The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

Gu’er slapped Chang Juhua. Chang Juhua stopped screaming, somewhat stunned.

Ever since she and Zheng Daniu had gotten together, she had always been the one to bully Lin Shuying, and Lin Shuying was always the one to suffer. Even when Zheng Zhongshan confronted her, Zheng Daniu would still take her side. Once, after Zheng Xinghua cursed at her, Zheng Daniu had even slapped his own daughter a few times. Chang Juhua had never imagined that Lin Shuying would one day bring people over to beat her.

Having been slapped, Chang Juhua stared at Gu’er, sensing an imposing air about her. Gu’er’s gaze was frigid, as if looking at some inanimate object, something beneath her notice. In that instant, Chang Juhua no longer saw Gu’er as an equal, realizing Gu’er was someone completely out of her league. ’But even if I can’t touch Gu’er, there’s still Lin Shuying,’ she thought. ’She’s taken so much abuse from me, she belongs under my heel.’ And so, Chang Juhua focused all her anger and hatred on Lin Shuying.

"Aiyo, my stomach! They’re trying to kill us! That Lin Shuying brought back some strange men to bully us! We can’t live like this! They’re going to beat me and Da Niu to death!"

Chang Juhua clutched her stomach and began to wail.

At first, there wasn’t much of a crowd, but as word spread, neighbors started swarming over. Even some busybody women and teenage boys from farther away ran off to fetch more people.

Several men and women came rushing over, yelling.

Uncle Qi shot Squad Leader Shang a meaningful look. Squad Leader Shang knew it was time for them to act. At his command, the soldiers formed a single line, cordoning off the entrance to the Zheng Family home and blocking the approaching crowd.

The people rushing forward faltered when they saw the soldiers. The sight of so many of them standing guard was deeply intimidating.

Common folk have an innate fear of soldiers and officials. Seeing so many soldiers made them instinctively want to retreat. After a couple of half-hearted attempts to push through failed, they fell back to the sidelines.

"Da Niu, it’s not that we don’t want to help you, we just can’t get through! Who on earth did you offend?"

A man shouted.

"Yeah, what on earth did Da Niu do to have so many soldiers show up? He must be in some serious trouble."

Another person asked.

Murmurs and speculation rippled through the crowd.

The soldiers remained silent. Their only task was to intimidate the villagers and prevent them from laying a hand on Gu’er’s group. Nothing else concerned them.

"Are you trying to beat him to death? Lin Shuying! No matter what, you’re still Da Niu’s wife and the mother of Zhongshan and Xinghua. If you have them kill Da Niu, what will happen to Zhongshan and Xinghua? You want to be a widow or something? Don’t you think you’ve brought enough disaster upon the Zheng family already? Hurry up and tell them to stop!"

Seeing that the soldiers remained impassive, someone started shouting at Lin Shuying.

Lin Shuying glanced at the man shouting at her. It was Zheng Fuzi, a relative from Zheng Daniu’s clan. He had always looked down on her, his nose in the air whenever he visited her home. He was the one who had said Zhongshan wouldn’t live for more than two years, claiming she would end the Zheng family line and urging Zheng Daniu to "make other plans." If not for him, Zheng Daniu might not have moved Chang Juhua in so soon, and he wouldn’t have trampled all over her dignity. A deep hatred flared in Lin Shuying’s heart.

"If they beat Zheng Daniu and Chang Juhua to death, then I’ll pay with my life. Zhongshan and Xinghua would be much happier without a father like that."

Right now, Lin Shuying felt neither pity nor compassion. Gu’er and her group were here to stand up for her, to let her vent her frustrations. ’If I can’t even hold my own head high now,’ she thought, ’wouldn’t I be wasting all their efforts?’

Zheng Fuzi never expected Lin Shuying to be so resolute. He glared at her, but she simply met his gaze with a cold stare. She paid no mind to the crowd’s gossip, standing with her back perfectly straight. ’This is the last time I will ever set foot in this place. After today, it will mean nothing to me. For this one last time, I will not surrender my dignity. These people are not worthy of trampling on me.’

"You’re all bad people! Let my mommy go! Let my daddy go! I’ll beat you!"

Just then, a little girl of about four ran out from the courtyard, throwing clumps of dirt at Gu’er, Sun Jiaming, and the others.

Of course, her throws didn’t land. But at the sight of the tears streaming down her face, Gu’er, Sun Jiaming, and the others paused. No matter what, the child was innocent. They couldn’t bring themselves to harm a little girl so young.

Zheng Daniu lay on the ground groaning, his face a mess of bruises and a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth. Chang Juhua’s face was also flushed red. The little girl ran to her and threw her arms around her.

"Alright, enough. We didn’t break any of your bones, so what’s with all the groaning? Get the hell up."

Li Zhi kicked Zheng Daniu again. The three of them were beating him on Lin Shuying’s behalf, but they knew they’d be held responsible if they seriously injured him. That’s why they had aimed for his soft tissue—painful, but not enough to break bones.

"You... you bastards... where did you crawl out from? You... you dare hit me? I’ll..."

Zheng Daniu kept cursing as he tried to crawl up. He had only seen Sun Jiaming and the two other men; while being beaten, he had been too busy screaming to notice the truckload of soldiers standing guard.

"Who the hell do you think you are? Say that again and I’ll knock your teeth out."

With that, Li Zhi smacked Zheng Daniu across the face again.

Zheng Daniu spat a mouthful of bloody saliva. He opened his mouth to curse again, but then he saw them—dozens of soldiers standing in the street outside his gate. He couldn’t help but tremble.

"Wh-who are you people? L-Lin Shuying, what trouble have you gotten into? Tell me, is it your fault I’m mixed up in this?"

"Say one more bad thing about my aunt and see if I don’t beat you to death."

Li Zhi glared at Zheng Daniu.

Zheng Daniu stared at Li Zhi in disbelief. He went to open his mouth, but a sharp pain in his lip made him hiss. "Lin Shuying’s nephew is only a few years old," he said. "Where did you come from? Lin Shuying, th-these are all people you brought here?"

He simply couldn’t believe it. He had always assumed that her family lived so far away that even if he beat Lin Shuying to death, none of them would ever come.

"My aunt has more than one nephew. Did you think that just because we live far away, you could bully and degrade her however you wanted? That she had no one to back her up, so you could just do as you pleased?"

As Li Zhi confronted Zheng Daniu, the crowd started to buzz with discussion. They’d all thought the same thing as Zheng Daniu; they never imagined anyone from Lin Shuying’s family would show up, let alone with such a grand display of force.

"I... I... Lin Shuying is my wife, so what if I hit her? Even if you’re her family, you can’t just come here and beat people! Do you think our whole village is dead? Men of the village! Lin Shuying ran home to get reinforcements because she thinks our village is defenseless! What are you waiting for? Get them!"

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Thank you to Golden Palace Mysterious Lady for the scented sachet; to ∮Man Man Jing Wu∮ and Princess Mu Xue for the peace charms; and to ann555141, Yanzi 125, and Feng Shu Xia de Xue for the monthly tickets. Thank you all for your support.