Chapter 85: Provoking Public Anger

Chapter 85: Provoking Public Anger

"Outsiders are bullying us, they're hitting the elderly and children~"

Cui Yuanfeng got up, sat on the ground, and started slapping the ground with her hands, shouting loudly without shedding a tear.

In an instant, all the surrounding neighbors gathered.

"Who’s this? A guest from Li Hongmei’s place?"

"What’s going on here? If you’ve got something to say, say it properly. You can’t just hit an old lady!"

"Exactly! Where are you from? It’s way too arrogant to come to our Fuqing Street and bully people!"

"Oh my, isn’t that Dawei underfoot? Let the kid go! What are you doing?"

A woman who had issues with the Liu family pointed at Su Ping’s feet and said, "Look, he’s crawling through the dog hole—must’ve been caught stealing again, red-handed!"

"I say, stepping on him is just fine. How many of us haven’t been messed with by these two brothers? Last time, I was lighting a stove at my door when my child started crying. I went inside to comfort them, and when I came back, the stove was gone. Later, I had to pay 2 yuan to get it back from the recycling station. The owner said it was two half-grown kids who brought it in—definitely these two brothers!"

"Yes, yes! My Dabao went out with them a couple of times, and the silver pendant around his neck went missing. My Dabao said Liu Dawei yanked it off. I took my kid to their house to demand an explanation, but that unreasonable old lady just scolded me. Just thinking about it makes me furious!"

"Before, they said we had no proof, but now they’re caught red-handed, aren’t they? Did they think everyone would let them off? They’ve hit a brick wall now, haven’t they?"

"Shh, keep it down. Who are these two? New faces—obviously clueless about old lady Cui and the Liu family’s antics. They’re definitely in for it. Look, they’re being set up, gonna lose big time~"

A kind-looking aunt approached Su An and gently warned her, "Girl, what’s going on? You’re daring to provoke old lady Cui? She’s not someone to mess with—she’s got several sons, like glue. Once you’re stuck, good luck getting free."

Su An gave the aunt a friendly smile, then raised her voice.

"I’m really sorry for disturbing the neighborhood’s peace at noon. I apologize to everyone here!"

Su An pointed at Su Ping, "This is my brother, not the nasty relationship that foul-mouthed old hag is talking about. We just moved here two days ago. Last month, we bought this house from Aunt Li, so from now on, we’ll be seeing a lot of each other."

Su An frowned and sighed, "Ah~, when we were house-hunting, Fuqing Street wasn’t our first choice. Compared to the two streets ahead, the environment and other aspects are a bit lacking... But I heard Fuqing Street has a great atmosphere! The neighbors here are known for being kind and friendly, with simple, honest customs. Everyone’s like Lei Feng, always talking about morality and ready to lend a hand!"

"So we picked Fuqing Street out of several options, not for anything else but this great atmosphere. Isn’t there an old saying, ‘A good neighbor is better than a distant relative’?"

"Ah, who would’ve thought? We just moved in, and in broad daylight, our house got ransacked..."

Old lady Cui was still lying in the arms of her eldest daughter-in-law who had just arrived, cursing at the sky and the earth, while the surrounding crowd was already in an uproar.

"What? Ransacking a house? Is that something kids can do? Definitely taught by the adults at home. Steal needles when young, steal gold when grown. I say, give them a good thrashing to keep the alley’s reputation intact."

"Exactly! Our alley had a great reputation—everyone said our street was good. Now, one bad apple ruins the whole bunch. Because of these two kids, it’s like a bucket of dirty water got dumped on us all!"

"Good deeds stay quiet, but bad news travels fast. From now on, I’m afraid to say I’m from Fuqing Street when I go out!"

The Liu family's eldest daughter-in-law, Zhang Manyu, the mother of Liu Xiaowei and Liu Dawei, hearing the surrounding discussions, loudly retorted, "Who stole? Who's a thief? The kids are just playing, crawling through the dog hole, what do they know? Who doesn't have kids at home? If your kids made a small mistake, would you also make such a big deal out of it?"

"That heartless dog man, let go of my child, look how the child is crying? Are you made of stone? Even if the child did something wrong, can't you teach them properly?"

With that, Zhang Manyu stepped forward to push Su Ping.

Su Ping firmly remembered his sister's words, no matter who comes, he won't let go!

When Zhang Manyu realized she couldn't budge Su Ping, her temper flared up. The Liu family was large, with many uncles and cousins, and they had never been afraid of anyone on Fuqing Street. She bent down to grab at Su Ping's foot, her face contorted in a snarl, and opened her mouth wide to bite.

Su An, who was encircled by several aunties, saw this and without hesitation, lunged forward, seized Zhang Manyu's hair, yanked her back, and with all her might, slapped her across the face!

If they weren't going to cause a scene, since they were in the right, and someone dared to bully them at their doorstep, why should she hold back?

The meek get bullied, and the gentle get trampled. Today, she would use the Liu family to show all of Fuqing Street that they, the newcomers, weren't pushovers.

The slap left Zhang Manyu dazed!

Before Zhang Manyu could recover, Su An grabbed her hair and flung her to the ground. As Zhang Manyu fell, Su An lifted her leg and stomped on her stomach.

It was quick and decisive, without a moment's hesitation!

Zhang Manyu let out a yelp of pain, her body instinctively curled up, her arms clutching her abdomen.

The scene stunned everyone around, even Su Ping was left speechless as he stared at his sister!

Su An pointed at Zhang Manyu on the ground and scolded, "What nerve! You think saying 'the child doesn't understand' excuses everything? By your logic, your kids can go around looting and stealing from every house, all because 'children don't understand'!"

Several neighbors, who had been ready to object, immediately fell silent upon hearing this.

"You need to get this straight: we're the victims here. You didn't apologize, didn't offer to make things right, didn't even try to understand what happened, let alone offer to cover our losses. You didn't even ask, just started yelling and attacking, and even tried to bite, huh?"

"Newcomers, huh? Are newcomers just supposed to take your abuse?"

Su An pointed at old lady Cui and said, "That old hag with one foot in the grave, I can understand her being out of it, but you look like you're only in your thirties, don't you? How come you're so clueless and blind?"