Xiao Mandong’s heart sank, and she immediately turned sideways to dodge.
“What does it matter to you who I am?”
Her expression remained calm, but her fingers tightened secretly. She was worried that her appearance might bring trouble to her family.
Feng Xiaoyan immediately stepped forward and shielded Xiao Mandong behind her.
“You old hag, our family has nothing to do with yours. Mind your own business and stay away from us.”
Seeing that his grandmother had arrived, the little boy stopped crying. He scrambled up from the ground and pointed at Xiao Mandong.
“Grandma, this gold-digger wouldn’t give me any meat. They have meat in their house! I want to eat meat.”
The moment the old woman heard her grandson, her nostrils flared twice. The rich aroma of meat and rice drifted into them.
“Well, look at you shameless blackhearts! You’re actually hiding rice and meat!”
“We’ve all been sent down here. Our whole family is nearly starving to death, while you’re secretly eating good food. That’s outrageous!”
She instinctively peered into the house. She could see straight inside, but there was nothing to be found.
The Xiao family had taken advantage of the chaos to hide all the lunch boxes.
Although she hadn’t seen anything, the old woman still refused to let the matter go.
“I can smell the meat! Hiding it won’t do you any good. You’re hoarding food, and I’m going to report you!”
As she shouted, she tried to rush into the house, her eyes darting greedily and maliciously in every direction.
Her son had been taken back to the police station, and she still had no idea how he would be dealt with. Tomorrow, she, her daughter-in-law, and her child would all be sent down to a farm, where they would be forced to work. There would be little food and even fewer clothes, and life there would be far more difficult than it was now.
Since she had happened to discover this family’s secret, she might as well throw caution to the wind and grab whatever she could. Either way, she had to get something out of them.
Xiao Siyuan stepped in front of the old woman and blocked her path.
“Get out of my way and let me in!”
The old woman shoved at him again and again, but Xiao Siyuan did not budge. Furious, she raised her hand and tried to claw at his face.
“You little bastard! If you don’t move, I’ll tear your face to shreds!”
Smack!
Afraid her grandson would be bullied, Old Lady Xiao knew that a man couldn’t lay hands on a woman. She charged forward herself and slapped the other old woman across the face.
“Bah! You old hag, no wonder you’re family. Even the way you talk is exactly like that little brat of yours. You’re going to report us? With something as serious as what happened in your own family, who knows whether your son will end up facing a firing squad. You’d better hurry up and find a place to get him a couple of decent clothes to wear on the way out, instead of coming here to make trouble!”
As long as she wasn’t facing the Revolutionary Committee, Old Lady Xiao was a fierce and sharp-tongued woman. Faced with this old hag, she was in no way intimidated.
The boy’s grandmother was stunned by the slap. Before being sent down, she had never suffered such humiliation. But she knew she couldn’t beat the Xiao family.
The next second, she simply sat down on the ground and began making a scene.
“Oh, heavens above! Is there any justice left in this world? We’ve all been sent down to the cowshed for reform, but this family is feasting on good food while we freeze and starve! And now they’ve even attacked me! Somebody, please stand up for me!”
Since this family was unwilling to give hers any advantage, she might as well drag them down to the farm with her. But then…
Her eyes shifted as an idea came to her.
“Fine, if you won’t give my grandson anything to eat, so be it. But I saw a thick quilt on your kang. Give me that quilt, and we’ll consider today’s matter settled.”
She had spotted the quilt on their kang at a glance. The weather was growing colder by the day, and a quilt was more valuable than a single meal. As long as they gave her something worthwhile, she would let the family off today.
She knew that, after what had just happened to her family, making too much trouble might not bring her any benefit. Besides, this unfamiliar little vixen clearly wasn’t from an ordinary background. Given her family’s current situation, she couldn’t afford to make the matter any bigger.
Old Master Xiao’s face turned livid at the old woman’s shamelessness. Faced with such a vicious shrew, there was truly nothing he could do.
As a grown man, he couldn’t very well hit her. But if he let her continue spouting nonsense, she would soon attract the entire village, which would only make things worse.
Unfortunately, the very thing they feared happened.
In the dead of night, nearby villagers heard the commotion and came over to watch. More and more people gathered, and quite a few recognized Xiao Mandong.
“Isn’t that the girl Second Shen carried down the mountain on his back?”
“Looks like her to me!”
“What’s she doing mixed up with those people who were sent down?”
“And who’s that old woman on the ground? Why is she howling so loudly?”
“You don’t know? That old woman’s son was caught having an affair with Third Shen’s wife. They were caught just now. Tsk, what a shame you missed it. You should’ve seen the scene…”
“I went to bed early. I only came over because I heard the noise when I got up during the night. You mean the new wife Third Shen married—the commander's daughter?”
“That’s the one.”
“No wonder she took a fancy to Third Shen, that good-for-nothing. Could she have been lovers with the son who was sent down? Did she marry beneath her just to make it easier for them to carry on their affair?”
…
The gossip came one sentence after another, growing more outrageous with each retelling.
The boy’s grandmother slapped her thighs and wailed.
“That little vixen must be one of their family who slipped through the net! Just look at how much she resembles them. The authorities must give me justice and investigate this family thoroughly! They’re hoarding food, and they even have meat to eat. They weren’t sent here for reform at all—they’re here to enjoy themselves!”
The moment the old woman finished speaking, before Xiao Mandong could say a word, Old Chen rushed out of the house. He flung a mixture of soot from the bottom of a pot and cold water straight over the old woman’s head.
The October night wind was bitterly cold. The icy water mixed with black soot jolted the old woman so badly that half the words in her mouth were choked off.
Old Chen immediately bellowed at the top of his lungs:
“You shameless old biddy! The crookedness of the upper beam runs down to the lower beams! Everyone, listen to me. This old hag actually took off her clothes in front of me just for a bite to eat! I’m an old man, and she’s trying to ruin my reputation!”
“This girl stayed in our courtyard for one night last time. Seeing that my granddaughter was pitiful, she brought her some food this time. This old hag demanded some from me, but I refused. Then she said that as long as I gave her grandson a bite to eat, she would sleep with me! I thought she was filthy, so I refused. After that, she chased after this girl demanding food. I’ve never seen anyone so shameless!”
“I’m a person who’s been sent down here. Normally, I wouldn’t dare come out of my house. But I still have a conscience. This girl got entangled with this old hag because she was trying to help my granddaughter. I simply couldn’t stand by and do nothing.”
“You old bastard, you’re talking nonsense—”
Old Chen spoke so quickly that the old woman couldn’t get a word in edgewise.
“I’m not afraid of losing face anymore! None of you know this, but ever since this old hag’s family moved here, she’s tried to seduce me several times. If you’re feeling itchy, go scratch yourself! I’m already this old, and I still have a granddaughter to raise. How could I possibly get involved in that kind of nonsense with you?”
“So that’s what happened! No wonder her son could do something like that. The problem goes all the way down to the roots.”
“This old woman must have been pretty good-looking when she was young. Maybe we should introduce her to Old Sun, the bachelor.”
“Hahaha! Old Sun has never married in his life. I doubt this old woman could withstand him!”
The villagers’ gossip followed Old Chen’s story and veered off in an entirely different direction.
Listening to Old Chen confidently turn the truth upside down with such a detailed and convincing account, Xiao Mandong was left utterly dumbfounded.
Old Xiao shot him an admiring look. That old bastard truly was the young master from Beijing back in the day—quick-witted and shameless enough to say anything. Still, by making such a scene, he had managed to resolve the matter.
His granddaughter had every reason to come here as well: she was only here to check on the poor child.
