Chapter 20: Everyone Go Down to Reunite

"Why are you running! Marrying our Fifth Brother won't treat you poorly!"

"Exactly! Our Fifth Brother is truly fond of you right now!"

Seeing her look like a frightened bird, Wang the Fifth became smug. He put on a face he imagined to be kind. "Xiaoxiao, don't be afraid. You want to study? It’s not like I’m forbidding it. If you marry into our family, I’ll even provide for your schooling, how about that? If your mother knew I was so reasonable and willing to support your education, she’d be overjoyed to marry you off to me!"

The members of the Wang family exchanged glances, their eyes glinting with calculating greed.

It turned out that the Wang family had heard how Zhong Xiaoxiao had been publicly praised by the commune leaders recently, and they knew this girl had a bright future. Such a daughter-in-law was someone they were even less willing to let go; they were determined to bring Zhong Xiaoxiao home by any means necessary.

Zhong Xiaoxiao did not believe a word of his nonsense. She was trembling all over, tears welling in her eyes, her voice choked with sobs. "My mother... my mother would never marry me off to you! Move aside!"

"Hey, this little brat is quite stubborn!" Rejected, Wang the Fifth felt his face lose its luster, and his patience wore thin. He narrowed his eyes and reached out to grab Zhong Xiaoxiao’s arm. "If you won't drink the toast of friendship, you'll be forced to drink the forfeit. Today, whether you want to go or not, you are coming with us!"

"Don't touch me!" Terrified to the core, Zhong Xiaoxiao struggled desperately to pull away, but there was no escaping.

In her arms, Zhong Yuanyuan let out a "wah" and finally burst into tears from the fright.

Just as Wang the Fifth’s hand was about to seize Zhong Xiaoxiao—

"Stop right there!"

A furious shout rang out!

Immediately following it, a gust of wind whistled through the air!

"Ouch!" Wang the Fifth felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his arm and stumbled back several steps.

It was Zhang Chunxue, who had arrived just in time. She was wielding an arm-thick wooden club she had picked up from the side of the road, her eyes wide with rage, looking like a lioness protecting her cubs!

With one strike, she knocked Wang the Fifth away, and with a sweeping motion, she forced the surrounding Wang family members to retreat. Zhang Chunxue stepped forward, pulling both Zhong Xiaoxiao and the crying Zhong Yuanyuan behind her for protection.

She held the club, glaring at the Wang family, her chest heaving as she shouted sternly, "Let’s see which son of a bitch dares to touch my daughter!"

As it turned out, Zhang Chunxue had gone out to look for Xiaoxiao and, upon reaching the entrance of the village, had seen the Wang family surrounding her daughter from afar, with Wang the Fifth getting physical. Remembering how, in her past life, Zhong Xiaoxiao had been beaten to death by Wang the Fifth, a surge of hot blood rushed to her head. Ignoring everything else, she grabbed a broken tree branch from the roadside and charged over!

"Mom!" Upon seeing Zhang Chunxue, Zhong Xiaoxiao’s taut nerves suddenly snapped, and she burst into tears. She hid tightly behind Zhang Chunxue, her small hands clutching her mother's coat as if it were a lifeline. The sense of security, like returning to the world of the living from hell, made her cry even harder.

Wang the Fifth’s arm ached from the blow, and he stood there grimacing. His mother, the old woman Wang, was even more furious, hopping in anger as she pointed at Zhang Chunxue and began to curse.

"Zhang Chunxue! You madwoman! What are you doing?!"

Wang the Fifth’s sister-in-law also shrieked, "We are supposed to be in-laws now! To strike so ruthlessly, isn't that going too far?"

Hearing this, Zhang Chunxue looked as if she had heard the greatest joke in the world. She tightened her grip on the club and spat on the ground.

"Pah! Who the hell would be in-laws with trash like you! Stop flattering yourselves! Take your people and get as far away from me as you possibly can!"

Upon hearing this, Wang the Fifth dropped his pretense of kindness. He stiffened his neck and yelled, "Zhang Chunxue! Don't be ungrateful! Your family already accepted the bride price! A full hundred yuan! Your daughter, Zhong Xiaoxiao, is coming with me today!"

Zhang Chunxue raised an eyebrow, the mockery in her eyes deepening. "Bride price? I spit on that! I haven't seen a single cent of your family's money! Go ask whoever took your money! Stop trying to frame us here!"

Wang the Fifth was infuriated by her unyielding attitude. He blustered, "You dare deny it? Fine! Just you wait! Do you believe I’ll go report this to the commune police right now?"

Far from being afraid, Zhang Chunxue took a step forward, the tip of her club thumping heavily against the ground.

She sneered, "Go ahead! Report it! I’d like to see if the police will arrest me for standing my ground, or arrest you bunch of animals for blocking the road and attempting to abduct a young woman in broad daylight!"

At these words, the members of the Wang family grew restless, glancing at each other in confusion. They weren't sure what was happening. Could it be that she really hadn't received the bride price? But they had clearly given the money! Zhang Chunxue’s tone was so firm and righteous that she didn't seem to be lying.

Wang the Fifth’s older brother, a man who seemed to have a bit more sense, looked suspiciously at his brother and then turned to his mother, lowering his voice: "Mom, that money... did you really give it to Auntie Zhang?"

Old woman Wang was stunned for a moment, then stiffened her neck and said, "I... I did! I gave it with my own hands!" She paused and added, "I gave it to Zhang Chunxue’s mother-in-law, and she promised and accepted the money herself!"

"Oh—" Zhang Chunxue dragged out the word, a look of mocking realization on her face. "So it was Liu Cui'e who took your money!"

Her face darkened immediately. "Then go find Liu Cui'e to get your person!"

"Everyone in Gaoshan Tun knows that we, a widow and her orphans, separated from the main Zhong household a long time ago. We have nothing to do with them! My daughter, Zhong Xiaoxiao, has never eaten a bite of food or drunk a drop of water from Liu Cui'e’s house! By what right did she take your bride price? By what right did she sell my daughter!"

Old woman Wang grew anxious and argued, "But... but Liu Cui'e is Zhong Xiaoxiao’s grandmother! She is your mother-in-law, Zhang Chunxue! Her word is law!"

Zhang Chunxue laughed in pure fury. She pointed at the old woman's nose and let out a string of curses: "To hell with that! My husband, Zhong Chengren, has been dead for years! We separated from that family twenty years ago!"

"Who does that Liu Cui'e think she is, trying to control me? Trying to manipulate my daughter’s marriage?"

"I’m telling you all, I’ll say this once: if you want your money, go find Liu Cui'e! She took it, make her spit it out!"

"If you still want a person, go find Liu Cui'e! See if she can dig someone out of the grave for you!"

"Stop bothering my daughter! She is my daughter, not Liu Cui'e’s cash cow!"

By the end, Zhang Chunxue’s voice was fierce. Her eyes, once filled with rage, had now turned cold and gloomy as she scanned the faces of the Wang family one by one.

"I’m warning you, you dogs of the Wang family: this ends here! If I ever catch you eyeing my daughter again, or if you dare to harass us again..."

She paused, a hair-raising cold smile creeping onto her lips. "...I will sneak into your house in the middle of the night. It won't take much—I’ll just dump a pack of rat poison into your rice jar and your water vat! I guarantee your entire family will be perfectly gathered together, not a single one escaping, all reunited in the afterlife!"