Chapter 7: Something is Very Wrong

Wang Chunhua spat in their direction, a glob of old phlegm landing squarely on He Erhu's face.

"Didn't you hear me? Do you think I don't know you're intentionally avoiding me? I don't know what purpose such unfilial, lowly things like you were even raised for. You should have been thrown into a bucket of urine to drown long ago; staying in this world is truly an eyesore."

"Look at your mother. There isn't a more lowly person in the whole village. The children she gave birth to are just like her—sissy little things that cry at the slightest thing. It's irritating just looking at you; it would be more peaceful if you were all dead."

He Jinbao nodded in agreement, "Exactly! There isn't anyone more annoying in the entire village than you lot."

He Dahu and He Erhu kept their heads low, not daring to make a sound.

"Where are your parents?" Wang Chunhua didn't see Su Li or He Yufeng, so she could only interrogate the He brothers.

He Erhu said gloomily, "Don't know!"

Even if they did know, they wouldn't say it. Nothing good ever happened whenever Grandma showed up at their door.

"Grandma, look, there are meat pies here too."

He Jinbao rummaged through the house and finally found the meat pies Su Li had made for the He brothers at noon inside the pot.

"Smells so good!" He Jinbao took a deep breath, lured by the aroma of the meat pies.

"This is ours, you're not allowed to eat it!" He Dahu snatched the meat pie back from He Jinbao's hands.

This was their lunch; if He Jinbao ate it, they would go hungry in a little while!

Seeing the bite mark on the meat pie, He Dahu's mood sank. At noon today, he and He Erhu had each taken one pie, because they couldn't bear to eat them all at once.

The two of them had planned to share one pie first and save the other one to eat later when they got hungry, but who knew He Jinbao would take a bite out of it!

"Give it back to me!"

Having had the meat pie about to enter his mouth snatched away, He Jinbao was extremely dissatisfied and reached out to grab it back.

He Dahu hid the meat pie behind his back: "I can't give this to you. This is our lunch. If we give it to you, we'll go hungry!"

He Jinbao didn't care about any of that and went straight for it. He was two years older than He Dahu, and in terms of both height and weight, he far surpassed him.

He Dahu turned to run with the meat pie, but He Jinbao chased after him, grabbing He Dahu by the back of his neck. Once he knocked He Dahu to the ground, he used his own weight to pin He Dahu firmly beneath him.

"If I tell you to give it, then give it! Does a little bastard like you deserve to eat meat pies? Keep dreaming!"

He Dahu gripped the pie tightly in his hand, hiding it behind his back. No matter how He Jinbao treated him, he did not bring the meat pie out.

"So you won't give it to me, huh? Then I'll show you what I'm capable of."

He Jinbao sat down hard on him again and again, attempting to crush He Dahu to death.

"Cough, cough—" Because of the impact, He Dahu began to cough painfully.

Wang Chunhua watched coldly from the side. As long as He Jinbao wasn't the one losing out, she wouldn't step in to stop it. The one getting hurt wasn't her precious treasure, so she didn't feel a shred of heartache!

Seeing his brother pinned underneath, He Erhu pushed Wang Chunhua aside and rushed out. He used all his strength to push He Jinbao off of He Dahu.

Caught off guard, He Jinbao was pushed straight to the ground.

He Erhu also landed on top of He Jinbao, swinging his small fists in a frantic beating.

"Take that for hitting my brother! Take that for hitting my brother!"

Seeing He Jinbao being beaten, Wang Chunhua's face darkened, and she immediately ran over to roughly push He Erhu away.

"You little bastard! You even dare to hit your brother? Is this how your parents usually teach you?"

As if seeing a savior, He Jinbao clung tightly to Wang Chunhua's leg: "Waaa... Grandma, save me! It hurts so much, my whole body hurts!"

Wang Chunhua's heart practically broke with grief as she stroked He Jinbao's head.

"Be good, Jinbao. Grandma will definitely get justice for you!"

"Grandma, you're so good." He Jinbao sniffled, then looked at the He brothers with a triumphant expression.

Wang Chunhua picked up a bamboo strip from the side, preparing to give the He brothers a thorough thrashing.

He Erhu grabbed He Dahu and bolted. Father had said that a brave man doesn't take losses in the moment—if you can't win a fight, run as fast as you can!

"Grandma, they ran away!" He Jinbao stamped his feet in frustration.

Wang Chunhua grabbed the bamboo strip and chased after them.

"You little brats, let's see where you run to today!"

He Erhu looked back and saw Wang Chunhua about to catch up. In his panic, he tripped over a stone and fell to the ground.

His first instinct was to cover his face tightly with both hands. Er Ma Zi from the village had said that the face is a person's dignity, so a man can be killed, but his face must not be insulted!

After waiting for a moment and feeling no expected pain, he cautiously peeked through the gaps between two fingers. Through the slit, he saw a large and sturdy figure.

Su Li held a hoe in one hand and tightly caught the bamboo strip that Wang Chunhua was swinging toward He Erhu with the other.

Before Wang Chunhua could even speak, Su Li snapped the bamboo strip in two. She tossed the half in her hand to the ground and even stepped on it.

"This is my house. If you want to act tough, turn left at the exit, and then turn left again."

Turning left at the exit and then left again—wasn't that the neighbor's latrine?

Was this little wench telling her to go find shit in the outhouse?

At this thought, Wang Chunhua's face filled with rage: "Third daughter-in-law, how do you teach your children? Jinbao just wanted to play with them, but they used their numbers to pin him down and give him a beating. If I hadn't stopped them in time, they would have broken him."

"If you don't give me an explanation today, I'm not finished with you!"

He Jinbao pointed at the He brothers and said, "Third Aunt, hurry up and beat them to death to get justice for me, otherwise I'll have my parents come over and deal with you."

He Jinbao was He Fengnian's son and the most pampered member of the He family's younger generation. Usually, whenever there was food in the house, it was prioritized for him.

Only He Yufeng's family had been split off from the main household; the other three families still lived with Wang Chunhua and her husband. In the old He family, Wang Chunhua was still the one in charge.

Fearing Su Li would misunderstand, He Erhu hurriedly explained, "It wasn't like that! Jinbao was the one grabbing our meat pies, and he kept hitting my brother. I didn't want my brother to get hurt, so that's why I pushed him!"

After speaking, He Erhu lowered his head and picked at his fingers, looking guilty and helpless.

"Is that so?" Su Li looked at He Dahu.

"Mm!"

He Dahu sniffled and bit his lip hard. His eyes were stinging; as long as he blinked forcefully, the tears in his eyes would fall.

Su Li gave He Jinbao a cold look.

Wang Chunhua said dissatisfiedly, "Don't listen to their nonsense. How can these two children talk such lies? Not a single word of truth comes out of their mouths. I don't know how you usually teach them, but if this continues, these two children will be completely ruined."

Su Li took the meat pie from He Dahu's hand and brushed off the dust.

"The bite mark on this meat pie looks like Jinbao's teeth to me. If they are lying, then why is there a bite mark on this meat pie?"

(End of Chapter)