Chapter 42 - "I don’t care what you think of me, but I am going to need your full cooperation." (2)
They had all heard about Old Mrs. Tong losing her mind. They just didn’t know that it was so severe that she could forget something so important.
They even heard that she would hit people during her episodes. They must have their children keep a distance from her after she had arrived!
Old Lin's wife, however, rolled her eyes and said, “Innocent my @$$! My Lao Lin had said it already. Your grandmother sounded very spry and her mind clear. She didn’t sound at all like someone who had lost their mind……”
BANG!
Tong Xuelu had ripped the old porcelain bowl out of Old Lin's wife’s hand and smashed it on the ground!
Old Lin's wife: ……Her bowl!!!
Before she could even shout out loud, Tong Xuelu’s eyes had reddened and she started crying. “Last time you went over to the Xu family and told them to not give our position back to us. Now you are accusing me and my siblings for lying. I just want to know what have we ever done to you to make you want to pick on us like so?”
Old Lin's wife, “I……”
Tong Xuelu did not allow her the chance to talk. She leaned into Old Lin's wife all of a sudden and said in a low voice, “You old pockmarked female demon. I’ve seen ugly people but not someone as ugly as you are. You pick on me day and night because I am prettier than you are, right?”
Old Lin's wife’s eyes widened and she looked at Tong Xuelu in disbelief, “You! You! You!”
“You what? Here you said you are worried that I won’t be able to find myself a husband. How would it be possible that I won’t be able to find myself a husband with my looks? And, even if I can’t find myself a husband, that still beats marrying that weird-looking Lao Lin like you did!”
Tong Xuelu was a very articulate one and didn’t even need to catch her breath in between.
Old Lin's wife was so angry that her whole body was shaking now. She jumped up and reached for Tong Xuelu’s hair. “You brat! I am going to tear your mouth into pieces!”
Tong Xuelu took a step back, avoiding her, and shrieked fearfully, “What are you doing, Aunty Lin?”
And that was what Aunty Cai and Mother Xu saw when the two returned from grocery shopping. They ran up quickly and each of them grabbed one of Old Lin's wife’s arms.
Nobody at the compound expected Old Lin's wife to suddenly get violent and all of them hurried on over.
“What are you doing, Old Lin's wife? Can’t you just talk things through? You can’t just get physical.”
“Exactly. It was just a bowl. Is it worth it?”
“……”
Old Lin's wife was so angry that she wanted to kill someone!
Was this about a bowl? No! It was about her esteem!
Aunty Cai held her down firmly. “Old Lin's wife, you are so much older than her. Why are you picking on a girl day in and day out? Have you no shame?”
Mother Xu spit straight on her face and said, “Pei! Of course she had no shame! If she does, would she hold grudges until now over some food?”
“……”
Old Lin's wife almost passed out from being so angry. The spit had hit her in her eyes!
Tong Xuelu’s eyes reddened. “Horse with good temperament will be ridden and people with good temperament will be walked all over. Let me go ask our superiors at the factory and see if they will just sit around and watch us orphans be bullied by other workers from the factory!”
Tong Jiaming came running over with the firewood still in his arms and said, “Big Sister, I’ll go with you. Jiaxin, you go make a police report!”
This was the very first time Tong Jiaming referred to Tong Xuelu as Big Sister.
Perhaps he didn’t exactly say that because he truly thought of her as his Big Sister but Tong Xuelu didn’t care so much about that. She was, however, very happy at his response and tacit understanding.