The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

Zhou Mazi’s eyes lit up after hearing what Li Shan said. It looked like there was an opening. City folk were all about saving face, and they were easy to fool. Maybe, for the sake of his reputation, he’d really just agree to whatever Zhou Mazi demanded.

"Heh heh, I can see you’re doing well for yourself, brother. City folk are certainly more refined than us villagers. We haven’t mistreated Gu’er all these years, raising your daughter until she’s grown. I won’t ask for much—just give me a hundred or two hundred, brother. Then we can keep in touch as relatives. What do you say?"

Zhou Mazi was making an outrageous demand. He would never ask for so much from a fellow villager, but this was someone from the city. He had to squeeze out more. Besides, he planned to stay in touch with the Lin Family as "relatives." That way, whenever he needed money, he could just show up at their door and ask for some. He was sure they wouldn’t dare refuse.

"Gu’er has already left home! Didn’t she give you fifty yuan? How can you still ask them for money?"

Before anyone else could say a word, Li Hua spoke up. She was heartbroken. Gu’er was about to become another family’s daughter, yet all Zhou Mazi cared about was money. She felt that raising Gu’er was a bond born of affection; she didn’t want him to demand payment for it.

What happened next shocked everyone. Zhou Mazi looked at Li Hua beside him, raised his hand, and slapped her hard across the face.

The others were too far away and hadn’t expected him to be violent in public, so no one could stop him in time.

Li Hua didn’t dodge it—she didn’t dare to. The slap landed squarely on her cheek.

"What the hell are you talking about, you damn hag? Siding with outsiders, are you? You just can’t stand to see me get ahead! That Zhou Gu’er ate my food and drank my water for years, and she thinks she can fob me off with a measly fifty yuan? Fat chance! If I don’t get my money and have a good life, then no one gets to have a good life!"

The slap didn’t seem to satisfy Zhou Mazi’s rage, and he continued to curse viciously.

Gu’er’s eyes grew cold as she rose to her feet, but Sun Jiaming was a step ahead of her. He lunged forward and seized Zhou Mazi’s arm.

"Uncle Zhou, this is my home. You can’t just hit people here. If you raise your hand again, get out."

Sun Jiaming truly looked down on Zhou Mazi. ’A guy like that calls himself a man?’

"Jia Ming, she’s my wife! So what if I hit her?"

Zhou Mazi was still defiant, glaring at Sun Jiaming.

Sun Jiaming yanked Zhou Mazi hard, ready to throw him out. Only then did Zhou Mazi realize Sun Jiaming wasn’t just making idle threats.

"Jia Ming! Jia Ming, let go! You’re gonna break my arm! I won’t hit her again, I won’t! We can talk this out nicely!"

Sun Jiaming couldn’t just beat Zhou Mazi to a pulp, not with Li Hua present, so he had no choice but to release his grip.

Gu’er pulled Li Hua over to a seat beside her, putting distance between them and Zhou Mazi. But Gu’er knew that as long as Li Hua remained Zhou Mazi’s wife, she would continue to suffer. Her adoptive mother wasn’t like her; she didn’t know how to resist. ’It would be wonderful if I could get her to divorce him. But she’d never agree. In this day and age, women believed they had to stick by their husbands for better or worse. Besides, they had other children. No matter how miserable her life was, her adoptive mother would never leave the Zhou family.’

Lin Shan and Chen Fengjiao watched, horrified. ’So this was the kind of life their daughter had been living? A life where a man would resort to violence at the slightest disagreement? How many beatings must Gu’er have endured?’

Although they had been mentally prepared before coming, hearing about something and witnessing it firsthand were two entirely different matters. The shock of seeing Zhou Mazi hit and curse his wife with their own eyes was immense.

Lin Shan concealed the fury in his eyes.

It wasn’t that he’d never encountered a man as shameless as Zhou Mazi before, but those had always been strangers. This was different. His own daughter had lived in this man’s house. The thought of how much she must have suffered, how hard her life must have been, made rage surge through him.

"Brother Zhou raised my Gu’er for so many years; it’s right that we offer some compensation. You’re asking for a hundred, Brother Zhou... that’s not out of the question."

Lin Shan watched as a look of delight spread across Zhou Mazi’s face.

Gu’er furrowed her brow slightly. ’Is my birth father actually going to pay him? Is he trying to sever my ties with the Zhou family with money?’

"Shan."

Chen Fengjiao cried out his name. Yes, she was grateful to Li Hua, but to a man like Zhou Mazi? Did he really deserve their money? He had bullied their daughter, beaten and cursed her, and even forced her to pay him to cut ties. If her life hadn’t been absolutely unbearable, why would she ever have done such a thing?

Their daughter was currently staying with the Sun Family, all thanks to their help. If there was anyone to be grateful to, it should be Li Hua and the Sun Family. Why on earth should they give money to a man like Zhou Mazi?

Lin Shan shot her a look, signaling for her to calm down and be patient.

Chen Fengjiao took a step back and said no more.

"I’m glad we’re on the same page, brother, but I said one *or two* hundred, not just one hundred."

Zhou Mazi beamed, but his greed was insatiable. He wanted more.

Lin Shan looked at him and let out a small laugh.

"Heh, you’re absolutely right, Brother Zhou. You want money, don’t you? You want to settle the accounts, see how much effort you spent on Gu’er, how much of your food she ate, how much of your water she drank? Fine. Then let me settle an account with you, Brother Zhou—an account of how you’ve treated my daughter over the years."

Still smiling, Lin Shan suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Zhou Mazi’s arm.

Zhou Mazi froze. ’What’s the meaning of this? Something about this feels wrong.’

Before Zhou Mazi could even process what was happening, Lin Shan was already dragging him by the arm into the outer room.

No one had expected this sudden change. They all thought Lin Shan was actually going to pay.

Before anyone could get up and follow them out, Zhou Mazi’s screams echoed from the outer room. Judging by the sounds, was he being beaten?

"You said my daughter lived off your blood? Fine! Then today, I’ll make you bleed! You beat her every day! You cursed her! You tried to force her to marry a cripple! She was almost violated, and you did nothing! You even forced her to cut herself! You want money? Fine! I’ll give it to you! Here’s a kick! Two slaps! Is that enough? Not enough? You think it’s too little? Fine! Here’s more! Is that enough?! IS IT?!"

Lin Shan’s muffled voice drifted in from the other room; he was clearly hitting Zhou Mazi while he was shouting.

Zhou Mazi’s incessant cries of pain came through, mixed with his own curses and pleas for mercy.

The people inside the room looked at each other, their faces a picture of utter disbelief.

"Is... is that...? Is someone getting beaten? Gu’er... is that your father... hitting your father?"

Li Hua couldn’t believe it. How could a seemingly distinguished man like Lin Shan be hitting someone? She got up to go outside, but Gu’er held her back. Chen Fengjiao also stepped in to stop Li Hua. She hadn’t expected her husband to get violent either.

Gu’er was slightly stunned. She understood Li Hua’s words—her birth father was beating her adoptive father. And then it truly dawned on her. She felt a prickling in her nose as her eyes began to well up. ’The reason her father was hitting Zhou Mazi... was he venting her anger for her? Did he feel she had been wronged all these years, enduring so many of Zhou Mazi’s beatings and curses? Was he fighting to get justice for her?’

For the first time, Gu’er felt what the word "father" could truly mean. It wasn’t just a word that brought her pain. It could also mean someone who would fight for her, someone who would protect her.