Chapter 246: Bad Intentions

Around ten o'clock, Liu's father, leaning on a cane and carrying a shoulder pole, had bedding on one end and burning charcoal in a broken earthenware basin on the other; Liu's mother followed to one side, carrying some rice and flour, moving from the old house to the new one.

Behind them came Uncle Liangzi, along with Fu Yan Cheng, Qiu Shaofeng, and the village men who had previously helped build the house, loading the remaining belongings onto a flatbed cart and pulling it to the new house.

With that, the old house was returned to the Liu family, and the two families would have no further dealings with each other.

As they were moving out, Ge Pozi had intended to make a scene, but Fu Yan Cheng stood there in a crisp military uniform, and Uncle Liangzi also stood there to keep order; Liu's father, fearing that the truth about Liu Shanliang not being his biological son would be exposed, stubbornly held her back.

Ge Xiulan, watching Liu's mother smiling like a blooming flower, was filled with indignation: "Spit! No matter how well the house is built, without a son to carry on the line, they're still just a childless household. What's there to be so proud of?"

In truth, she was deeply envious, wishing the house were hers.

Su Hongjuan of the Third Branch watched the group walk away, feeling uneasy; previously, in this old house, the Second Branch had been the lowest of the low, yet it was they who had first escaped this place.

Her face was clouded with worry. Yesterday, her eldest daughter, Xiaoman, had returned from her younger sister's place; not only had the matchmaking failed, but the young man's older sister, having somehow learned the news, knew what had happened to the Liu family and had said it right in front of her younger sister, making the scene extremely awkward.

Her daughter had returned weeping like a drowned person; had her husband not held her back, she would have rushed to the First Branch to fight them.

But then she looked at the Second Branch, which had been completely unaffected; the young man that girl Chuxue found was not only from the city but also an officer. How could she feel at ease with that?

Yet she could do nothing. Just as she was about to return to her room, Ge Xiulan, unable to keep her mouth shut, said: "What, Third Sister-in-law, are you envious of them?"

Su Hongjuan's anger could no longer be suppressed: "Yes, I am envious of them. What of it? Are you not envious?"

Seeing Ge Xiulan's face twisted into a look ready to devour someone, she said: "What's wrong with you? Why are you shouting at me? If you're so envious, why not send your Xiaoman to snatch Chuxue's fiancé? I guarantee it won't take long before your family can live in a brick-and-tile house too."

Ge Xiulan had said this with the deliberate intent to stir up trouble and watch the spectacle.

But no sooner had she finished speaking than Su Hongjuan rushed at her like a cannonball, raising her hand and slapping Ge Xiulan twice: "Is that even human speech you're saying?

If it weren't for you lot, would my daughter have such a hard time finding a match? What do you think my Xiaoman is? Do you think everyone is as shameless as you?"

By the time the First Branch heard the commotion and came out, the two sisters-in-law were already locked in a fierce fight.

Liu Ruhua of the First Branch, seeing her Third Aunt fighting her own mother, immediately rushed over to help, reaching out to strike Su Hongjuan. Xiaoman and the second daughter, Qiufen, of the Third Branch would not stand by and watch; the two sisters directly blocked Ruhua, saying: "This is grown-ups' business; stay out of it."

Ruhua struggled constantly, but Xiaoman and Qiufen also hated the people of the First Branch; had they not acted without propriety, the Third Branch's reputation would not have been dragged down, so they certainly showed no mercy to Ruhua.

News of the two sisters-in-law fighting quickly spread to the new house, where people said all sorts of things: "Didn't Old Liu the Fifth brag by the old locust tree at the village entrance that his children and grandchildren were the most filial and his wives got along the best? Now he's been slapped in the face, hard."

(End of this chapter)