Chapter 36: I'm Not Here to Look for Trouble

Shen Meng looked at her ferocious expression. She wasn't intimidated, but she also couldn't be bothered to argue. She pressed one hand to her forehead and rubbed her chest with the other.

"Second Aunt, you weren't planning on scolding or hitting me, were you? I haven't even recovered from my illness yet. If I accidentally worsen my condition or die in your house, it will be hard for you to explain things to Zhenping when he returns. I didn't come here today to meddle in your business, but I heard Sister Lianhua was beaten because of a dumpling. Is that true?"

Chen Zhaodi gnashed her teeth in anger, slapping her thighs hard with both hands before pointing at Shen Meng and launching into a tirade.

"You think you can just say you won't scold me and then not scold me? What kind of thing are you? If you want to die, go die somewhere else! Why come to my house and act all high and mighty? And 'explain things to Zhenping'? I don't even dare to let him fart when I hit him! Take your brat and get out of here! This has nothing to do with you!"

Lu Mingkai was terrified; his small frame was trembling. Before they had food, Auntie Lianhua and Auntie Xifeng would always leave some for them. But Second Grandma and the Eldest Aunt would smash plates and bowls, speaking most foully. He was still afraid when he looked at them now, but since Second Grandma was scolding his mother, he couldn't back down.

"Don't scold my mother! If you keep scolding my mother, I'll fight you!"

Shen Meng saw the little guy's voice cracking from fear even as he bravely stood before her, and a warm current flowed through her heart. Their time together had indeed been useful.

"You little ungrateful brat! You've eaten plenty of grain in my house, and now that your mother is causing trouble at my house, you're actually protecting her? Tsk, you heartless little wretch, just like your mother! If you dare come to my house to beg for food again, I'll break your legs!"

"Wah~ Waaaah... Second Grandma is such a scary old woman, wahhh!"

Lu Mingkai had no combat power; having bravely spoken his piece, he was immediately snapped at by Chen Zhaodi. He turned around, hugged Shen Meng's leg, and wailed loudly. Before Shen Meng could pick him up, two more figures rushed out from behind: Lu Mingliang and Lu Mingfang.

"Mother, are you okay? Mingliang is here to protect you!"

"Mingfang is here too!"

The two little ones held hands, surrounding her like chicks protecting a mother hen.

"Why are you two here?"

"Mother, don't be afraid. When Mingfang went to find the Village Chief, she ran into me and my brother. My brother is fast, and since he's the eldest son of our branch, he'll definitely bring the Village Chief and the Director here. My sister and I will stay here to protect you."

Shen Meng: "..."

She was touched, certainly, but there was no need to be this dramatic. She wasn't exactly a pushover herself!

"I'll say it one more time: I didn't come here to cause trouble. I just want to ask if Sister Lianhua was beaten because of a dumpling. What, does she not have a mouth? Can't she speak?"

Daqing and Erqing opened their mouths but didn't dare speak. Xifeng, who was inside caring for Wang Lianhua, rushed out.

"Yes, it was because of a dumpling. Sister Meng, your family has enough troubles as it is. You are kind-hearted, and Sister-in-law and I aren't the type to talk nonsense, so we didn't say anything. Even the children are sensible and kept their mouths shut because we didn't want to cause you trouble."

Shen Meng nodded, glancing at Lu Yonggang, who was acting as if it had nothing to do with him. She felt a headache of disdain.

"Last night, I made a bowl of dumplings for the children. Daqing, Erqing, and Gaogao are good kids who know how to be kind to their cousins. When they came to play, I gave them one each. I suspect Daqing didn't want to eat it and saved it for Sister Lianhua, telling her he had already eaten. As a mother, Sister Lianhua naturally wanted to save good things for her child. Yaoyao is still small and just ate it when she took it. I don't know if Sister Jingui is so grown up yet that she's never seen good things before, but if a child eats a dumpling, she eats it. How could that cause a fight in the house and lead to someone being beaten like this?"

"Hey, sister-in-law, you can't put it that way. Who knows where Yaoyao got that dumpling so early in the morning? I was only thinking of the family. If Lianhua had actually hidden grain or money, wouldn't that cause disharmony? Besides, if you have good things and don't give them to your mother first, that girl Yaoyao is also heartless."

As Zhao Jingui spoke, she gave Yaoyao a contemptuous glare. The child was already timid, and having witnessed her mother being beaten and scolded by her grandmother and aunt, and hearing her father's sarcastic remarks, she was now too scared to even cry.

"Eldest Sister-in-law, don't go too far. How old is Yaoyao? When you have good things, don't you also sneak them to your own son and daughter? You're just angry with Sister Lianhua, but you shouldn't beat her nearly to death. What do you and Mother have to say? Sister-in-law was wronged."

Chen Zhaodi frowned and turned her anger on Xifeng.

"Are you dead? You only know how to try and mediate when the beating starts! Why didn't you say the dumplings were from Shen Meng? You just watched your sister-in-law get beaten. You're black-hearted too! And you—why did you make dumplings in the first place? If you hadn't given them to Daqing, this wouldn't have happened. You're partly responsible for the second daughter-in-law's state; you owe compensation!"

"Compensation!" The mother and daughter-in-law exchanged a look, their calculating eyes nearly overflowing.

Lu Yonggang, who had been silent until now, suddenly stood up and spat toward Shen Meng. If Shen Meng hadn't dodged quickly, the thick glob of phlegm would have landed on her pants.

"You home-wrecking woman! You messed up your own family and now you've come to mess up ours! My wife is injured like this. If you don't pay compensation, I won't let you leave this house today! Even if we have to take this to the commune, we are in the right. Ten yuan for medical fees and supplements. Pay up, now!"

Looking at this rogue, Shen Meng truly couldn't imagine how such a creature could have produced three lovely children like Daqing, Erqing, and Yaoyao. The Lu family was a large clan that had produced Lu Zhenping, a man recognized by everyone as excellent, and even a male protagonist, but Shen Meng hadn't realized this family also contained such lowlifes.

It seemed the family's ancestral graves couldn't be constantly emitting "smoke" (good fortune) forever!

"How ridiculous. Lu Yonggang, you're asking *me* for money? Where were you before? Weren't you just sitting there like you had nails in your backside? I thought you were a turtle hibernating for ten thousand years. Is Wang Lianhua my wife? Are Daqing, Erqing, and Yaoyao my children? You watched your wife get beaten and scolded, and watched your children get bullied, and you didn't dare utter a single word, yet you have the nerve to demand money from me? Go find the people who did the beating! Didn't your mother and eldest sister-in-law just finish beating her quite vigorously? Perfect—go ask them for money, so you can properly nourish your wife."

"You damn—!"

"Stop! What do you think you're doing?" Guo Xiuqin shouted sternly, startling Lu Yonggang into pulling his hand back.

Guo Xiuqin walked up to Shen Meng, looked her up and down, and gave her a nod. Then, she turned to Chen Zhaodi and the others and said, "As long as I am here, let's see who dares to hit anyone!"