked by Wang Guixiang.
“Auntie, what are you saying? We’re all neighbors from the same village. What’s wrong with me holding a child for a moment?”
“Who the hell wants to be neighbors with you? Stop acting familiar!”
Li Xiaoxiao glared at her.
“Auntie, do you have some misunderstanding about me? I just think children are cute. Is there really any need to act like this?”
Before Wang Guixiang could finish speaking—
“My mother-in-law disciplining her son is none of your business!”
Li Wang’er suddenly snapped.
“And what’s with all this ‘brother this’ and ‘brother that’? I’m his wife and even I feel embarrassed hearing it. Where do you get the nerve to call him that?”
Wang Guixiang wasn’t someone who took insults quietly.
She immediately lunged forward and grabbed Li Wang’er’s hair.
The two women instantly became entangled in a fight.
Qin Dashu and Qin Erlin stood awkwardly nearby.
As men, they couldn’t really pull apart two women fighting.
In the end, they sent Wang Zhaodi to break things up while they tried to calm their mother down.
As another woman, Wang Zhaodi could easily see through Wang Guixiang’s intentions.
So when she stepped in to “separate” the fight, she wasn’t exactly neutral.
Against two sisters-in-law working together, Wang Guixiang quickly found herself losing.
Meanwhile Zhang Ermei had already scooped up baby Qin Xiaozhi and retreated to a safe location.
Pretending to be worried, she shouted:
“Guixiang! Stop fighting! Stop fighting!”
Then she added dramatically:
“What if you hurt my younger sister-in-law?”
Immediately afterward she turned toward Li Xiaoxiao and screamed:
“Mother! Wang Guixiang is hitting people! Wang Guixiang is hitting people!”
At the same time, Qin Dashu and Qin Erlin were still trying to persuade their mother to calm down.
The problem was that Li Xiaoxiao was cursing and swinging at people simultaneously.
Anyone who tried to stop her got smacked as well.
Soon the commotion attracted workers from nearby fields.
Afraid something serious might happen, someone hurried off to fetch the village chief.
Others simply gathered to watch.
The scene was so entertaining that all it lacked was a handful of melon seeds.
The chaos finally came to an end when Village Chief Qin Dafu arrived.
The first thing he noticed was Qin Sanmu’s face.
It was covered with finger-shaped slap marks.
Qin Dashu and Qin Erlin each had one palm print on their faces as well.
Qin Dafu couldn’t help thinking:
Good heavens…
Even the people trying to stop the fight got beaten.
“Uncle Dafu, you have to uphold justice for me!”
Wang Guixiang immediately burst into tears.
“Look what Li Wang’er did to me…”
She began sobbing again.
Ordinarily, Wang Guixiang’s crying would have made her look delicate and pitiful.
Today, however, her hair was disheveled and full of grass.
Her face was bruised.
Her clothing had been torn in several places.
Fortunately spring clothing was still relatively thick.
Otherwise she would have exposed herself.
Compared to her usual gentle beauty, she looked utterly miserable.
Qin Dafu cleared his throat.
“Everyone, let’s go to the Qin ancestral hall and settle this properly.”
“In the interest of fairness, I’ve already sent people to invite both the Qin clan leader and the Wang clan leader.”
Then he looked at Wang Guixiang.
“Wang Guixiang, come along.”
Looking thoroughly bedraggled, Wang Guixiang stood and followed.
As she passed Qin Sanmu, she shot him a pitiful glance with her watery eyes.
Qin Sanmu instinctively wanted to respond.
Unfortunately, one look from Li Xiaoxiao immediately scared him silent.
“Auntie, this way please.”
Qin Dafu hurried over deferentially.
Li Xiaoxiao nodded with satisfaction.
The young man knew how to behave.
Hands clasped behind her back, she led the way.
Qin Dashu and Qin Erlin immediately grabbed their hoes and followed their mother.
Li Wang’er carried the sleeping Qin Xiaozhi and followed close behind.
As she passed Qin Sanmu, she viciously stomped on his foot.
“OW!”
Qin Sanmu hopped around in pain before limping after the group.
The party soon arrived at the Qin ancestral hall.
Inside sat:
The moment Wang Guixiang crossed the threshold and everyone saw her bruised face, she rushed straight into her mother’s arms.
Then she began crying again.
Her mother immediately felt heartbroken.
“Clan Leader, you must seek justice for my Guixiang!”
Wang Boxiang slammed his hand onto the table.
“Clan Leader Qin, today your clan must give the Wang family an explanation!”
“Our Wang clan may not be as numerous as yours, but we’re not people who can simply be bullied!”
Qin Youzhang’s eyelid twitched.
Despite his annoyance, he refused to surrender the initiative.
“An explanation?”
“What explanation?”
He snorted.
“Not everyone involved has even arrived yet.”
“Surely we’re not expected to judge solely based on Wang Guixiang’s side of the story?”
“For all we know, members of the Qin family may have been injured too.”
Even though these constant disputes were giving him headaches, he certainly wasn’t going to shoulder the blame without hearing the facts.
Earlier, before all of this had happened—
Li Xiaoxiao had been carrying the baby and had no desire to argue with Wang Guixiang.
Afraid the child might get hurt, she simply turned and walked away.
Then—
“Wang Guixiang! What are you doing?”
Li Wang’er’s angry voice sounded from behind.
Without warning, Wang Guixiang suddenly let out a shrill scream.
“Aiya! Sister-in-law, why did you push me?!”
Then she dramatically collapsed to the ground in a graceful arc.
Li Xiaoxiao turned around just in time to see Wang Guixiang sprawled on the ground looking seriously injured.
She hadn’t even opened her mouth yet when she noticed Li Wang’er standing nearby with the exact same stunned expression.
Then Qin Sanmu came running over carrying a hoe.
“Li Wang’er!”
“How could you push Sister Guixiang?”
“Apologize to her!”
Li Wang’er’s eyes immediately reddened.
“I didn’t!”
“I never touched her!”
“She fell by herself!”
Meanwhile Wang Guixiang began her performance.
“I know Sister-in-law doesn’t like me…”
She sniffled pitifully.
“I’ll just stay away from you from now on…”
“Li Wang’er!”
Qin Sanmu pointed accusingly.
“Apologize to Sister Guixiang!”
Then he bent down, intending to help Wang Guixiang up.
“I didn’t push her!”
Li Wang’er’s voice trembled with grievance.
At that moment, baby Qin Xiaozhi was suddenly placed in her arms.
Instinctively, she hugged her daughter tightly.
Freed of the child, Li Xiaoxiao strode forward.
She grabbed Qin Sanmu by the collar.
SMACK!
A loud slap echoed across the field.
Caught off balance, Qin Sanmu fell onto his backside.
“Mother! Why are you hitting me?”
“Sister Guixiang fell down. I was just helping her up!”
SMACK!
Another slap landed.
“Who the hell is your sister?”
Li Xiaoxiao exploded.
“Don’t you know men and women should keep their distance?”
“Who is she?”
“A widow who can remarry whenever she likes!”
“And who are you?”
“A married man with a wife and child!”
“Do you not understand propriety?”
“Are you a dog? Do you have to run over and sniff every pile of filth you see?”
By then, Qin Dashu and Qin Erlin had noticed trouble brewing.
The two couples came running over carrying hoes.
Meanwhile Li Xiaoxiao’s slaps continued raining down on Qin Sanmu.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Covering his head, he desperately tried to dodge.
Yet he still stubbornly protested:
“She pushed someone!”
“If she pushed her, she should apologize!”
“Auntie, please stop hitting Brother Sanmu.”
Still sitting on the ground, Wang Guixiang spoke weakly.
“It’s fine.”
“No apology is necessary.”
Yet despite saying that, she made absolutely no attempt to stand up.
Li Wang’er had finally reached her limit.
The humiliation.
The anger.
The injustice.
Everything exploded at once.
Without hesitation, she shoved Qin Xiaozhi into Zhang Ermei’s arms.
Then she rolled up her sleeves, marched straight over to Wang Guixiang—
And delivered two resounding slaps across her face. SMACK! SMACK!