Chapter 5: Teaching Wang Xiuzhi a Lesson

The little girl, not even as tall as Wang Jing’s waist, already knew how to protect her.

Wang Jing felt a mix of emotions—she realized she wasn’t as brave as a child.

Xu Qingmo’s head was still bandaged, which made Wang Jing both heartbroken and guilty.

“Qingmo, come to me,” Wang Jing decided to be brave for once. She should protect Xu Qingmo.

Xu Qingmo wanted to call her “Mom,” but the word stuck in her throat. In the end, she decided not to force herself.

The village head was quickly brought over. On the way, he had heard some details from villagers and began to understand the situation.

“The village head is here!” someone in the crowd shouted.

The village head pushed the door open. Wang Xiuzhi, seeing a potential savior, rushed to complain.

“Village head, you finally came! Wang Jing and her daughter have eaten, lived, and stayed here for free all these years. Now they’ve brought a soldier to sever ties with us and even stolen the valuable things from our house. You need to do something!”

Wang Xiuzhi deliberately implied that Wang Jing and Shen Jiang had a special relationship.

They had spent the whole night out yesterday, and Wang Xiuzhi had already spread the story to half the village by morning.

Xu Yuanlong scowled—not only because he had lost money gambling, but also because the villagers mocked him for being cuckolded.

The village head noticed Shen Jiang. He had received a recommendation letter from him before. Shen Jiang, a regiment commander serving the country, was someone even a small village head couldn’t offend.

He didn’t expect Shen Jiang to be involved in this matter. He wanted to favor Wang Xiuzhi’s family but couldn’t do so now.

The village head politely asked Shen Jiang, “Commander Shen, how do you plan to handle this?”

His voice was just loud enough for the crowd to hear, immediately earning Shen Jiang their respect.

Wang Xiuzhi didn’t realize the gravity yet. She assumed that since the village head had ties to her family, and this was Xu family territory, she had nothing to fear.

Shen Jiang spoke, “I came to Xu Village to visit a comrade. Handle your family matters fairly and justly. I will observe.”

This statement increased pressure on the village head to handle things properly.

“Alright,” the village head said, bringing a chair for Shen Jiang, but he remained standing, refusing the gesture.

Wang Xiuzhi sensed something was wrong and asked, “Village head, are you trying to please—”

“Shut up!” the village head glared. “Think before you speak; don’t let your words harm you.”

Wang Xiuzhi was silenced and turned to vent her anger at Wang Jing.

“You little shameless thing! Give back everything you stole!” Wang Xiuzhi shouted.

Wang Jing, inspired by Xu Qingmo’s bravery, refused to back down. She met Wang Xiuzhi’s eyes and retorted, “You’re old enough. Just because I don’t usually argue with you doesn’t mean I’m afraid.”

“What do you mean by that?” Wang Xiuzhi was unaccustomed to Wang Jing speaking so firmly.

Wang Jing continued, “Everyone knows what kind of man Xu Yuanlong is. You know the kind of life you had before I came. Without me, you might still be starving in the commune. Even Xu Hai might not have married.”

She no longer remained silent.

Wang Xiuzhi felt slapped in the face, her cheeks burning.

“My son is capable. He married based on his own abilities. Don’t flatter yourself. If it weren’t for Yuanlong, you’d still be earning work points in the production team,” Wang Xiuzhi spat.

Wang Jing pressed on, “I’m a young lady from Shanghai. I’ve never suffered much. The only hardship I faced was in your house. You tricked me out of my money and valuables, which gave your family a good life. I’m just taking back what’s mine—how is that self-praise?”

Wang Jing was firm, no longer soft or hesitant.

Wang Xiuzhi felt uneasy but didn’t want the villagers to see her lose face.

Angry, she shouted, “What do you mean ‘yours’? Everything belonged to this family once you married in!”

Xu Qingmo had had enough; Wang Xiuzhi needed another lesson.

“Old lady, what benefits have you really brought to this family?” Xu Qingmo demanded.

Through dreams, Xu Qingmo had learned a lot about this era.

Since marrying into the Xu family, Wang Xiuzhi had always taken anything valuable to her own family. Even when her husband died chopping wood, she still took valuables home.

The family of four lived frugally, but since Wang Jing married in, their life improved drastically.

While others barely had enough wild vegetables, they had steamed buns until full and meat on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. All of this was thanks to Wang Jing.

Wang Xiuzhi feared that such a capable woman would dominate her family, so she secretly encouraged Xu Yuanlong to hit Wang Jing, to make her obedient.

If the original Wang Jing hadn’t been accidentally killed by Xu Yuanlong, she wouldn’t have developed the will to resist.

“Little girl, how dare you speak to your grandmother like that! Does your mother teach you this? Women from the city can’t even teach their children. Looks like I’ll have to handle this myself.”

Wang Xiuzhi tried to hit her with a broom, but remembering last night’s events, she switched to a metal pipe.

As soon as her hand touched the pipe, the bandage on her palm burned through. She dared not touch it again.

Wang Xiuzhi realized the previous incidents weren’t coincidences. That little girl could somehow ignite objects.

Xu Qingmo glared at Wang Xiuzhi and said, “Your parents didn’t teach you right. Looks like I’ll have to do it myself. Since you married into this family, you can’t take things out.”

She grabbed a broom taller than herself and chased Wang Xiuzhi with short, determined steps.

Wang Xiuzhi didn’t react in time. The broom hit her legs hard, like two burning fireballs, and she fell, rubbing her legs in pain.

The air smelled faintly of burning meat.

Xu Qingmo wasn’t satisfied. She swung the broom at Wang Xiuzhi’s back.

Terrified, Wang Xiuzhi rolled on the ground and looked at Xu Qingmo with fear.

“Stop! Stop! Take whatever you want! I won’t fight you anymore!”