Chapter 445: Discipline and Newspapers

"I really… ah! I must've owed you in my past life!"

"Are you my brother? You… ah! You're clearly here to collect a debt!"

"If I'd known this would happen, back when I hadn't… ah! hadn't even given birth yet, I should've… ah! I should've fought you to the death right then!"

"Wah-wah-wah, I'm sorry, sister! I… ah! Go easy, don't tire yourself out… ah!"

When Li Ang returned to Veteran Alley carrying two stacks of newspapers, long before he reached his door, he heard his little sister's heart-wrenching wails and the sharp, crisp sounds of slaps landing on her bare buttocks.

Besides them, six or seven stinking little brats stood at a distance, wiping away tearful snot while clapping and cheering toward their own home.

"Wah-wah-wah, it's great—Sister Anna's finally back!"

"Yes yes, we've finally waited for this moment!"

"I've been waiting for days—she's finally getting beaten!"

"Sister Anna must live a hundred years, or no one else can control her!"

"…"

Alright… I think I know what happened…

After sizing up the miserable little brats and spotting un-rinsed horse dung stuck in one of their teeth, Li Ang's face darkened. He quickly raised the newspapers to shield his face and slinked toward his front door.

Amid the deeply disappointed stares of the little brats, before Li Ang could even reach the door, the slapping stopped. Anna, dressed in a white dress, opened the door herself, eyes red, and called out to him.

"Brother…"

"Come inside, come inside!"

Overwhelmed by the accusing glares of the little brats, Li Ang quickly gripped Anna's shoulders and pushed her back inside, then hastily lowered the window shutters to block out the children's stares—only then did he feel slightly better.

"Wah-wah, big brother, I'm sorry!"

After Li Ang and Anna entered, before Anna could even begin her complaint, Mei Lan, who knew the routine, rushed forward and clung to Li Ang's leg, refusing to let go.

While dodging Anna's attempts to grab her, she spilled out the whole story in a rapid, unbroken stream.

"Maybe… let's call it a day?"

After hearing the full account and seeing Mei Lan's eyes swollen like two little peaches, Li Ang, moved by pity, sighed and reluctantly took on the role of peacemaker.

"Putting horse dung in someone's mouth deserves punishment, but those kids started it by saying things they shouldn't have. Mei Lan isn't entirely to blame this time, and look how she's crying—she clearly knows she's wrong."

"She doesn't know she's wrong!"

Watching Mei Lan circle Li Ang while secretly glaring at William, Anna wiped her tears and snapped:

"Brother, you have no idea what happened! Our family has barely survived this long—how much have neighbors helped us? And this is how we repay them?"

"Don't stop me! Today she shoves horse dung in someone's mouth—tomorrow who knows what she'll do! If we don't make her feel the pain now, she'll do it again!"

"Brother, sister's right."

As the two argued and Li Ang hesitated whether to step aside, William, still bent over with his pants down, suddenly turned his head and said seriously:

"Mei Lan told me at lunch that she figured Anna would beat her after returning—but if something like this happens again, she'll still do it, just change the method."

"She thinks horse dung is too big and not stinky enough—cat and dog feces work better. So yesterday afternoon, she forced me to help her collect a bunch of dog shit and insisted on hiding it in my old shoes to test tomorrow…"

"Brother, I think you really should give her a good beating."

"…"

"…" "Ah! I'll fight you!"

Unexpectedly betrayed, Mei Lan screamed in despair, let go of Li Ang's leg, and lunged at William with claws and teeth bared.

But her arms and legs were too short, her movements too slow—she'd barely taken half a step when Anna grabbed her by the hair, flipped her onto her knees, yanked down her pants, and delivered a furious barrage of slaps.

"I told you to fight him… who are you fighting? Ah?"

"I won't fight! I won't! Ah! I was just joking!"

"You say you were joking… so next time you won't do it again—that's also just a joke? Hmm?"

"No no… this time it's real! Ah! It's real!"

"Real? So testing dog dung tomorrow is real too? Is it? Speak!"

"That's not real! Ah! That's not real! You're being unreasonable!"

"…"

Forget it—Anna knows how to discipline kids. I'd better not meddle; I might raise a monster.

After pityingly glancing at Mei Lan's swollen buttocks, Li Ang turned to his brother, still bent over, and said:

"Maybe… you should pull your pants up first?"

"It's fine, brother!"

William shook his head, counted his fingers, then said confidently:

"I calculated it—Anna still has fifteen more slaps left for me. If I put my pants on now, I'll just have to take them off again. I'll wait until she's done to put them on."

"…"

Never mind how you came up with that number—just look at how heated the beating over there is—I know Anna won't have time to hit you today.

"Fine… just don't catch a cold…"

After muttering a helpless warning to his stubborn brother, Li Ang picked up his two stacks of old newspapers and walked toward his small bedroom.

Originally, Li Ang had planned to buy new newspapers, but his pockets were empty—he couldn't even afford to last until payday. So he went back to the Cleaning Bureau, asked around, and took some from Emma, a senior who subscribed regularly.

After all, Li Ang wasn't looking for news in the papers—he just wanted to find the most reckless newspapers through their article topics, to blow up the water company's scandal. Whether the papers were new or old didn't matter—so long as he could read them.

He plopped down in front of his wobbly, broken-legged table, laid the newspapers on it, and his expression turned serious. Amid Mei Lan's wailing, he began flipping through the old papers one by one.

"Alley Corner News," "Financial Times," "Entertainment Weekly," "New Industry Gazette"… skip those—they mostly cover industry news, not daily life.

"Illustrated News," "The Critic," "The Sun"… skip those too. The first two have old aristocratic ties and are full of praise for the old aristocratic system. The last one? Just the name alone makes it a piece of trash—definitely not an option.

So only three left to choose from.

After sorting through the pile, he finally picked out "Daily Headlines," "Royal Post," and "Metropolitan Evening News." As he hesitated which to choose, a knock came from the side room.

"Brother, Anna's done."

William stood at the door, pants pulled up. He sniffed hard, then stood tall with hands behind his back, like a small adult offering advice:

"Mei Lan's fine—Anna didn't hit her too hard, just told her to lie down and rest. But Anna went straight to her room and started crying. Shouldn't you go comfort her?"

(End of Chapter)