Chapter 223
Hu Yuezhen snorted defiantly, then sarcastically remarked, “Sure, she’s wealthy, but she won’t spend a dime on us. Back when she just got together with my brother-in-law, she wouldn’t even offer us a sip of snow pear syrup. Do you really expect her to produce anything else?”
If pleasing this sister-in-law could get them something good, she and Yu Siping wouldn’t be foolish enough to go against Su Xiaoxiao. Hu Yuezhen thought rather self-righteously, seemingly forgetting that from the beginning, they had never wanted Jiang Yexun to marry Su Xiaoxiao. They thought she wouldn’t earn any income, and once Jiang Yexun got married, their family would have even more mouths to feed.
The wives of Jiang Guosheng and Jiang Guohua exchanged glances, wrinkling their brows. They decided that even if what Hu Yuezhen said was true, they still needed to establish a good relationship with this Educated Youth Su. They remembered how she generously gave two brand-new army coats to their two friends at the educated youth dormitory, something known throughout the whole production team. If she could be so generous to outsiders, then she would be even more generous to family members.
With this in mind, the two of them dropped what they were doing and headed out.
“Yuezhen, we’ve already prepared the soup. It’s not much trouble to stir-fry a few dishes. Let’s go and coax your mother-in-law back. It’s embarrassing if the family quarrels in front of the village,” one of the wives said.
Hu Yuezhen looked at the mess of unattended dishes and immediately panicked, “I can’t handle this all by myself.”
But the two women completely ignored her, walking past her and out of Old Jiang’s house. This angered Hu Yuezhen, who stomped her foot and threw down her things before hurrying to catch up with them.
These days, especially in the countryside, it wasn’t common for households to lock their doors. So as soon as they entered Su Xiaoxiao’s house, they saw a charcoal basin in the courtyard facing the hall, with two oranges next to it even when most households didn’t even have two pears. Washed sweet potatoes were also placed nearby, along with a handful of peanuts. It was even better than what they ate during the New Year, making their eyes light up.
Subconsciously, they wanted to walk into the hall, but they heard noises coming from the kitchen. They immediately changed course and walked into the kitchen, where they saw Aunt Guo cutting meat. Not only were there more meats on the chopping board than they had, but there were also more than a dozen salted fish and several chunks of bacon hanging on the kitchen rope, as well as smoked duck, sausages, and cured rabbits.
The three couldn’t help but swallow their saliva.
“How did you get in? This is my house, and I didn’t invite you in,” Su Xiaoxiao said angrily, noticing their unmistakable greed.
The wives of Jiang Guosheng and Jiang Guohua quickly smiled, trying to please her.
As soon as they entered, Hu Yuezhen was the first to sourly comment, “You’re living quite comfortably! With so much meat, aren’t you afraid of upsetting your stomach?”
“What did you say?” Aunt Guo was so angry that she raised the cleaver in her hand, ready to strike.
Jiang Guosheng and Jiang Guohua’s wives were taken aback and quickly stopped her.
“Oh dear, Hongxiang, don’t lose your temper like that! If you end up harming someone, it’ll be a serious problem, and it’s not worth it.”
“Exactly! You’ve got such a good life now, so don’t act foolishly.”
Both of them were on the verge of expressing their disdain for Hu Yuezhen. She was not only unwilling to mend relations with the cash cow but was also dragging them down.
Just as they were thinking this, Hu Yuezhen angrily cursed, “I didn’t say anything wrong. What are you looking at me like that for?”
“What for? To beat you!” Su Xiaoxiao said, charging towards Hu Yuezhen.
Hu Yuezhen wasn’t afraid of Su Xiaoxiao at all. She raised her arms, ready to fight back. Although she hadn’t gained anything from Su Xiaoxiao before and had seen her effortlessly carry Yu Siping, when she saw her seemingly delicate appearance, Hu Yuezhen wasn’t intimidated.
But the hair-pulling and scratching techniques that women often used in fights didn’t appear. Su Xiaoxiao stepped closer and lifted her foot, kicking Hu Yuezhen hard, causing her to scream and fall backward, sitting on the ground in pain.
“Ouch! Murder! She’s gonna kill me!” Hu Yuezhen cried.
This wasn’t a tactic; she genuinely felt like she was about to die from the pain. It felt like her internal organs were rupturing.
“No! Take me to the hospital, I’m dying!” Hu Yuezhen rolled on the ground in pain.
This shocked Jiang Guosheng’s and Jiang Guohua’s wives. They didn’t know that although Su Xiaoxiao seemed easy to bully, she had a violent temper and would resort to physical violence at the slightest provocation.
But as elders, they couldn’t allow this fight to escalate. They hurried forward to check on Hu Yuezhen’s condition, but Su Xiaoxiao beat them to it, bending down and slapping Hu Yuezhen’s face hard.
“I’ll teach you not to cause trouble in my house! I’ll teach you not to covet things in my house! I’ll beat you to death today!” Su Xiaoxiao said as she continued to hit and kick Hu Yuezhen.
Jiang Guosheng’s and Jiang Guohua’s wives stood behind, feeling somewhat uncomfortable with Su Xiaoxiao’s words, sensing some implicit criticism directed at them. Their expressions turned ugly, but they didn’t know how to address it directly. They could only watch as Hu Yuezhen’s face swelled from the beating and then reach out to pull Su Xiaoxiao away.
“Enough, enough, Educated Youth Su. If this goes on, she might actually end up dead!”
“She’s quite resilient; my hands are swollen, but she won’t die!” Su Xiaoxiao sneered.