Chapter 617 - 321: The Entire Family’s Support

Chapter 617: Chapter 321: The Entire Family’s Support

When Liu’er’s mother saw her son and daughter-in-law both forced to kneel, she wouldn’t stand for it. Just as she was about to start shouting, Sun Jinshan yanked her over and slapped her hard across the face twice. After Liu’er’s mother fell to the ground, he rushed over and kicked her twice in the rear, cursing, "You ruinous old hag! Your mind is completely muddled, you can’t do a single thing right!"

After striking her, he collapsed weakly onto the long bench by the table.

’What’s the use of beating my wife to death? I’m the one who should be beaten. The biggest regret of my life was listening to my wife and marrying Liu’er into the Tang family. I was the one whose mind was muddled. What right do I have to hit her?’

Having been humiliated outside only to come home and be beaten by her husband, Liu’er’s mother couldn’t help but burst into wails. "Just beat me to death! I’ll die in our daughter’s place, and then your heart can be at ease. I just don’t get it! Was I wrong for not wanting our daughter to be sent back divorced? Is there some kind of honor in Liu’er being divorced and sent home?"

Sun Tiezhu and Mrs. Wang also turned to look at Sun Jinshan, as if awaiting his answer.

Suddenly, tears streamed down Sun Jinshan’s face. He propped his forehead up with one hand and choked out, "What does it matter if she’s divorced or not? Our daughter can’t go on living! She can’t go on living, you old fool! At a time like this, you’re still worried about face? If we lose our daughter, what will the Tang family or the Li Family have to do with you?"

He seemed to break down completely, wailing loudly in front of his son and daughter-in-law. The sound was strange, like the howl of a wolf. As he cried, he slammed his hand against the bench again and again, until the skin split open and blood dripped from his fist.

Liu’er’s mother, Sun Tiezhu, and Mrs. Wang were all stunned!

To outsiders, a farmer was just a humble figure at the bottom of society, lowly and crude. But to every rural family, the man was the pillar that held up their world. No man would ever break down and cry so weakly in front of his wife and children.

Mrs. Wang was the first to break. She quickly nudged Sun Tiezhu, and they both got up and went to bandage Sun Jinshan’s hand. But they couldn’t find a single word of comfort and could only shed tears alongside him, until they too couldn’t help but break down and cry.

Hearing her husband’s words, Liu’er’s mother was stunned for a long moment. ’Was I wrong?’ she muttered to herself. ’If life is hard, should she just come back to her parents’ house? ...’ No one paid her any mind, and she became lost in her confusion.

The sound of weeping from the Sun Family home was so loud it made their neighbors’ hearts pound. ’Could Liu’er already be dead?’ they wondered. ’Did she not even make it through the night?’

This wasn’t like an old person passing away. For someone to die so young—who wouldn’t be saddened? So, they all went over to the Sun Family’s home to offer condolences, but they found the main gate shut tight, and it didn’t look like the scene of a death.

Puzzled, they gathered and whispered among themselves. They asked each other back and forth but couldn’t make sense of it. They went to the village chief’s house to ask, but as it happened, he hadn’t returned yet.

Then someone had a sudden realization and said, "Sun Liu’er is still at the Li family’s home!"

Then what was the Sun Family crying about?

**********

At the Li family’s home, after Li Changliang got Liu’er settled, he recounted what Juhua had said to his parents and older brother. At the end, he stated firmly, "You saw it yourselves. Liu’er has found a new will to live, and her spirits are much better. Her illness isn’t necessarily incurable. Besides, whether she can be cured or not, I’m going to marry her. If you two are unhappy about it and give her a hard time, I’ll move out."

Li Gengtian fell into a thoughtful silence after hearing this, but Li Changming’s eyes lit up. "He’s right," he said. "We keep thinking Liu’er doesn’t have much time left, but if she keeps her spirits up, she could live for quite a while longer. In that time, isn’t it possible we could find someone to treat her illness?"

Granny Hua, holding Li Jingwen, rocked and patted him as she grumbled, "Didn’t the Tang family have money? They tried to treat her for so long and still couldn’t cure her."

Li Changliang glared at her and said angrily, "How is that the same thing? If she had been happy with the Tang family, why would she have knelt and begged Mr. Tang to divorce her? Now that she’s back, her mind is at ease, and treating her illness will be much easier. Let me tell you, her family are no-good people, leaving her with a home she can’t even return to. If you dare to give her so much as a nasty look, hmph, don’t blame me if I disown you as my mother. I’m not a spineless wimp with no mind of his own like Sun Tiezhu!"

Seeing his murderous expression, Granny Hua felt both wronged and frightened. She didn’t dare make a sound, simply turning her head to wipe her tears with her sleeve.

Li Gengtian’s face darkened. "Changliang, if you have something to say, say it properly. What do you think you’re doing? That’s your mother, not your son. Why are you yelling at her so fiercely?"

Li Laoda also said with a stern face, "I know you’re grown up now and don’t respect us anymore. You can yell at us, and we won’t dare say a peep, but I wonder what other people will think when they see this. Then again, you don’t care what other people think. You think you’re God Almighty, above the law."