“You little brat actually dare to say I'm unreasonable.”
The old lady was instantly furious.
She reached out and grabbed at Xiuxiu.
“You heartless thing, just wait and see how I’ll teach you a lesson for your parents today.”
Hearing her mention her deceased parents,
even Xiuxiu, who usually had a good temperament, couldn't hold back anymore.
Seeing her hand reaching for her face,
she instinctively pushed her away.
Who would have thought that the old lady would lose her balance and fall straight to the ground.
This startled Xiuxiu.
“Oh dear, this is outrageous.”
The old lady sat on the ground, still covered in dirt,
and began to wail uncontrollably.
“Someone come and see! An old lady like me is being bullied to death by a little girl from outside, oh dear!”
Although Mukeleng was built at the foot of the mountain,
it wasn't too far from the village.
With her loud cries, the villagers could still hear her.
It was early winter, and every household was huddled indoors for the season.
With nothing to do, they couldn't just beat a child.
Hearing the wailing from outside,
everyone suddenly became interested and rushed out to see the commotion.
In no time,
the courtyard was filled with onlookers who had come to watch.
“Hey, what do you think the old lady from the Li family is doing lying on the ground?”
“Can't you tell? She probably heard that Dayu was hunting something on the mountain and came to take advantage.”
“How shameless! Isn't that little girl standing at the door Xiao Zhiqing?”
“What little girl? She got her marriage certificate with Dayu yesterday and has already moved in.”
In the end, Xiuxiu was just at the age of starting a family.
She had never seen such a scene before.
Fortunately, the old lady Li had a bad reputation in the village over the years.
Everyone was just there to watch the fun, and no one stepped forward to defend her.
This left the old lady on the ground dumbfounded.
“Oh dear, neighbors, come and see! This little girl from another village is bullying me in our village! A lady of my age, and she dares to hit me! This is simply outrageous!”
Hearing the old lady's slander,
Xiuxiu was almost in tears.
She hurriedly explained,
“It was clearly you, old lady, who tried to hit me! I just pushed you lightly, and you fell to the ground without paying attention!”
If she didn't explain this,
she would really be at a loss for words when the mud fell into her pants.
But this explanation played right into the old lady's hands.
“Oh, if it weren't for you stirring up trouble, would that little brat be making a fuss about splitting from me? Would I have hit you?”
“You're just a troublemaker! If we keep you around, our Li family will eventually be ruined by you!”
Xiuxiu, a girl raised in a courtyard,
had never dealt with such rural shrews.
Her tears fell in a rush.
“Old lady Li, I think you are the real troublemaker of the Li family! I don't know what sins you committed in your past life to be married back here.”
Just when Xiuxiu felt speechless and her heart was like dead ashes,
a woman in a red coat stepped out from the crowd.
She pointed at the old lady Li, who was still rolling on the ground, and gave her a good scolding.
This made the old lady's face turn dark instantly.
“Li family, this is our family matter today, and it has nothing to do with you! You’re just here to meddle and get scolded, right?”
“Hmph.”
The Li family aunt crossed her arms and snorted.
“How is it not my business? I’m the old aunt of Dayu and Xiuxiu! You blind old hag are bullying my nephew and niece, how can I not intervene?”
After saying that,
the Li family aunt walked over to the tearful Xiuxiu.
She comforted her,
“Don’t worry, girl. Dayu hasn’t come back yet, but you still have me, your aunt.”
At this moment, Xiuxiu felt a mix of emotions in her heart.
She hurriedly said,
“Thank you, Aunt.”
This aunt was someone she recognized, the wife of the village secretary, Li Xuewu.
Previously, when she saw the two sisters starving, she had given them some pancakes.
If it weren't for her standing up today, Xiuxiu really wouldn't know what to do alone.
The old lady immediately got up from the ground.
Angrily, she said,
“Alright, I was wondering how this little brat had the audacity to act so bold! So it turns out you’re her backing, teaming up with outsiders to bully an old lady like me!”
The Li family aunt rolled her eyes.
“What? You came to bully my niece, and now you want to turn the tables? Do you really think the villagers are blind and will believe whatever you say?”
“Do you think you’re the Queen Mother?”
With a loud laugh,
the onlooking villagers burst into laughter.
This truly made the old lady's face turn iron blue with anger.
“You, the wife of the village secretary, bully an old lady like me, and I won’t let it go! If you don’t drive this little brat out today, I’ll just bang my head against this wall and die here!”
The old lady pushed aside the onlookers around her.
She chose a wooden post outside the courtyard.
With a determined look, as if she really meant it, she said, “If you don’t agree, I’ll die right here!”
But this little trick couldn’t fool the Li family aunt.
“Stop blowing hot air! Go ahead and try to bang your head! If you really die, it’ll just be getting rid of a big nuisance for us!”
“Such a good thing, we have to let the old man at home set up a couple of tables to celebrate!”
“Hahaha!”
The crowd laughed again.
This truly pushed the old lady to her limits.
But unfortunately, she valued her life too much to do something desperate.
She still hoped her eldest grandson could find a good wife and that she could hold her great-grandson.
She couldn’t die.
So she began her old trick again.
Rolling on the ground and making a scene.
“Oh dear, come and see! These heartless people are going to bully me to death! Heaven, open your eyes!”
This made the Li family aunt laugh in anger.
She shouted,
“You better stop shouting! With the things you’ve done, if Heaven really opens its eyes, the first one to die will be you!”
At this moment,
someone pushed through the crowd from outside.
Everyone was still a bit displeased,
but when they saw it was from the Li family, they instantly cheered up.
They quickly made way for them.
“Mom, what happened to you?”
Li Yu's adoptive father and mother arrived late.
Seeing their mother lying on the ground, covered in snow and mud,
they hurriedly came forward to ask.
The old lady saw her family had arrived.
She felt more confident.
Today, she must drive this little vixen away.
Even that little beast must be kicked out, leaving the house for her eldest grandson to use as a wedding house.
She cried out,
“This heartless wife of the village secretary is teaming up with outsiders to bully an old lady like me! This is simply outrageous!”