Chapter 35 Mountain Home Hearth 35

Chapter 35: The Mountain Family’s Hearth and Home 35

Luo Qingzhu’s voice pierced her ears. Qi Shan’s mother, who had been too pained to move, lurched upright, her eyes bulging as if they might pop from her head.

She glared at him furiously, roaring, "Nonsense! You worthless man! How dare you slander my son when he’s not here!"

"Oh, my God, there’s no justice in this world!"

"To utter such words! How could you do this to my son?!"

"And to think that poor fool was so devoted to you, heart and soul! How could you betray him like this?!"

These words struck a raw nerve, infuriating Lin Xingniang. She lunged forward, slapping Qi Shan’s mother several more times, cursing, "Bullshit! That bastard Qi Shan, too guilty to show his face after what he did? Why isn’t he here himself, sending his old lady to fight his battles instead? Even he knows to save face, huh?"

Instead of calming down, Qi Shan’s mother only cried louder, wailing as she wept.

"Oh! My son has been beaten so badly he can’t even get out of bed, and now you have the nerve to say such cold-hearted things! Who knows, maybe it was you who had him beaten?!"

This took Lin Xingniang and Luo Qingzhu by surprise. Mother and son exchanged glances, both seeing confusion in the other’s eyes.

Cui Lanfang had long since heard the commotion. After telling Banban to stay inside, she grew worried and hurried out to check, arriving just in time to witness the scene.

She paid no attention to Qi Shan’s mother, who was lying on the ground, bruised and battered. Instead, her gaze fell upon Lin Xingniang, whose skirt was slightly soiled and hair somewhat disheveled. Her eyes widened, and she rushed over, supporting Lin Xingniang as she asked with concern, "Xingniang!"

"Did that old shrew hit you?!"

The "old shrew" in question glared even wider, but her eyelids were so swollen that others could only see tiny slits.

Pointing first at herself, then at Lin Xingniang, she shrieked shrilly enough to pierce the sky.

"Who hit whom?!"

Lin Xingniang first gave Qi Shan’s mother a dirty look, then grabbed Cui Lanfang’s hand, patting it a couple of times as she said with amusement, "Not bad, not bad! Lanfang, you’ve learned to curse too!"

Cui Lanfang offered an awkward laugh.

Just then, three more people approached, one after another.

Walking in front was Song Qingfeng, carrying a large, fresh piece of pork belly, tied with straw rope.

About ten paces behind Song Qingfeng followed Qi Shan and Qi Shu, the two brothers. When Qi Shan saw Song Qingfeng, he shrunk back like a mouse that's seen a cat, dragging his younger brother along to hide.

Seeing that Song Qingfeng was also heading toward the Luo family, and with no avoiding him, Qi Shan had no choice but to pull Qi Shu along and follow from a distance, inwardly cursing his "bad luck" under his breath.

Song Qingfeng walked up to the Luo family’s door, completely ignoring the person collapsed in front of it. He stepped forward with the fresh pork belly, saying, "Business was slow today, so I had some meat left over that didn’t sell. I can’t finish it all by myself, so I brought some for Auntie Lin’s family."

Business was slow?

Early that morning, Liu Guyu had taken Qin Rongshi to set up a stall in town. It was clearly market day—how could business be slow on a market day?

Lin Xingniang didn’t expose him, smiling slightly as she accepted his kindness. But then she turned and called to Luo Maier behind her, "Mai’er, go inside and get some money."

She could accept the gesture, but she couldn’t take the meat for free. Lin Xingniang believed in keeping things square.

Song Qingfeng frowned, opening his mouth to speak, but Luo Qingzhu had already taken the money from his sister and handed it to him.

He closed his mouth sullenly and had no choice but to accept the money.

At that moment, Qi Shan finally hobbled over, using a stick for support. He hadn’t come for Luo Qingzhu but for his mother.

As he approached, the onlookers noticed that Qi Shan’s injuries were even worse than his mother’s.

A large bump swelled on his head, a gash split open his forehead where the blood had congealed but still looked sticky and frightening. His eyelids were swollen and drooping, the corners of his eyes bruised purple and blue, a nasty blotch of congealed blood beneath his lips, and his mouth badly swollen.

Qi Shan limped closer, glaring angrily at his mother as he shouted in frustration, "Mother! I told you, again and again, not to come! Why wouldn’t you listen?!"

"Stop making a scene! Come back with me!"

Whether out of guilt or not, Qi Shan didn’t dare even to look at Luo Qingzhu as he spoke.

Qi Shan’s mother felt wronged.

Who was she doing all this for? It was all for him!

This boy had no regard for her as his mother—couldn’t he see her face was battered and broken? Not a word of concern!

Qi Shan’s mother sat on the ground, throwing a tantrum: "You heartless brat! Look what they did to your mother! It hurts so much! A son-in-law beating his mother-in-law—there’s no justice in this world!"

Qi Shan was irritated by her cries and finally glanced at Luo Qingzhu, asking incredulously, "Qing Zhu, how could you hit Mother? No matter what, she’s still an elder!"

At that moment, Luo Qingzhu truly felt that his past self must have been blind! To have fallen for such a man.

Lin Xingniang couldn’t stand him slandering her son like that. She glared at him and snapped, "What nonsense are you spouting?! That was me who hit her!"

Several people in the crowd spoke up as well, chiming in:

"That’s right, it was your mother-in-law who did it!"

"Ah, Qing Zhu has the gentlest temper—how could he possibly raise a hand?"

Hearing this, Qi Shan awkwardly rubbed his hands together, cautiously stealing a glance at Luo Qingzhu as he tentatively asked, "Qing Zhu, have you calmed down now?"

How could he ask so lightly? As if what happened that day was just some trivial matter.

Luo Qingzhu couldn’t even cry now. Without beating around the bush, he asked directly, "Are you here to sign the divorce papers?"

Qi Shan said angrily, "Qing Zhu! Have you no respect for our marriage bond? We’ve been married for so many years!"

Luo Qingzhu thought it was ridiculous. He retorted, "You know we’ve been married all these years—so how have you acted?"

Qi Shan wanted to say more, but Luo Qingzhu didn’t give him the chance, quickly adding,

"Never mind that for now. In front of your mother, tell her—which of us is the one who can’t have children?"

Qi Shan’s mother had initially thought Luo Qingzhu was spouting lies, but now he dared to say it right in front of her son, speaking without a hint of guilt—as if… as if it were true…

A panic seized Qi Shan’s mother, and she instinctively turned to look at her son Qi Shan. In that instant, she caught a flicker of guilt in Qi Shan’s eyes.

A mother knows her son best. With that one look, she knew Luo Qingzhu was telling the truth.

Her son really couldn’t have children!

While Qi Shan’s mother was still reeling from the shock, Qi Shan exploded in anger—a furious, rage born of shame.

"Luo Qingzhu! Shut up!! Don’t say it!!! Stop talking!!!"

As he shouted, he charged forward, heading straight for Luo Qingzhu, his eyes wide and bulging, teeth gritted in fury. With the look on his face, it wouldn’t be surprising if he started swinging.

Lin Xingniang quickly pulled Luo Qingzhu and Mai’er behind her. Cui Lanfang also stepped aside, instinctively looking around for a suitable stick to defend herself.

There were two large dogs in the household. Seeing Qi Shan charging forward, they rushed ahead to get in front of their owner, barking like crazy, slobber flying everywhere, just waiting for Qi Shan to get close enough to take a bite.

Before the dogs could bite, Song Qingfeng, who was standing at the door, sprang into action first.

He let out an impatient "tsk," then grabbed Qi Shan by the collar and kicked him in his already injured leg. The next moment, he slammed him face-down into the dirt.

"Qi Shan, are you done yet? Do you want to lose your other leg too?"

Qi Shan started shaking.

A couple of days ago, while returning to the village from work, he had been ambushed on a small path, got jumped and had a bag thrown over his head before being beaten up.

Qi Shan hadn’t seen the attacker’s face, but the force of the kicks, the way he was grabbed by the collar and pressed into the ground—it was exactly the same as now!

Seeing her son pinned to the ground, Qi’s mother screamed and immediately stood up, lunging forward.

She didn’t recognize Song Qingfeng, only thinking the big, burly man looked somewhat familiar, perhaps seen in town before. But Qi’s mother didn't have time to think about that now; she rushed forward, pulling at Song Qingfeng’s hands. Qi Shu, seeing his brother pinned down, also came to his brother's aid.

At the sight of Qi Shu, Song Qingfeng seemed even angrier. He kicked Qi Shan away, then grabbed Qi Shu and beat him up as well.

"I was so busy with him, I almost forgot about you!"

Song Qingfeng roared angrily, throwing punches left and right, followed by a couple of kicks. In no time, Qi Shu was lying on the ground like a dead man.

Well, now the two brothers looked equally battered—one with a lame right leg, the other with a lame left leg, their injuries matched perfectly.

Damn, he's vicious.

Lin Xingniang and the others watched in stunned silence. With every punch Song Qingfeng threw, Cui Lanfang gasped, shrinking her neck in fear.

Luo Qingzhu covered Luo Maier’s eyes, but the little girl’s eyes sparkled with excitement. She pried her brother’s fingers apart and peeked through the gaps.

She muttered, "Is this what Gu Yu meant by 'fists as big as sandbags'?"

They sure were. And they sure did the job.

Luo Qingzhu watched Song Qingfeng throwing punches, lost in thought.

After what felt like a long time, he whispered, "...I remember he wasn’t like this when we were kids."

Lin Xingniang was too stunned by Song Qingfeng to catch what Luo Qingzhu said. She stammered, "Wh-what?"

But Luo Qingzhu didn’t repeat himself, only shaking his head with a strange expression.

Once Song Qingfeng had beaten Qi Shu enough, he let go, took a step back, and turned to ask Lin Xingniang how she planned to handle the situation. But as soon as he turned, he noticed Luo Qingzhu staring at him.

Song Qingfeng, who had been so smooth and decisive moments before, suddenly froze, stammering, "I—I don’t usually hit people!"

Seeing his nervous, stuttering demeanor, Luo Qingzhu, who had been feeling down, suddenly burst into laughter—light and clear.

Qi’s mother was weeping and wailing, helping her eldest son up before turning to her second son. The three of them stood in a row, bruised and battered.

The onlookers pointed and whispered among themselves.

"So it’s Qi Shan who’s incapable?"

"Tsk... If a man’s no good, he’s really no good, hahaha!"

"Poor Zhu Geer, stuck with someone like that."

"A flower stuck in a pile of cow dung!"

"I said it was a pity back when they got married! So many good men in our village, and he had to marry outside!"

...

These words washed over Qi Shan like a tide. As if struck by a great shock, his leg forgotten, his eyes turning bloodshot as he charged at the crowd, cursing at everyone.

"Get out! Get out!"

"This is my family’s business! None of your damn concern!"

"All of you, get out!"

He looked utterly deranged—eyes wide and red, mouth twisted into a snarl, spittle flying everywhere.

Most of the onlookers were women and their menfolk. Seeing Qi Shan’s frenzied state, they all stepped back in fear.

It's not the stupid ones you have to worry about, it's the crazy ones. With his crazed look, it seemed he might really stab someone if provoked.

They were only there for the show, not daring to provoke a madman.

Qi Shan’s outburst was even more extreme than his mother’s. He cursed at anyone he saw and even tried to throw punches. Frightened by his madness, the crowd gradually dispersed, no longer interested in the spectacle.

Luo Qingzhu watched coldly, frowning and shaking his head.

All these years, the person he’d shared his heart and bed with was actually this kind of trash?

Luo Qingzhu wished he could go back in time, slap himself twice, and curse his past self for being blind.

He took a deep breath, went inside to fetch the divorce papers, and said once more, "Good timing. Since your mother is here too, let’s sign the divorce papers."

Before Qi Shan could speak, Qi’s mother flew into a rage, spitting back, "Pah! Divorce, my foot! A shameless man like you, flirting left and right, getting some wild man to beat up your own husband and brother-in-law—we don’t want you! If anyone’s ending this, it should be my son divorcing you!"

With a flick of her tongue, she painted Luo Qingzhu and Song Qingfeng’s relationship as something dirty.

Lin Xingniang was furious, rushing forward to tear into her.

"You foul-mouthed wretch, I’ll rip your lips off!"

But Song Qingfeng was faster. He kicked Qi’s mother in the shin.

The woman’s legs gave way, and she tumbled down with her second son, landing face-first in the mud.

Qi’s mother was livid, spitting out mud and pointing at Song Qingfeng. "You—you—you! A grown man, tall and strong, hitting a woman! Have you no shame?"

Song Qingfeng remained unfazed, retorting, "I hit you, so what? Is it going to change my face?"

Qi’s mother yelled, "A man hitting a woman! A junior hitting an elder! Shameless, utterly shameless! I’m old enough to be your mother! How dare you lay hands on me? Aren’t you afraid it’ll shorten your life?"

Hearing this, Song Qingfeng immediately rolled up his sleeves and said, "Then I’ll hit you a couple more times and see if I drop dead tomorrow."