Chapter 255: Xing Ya Comes Along Too
Madame Sun Zhang came to open the door, and the sight of these three instantly made her blood boil. “Sun Taoya! Are you doing this on purpose?! Every single time that old thing throws a fit, you arrive this late! You must be in cahoots with her!”
Taoya shivered with fear, looking deeply wronged. “Eldest Aunt, how can you say that? Today, at the very break of dawn, I took Xing Ya and Brother Shu to line up at the city gates to fetch congee…”
Xing Ya began to shed tears. “Eldest Aunt, we haven’t eaten a single bite ourselves. We brought it all for you and Grandma. Please, don’t beat or scold us. We won’t dare do it again next time.”
Brother Shu simply burst into loud wails. “Eldest Aunt, don’t beat me! Don’t beat me!”
Madame Sun Zhang was so furious that smoke was practically rising from her ears. “Bullshit! When have I ever beaten you?!”
During the first couple of days, she indeed had a mind to lay a hand on them, but before she could even touch them, these three would run away crying. Later on, she didn’t even dare to speak too loudly—otherwise, these little brats would smash the delivered congee and vegetable cakes right in front of her gate.
After smashing them, they would run amok through the alley, crying and shouting, “We came to deliver food to Grandma! Eldest Aunt, please stop beating us!” This always brought the neighbors and the neighborhood chief over to criticize her again.
Madame Sun Zhang suppressed her fury, forcing her voice down. “Just get inside then…”
She didn’t dare raise her voice today. The old woman had slung feces all over the room again. It was already a miracle that she managed to salvage the blankets. Right now, the old woman still had feces on her body, and anyone who went near would get smeared.
Madame Sun Zhang sneered in her heart. Sun Dade, that wicked scoundrel, had sneaked out to hide, and she was in no mood to serve the old woman either. It was perfect timing to let Taoya and the others do it.
Seeing the children remain frozen, Madame Sun Zhang lost her patience and reached out to shove Taoya. “Get in! Why aren’t you getting in…”
Unprepared for the shove, Taoya collapsed to the ground, deliberately spilling the contents of the already cracked pottery bowl onto the earth. “Eldest Aunt, please stop beating me!”
“It’s not that we wanted to come late, it’s just that there were too many people lining up at the city gates! We are sorry, Eldest Aunt! Ah—Eldest Aunt, spare me!”
Madame Sun Zhang stared down at her hand suspended in mid-air. When exactly had she beaten anyone?
However, the two busybodies across the alley who had been watching the spectacle since moments ago were already shouting at the top of their lungs, “Madame Sun Zhang! Your three nieces and nephew are already exceptionally filial! Children so young went to fetch congee first thing in the morning, so what if they came a little late? Is it really necessary to beat a child over this?!”
Madame Sun Zhang felt like spitting a mouthful of blood. “You old gossips, what are you talking about?! Who beat anyone?!”
“Of course it was you who beat her! We all saw it with our own eyes! You pushed Taoya to the ground right in front of everyone!”
Another neighbor poked her head out to chime in, “Exactly, what are you still denying? It’s not the first time! I advise you to stop! The neighborhood chief already said that if you continue to mistreat the elderly and the children, he won’t write a letter of recommendation the next time your Jinbao wants to take an academy exam.”
Madame Sun Zhang was so angry that she cursed loudly, “Are your dog eyes completely blind? Did I touch a single finger of hers? She threw herself down!”
The neighbor looked disgusted. “Tsk, listen to you. Is that even human language? Your niece worked so hard to bring you congee just to trip at your doorstep and spill it on purpose?!”
Madame Sun Zhang yelled, “Yes, yes, yes! That’s exactly it!”
The neighbor scoffed, “Oh, look at you, ‘yes, yes, yes.’ You really have no shame!”
Madame Sun Zhang thought in despair: You godforsaken little wretch! That really is exactly what happened!
However, she and Sun Dade had a long-standing terrible reputation, and no one believed them anymore.
Xing Ya also grabbed Brother Shu and threw herself onto Taoya, crying and shouting at Madame Sun Zhang, “Eldest Aunt, please, we bring food and vegetables every day and can’t even eat ourselves. My big sister is about to faint from hunger, stop beating her…”
The three young ones wailed in relays. Inside the house, Old Madame Sun’s cursing voice drifted out: “Did you spill my congee again?!”
Madame Sun Zhang raised her palm in sheer fury. “All of you, shut your mouths!”
The moment she raised her hand, the three young ones rolled and scrambled, vanishing like a flash of smoke.
The neighbors even helped them. Someone intentionally splashed water, and another struck with a broom toward Madame Sun Zhang, blocking her path so she couldn’t chase after them.
As the three young ones ran further and further away, Madame Sun Zhang stamped her feet and cursed in rage.
Today, she would have to face Old Madame Sun’s feces and urine war all by herself again.
Just looking back at the main gate filled her with dread. The moment she thought of how that dog-like Sun Dade had bolted early in the morning to enjoy his peace elsewhere, Madame Sun Zhang went entirely mad with fury.
“This is your old mother! Not my old mother! This old lady isn’t doing this anymore! Whoever wants to serve her can go ahead!”
With that, Madame Sun Zhang didn’t even bother going back inside. She marched straight toward the main street.
Why should Sun Dade live luxuriously, eating and drinking his fill outside, while she had to deal with his old mother and these little brats at home?
She was striking!
Inside the house, Sun Jinbao and Sun Yinbao, who had been playing dead, realized things didn’t sound right. When they stepped out to look, their mother had run away too.
The two immediately felt a sense of foreboding. Looking at the wide-open front door and thinking of the foul-smelling feces and urine inside, they exchanged a glance and bolted in separate directions as well.
Taoya, Xing Ya, and Brother Shu ran for two whole blocks before ducking into a small alley and stopping.
The three of them rested their hands on their knees, panting heavily.
Xing Ya giggled. “Big Sister, didn’t we agree to run only when she actually lays a hand on us? I don’t think Eldest Aunt even touched you?”
Taoya couldn’t help but smile. Forget about touching her, even if she had, it wouldn’t have carried much force. Madame Sun Zhang was so terrified of her running away that she didn’t dare beat her anymore.
Taoya’s eyes shone with light. “Xing Ya, we are going to the manor.”
Hearing this, Xing Ya grew excited. “Did the Sister Manor Owner call for you today too?”
Lately, their mother went to the manor every day, and Taoya could go occasionally. Because Lin Sanniang served as an anchor point, the flow of time between the two worlds was now synchronized. Instead of waiting for over a dozen days, Taoya could go every two or three days.
Xing Ya and Brother Shu felt heartfelt envy. “Big Sister, you get to go to the manor again?”
Taoya pinched Brother Shu’s cheek, tweaking his increasingly chubby little face and turning his head to one side. Then, looking at Xing Ya, her face was filled with pure delight. “Xing Ya, it’s not just me going. It’s us going.”
Xing Ya stared blankly at her sister, unable to process it for a moment.
Instead, it was Brother Shu who let out a “Wow!” He rescued his cheek from his big sister’s hand, covered his face, sucked back the drool that had been squeezed out, and mumbled, “Big Sister, we are all going?”
“Oh, definitely not,” Taoya said, looking at Brother Shu with affection. “It’s me and Xing Ya going. You are staying at home.”
Brother Shu looked at Taoya, then at Xing Ya, and in the next split second, he let out a resounding “Waaah—”
Only this time, it was the sound of loud, bursting tears.
Xing Ya snapped out of her daze as if waking from a dream. She pointed at the tip of her own nose in disbelief. “Big Sister, what did you say? I can go to the manor too? The Sister Manor Owner called for me?”
