Chapter Twenty-Two: Get Back to Your Parents' House!

The more she spoke, the angrier she became, raising the wooden club once more to rain down blows.

Zhong Chengfa wept and wailed, snot and tears streaming down his face, as he rolled on the ground clutching his head. He blubbered incoherently, "Mom! Stop hitting me! It really wasn't me! I honestly didn't know that soup was for the second daughter-in-law! It was Hongjuan! Li Hongjuan told me you were in a good mood today and had stewed some fish, and that we should have a taste! That’s why I... I only ladled out a small bowl!"

When Li Hongjuan heard this, her heart sank. She cursed silently, realizing that this wretched Zhong Chengfa had sold her out! She clutched Zhong Hongqing to her chest, curling into a terrified ball.

Zhang Chunxue’s club whirred through the air, striking Zhong Chengfa again and again with a sound that made him howl in agony.

"A taste? Even if I had stewed that fish for everyone, huh? The three of you devoured that whole pot, soup and meat alike, leaving nothing but the dregs at the bottom! You’re stuffed, but what about the others? What about Mingli? What is she supposed to eat? The dishwater you left behind?!"

Zhong Chengfa rolled on the floor in pain, his wails growing louder. "I’m innocent, Mom! I really only had one small bowl! Just that one! I didn't eat the rest!"

As if grasping at a lifeline, he suddenly looked up and pointed at Li Hongjuan in the corner. "It was her! It was Li Hongjuan! She snuck out three or four times earlier! It must have been her! She’s the one who stole and ate all the fish!"

Li Hongjuan’s face turned deathly pale, and her hands, clutching Zhong Hongqing, trembled like a leaf in the wind. Her head was buzzing; she could only remember the last time Zhang Chunxue had been this furious. It was when Zhong Xiaoxiao had insisted on attending middle school, and Zhang had used the same wooden club to beat her so badly she couldn't get out of bed for days.

This old shrew really would beat someone to death!

Zhang Chunxue paused, her burning eyes shifting toward Li Hongjuan. After a moment’s thought, the situation became crystal clear to her.

Zhong Chengfa, that blockhead, was a scoundrel, but he lacked the guts. She found it hard to believe he would have dared to drink a whole pot of fish soup behind her back. It was likely that greedy woman, Li Hongjuan, who wanted to eat it herself but feared the consequences, so she had egged Zhong Chengfa on. Zhong Chengfa might have shown some restraint, but Li Hongjuan, insatiably greedy, had finished off the rest of the pot when no one was looking.

Seeing Zhang Chunxue walking toward her step by step, the wooden club swinging in her hand, Li Hongjuan’s legs turned to jelly, and she nearly collapsed. She hastily pushed Zhong Hongqing forward and shrieked, "It wasn't me! Mom, really, it wasn't me! It was Hongqing! Hongqing was hungry and insisted on eating fish, and I... I had no choice but to ladle out a few more spoonfuls for him..."

"Him?" Zhang Chunxue sneered, the tip of the club nearly poking Li Hongjuan in the nose. "He’s not even three years old—how much could he eat? Could he chew up a palm-sized crucian carp bones and all? Could he drink a whole pot of thick soup until the bottom was visible?"

"Li Hongjuan! Do you take me for a three-year-old child?"

"You are a wolf with a heart of stone! You get stars in your eyes at the sight of meat, wanting to shovel everything into your bottomless pit of a stomach! Even the rice jar in this house is being emptied by a glutton like you!"

Seeing Zhang Chunxue gripping that lethal club tightly and looking at the miserable state of Zhong Chengfa, Li Hongjuan abandoned all restraint and let out a shrill scream. "You dare hit me! Zhang Chunxue, I’m telling you! If you dare touch me today, I’ll go to the commune and report you! I’ll report you for abusing your daughter-in-law! Let’s see how you hold your head up in this village after that!"

Unexpectedly, the wooden club did not come down. Zhang Chunxue simply stood before her, looking down with icy disdain.

"Abuse my daughter-in-law? A daughter-in-law like you—deceitful, lazy, inciting your husband, and bullying your sickly sister-in-law—the Zhong family can no longer afford you! Get out!"

Her voice was chillingly detached. "Tomorrow, I will have the eldest take you to town to finalize the divorce!"

The terror and smugness on Li Hongjuan’s face froze. She gaped, as if seeing Zhang Chunxue for the first time, unable to utter a single word for a long time.

Divorce? How could that be? Panic surged through her. She had never expected Zhang Chunxue to play this card!

Zhong Chengfa, who had been huddled in the corner playing dead, sprang up from the ground, ignoring his pain. He shouted in a panic, "Mom! What are you saying? That’s my wife! You can’t make her leave!"

Zhang Chunxue turned abruptly, her eyes locking onto Zhong Chengfa. "You want your wife? Fine! Then you can get out with her!"

"Get out! Go back to your father-in-law’s house and be his live-in son-in-law!"

"From now on, don't you dare call yourself my son! I, Zhang Chunxue, have no such wolf-hearted, selfish, and traitorous son!"

Seeing the livid fury on his mother's face and the absolute resolve in her eyes, Zhong Chengfa realized she was truly beyond furious. He shuddered, and the words he intended to use to defend Li Hongjuan died in his throat; he couldn't force out a single sound.

He was like a chicken with its neck wrung—mouth agape, eyes filled with sheer terror.

Li Hongjuan’s head was spinning, as if a thousand bees were swarming inside, but she was sharper than Zhong Chengfa. She quickly recovered from the shock of the word "divorce."

She grabbed the dazed Zhong Hongqing and held him tight, as if he were her final lifeline. "Fine! Zhang Chunxue! You want me to divorce? Then let’s divorce! Who’s afraid of whom! But my son, Zhong Hongqing, is coming with me!"

Zhang Chunxue merely gave a faint "Oh," her face devoid of any emotion. "Then what are you standing there for? Pack your things! Now, immediately, at once—get back to your parents' house!"

Li Hongjuan was completely stunned. She had assumed that by using her son as a bargaining chip, Zhang Chunxue would at least have some reservations. Was this old shrew really willing to abandon her own grandson?!

Her face was etched with disbelief, her voice trembling. "You... you... this is the only grandson of the Zhong family! He is your own grandson!"

Zhang Chunxue remained expressionless. "Are you done? If you're done, then get out!"

Li Hongjuan’s heart turned cold. She looked at Zhong Chengfa, who stood there like a mute, head bowed, not daring to make a sound, showing no sign of standing up for her.

Tears streamed down her face. She held Zhong Hongqing and began to wail to the heavens. "My son! Your life is so bitter! Your grandmother doesn't want you anymore! She doesn't want us anymore!"

"Listen! Listen to what your grandmother is saying!"

"She used to swear how much she doted on you, how much she loved her eldest grandson, and now she’s turned her back on us in an instant!"