The Formidable Lady of the Poor Scholar’s Household - Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Village Chief Liu Sends His Daughter-in-law Back to Her Parents

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Seeing her son walk out of the door huffing, the village chief’s wife, Meng Cuiping, whom everyone in the village called Auntie Meng, walked into the house.

“What’s wrong?” Why was her son so furious?

When Village Chief Liu saw that his wife’s hair had turned gray and she even went to the river to wash clothes, he could not help but feel angry. “Don’t worry about it. You’re courting death. If I see you washing the clothes again tomorrow, don’t blame me for being angry.” What if she fell? Sigh…

At this moment, Zhang Hongying walked in. “Mother, it’s almost noon. Why haven’t you cooked yet?” The elder woman had been washing clothes for the entire morning.

This question angered Village Chief Liu.

“Liu Zhaonan! Call your father over!” he shouted at his grandson, who was playing with the dogs in the courtyard.

Liu Zhaonan hurriedly ran out to look for his father. He was done for if his grandfather got angry!

When Liu Zhaonan found his father, he saw the latter talking to the workers from the village. “Dad, Dad!” He tugged on Liu Jiang. “Go back quickly. Grandpa is angry.”

When Liu Jiang heard this, he was confused why his father was so angry out of the blue. However, he still looked up and said to the nomads, “Then it’s a deal. Starting tomorrow morning, we’ll gather at the village entrance.”

The head of the nomads immediately said, “Alright.”

After saying goodbye to the villagers, Liu Jiang picked his son up and asked, “Why is your grandfather angry?”

Liu Zhaonan thought for a while. “Grandma came back from washing clothes. After entering the house, Mom asked Grandma why she hadn’t made lunch yet.” Liu Zhaonan couldn’t understand why his mother was different from other mothers. Other mothers were busy all day.

“Father, why isn’t Mom like Goudan’s mother?”

“What’s the difference?” Liu Jiang asked curiously.

The little boy counted on his fingers and said, “Other people’s mothers are very busy. They wash clothes, cook rice, sweep the floor, feed pigs, and go to the fields.” After thinking for a while, he said, “And they mend clothes for their families. Anyway, they’re busy all day.” Grandma was very good to him.

Even a child could tell. Liu Jiang blushed and quickly walked home.

Village Chief Liu had been the village chief his entire life. When he was angry, he was a fearsome man. Zhang Hongying stood there in confusion. Why was he so angry?

“Father.” Liu Jiang walked in with his head lowered.

Village Chief Liu threw the bowl on the table at Liu Jiang, hitting his forehead. Blood flowed down his forehead, scaring Zhang Hongying and her mother-in-law.

“Old man, what are you doing?” Why had he gotten so violent?

“Hey, are you alright? Ah, let me take a look.” Why was the old man suddenly throwing a temper?

Liu Jiang quickly knelt down. “Father.”

Zhang Hongying pulled Liu Jiang away. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Why are you kneeling?” He had better get up quickly.

Liu Jiang shook his wife off and did not dare to move.

“Father, why are you angry? Is it worth it for you to treat your child like this?” Zhang Hongying was enraged.

Village Chief Liu didn’t even glance at the woman. “Send her back to her parents’ home. She can come back when she changes her attitude. If you still want to stay with her even if she doesn’t change, you can get out of my family.”

When Zhang Hongying heard this, she thought, ‘Get out of the family? Everything in this family belongs to me. What do you mean? My husband’s the only son.’ She hurriedly asked, “Dad, why should we get out of the family? Don’t tell me you have another son?”

“Shut up,” Liu Jiang shouted at his wife.

“Father, I’ll send her back to her parents’ home now.” As he spoke, he pulled Zhang Hongying to pack her clothes. Only then did the latter panic.

“Liu Jiang, why are you sending me back to my parents’ house?” She hadn’t done anything.

The man looked at his wife, recalling how diligent she had been when they had first gotten married. Ever since she got pregnant, his mother worried for her, so she let the younger woman stay at home. Because she had given birth to a boy, Zhang Hongying felt that she had made enough contributions to the family. Now that the child was already six or seven years old, she still did nothing around the house.

“Go back to your parents’ house and see what your sister-in-law is busy with at home all day. Think about it. What are you busy with all day? Hurry up and leave. Don’t make Father angry.” Liu Jiang dragged Zhang Hongying out.

For a moment, the woman didn’t know what to say. Her mother-in-law was different from others. She had a soft personality and didn’t mind even if others scolded her. That was why she had managed to live such a good life in this family.

Every time she returned to her parents’ house, she would be the envy of her sisters. She was very proud of herself. It would be embarrassing if she was sent back.

“Brother Jiang, I was wrong. Please don’t send me back! I’ll change, alright?”

“It’s too late.” She didn’t even make lunch. Wasn’t this what his father meant by courting death? “Hurry up and leave. I’ll be back later.” He wanted to scare this woman.

At Zhang Hongying’s family home, when Zhang Hongying’s mother saw her son-in-law and daughter return, she happily pulled her daughter inside. Seeing that Liu Jiang was holding a bag, she thought that he had brought a gift. “Why did you bother bringing a gift? It’s just as well that your father and the others are all at home. Your eldest sister and third sister are also here. Everyone’s here!”

When Zhang Hongying heard this, she looked at Liu Jiang pleadingly. Unfortunately, the latter ignored her.

When everyone in the room saw Liu Jiang and his wife, they stood up and greeted them. The Zhang family had three daughters. The second daughter was married to Liu Jiang, whose father was the village chief. That made them feel proud as in-laws.

“Second son-in-law, you’re here. Have a seat. It’ll be dinner time soon.” Zhang Hongying’s father pointed at the stool.

Seeing that everyone was present, Liu Jiang thought of his elderly parents and felt something tugging at his heart. “No thanks, I still have something to do when I go back. My father asked me to send Zhaonan’s mother back to learn how to be a daughter-in-law from Sister-in-law.”

“What do you mean by that?” Zhang Hongying’s brother was unhappy.

The corners of Liu Jiang’s mouth turned cold. “The first year Hongying married into my family, she was pregnant with Zhaonan. How old is Chaonan now? You know very well that she has never done housework since she was pregnant.”

Everyone from the Zhang family looked at Zhang Hongying in shock. If she was their wife, they would have divorced her long ago.

Zhang Hongying’s face flushed red under her family’s gaze. “Stop talking about it.”

Her mother grabbed the broom and shouted, “You’ve embarrassed yourself completely. Are you courting death?” The room was in a mess but Liu Jiang couldn’t be bothered to look.

The Zhang family was too embarrassed to ask their son-in-law to stay for dinner. The eldest sister-in-law of the Zhang family stood at the side and watched in glee. Out of her three sisters-in-law, Zhang Hongying annoyed her the most.

Qian Sishui would never have thought that asking the village chief for help would cause a problem that had built up over several years to suddenly surface. At this moment, she was still thinking about how to find fruit saplings.

After thinking for a while, she suddenly remembered that her house had to be repaired. No fruit tree was more important than the house. She began to calm down and finish the embroidery project she was working on.

Because of Auntie Wan and Liu Jiang, Wang Xiaoling, who had been watching Qian Sishui every day, could not find anything to smear the latter’s reputation with.

She had originally thought that Qian Sishui would find someone from the village to work for her. They were all men, and she was the only woman!

Who would have expected that the village chief’s son and that old woman seemed to be around Qian Sishui all day long?

Unfortunately, she had never seen Qian Sishui interact with the a single man in the village.

Wang Xiaoling pouted so much that blisters appeared at the corners of her mouth.

Doctor Wang asked, “It’s easy to get heaty in this weather. Drink more water. I’ll grab some medicine for you later. Cook the herbs and drink it.”

What could Wang Xiaoling say? She could only agree. If she missed this opportunity to smear Qian Sishui’s name, how was she to know when the next opportunity would come?

She had to bring that b*tch down!