Suddenly, a roar echoed.
Su Manman’s tensed body shuddered.
She knew the immediate danger had passed.
…
Su Xiaoman returned, leading some villagers toward the straw cottage.
In the center was the village chief, Gu Baoshan.
The roar had come from him.
Su Manman recalled the original body’s memories of Gu Baoshan.
He was the cousin of the original body’s husband—the male lead of this book, Gu Tianye.
He had always been kind to the original wife and her children.
Even this straw cottage had been lent to them for free because Gu Baoshan felt sorry for them.
Gu Baoshan stepped inside, glanced at the chaotic scene, and impatiently looked at Zhao.
“Zhao, what are you doing?”
Zhao immediately began to cry and plead.
“Village chief, you have to protect me!”
“This Su Shi… this shameless woman… actually attacked her mother-in-law!”
“This is utterly unjust!”
“People like her deserve to be thrown into the pig cage!”
Gu Baoshan looked at the frail Su Manman and the two skinny, bony children behind her and didn’t listen to Zhao’s biased accusations.
“Su Shi, tell me—what exactly happened?”
Of course, Su Manman would not be like the original body, keeping her mouth shut while being slandered.
She immediately opened her mouth and yelled.
“Village chief, you must protect us, orphans and widows!”
“This dead old woman leaves us no way to survive!”
Hearing Su Manman curse Zhao as a “dead old woman,” Gu Baoshan paused, giving her a warning.
“Su Shi, Zhao is technically your mother-in-law.”
Su Manman cried, “Mother-in-law! Village chief! That woman would sell her own grandchildren!”
“People like her are worse than pigs and dogs—she’s not human!”
“Village chief, don’t say I’m being unfilial!”
“A mother must be strong. I’ve been forced—if I don’t fight back, my two children will be sold.”
“If anything happens to them, how could I face my husband?”
“Da Bao and Xiao Bao are the only bloodline he left behind!”
“Waa… waa…”
Su Manman had meant to fake tears to gain sympathy, but perhaps the original body’s emotions were influencing her.
Tears flowed uncontrollably, like they had no price.
And thinking of her saved million, now gone…
Su Manman herself began to truly cry.
…
The villagers, hearing her mention the prematurely deceased Gu Tianye, looked sympathetic.
After all, such a capable young man dying so young—who wouldn’t feel pity?
Zhao saw the villagers siding with Su Manman and was furious.
“You little prostitute! What nonsense are you talking? When did I ever try to sell the children?”
“Villagers, open your eyes and see for yourselves!”
“I may be their stepmother, but that’s still a senior—yet she shows no mercy.”
“She beat me with a stick, beat her sister-in-law.”
“This little prostitute hit us, and now that you’ve arrived, she’s just playing the victim.”
“Think about it—what daughter-in-law dares strike her mother-in-law?”
“If you think what Su Shi did is right, wait until your own daughter-in-law hits you.”
With these words, the villagers’ expressions changed.
“Su Shi, no matter what, she’s still your mother-in-law.”
“You, as a daughter-in-law, hitting her is wrong.”
“If outsiders hear, they’ll think our Gu family village has poor morals.”
The speaker was Zhao’s old friend, Lei Bo-ya—a sharp-faced woman with buck teeth and a pointed nose, clearly a troublemaker.
She naturally spoke to defend Zhao.
“Lei Bo-ya, ugly outside and black-hearted inside,” Su Manman sneered.
“Right off the bat, trying to blame me for ruining Gu Village’s reputation? Dream on.”
“Our village’s reputation has already been ruined by this old witch Zhao.”
Lei Bo-ya turned pale with rage; she hated being called buck-toothed the most.
“You little tramp! Zhao! Zhao! How dare you speak about your mother-in-law this way?”
Su Manman sneered.
“The stepson died in battle, and she, as a stepmother, swallowed the death benefit, throwing out her stepdaughter-in-law and step-grandchildren.”
“Now she wants to sell her grandchildren—how dare she do something so disgusting and still call herself a mother-in-law?”
“You still want Gu Village to have a good reputation?”
“If you care so much about reputation, then advise Zhao, the old witch, to act like a human being.”
Zhao was furious—being called an “old witch” repeatedly—but she was smart enough to know that if she didn’t clarify the “selling children” accusation, the villagers wouldn’t fully support her.
“You little slut! Who wants to sell children?”
“Look at your two little brats—they’re like chickens! Who’d want them?”
“Villagers, don’t believe Su Manman’s words! She’s just making excuses to attack me!”
“This little prostitute… such a vicious heart.”
Su Manman looked at Zhao’s flimsy arguments, then pointed at the unconscious Lin Da Hu nearby.
“Village chief, this is Lin Da Hu, Zhao’s nephew. You should know him.”
Following Su Manman’s finger, Gu Baoshan and the villagers finally noticed someone lying behind.
The wall had hidden him from their view, so until now, all eyes had been on Su Manman and Zhao.
“Today, Zhao brought him here trying to snatch my two children.”
“If I hadn’t fought with all my strength, the children would have already been taken.”
“I beg you, Village Chief, report this to the authorities. In broad daylight, someone dares to come to Gu Village and steal children?”
“This isn’t just lawlessness—it’s blatant disrespect for our village.”
Lin Da Hu was known to Gu Baoshan—a second-rate thug who spent his days causing trouble in town, often bullying others.
Now, hearing that Zhao intended to sell Su Manman’s children, Gu Baoshan began to believe her.
The villagers’ expressions toward Zhao also changed.
They were all from the same village—greedy, maybe, but selling children? That was pure cruelty.
And these children were the last bloodline of Gu Tianye.
Zhao, nervous under their gaze, blurted out:
“Nonsense! Da Hu was just here to see me!”
“He saw you, this shameless woman, disrespect me, so he came to defend me!”
“You hit him unconscious, and I haven’t even dealt with you yet!”
Su Manman sneered, “Disrespect you? Take a good look around.”
“We three live in this straw hut—do you think I kidnapped you here to disrespect you?”
“And this wall—did I kick it over myself?”
“The villagers’ eyes are sharp enough to see the truth.”
Even the not-so-sharp villagers straightened their backs, taking her words seriously.
“Su Shi is right.”
“Zhao, this is Su Shi’s place. You didn’t come here voluntarily, so it wasn’t Su Shi who forced you.”
Su Manman nodded. “Auntie, you understand things well.”
Praised, the “understanding” aunt held her head higher, even more pleased with herself.