Madam Zhou Li wailed loudly in the courtyard for a couple of times, but Hutou didn't show up. Wang Xiangxiu immediately bristled, saying, "See? Nobody pays attention to you, you old shrew. All you know is how to bully us widowed mother and child. What else can you do!"
"Who are you calling an old shrew, you little hussy! I'll beat you to death!"
Madam Zhou Li lunged forward to grab Wang Xiangxiu, who deftly dodged. The old woman missed and crashed into the door, seeing stars from the impact. She fell on her bottom and began howling, "What a heartless wretch! Everyone come see how this young widow is bullying me! These thieves even think they're in the right! How dare they bully me like this! Oh heavens above, earth below... strike this little hussy dead with lightning!"
Ming Mei, hearing the commotion, darted to the doorway in a flash - this drama was not to be missed. She peeked through the door crack again, and the two children couldn't resist poking their little heads out too.
What Ming Mei saw made her draw in a sharp breath. Madam Zhou Li was sprawled at the Su family's doorway, her legs kicking against the ground while her arms repeatedly slapped her thighs, wailing like a possessed spirit at a grave.
Ming Mei muttered, "How dramatic."
Just as she spoke, a sturdy-looking boy of about ten - not her Hutou - burst out of the house and immediately delivered a flying kick to Madam Zhou Li's back.
Ming Mei couldn't help but draw another sharp breath.
The boy shouted, "How dare you bully my mom! How dare you bully my mother!"
His fists flew out, but although Madam Zhou Li had been kicked, she was still an adult. She landed a heavy slap on him, yelling, "You little thieving beast!"
This boy was the Su family's eldest grandson, Su Jinlai, nine years old.
After being hit, his face swelled up immediately. He glared darkly at Madam Zhou Li and said, "You old hag, you deserve to die. You dare hit me..."
"I'll hit you all I want, I'll beat you to death!" Madam Zhou Li reached out again, but this time her hand was caught. She turned to find Bai Fendou, who scolded her, "Aunt Zhou, at your age, how can you be so undignified as to hit children? Is this how you behave? You're being too much of a bully!"
Madam Zhou Li felt a surge of anger and clawed at Bai Fendou's face, instantly leaving scratch marks. "What business is this of yours? You biased fool, fooling around with a young widow!"
"You deserve to die..."
"You're ruining my reputation..."
The scene descended into chaos. Madam Zhou Li was outnumbered, and her daughter-in-law quickly ran out from their house, shouting, "You steal things and then bully people, don't you dare hit my mother-in-law..." She immediately joined the fray.
"How dare you bully my brother..." Yinlai and Tonglai rushed out to join the fight.
Madam Zhou Li grabbed and slapped Su Jinlai;
Yinlai and Tonglai bit Madam Zhou Li's arms;
Bai Fendou pulled Madam Zhou Li's hair backward while she swung back at his face;
Wang Xiangxiu and Madam Zhou Li's daughter-in-law Jiang Lu were locked in a hair-pulling brawl...
Ming Mei watched in astonishment.
Oh my, was this a free group fighting performance she was witnessing?
In that moment, Ming Mei felt her marriage had been worth it just for this entertainment. In her twenty years living at her parents' home, she'd never seen anything like this - everyone was really going at it! She finally understood why her mother-in-law had made a point of introducing everyone in the courtyard on her first day after marriage.
Indeed, those remembered by time travelers weren't ordinary characters.
Ming Mei was shocked: "Good heavens!"
Hutou watched with gritted teeth, his little hands gripping the door, ready to slam it shut if anyone came their way.
Xiao Yanzi covered her eyes but peeked through the gaps between her fingers, her little mouth making "hoo, hoo hoo~" sounds like background music.
After several rounds, Ming Mei offered her professional commentary - the fighting was mediocre, lacking technique, but fierce indeed. Of course it was fierce - hadn't almost everyone in the courtyard gathered to watch the spectacle?
Nobody dared to intervene.
Just as Ming Mei thought this, someone shouted loudly: "What are you all doing!"
Ming Mei looked toward the voice and saw a tall, robust woman striding over confidently. She was shocked again - it was rare to see someone so well-fed in these times when most people were quite thin.
But this woman was truly stout.
Ming Mei suddenly remembered who she was - she had attended her wedding banquet. With such a distinctive build, she was hard to forget. She was Li the Cook's wife, Aunt Wang.
No wonder a cook's family never went hungry - it showed quite clearly.
Of course, Ming Mei could understand why the residents' committee had put Aunt Wang in charge. With her build, neither men nor women would likely be able to overpower her. If anything happened, she could settle matters with sheer physical presence.
As Ming Mei's thoughts wandered, Aunt Wang's loud reprimand rang out: "Look at yourselves! Is this how adults should behave? Have you no shame? Everyone let go of each other right now!"
Sure enough, at Aunt Wang's command, everyone released their holds.
Aunt Wang demanded: "Now tell me what happened!"
Madam Zhou Li immediately cried out: "The Su family's brats stole my peanuts. I came for justice, and they beat me. That little wretch Bai Fendou came to help his lover and hit me too."
Bai Fendou glared: "Stop lying! I couldn't stand seeing you bully my Sister Xiu."
"Hah! 'Sister Xiu,' how intimate! Pfft, shameless!"
Bai Fendou: "Hey, you old woman, you think I won't hit you..."
"Bai Fendou!"
Aunt Wang: "You be quiet! We'll deal with you later. First, about the theft. Aunt Zhou, what evidence do you have?"
Madam Zhou Li: "I saw it myself, and the courtyard children saw it too. Ask Hutou, ask your two grandsons!"
Aunt Wang looked at Wang Xiangxiu and said, "Your family is in the wrong here."
Wang Xiangxiu covered her face and cried: "You need to catch a thief red-handed! What are you all saying? Aren't you just bullying us? Is it because we have no man in the house that we deserve to be bullied? Wuu wuu~"
"Xiu'er, be quiet." An elderly woman emerged from the house, looking pale and weak. "Xiu'er, the hardships we face as widows are our own to bear, not others' concern. We must endure it ourselves, don't show weakness before others. It only invites more bullying."
Supporting herself against the doorframe, she said, "I've been sick and couldn't come out, but I heard everything clearly. This matter is our family's fault. We admit it and will pay compensation."
Madam Zhou Li became smug and was about to demand medical expenses when Aunt Su opened her palm and said, "During your argument, I gathered my strength to check the children's schoolbags. Indeed, they had taken them - it's our fault, and we'll pay. But I must point something out. Everyone, look at these peanuts - are they even edible?"
Everyone looked closer and retched in disgust.
The peanuts were moldy, with green fuzz growing on the shells - eating them could be fatal.
Aunt Su spoke softly: "We're willing to pay compensation, but if you're accusing the three children of deliberately stealing, I must ask - would anyone see something like this left outside and think it was worth keeping?"
Her eyes reddened, and she wiped away tears, saying, "I questioned Tonglai - he's young and doesn't understand these things. When I asked, he told me straight away that these were left outside the door, and they thought they were meant to be thrown away. The children thought they were helping by disposing of them. They meant well, and it's just that our family is struggling - growing boys eat so much, and the children were hungry, so they picked up what they thought was being discarded."
She bit her lip - despite her age, one could see a hint of stubborn vulnerability.
"We admit we took them and that the children were wrong, but to call it theft - that we cannot accept. Look at this everyone, the children didn't understand. They ate these, and I'm worried they'll get sick."
As soon as this was mentioned, everyone immediately started nodding in agreement. Despite their difficult lives, no one would ever eat those peanuts. Damn, wouldn't eating them lead to poisoning? They were already covered in green mold.
Thinking about Madam Zhou Li's character, they suspected she might have deliberately set this up to trap the children. Considering her reputation, it seemed quite possible, and everyone started criticizing her at once.
Seeing the situation, Madam Zhou Li immediately threw herself on the ground, kicking and wailing, but this only drew more criticism from the crowd. The scene descended into chaos.
Aunt Wang said, "Enough, Madam Zhou, what you did was wrong." Then looking at Jinlai, she added, "The child was wrong too, but he's already been beaten. Let's call it even and be done with this."
"How can that be acceptable..."
"What's not acceptable about it? You left moldy peanuts out in the open - what were you trying to achieve? Everyone knows what you did. And look how badly you beat that child."
"I was hit too, that little brat Bai Fendou..."
"That's enough! Bai Fendou didn't hit you, he just held you back. You scratched him plenty though. Do you want to compare injuries? This matter ends here - everyone go home!" Under Aunt Wang's decisive command, this chaotic scene came to an abrupt end.
Ming Mei had watched quite a show, her eyes wide as saucers, and she remarked deeply, "This courtyard is truly extraordinary."
She couldn't help but feel shocked by it all.
As the courtyard residents dispersed home in small groups, having no more drama to watch, Ming Mei stopped peering through the door crack and returned to sit at the table, sighing, "These people are definitely not to be trifled with."
That Aunt Su, who appeared so gentle, could turn the situation around in minutes - no wonder her mother-in-law said she wasn't someone to mess with.
How true that was!
"This courtyard is so lively, and all these aunties seem quite formidable," Ming Mei remarked.
Hutou nodded and whispered a secret, "Auntie, people outside say our courtyard has four tiger ladies!"
Ming Mei's eyes lit up as she quickly asked, "Who are they? Tell me!"
Hutou proudly lifted his head and said, "My grandmother is one of them!"
Ming Mei nodded, "Not surprising at all - I could tell she was fierce and not someone to be crossed!"
Just as she finished speaking, Zhao Guihua pushed open the door, her lips pressed tight: "..."
Ming Mei: "..."
Caught gossiping about someone!
