Hey guys, sorry for dropping out for the past two weeks. Life got in the way. No worries, here are the chapters I owe you.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

The two walked all the way to the village entrance. Even from a distance, before they had even reached the stone mill, they saw a crowd gathered in a circle—a rare sight in the middle of winter.

Someone spotted Wei Hu returning and called out, “Wei Hu! Hurry over here—your mother’s in a fight with someone!”

Hearing it was his mother, Wei Hu hurried over, and Song Ning ran over as well. They saw Chen Cuihua in the middle of a crowd, with Li Guifen standing right in front of her, both pointing fingers and shouting insults at each other.

Song Ning grabbed Chen Cuihua’s sleeve. “Mom, what’s going on?”

Chen Cuihua spat. “That gossip, Li Guifen! I’ve always said that even though our family’s reputation isn’t great, we haven’t gone looking for trouble. Turns out it’s that lowlife who’s been badmouthing us behind our backs!”

Although it was cold today, the sun was shining nicely. Someone had lit a fire at the village entrance, warming themselves by a burning tree stump. Even though people didn’t like to go out much in winter, staying cooped up at home was stifling, so whenever they saw a fire, they’d come over to warm themselves and chat.

Chen Cuihua saw that the rice at home was running low, so she scooped up some grain to go to the village entrance to pound it into rice. Before she even got close, she heard Li Guifen saying that her son, Song Ning, had been engaged before and had been involved in a scandalous affair with that man—otherwise, he wouldn’t have ended up getting married off to this poor village.

Chen Cuihua couldn’t stand it. First, she called her son Ning-ger lazy, and now, after just a few days of her not being around, she’s actually started slandering his reputation!

Chen Cuihua dropped the grain on the ground, reached out, and grabbed Li Guifen by the hair, yanking her out of the crowd. Chen Cuihua showed no mercy, pinning Li Guifen down so hard she couldn’t even lift her head. “You’re something else, Li Guifen!”

The men and women warming themselves by the fire nearby hurried to pull the two apart. By the time they’d separated them, Chen Cuihua still had a handful of Li Guifen’s hair, and the pain made Li Guifen cry out in agony.

Li Guifen was no pushover either; she immediately started cursing, hurling every dirty and foul word she could think of. Chen Cuihua didn’t hold back either—it was just name-calling, after all. She, Chen Cuihua, couldn’t be bothered to engage with those gossipmongers; she’d let them all forget just how formidable she really was!

When Wei Hu and Song Ning arrived, the two women were already at it, with bystanders trying to break them up—otherwise, they would’ve been rolling around on the ground, fighting.

Chen Cuihua brushed aside the peacemaker with a sweep of her arm. “Get out of my way! I’m going to tear that bitch’s mouth to shreds today!”

It wasn’t until Song Ning grabbed Chen Cuihua’s sleeve that she realized her son and Fulang had returned from town. She gave Song Ning a shove. “Huzi, go take your husband home. I’ll be back in a bit!”

Country folk have a crude way of cursing, and since the matter had dragged Song Ning into it, the ger was easily offended—Chen Cuihua feared he might hear it and be hurt.

With his mother being bullied by outsiders, how could Song Ning possibly walk away? Though he wasn’t much of a fighter, if it came to blows, he might just be able to lend a hand.

As soon as Li Guifen saw Song Ning arrive, she grew even more smug. “Well, well, here comes the main character. Everyone, ask around—wasn’t Song Ning engaged to someone before? And he’s a Xiucai. Isn’t that so much better than some peasant? If the engagement hadn’t been called off, he wouldn’t have ended up marrying Wei Hu, would she?”

Song Ning’s face paled for a moment. How did she know about this?

Chen Cuihua spat in disgust. She didn’t care whether Song Ning had been betrothed before; having known her for so long, she trusted her implicitly. Even if the engagement had been broken off, so what? That was their loss, not Song Ning’s.

“Pfft! Mind your own business, you meddling busybody! You can’t even sort out your own family affairs, yet here you are sticking your nose into mine!”

Someone in the village must have called the Li family over; Li Gui’er and his wife, along with Li Xiaolian, all showed up. Li Gui’er’s wife stood by with her hands in her pockets, not getting involved, just watching the spectacle, while Li Xiaolian stepped in to help her mother argue.

“Aunt Cuihua, my mother meant well.”

“Pfft! If your mother’s well-meaning, then my scolding her is well-meaning too!”

It was Song Ning’s first time arguing with someone. Whether from excitement or nervousness, she began to tremble slightly. “Mother, I was engaged to a Xiucai before. That Xiucai married Song Baozhu just for the money—he’s nothing but an ungrateful, heartless wretch!”

Chen Cuihua patted Song Ning’s hand. “It’s all right. I know you’ve been wronged. Just wait—I’m going to teach that old bitch a lesson!”

Chen Cuihua shouted, “Listen up, all of you! Don’t you dare say that Ning-ger’s engagement was broken off. Even if he’d been married before, he’s still the Fulang of the Wei family! If I hear anyone gossiping about this again, they’ll end up just like Li Guifen today!”

As soon as Chen Cuihua finished speaking, she pounced on Li Guifen, straddled her, and swung her arm in a wide arc to strike her. Song Ning let out a cry and tried to rush over, but Wei Hu pulled him back. “Don’t worry, Mother won’t come out on the losing end.”

Li Guifen reached out to grab Chen Cuihua’s face, but Chen Cuihua pinned her down with one hand while slapping her with the other, leaving Li Guifen completely helpless. Seeing her mother being beaten, Li Xiaolian rushed over to help. “Don’t hit my mother!”

Song Ning saw that another helper had joined the fray—if that happened, his mother would surely be at a disadvantage. Like a raging calf, he charged headlong into the crowd, knocking Li Xiaolian to the ground with a cry of “Ouch!”

Song Ning staggered and nearly fell to the ground himself, but Wei Hu quickly caught him. “Did that hit hurt?”

“Brother Wei Hu, I feel dizzy.”

Song Ning felt his vision flickering; he clutched his head and leaned against Wei Hu’s chest. Chen Cuihua, seeing Song Ning being bullied, redoubled her efforts, grabbing Li Guifen’s head with both hands and slamming it against the ground. “I’ll teach you to talk back! I’ll teach you to talk back!”

Li Xiaolian had been knocked hard by Song Ning and couldn’t even get up, clutching her stomach. Li Gui’er saw her mother and sister being pinned down and beaten, and wanted to step in to break it up—if he could pull her mother away, he might take fewer blows.

Before Li Gui’er could even get close, Wei Hu kicked him away. He let out a cry and rolled over on the ground. “Brother Huzi, why did you kick me? I was just trying to break it up!”

Over there, Chen Cuihua finally stopped beating Li Guifen. She clapped her hands and stood up from on top of her, “Try messing with me again, and I’ll beat you to a pulp! Pfft!”

Li Guifen’s face was swollen from the beating, while Chen Cuihua had only had her hair ruffled. She snorted, “Ning-ger, let’s go home for dinner.”

Four people from the Li family had come, and now three of them were lying on the ground. Li Gui’er’s wife finally strolled over and pulled her husband to his feet. “What were you getting involved in? You’ve learned your lesson now. You’ve made a complete fool of yourself. Let’s go home!”

It was unclear who Li Gui’er’s wife meant by “making a fool of yourself.” Li Guifen had been beaten quite badly; she was still staggering as she stood up. The pitiful sight made Granny Sun shudder. The scolding Chen Cuihua had given her last time had been nothing compared to this. Since she couldn’t beat Chen Cuihua, she certainly wouldn’t dare provoke her again.

Song Ning and the others headed home as well. Chen Cuihua walked ahead with her head held high, looking every bit the victor. After all, her feud with Li Guifen hadn’t started yesterday; beating her up had left her feeling quite relieved.

Wei Hu supported Song Ning from behind. The young man had bumped into someone only to end up dizzy himself—what a silly boy.

Once home, Chen Cuihua grabbed a comb and quickly tidied her hair. “Ning-ger, are you okay?”

She hadn’t expected this young man, who usually seemed so timid, to actually dare to help her fight today. He really was a good ger.

It was Song Ning’s first time getting into a fight, and he was still buzzing with excitement. He’d bumped his head again and was feeling a bit dizzy now. He grinned like an idiot. “Mom, I’m—I’m fine, hehe.”

Chen Cuihua chuckled. “But you’ve got a bump on your head.”

Song Ning gave another silly grin. Chen Cuihua sat down. “Ning-ger, what’s the story here? How did that Li Guifen find out? And she’s been badmouthing you behind your back? Ugh! I’ve been wondering why our family’s reputation has been so tarnished—it’s all because of Li Guifen and her gossiping over the years!”

Chen Cuihua wasn’t wrong about Li Guifen. Li Guifen couldn’t stand seeing Chen Cuihua living a better life than she did. Even the rumor that Wei Hu was a wife-killer first came from her, which is how it became common knowledge.

After Wei Hu mentioned Song Ning’s situation, Chen Cuihua hurled a few more insults at Zhao Qingshu. “He’s nothing but an ungrateful wretch! Thank goodness you didn’t marry him, Ning-ger. That man has a wicked heart! And he calls himself an educated man? He’s let all that learning go to the dogs!”

By now, Song Ning had recovered. He nodded in agreement. “He really is wicked!”

“Li Xiaolian was the one who told her mother about this. As for how she found out, I’m not entirely sure.” Wei Hu recounted how Li Xiaolian had stopped him that day.

Song Ning gasped, “It was her, after all.”

Chen Cuihua snorted, “That Li Xiaolian is just like her mother. She’s still just a girl, yet she’s got such a big mouth.”

Chen Cuihua didn’t know the full story; she simply thought Li Xiaolian had a big mouth.

Chen Cuihua was in a great mood after beating Li Guifen earlier that day. There was also some rabbit meat buried in a snowdrift at home; she dug it out and made a braised rabbit dish that morning, which the family of three enjoyed together in high spirits.

In the afternoon, Qiu-ger came over carrying his embroidered basket. He sat down by the brazier and began chatting excitedly, “I was at home at the time and didn’t know, but I heard you got into a fight too, Ning-ger. That’s really something!”

Song Ning was flustered by the praise—who gets praised for getting into a fight? “I… I just bumped into Li Xiaolian.”

“When I came by, they were arguing again at her place. It seemed like Li Xiaolian was accusing her sister-in-law of not helping out. The two of them were having a huge fight in the courtyard. Li Gui’er’s wife even said Li Xiaolian wouldn’t get married and was just loafing around at home, eating for free. It was quite a scene.”

Chen Cuihua had gone to pound rice at the village entrance again that afternoon, so now there were only the two of them left in the house. They huddled together and began whispering to each other.

Song Ning told him what had happened earlier. Qiu-ger was so angry he cursed a few times, but deep down, he felt even more sorry for Song Ning. “Ning-ger, don’t worry. If anyone bullies you, I’ll stand up for you!”

Song Ning smiled. “Alright.”

That night, as they lay in bed, Wei Hu held him close against his chest. Song Ning chattered, “That scared the life out of me. It was my first time fighting.”

Wei Hu ran his hand over his head to check for a bump. After feeling all around and finding none, he relaxed. “You’re not allowed to fight with anyone when I’m not by your side, got it?”

Song Ning nodded, but accidentally bumped into Wei Hu’s chest again, making even him laugh. “Got it, got it. I’ve got it under control.”

Wei Hu was worried that Song Ning, with his small frame, would get bullied if he got into a fight. Today, he’d only bumped into the other kid, but he’d nearly fallen on his butt himself—what a little klutz.

Song Ning had just yawned in comfort from Wei Hu’s touch. Pouting, he planted a kiss on Wei Hu’s chin. Wei Hu narrowed his eyes slightly. “Go ahead. I’ll be gentle.”

As he spoke, Wei Hu’s hand slid down the ger’s waist. Ever since the ger bumped into him earlier, Wei Hu had wanted to snatch him up and take him home.

Song Ning let out an “Ouch!” and tried to run, but Wei Hu had him pinned by the waist, so he couldn’t escape. Song Ning was getting a little turned on, too. “Then try again. You… you have to be gentle, okay?”

Wei Hu really did go much gentler, which made Song Ning bite his lip and start crying. “No, no, that’s not it. You… you should be a little rougher.”

“Why are you so fussy? Too hard isn’t good, and too soft isn’t good either.”

Song Ning tickled Wei Hu a few times—it didn’t hurt, more like a playful tease. Wei Hu’s eyes turned red, and like a lurking beast, he lowered his head and bit into his prey’s neck.