Chapter 28

Chapter 28

The Yang brothers, the elder named Yang Quanwen, was thirty-two this year. The younger brother, Yang Quanwu, was twenty-six. Both were in their prime, and they had gone up the mountain today to help search for someone.

In Old Wu's household in the village, his daughter-in-law and mother-in-law had gotten into an argument, and the latter stormed off into the mountains in a fit of anger.

The team leader had no choice but to organize a group of about a dozen able-bodied men to find her, offering ten work points to each of them, including the two brothers.

However, before they could find Old Wu's mother, they ended up rescuing Zhao Guifen first.

Yang Quanwen agreed with Zhou Jiaojiao's point, mainly because when they arrived, the wild boar was already dead. All they did was help carry the person down.

But he wasn't the one who could make decisions on such matters; it was up to the team leader.

A wild boar wasn't a small creature that could be casually given to just one family.

There were over three hundred households in their Xiahe Village alone. With a boar that size, every household could get at least a pound of meat.

Although wild boar meat wasn't as tasty as domestic pork, it was still a source of meat.

"This isn't something my brother and I can decide. It's up to the team leader. Such a large catch might be lucky enough to be shared among our entire village of Xiahe if we're fortunate. But if not, it could end up being distributed across the whole team, which includes three villages.

That includes Shanghe Village and Zhonghe Village!"

Yang Quanwu neatly extricated himself from the situation with a smile. His brother was taciturn and didn't know how to speak eloquently.

He, however, was different!

"Brother, let's go. We haven't found Aunt Wu yet! Don't worry, you'll hear from the team leader tonight," said Yang Quanwu before leaving with his brother.

Zhou Jiaojiao was furious, shooting daggers at Zhao Cuihua with her eyes. "Why did you shout on the mountain? If you hadn't shouted, the wild boar would have been ours."

Zhao Cuihua?

Zhao Cuihua was stunned. Was Old Fifth's wife crazy?

If she hadn't shouted?

There were so many people in the woods. Would they not have noticed if she hadn't shouted? Besides, the wild boar was charging towards them. Was she supposed to wait to die instead of shouting for help?

Zhao Cuihua wasn't one to take insults lying down, and she immediately retorted, "Are you crazy? Who wouldn't scream when faced with a wild boar? Didn't you see it charging at us? We were lucky to escape when we did. That wild boar died after crashing into a tree.

What if we weren't so lucky?

Not just Mom, but you and I would have been killed!"

Zhou Jiaojiao wished she could strangle Zhao Cuihua. What did she mean by 'lucky'?

The wild boar was hers by right!

Her mother-in-law, Zhao Guifen, had been plagued with bad luck since entering the mountains. It was only natural that she would encounter a wild boar, and the boar would end up dead.

As long as she didn't scream for help and didn't run away, the wild boar would have been hers!

How much money could she have made selling it on the black market?

This Zhao Cuihua was stupid and now trying to argue her way out of it!

It was infuriating!

"Fifth Sister-in-Law, who wouldn't scream when faced with a wild boar? Are you suggesting we should have waited there for the boar to die on its own?" Chen Fang couldn't stand it anymore and asked her.

Zhou Jiaojiao was taken aback. "I... I didn't mean that. I was just thinking about the wild boar. A boar that big could fetch a lot of money. Now that it belongs to the village, we won't get much meat."

"Fifth Sister-in-Law, no one can predict the future. How confident were you that the boar would die? Anyone else would think the boar came specifically for you," Bai Xiuxiu interjected calmly.

Her words left Zhou Jiaojiao speechless.

Terrified, she stammered, "S-Sister-in-Law, don't say such things. How could I...?"

"That's right. How could you attract a wild boar? If you could, then Mom's suffering would be all your fault." Bai Xiuxiu's voice was gentle, but her words, no matter how harsh, sounded soothing as if she were coaxing someone.

Zhou Jiaojiao turned pale with fear and dared not mention the wild boar again.

"Where is everyone? Why are you all standing around here? Go get me some water! Are you all going to die?" In the house, Zhao Guifen yelled at them.

She lay on the bed, her face twisted in pain, wishing she could beat her unfortunate daughters-in-law.

She wanted them to feel her pain.

If these daughters-in-law weren't so useless, she wouldn't have suffered like this.

When the noise in the room subsided, the women looked at each other uncertainly.

Bai Xiuxiu turned and walked away. "I'm still sick. I can't serve Mom."

"I-I'm sick too!" Liu Xiaoe quickly followed suit.

Jokingly, she limped to serve her mother-in-law?

The old lady was still furious. If she took her anger out on Liu Xiaoe, she'd be in trouble.

Limping, Liu Xiaoe hurried back to the room.

Chen Fang was always cold-faced. She snorted and returned to her room.

She was also sick!

At this point, only Zhao Cuihua and Zhou Jiaojiao were left in the courtyard. Zhao Cuihua was also exhausted; she had suffered greatly in the mountains. Compared to Zhou Jiaojiao, it made her seem even more worn out.

"Five's wife, you've just married into our family, so you should take this opportunity to get on well with Mom. Besides, you seem to be the healthiest one at home right now. You should go and take care of her." With that, Zhao Cuihua called into the house, "Mom, Old Fifth's wife is coming over."

Then, she quickly went back inside.

Leaving Zhou Jiaojiao alone, frowning.

She wanted to curse but there was no one to curse at. She gritted her teeth and went inside.

Zhao Guifen was currently displeased with everyone. Seeing Old Fifth's wife, who had encouraged her to go up the mountain, only made her angrier: "What are you standing there for? Are you blind? Help me up for some water, and make today’s meal for me."

Zhou Jiaojiao widened her delicate eyes, disbelieving.

What did this old hag say?

Make her work?

In her mother's home, she never had to do any chores!

Her mother always had her sisters-in-law do the laundry and cooking for her.

How many days had she been married?

Zhou Jiaojiao brought over some water, harboring resentment.

The next moment, Zhao Guifen choked, coughing violently.

Her face turned red, and even her wounds hurt!

Tears streamed down from the pain.

"Hurry up and help me, are you dead?"

After saying this, for some reason, her waist gave out, and she fell to the ground.

Zhou Jiaojiao felt a sense of satisfaction internally, but didn’t show it on her face: "Mom, what happened? I'll help you up."

After helping her up, unable to contain her anguish, she headed for her mother's house! She needed to complain to her mother!

Seeing her leave, Zhao Cuihua, who had been staying inside, couldn't resist any longer and rushed to Bai Xiuxiu's room.

Bai Xiuxiu's door was closed, and the curtains drawn, so nothing could be seen from outside.

Zhao Cuihua knocked on the door, "Elder Sister..."

Inside, Bai Xiuxiu, who was about to eat a bun, unhappily put it aside and hid her medicine before opening the door.

"What's wrong?"

Zhao Cuihua followed her into the room, whispering mysteriously, "Elder Sister, I'm telling you, Old Fifth's wife might be a demon!"