Chapter 32 - 032 Lesson

Jianguo and Weiguo listened with their blood boiling, and although Baoguo was young, he listened intently with wide eyes. Their cousin's words seemed to open a new window for them; previously, Mama had only taught them to endure, and although they knew that this was wrong, they didn't know what to do about it. But hearing Tian Sisi's fierce words today made them feel that the path ahead was not so difficult. Meanwhile, Shou Yaowu and the villagers listened with furrowed brows—where did this bandit come from? "Of course, we of the Tian Family must not bully others by flexing our power. If no one offends me, I will not offend them. But if someone offends me, they must be repaid tenfold! Do you remember?" Tian Sisi did not know that her words today had taught three lone, ferocious wolves. Compared to the elegant and gentle Shou brothers from her previous life, the Shou Jian Country trio, having been educated by Tian Sisi, had become even more ruthless. Shou Yaowu rolled his eyes on the side—weren't these two little ancestors already bullying others enough today? However, he also knew that he couldn't blame the children for being ruthless; ultimately, it was the great uncle's family who had gone too far. If he had seen his daughter suffer so much in her marital home, he would have been even more furious! Tian Xinhua looked at Tian Sisi with a hint of delight. The surprises Ah Nan had given him today were too many. Could it be that the previous Ah Nan had truly hidden her true self? Seeing Tian Xinhua's puzzled eyes, Tian Sisi's heart skipped a beat—she had gotten carried away. Aside from being good at acting coquettishly, where would the original host have learned to say such things? Ah, the more one talks, the more likely they'll slip up! At this time, Shou Chengzu had already struck Shou Liguo nearly twenty times, and Shou Liguo was still wailing intermittently. Tian Xinhua snorted coldly, "Pretty spirited, huh? Still shouting so loudly!" Hearing this, Shou Chengzu's face grew even darker. Though his beating looked fierce, he had actually pulled his punches by seventy to eighty percent, so the real force he used on his son wasn't much. It seemed that this young man was not easy to deceive! Tian Sisi grew impatient, "Brother Xin Hua, why don't you go up and hit him a few times? It's getting late; we should head home." How could Shou Chengzu dare let this little demon do it? This demon could snap small wooden stakes with one hand. If he took over, wouldn't Liguo's life be half gone? Right away, Shou Chengzu grit his teeth and forcefully struck down. This time it was for real, and Shou Liguo screamed in pain, crying out for "Granny, Mama". Shou Chengzu couldn't care less and kept striking one blow after another. After a dozen or so hits, Shou Liguo had long since passed out, and his cotton trousers showed a faint hint of red. The sight made the villagers' skin crawl—these two children were absolutely ruthless! Tian Xinhua and Tian Sisi behaved as if nothing had happened. Tian Xinhua was naturally cold-hearted towards outsiders, and a bit of blood was nothing in his eyes. To put it nicely, Tian Sisi was carefree, and less nicely, somewhat callous. She didn't care at all about people she was indifferent to or even disliked, which in this regard, was quite similar to Tian Xinhua. Seeing his son who had passed out, Shou Chengzu felt as if a piece of his heart had been cut out. With a grim face, he threw the bloodied wooden stick to the ground and asked in a dark voice, "Are you satisfied now?" "That will do for today, let's leave it at that. But if I ever hear of Shou Family bullying my little aunt and three cousins again, hmph, then it won't just be us two kids coming over." Tian Xinhua casually glanced at the pale, unconscious Shou Liguo on the ground, his face showing no change. This indifference made Shou Yaowu and the other villagers secretly click their tongues—these two kids were already so fierce, wouldn't the adults be even more formidable? Shou Yaowu quickly offered a flattering smile, "How could that be possible? As the village chief and their second grand-uncle, how could I allow such a thing to happen? Don't worry." Tian Sisi sneered inwardly. If this village chief was really fair, why hadn't she seen him speak up for justice before? But she also knew the principle taught by Zhong Juying: you can only offend one family at a time. It's better to deal with one first, then the other later, allowing time to buffer. In her previous life, Mama taught her many life lessons, yet she never used them. Now in this life, they all came back to her. Therefore, Tian Sisi smiled sweetly and said, "Village Chief Shou, we will really have to trouble you then. My little aunt and three cousins have indeed suffered under your care these years. We'll still need you to look out for them in the future! I will certainly praise you to my third uncle later." Shou Yaowu felt somewhat guilty, but his heart was extremely comfortable. No matter how he looked at Tian Sisi, she just seemed so adorable. Indeed, the offspring of revolutionaries know how to handle things. He immediately smiled and assured he would take good care of Tian Manlan's family later on. The atmosphere shifted from the tense standoff to a gentle breeze of spring in an instant. Tian Xinhua knew that Village Chief Shou must have something he needed from his third uncle. It's good to have something to ask for; this way, his little aunt and cousin would also have a backer in the village. After all, they couldn't always be there. So he also smiled and exchanged a few ambiguous words with Shou Yaowu, neither agreeing to anything nor refusing outright, leaving Shou Yaowu miserably hanging yet not daring to neglect taking care of Tian Manlan's family. Tian Sisi and Tian Xinhua discussed giving all the items in the basket to their little aunt. Having heard Jianguo's words earlier, the little aunt's family probably had nothing to eat for the New Year. Since Jizu hadn't come home since the New Year, there was no money at home, no grain, and they were barely scraping by on the little food Granny Zhao had sent before the New Year. In front of the villagers, Tian Sisi took out New Year's rice cakes, rattan, frozen rice candy, rabbit meat, and more. Each time she took something out, the villagers gasped in amazement. These were valuable goods indeed, especially the five or six-pound piece of meat, which was hard to come by even with money. It seemed Jizu's wife's family was quite well-off, no wonder that little girl looked so refined. Could someone without money dress a daughter so beautifully? It's as if Jizu had stepped in some incredible luck to have married a wife with such a background. Tian Manlan was reluctant to take those items, but she didn't have the confidence to say "no." The family had very little food left; she could go without eating, but the three children could not. Therefore, Tian Manlan accepted the food with shame, and Tian Xinhua felt uncomfortable seeing his little aunt like this. What a lively person the little aunt used to be, and yet not even thirty, she already looked like she was in her forties. If great-grandpa and Great Aunt saw this, who knows how heartbroken they would be! He reached out to hold Tian Manlan's calloused hand, comforting her: "Little aunt, don't worry. Life will get better and better, but you must stand firm for yourself." Tian Manlan couldn't help but cry, nodding in agreement. She never imagined that after suffering for nearly ten years, it would be her two little nephews and niece who would pull her and her son out of misery. She truly felt unworthy of being an elder! Tian Sisi and Shou Jian Country put the items in the kitchen. The kitchen was empty except for a few broken bowls. There was no oil, no vegetables, and only a spoonful of salt left. There was barely a handful of rice in the rice container – nothing else. It's a wonder how the little aunt's family made it through the New Year. Tian Sisi pulled Jianguo over and realized that his cotton-padded jacket was as thin as cardboard. She felt Weiguo's and Bao Guo's jackets; although a bit thicker, they were still insufficient for the cold. "How come you're only wearing this much? Don't you have any more padded jackets at home?" "There are none left. These are from Mama, who unraveled her jacket to alter them for us. The one on Mama is even thinner," Jianguo said, looking down. "What did you eat for the New Year?" "Uncle Man Yin (Tian Manjin) brought some rice and vegetables over, and we managed to eat with that for a month." Tian Sisi sighed. It was a wonder that the little aunt and the three children hadn't starved or frozen to death – they must be lucky. The food they brought today would only be enough for the little aunt and her family for a week. The main problem was that their clothes were too thin; the children were so young, they could easily fall sick from the cold. Although she knew that Jianguo and his brothers would grow up to be successful and outstanding individuals in society, as far as she knew from her past life, Jianguo and his brothers were not in great health. Their frailty as adults likely had something to do with the starvation and cold they endured as children. Now that she has seen it, how could she stand by and watch the three children and the little aunt suffer this way? PS: Although this is a pampering story, the female lead is neither a pushover nor a 'strong woman'.