When Cheng Xiaofan returned home, his mother was also there. These past two days, she had intentionally handed over the brewing workshop matters entirely to Du Xiaojuan.
However, it was Cheng Xiaofan who had persuaded Miao Xiuhua to do so, wanting her to learn what leisure time was.
When Miao Xiuhua saw her son suddenly appear at home with Bai Yiling and another unfamiliar girl, she was taken aback.
"Xiaofan, Yiling, didn't you say it would take a few days for you to return from Haicheng?"
Miao Xiuhua asked curiously, "Why are you home today?"
Cheng Xiaofan smiled and said, "Mom, Yiling missed home, so we came back last night. We just stayed at Bai Mang Lake for a night!"
He then pointed to Xianyu Yan and said, "This is a sister Yiling met in Haicheng. Her name is Xianyu Yan. Treat her as your own daughter!"
Miao Xiuhua's eyes narrowed into slits as she smiled, scrutinizing Xianyu Yan. "Since this girl is Yiling's sister, of course, I'll treat her like my own daughter!"
She firmly believed that Bai Yiling would be her daughter-in-law sooner or later. Now that she had another daughter by her side, she was naturally happy.
"Yan-mei, call me Mom!" Bai Yiling said.
Xianyu Yan immediately called sweetly, "Mom—"
"Yes!"
Miao Xiuhua responded, saying happily, "I've always wanted a daughter, and now I finally have one delivered to my doorstep!"
The way she said that... completely disregarded Bai Yiling's status as her daughter!
"Mom, I'm your daughter too!" Bai Yiling quickly added.
Miao Xiuhua smiled and said, "Yiling, I just hope you'll become my daughter-in-law!"
Upon hearing this, Bai Yiling's face flushed, and she could barely lift it.
Xianyu Yan smiled at Miao Xiuhua, "Mom, I've always called them sister and brother-in-law!"
Miao Xiuhua was overjoyed and patted Xianyu Yan's shoulder. "Yan'er, I can see you're a smart and quick-witted person. Calling me this sounds so sweet!"
As they were chatting, a woman's scream came from the village: "Help! Someone's going to be beaten to death!"
"Ah, who's screaming for help?" Cheng Xiaofan's brow furrowed, and he asked in surprise.
In broad daylight, to hear a cry for help in Zhuxi Village was highly abnormal. Who had the audacity to bully a woman?
Miao Xiuhua sighed and said, "Leizi is back!"
Upon hearing the name Leizi, Cheng Xiaofan immediately remembered. This was a village hooligan.
Although Zhuxi Village had always been known for its simple and honest folk, and the villagers were kind and loyal, even a jar of good rice might have a couple of rotten grains.
This Leizi was a few years older than Cheng Xiaofan and was a typical rotten grain of Zhuxi Village.
He relied on his strong physique and the martial arts he had learned outside, often bullying the old and young in the village and acting with impunity.
The year Cheng Xiaofan was admitted to university, Leizi was caught in a mass brawl in town, causing severe injury to someone, and was imprisoned.
Leizi returned yesterday, and as soon as he got home, he severely beat his wife, Song Xiaoju.
Song Xiaoju was very beautiful. Her marriage to Leizi was purely a case of a flower wilting on dung, and she was beaten by her husband every few days.
Leizi's reason for beating Song Xiaoju this time was bizarre: she was too beautiful, and he suspected she must have had other men while he was in prison for the past few years.
Song Xiaoju, like Du Xiaojuan, was known as a virtuous woman in the village and would never engage in such sordid affairs.
Leizi forced Song Xiaoju to reveal her "other man," but where could she find one?
Unexpectedly, Leizi did not believe Song Xiaoju's innocence and beat her half to death last night. Villagers who rushed to mediate were beaten instead.
Even Luo Changsheng, who tried to intervene, was almost beaten.
"Sigh, with Leizi out of prison, the village will likely be unsettled from now on!" Miao Xiuhua said, sighing, after explaining the reason for Leizi's beating of Song Xiaoju.
Cheng Xiaofan snorted and said, "This guy deserves a beating!"
Saying this, he walked towards the door.
Seeing this, Miao Xiuhua quickly said, "Xiaofan, don't provoke him. That guy is a complete scoundrel. If you provoke him, he'll cling to you and you won't be able to shake him off!"
"Don't worry, Mom, I won't provoke him. I just want to teach him how to be a human being!" Cheng Xiaofan said with a slight smile.
Bai Yiling quickly said to Miao Xiuhua, "Mom, I'll go with Xiaofan!"
Miao Xiuhua nodded and smiled, "Good, good, Yiling. With you keeping an eye on Xiaofan, I'm relieved!"
She then said to Xianyu Yan, "Yan'er, you don't need to go. Stay home and chat with Mom for a bit!"
"Okay, Mom, I'll listen to you!" Xianyu Yan's mother had passed away long ago. Now that she had a mother, she was overjoyed.
She would listen to whatever Miao Xiuhua said.
Cheng Xiaofan and Bai Yiling left the house and hurried to where Song Xiaoju had cried for help.
From afar, Cheng Xiaofan saw a crowd gathered at the entrance of Song Xiaoju's house. Leizi's insults and Song Xiaoju's cries could be heard intermittently from inside.
Cheng Xiaofan quickened his pace and soon arrived.
When the crowd saw Cheng Xiaofan and Bai Yiling arrive, they immediately parted to make way.
At this moment, Cheng Xiaofan saw Leizi pinning Song Xiaoju to the ground, kicking and hitting her, shouting, "Bitch, be honest! How many men have you been with while I was in prison?"
"If you don't tell me, I'll beat you to death!"
Song Xiaoju cried, "Leizi, it's really not like you say. I don't have any other man besides you!"
The villagers watching shook their heads and sighed. Fearing Leizi's violence, none dared to speak up for Song Xiaoju.
Earlier, Tang Guihua had come to mediate but was slapped by Leizi, swelling her face.
Leizi had even arrogantly declared that anyone who dared to call the police would have their entire family killed.
Facing such a thug, who would dare to speak?
Someone quietly explained the situation to Cheng Xiaofan.
"Leizi, let go of your paws! A grown man beating a woman, what kind of skill is that?" Cheng Xiaofan shouted angrily.
Leizi released his grip, turned his head, glanced at Cheng Xiaofan, and roared with a ferocious expression, "Xiaofan, who do you think you are, daring to lecture me?"
"Leizi, when the road is uneven, someone needs to flatten it. Sister Xiaoju has worked hard raising your child all these years, managing everything inside and out. You just got out of prison and you're blaming her like this, are you even human?"
Cheng Xiaofan said indignantly.
Hearing this, Leizi sneered, "Kid, you're defending this bitch so much, are you two secretly involved?"
"Believe it or not, I'll break the bones of you two dogs right now!"
"You shut up!"
At this moment, Bai Yiling stepped forward, her voice filled with anger. "Leizi, how dare you insult my boyfriend! Do you think I'm a pushover?"
After two successive soul fusions in her dreams, Bai Yiling already regarded Cheng Xiaofan as her husband. How could she tolerate Leizi insulting Cheng Xiaofan now!
*Slap!*
She lunged forward and delivered a slap, sending the burly man to the ground.
Leizi had not expected to be knocked down by a woman.
He scrambled to his feet, enraged, and roared, "Bitch, you dare to hit me! I'll kill you today!"
Unexpectedly, as soon as Leizi finished speaking, Bai Yiling's beautiful leg swept out, kicking him six or seven meters away.
"Ah—"
Leizi let out a scream. "Help! Someone's being beaten to death!"