Chapter 63

Chapter 63

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, it was time for families to visit people for New Year's.

Feng Shizhu and Old Lady Feng stayed home to receive guests, while Feng Aihua and Feng Aiguo took their wives and children to visit their in-laws' homes. Feng Xia stayed at home without feeling guilty at all, thinking that Feng Aiguo and Li Meihua probably wouldn't want her to visit her grandmother's house for New Year's anyway!

In her memory, this grandmother was also very patriarchal, which was why she had raised a piece of work like Li Meihua. Every year she'd go smiling and come home crying, with no warm memories at all.

This time, Feng Xia just didn't feel like going. She lay lazily in bed, listening to the comings and goings of people who came to pay New Year's calls, and in the midst of all that hustle and bustle, she drifted back to sleep again.

She didn't get up until noon, when her stomach was hungry.

The people who came to the house today were almost all from the same village, and none of them stayed to eat. Old Lady Feng and Feng Shizhu could handle it. She spotted out of the corner of her eye Feng Xia but pretended she didn't exist—out of sight, out of mind.

Feng Xia grabbed a snack in the kitchen, half-full, and planned to take a walk up the mountain. But then she heard a commotion outside; it seemed like a lot of people had arrived.

Looking outside, sure enough, Li Meihua's whole family had come.

A big group, maybe a dozen of them. Li Meihua's mother, Feng Xia's grandmother, stood at the front, smiling as she greeted Old Lady Feng: "Oh my, dear in-laws, today Meihua came home, and I thought I haven't visited you in a while, so I just brazenly came along. You don't mind this old lady showing up, do you?"

Old Lady Feng's eye twitched in anger, but she kept her voice polite: "Don't say that. We're happy to welcome you during the New Year; how could we dislike you? Come, come, everyone, sit inside. Is this Dazhuang? He's so tall now! Hurry, hurry, come in and have some hot water to warm up."

Li Meihua's mother was called Xu Sanjin, shameless and always looking for a freebie. She immediately led everyone inside, and the whole crowd filled the main room in a rush. You could practically see the plate of peanuts disappearing, which made Old Lady Feng's wallet ache.

They chatted for a while, when Xu Sanjin asked: "Where's my Xia girl? Is she busy in the kitchen?"

Old Lady Feng's eyes shifted: "How could that be? She's still asleep. Why would I wake her in this cold? Kids gotta sleep; let her be."

When Old Lady Feng said this, everyone Xu Sanjin brought were all stunned. They knew all about Old Lady Feng's methods—she could even handle a shrew like Li Meihua, and there was no doubt about her ruthlessness. But now she said to let a granddaughter sleep a little longer? Xu Sanjin couldn't believe it.

"That won't do. A girl, and her grandmother's in-laws are here, and she doesn't come out to say hi? That's not right. Dazhu, Jiuying, go wake your sister up. Grandma's waiting." Xu Sanjin's words were flawless, her face full of smiles, as if she cared deeply for her granddaughter.

Dazhu and Jiuying responded and headed toward Li Meihua's room, but Feng Chun blocked them and pointed at Feng Xia's room: "Feng Xia has her own room; she doesn't live with us."

Now everyone's faces truly changed color. A girl has her own room?! How was that possible? They knew Feng Xia had been specially recruited by the military, but everyone here was her elder, and who couldn't control her? Old Lady Feng was really regressing—letting some little girl walk all over her.

Xu Sanjin glanced imperceptibly at the old lady, with obvious contempt.

Dazhu walked in front. He was the one who used to lead the bullying against Feng Xia. Jiuying followed behind her brother. Dazhu was about twice the size of Jiuying, but they were born less than a month apart—one from the eldest son's family, the other from the second son's. That's what life was like for girls in Xu Sanjin's house.

The door wasn't locked. Dazhu pushed it open and entered. The room inside was really spacious and bright to them. The bed had thick bedding, and on top of the bedding was an army overcoat. On the table was a military canteen. Dazhu's eyes gleamed—no boy could resist such temptation.

He reached out to grab the army coat on the bed and put it on. It was a little small on him, but Dazhu was already over the moon.

"You like this coat?"

The girl's voice was cool, as piercing as the winter chill.

Dazhu replied happily: "I love it! I absolutely love it! It's mine from now on!"

A delicate little foot in a cloth shoe, pale and fragile-looking, kicked Li Dazhu square on the butt. The heavy, over-one-hundred-jin boy crashed to the ground with a *smack*, flying straight backward to hit the door panel, followed by a shriek like a stuck pig.

The people outside heard only a scream and were about to go in to see what happened, when they saw Feng Xia, holding the army coat under one arm, dragging Dazhu by the collar like a dead dog, and tossing him onto the main hall floor. Dazhu's mother was stunned; she rushed over and hugged her son, wailing: "My poor Dazhu, my son, don't scare me like this!"

Feng Xia kicked him again, hard enough to snap him awake. Snot and tears streamed down his face, a pitiful sight.

Xu Sanjin pointed at her granddaughter, shaking with rage: "You worthless, short-lived little brat! You dare hit my grandson? I'll kill you today!"

She went for Feng Xia, who stuck out a foot, sending Xu Sanjin skidding across the floor. Feng Xia found a seat and sat down leisurely, saying: "Grandma, that was just a bit of roughhousing between kids. Why are you interfering?"

Xu Sanjin was helped up by her daughter-in-law, shaking uncontrollably: "You nearly killed him, and you call that 'playing'?! He's your cousin! Is that how you act with your cousin?!"

Feng Xia drawled, "Exactly. That's how I discipline Feng Chengzong. Look at Dazhu—he hasn't lost any limbs. How is that not just messing around? When Dazhu split my head open before, didn't you say it was just 'the two of us playing'?"

Xu Sanjin was now so angry she couldn't speak. And this girl simply didn't care about what others thought of her. She didn't care about beating up her own grandma. The look in her eyes as she stared at Dazhu was ice-cold, as if looking at a dead man. Xu Sanjin didn't dare test if Feng Xia would actually break Dazhu's arms.

Dazhu's mother was still hugging her son and wailing. Feng Xia shot her a look, and the inexperienced young wives and lads trembled in fear, stopping their cries. They obediently helped their son to sit on a stool. But as soon as Dazhu sat down, his butt swollen from Feng Xia's kick, he bounced right back up and stood sobbing behind his mother, all his bluster gone.

That's when Xu Sanjin finally got why Old Lady Feng was acting so weird. This wasn't some useless granddaughter or just a 'girl'! She was a demon, plain and simple! Who in their right mind would mess with her?