Back at the resting site, Li Wanting noticed that her two little ones were surrounded by a group of village children teasing Hubao and Huniu. She didn’t bother with them and went to take care of the rabbits.
Zhou Zhangshi, watching Li Wanting handle the rabbits, sneered sarcastically, “Some people really know how to use their charms, sneaking around with men shamelessly, only knowing how to seduce wild men. I wonder if your late husband would crawl out of the grave in anger if he saw you now.”
Li Wanting put down the rabbit, suddenly stood up, and in the blink of an eye, was right in front of Zhou Zhangshi, slapping her face repeatedly while she sat on the ground.
“You old witch! Always jabbering nonsense. Wasn’t Dashan forced into the army and killed in battle because of you? And you still have the nerve to slander me and ruin my reputation? Once wasn’t enough, huh? Fine, now we’re done with family ties—watch me beat you to death!” Li Wanting scolded as she kept slapping.
Zhou Zhangshi hadn’t expected Li Wanting to resist, let alone strike back. This usually meek woman always endured Zhou Zhangshi’s bullying. Feeling the burning pain on her face, she struggled and screamed, “Ah! Help! She’s killing me…”
The onlookers were stunned by Li Wanting’s actions. A few women tried to intervene but were stopped by Wang Lanzhi: “This is a family matter. Though the marriage ties are broken, these slaps are still family business. Outsiders shouldn’t interfere—don’t get caught between them and end up despised by both sides.”
Hearing Wang Lanzhi’s reasoning, the women stepped back and started watching the commotion instead.
Zhou Dahai saw his mother being beaten and was about to intervene, but Zhou Dashuan stopped him: “Brother Dahai, it’s women fighting. As men, we shouldn’t get involved.”
Zhou Dahai had no choice but to hold back, anxiously saying, “Mom, sister-in-law, stop it… please stop…”
Zhou Wushi, seeing her mother-in-law being slapped by Li Wanting, grabbed a firewood stick nearby and swung it at her.
Li Wanting, noticing the attack, pulled Zhou Zhangshi to the side with a spin, and dodged, letting Zhou Wushi’s stick strike Zhou Zhangshi’s back instead.
“Ah!” Zhou Zhangshi screamed in agony as she collapsed.
Everyone watched in horror.
“Mom, no! I… I was aiming for this little tramp, not you!” Zhou Wushi stammered in fright.
“Ouch… it hurts… you despicable woman…” Zhou Zhangshi groaned, the words squeezed out between clenched teeth.
Li Wanting didn’t want to listen to the bickering. She stepped forward and kicked Zhou Wushi, sending her flying to the ground.
“Ah!”
“Bang!”
Zhou Wushi was thrown about two meters away, hitting the ground hard, too pained to get up.
“Mom!”
“Mom, are you okay?”
Zhou Zimo and his sibling, who had been playing with village children, rushed over at the noise and saw their mother fighting the elders of the old house. Her attack was overwhelming; their mother was incredible and mighty!
“Mom, are you alright?” Li Wanting pulled the children behind her and glared fiercely at Zhou Zhangshi: “If you bully a widowed mother again, I’ll hit you every time I hear a word out of you. Barefoot or not, I don’t care—if anyone dares to harm us again, we’ll fight to the death.”
Her words were not only for the Zhou household but for everyone present, to intimidate others.
“Move aside! What’s going on here?” Zhou Yunda arrived, returning with villagers from fetching water, seeing a crowd gathered. He put down the buckets and hurried over.
Hearing the village chief was here, people cleared a path.
“What happened? It’s all because that old hag Zhou is slandering Dashan’s wife and got her beaten—serves her right!” said Old Lady Tian, delighted.
“You old fool, shut up! Hey, Uncle, you must do something! Look at my face! This little bitch hit me—boohoo…” Zhou Zhangshi, seeing the village chief, immediately played the victim.
“Young sister-in-law, I’ll say this: Dashan may not be your blood, but he is still part of our Zhou family. You ruin her reputation, and you’re smearing your own family’s name. I say Dashan’s wife was right to hit you. If it weren’t for the fact that this old man is my brother, I wouldn’t have let your family survive the famine with us. This is my final warning: no more nonsense, or I’ll have your family expelled from the group.” Zhou Yunda said angrily.
Zhou Zhangshi, terrified at the thought of being expelled, shivered. “But she hit me! She has to pay!”
“Hmph,” Zhou Yunda said coldly, his face stern. Zhou Zhangshi shrank back, no longer daring to speak.
“Everyone disperse. Go about your business. You’re all just looking for trouble,” Zhou Yunda said, walking back without another word.
Li Wanting quickly led the children to catch up with Zhou Yunda and apologized, “Sorry, Uncle, for troubling you.”
Zhou Yunda stopped and looked at Li Wanting, surprised to see this usually gentle woman had a strong side. He approved, “No trouble. I’m glad you stood up for yourself. Just don’t be reckless next time—what if those two had overpowered you? How would your children cope? If anything happens in the future, come to me. Understood?”
“Understood, Uncle,” Li Wanting obediently replied.
Zhou Yunda nodded in satisfaction and returned to his side.
Li Wanting went back and finished preparing the rabbits, curing them with salt. The day was almost over, and people fetching water returned one by one. They built a fire and started spreading tarpaulin, straw, and mats to sleep.
Since it was summer and hot, tents weren’t needed—they slept under the open sky.
Li Wanting laid tarpaulin by the cart, spread dry grass over it, placed one quilt on top, and used another to cover herself. To protect against snakes, insects, and mice, she sprinkled insect repellent around.
Everything ready, she rubbed mosquito repellent on her children and herself. Ignoring the noisy surroundings, the three of them lay down to sleep.
She hurried to sleep because the first half of the night’s watch still had energy, but the second half was unpredictable. Most accidents occurred in the latter half. She planned to take that shift.
The stars twinkled above, and the fire burned nearby, while some watched the night. Everyone was exhausted from the day and quickly fell asleep.
At midnight, Li Wanting woke as planned, sat up, and saw everyone sleeping soundly, some snoring. The night watch beside the fire stayed alert, only the occasional mosquito bothering her with a bite.