Sister Zhu pulled Jun Jiuli to the outermost perimeter, afraid that the fight would involve them.
She whispered, "Let's move farther away. It won't be good if blood splashes on us. If the police come later, we can say we didn't know."
Jun Jiuli: "..."
Shui Wa: "Your sister-in-law is truly brilliant."
"Zhao Nuancheng is truly hateful and pitiful. She doesn't even know who genuinely helps her, chilling the hearts of the villagers. Her mother shed a few fake tears, and she was touched beyond measure. It's like she pulled on a skin suit in a hurry. I think her brain is made of pig brains."
"Indeed, foolish."
"What's so good about that domestic abuser? Two grown women fighting over him. Don't they recognize those three big characters on his forehead? By rights, Chen Qianyue, being a junior high school student, shouldn't be like this. Even if she didn't see it, she should have heard about how he abused and hit Zhao Nuancheng."
"Perhaps she thought she was the special one."
"Pah, another fool. They don't even understand that a leopard can't change its spots. Once the novelty wears off, he won't care who you are."
As the two were talking, Father Zhao, holding a small bamboo pole, groped his way forward. He slowly walked over, and everyone made way for him.
"Husband, you're finally here! Our daughter is about to be beaten to death. Wuwuwu~"
"Zhao Shixiao, are you just eating dry rice? Don't you see your sister being bullied? You share the same blood. She is the closest person to you in this world; you must stand up for her."
Hearing this, Zhao Nuancheng felt a warmth in her heart. "Dad, I'm fine. Don't blame my brother; he was just momentarily struck."
Zhao Shixiao remained motionless, and Li Dong also stopped his actions.
"Your family is truly hypocritical."
"I won't allow you to speak about my family like that."
"Fool, you don't even know when you're being used."
Li Dong looked at Zhao Nuancheng, lying on the ground, disheveled and devoid of any dignity, with utter disgust in his eyes.
How could such a woman be worthy of him? This marriage had to end.
When he first married Zhao Nuancheng, he intended to live a good life. Later, he discovered that Zhao Nuancheng's heart wasn't in their family, and she was stubbornly unyielding.
He couldn't control the violence within him and resorted to hitting her. At that moment, he felt incredibly relieved. When people came to their door, he was terrified.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Nuancheng was foolish enough to stand by his side. Moreover, the Zhao family didn't care about her, which made him even more brazen in abusing her.
They couldn't find common ground, and Li Dong looked down on him. The women around him would all look down on him until he met Zhao Qianyue.
Zhao Qianyue was beautiful, educated, and eloquent, matching him in every aspect. Most importantly, she didn't look down on him; instead, she sometimes looked at him with admiration.
Li Dong felt spring had arrived; this was what his wife should be like. Upon learning of her tragic experiences, he felt even more heartache for her and hatred for everyone in the Zhao family.
Now that they had broken the ice between them, they were just waiting for him to divorce and marry Chen Qianyue.
"Old man, I know you are the one who makes decisions in your family. If you don't let Zhao Nuancheng divorce me, I'll take all my belongings from your house. What's been used, you'll have to compensate me, or write an IOU. Otherwise, I'll smash your house today."
Zhao Nuancheng's face was filled with terror. "We are all family; what do you mean by 'your house' and 'my house'?"
"You cheap woman, what right do you have to speak?"
Zhao Nuancheng was kicked again by him and dared not speak further.
"This is in our Tomato Brigade. Do you think you can smash whatever you want?"
"Don't you try to act tough with me. Your family owes my family money, that's a sure thing. Ask anyone else if they're willing to help your family. Either write an IOU or get a divorce."
Father Zhao carefully considered the situation. With things having escalated to this point, even if Zhao Nuancheng didn't divorce, she wouldn't be able to move anything back home in the future. The money and tickets combined amounted to over 100.
Given his family's current situation, they couldn't afford it. Once Nuancheng returned, they could arrange another marriage for her. With this thought, he nodded in agreement to Li Dong's demand for a divorce.
Zhao Nuancheng was initially very unwilling but was persuaded by the Zhao family and happily went to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get the divorce certificate.
Li Dong got his wish and married Chen Qianyue. The Chen family was furious and severed ties with Chen Qianyue immediately.
The winds of reform arrived, dividing land based on population. Every household was overjoyed, and life became more hopeful with each passing day.
With their own land and their own grain, everyone's enthusiasm for farming increased.
The debts the Zhao family incurred from outside were paid off by Zhao Dazhuang's family. Thus, the Zhao family only owed money to Zhao Dazhuang's family. After the land was divided,
their best three mu of land were allocated to Zhao Dazhuang's family, with the entire brigade as witnesses.
The Tomato Brigade had abundant land but few people. Apart from the allocated land, the Zhao family was left with 10 mu. Mother Zhao, an elderly laborer who was half-crippled, could not manage the family's land, and the harvest was not significant.
Later, Father and Mother Zhao passed away in pain. Zhao Shixiao immediately sold all the land. After enjoying himself for a while, he lived a miserable old age.
The Zhao family had previously arranged a second marriage for Zhao Nuancheng with a man twenty years her senior. Seeing her family still trying to comfort her, saying it was all for her own good.
Zhao Nuancheng finally had a glimmer of realization and escaped the infernal dwelling called home. She went to the Li family in the city.
Seeing Chen Qianyue's battered state, she only felt a sense of satisfaction. She had no goal, no idea where to go. From now on, she would take things one step at a time, just getting by.
Zhu Qingjiang, taking Jun Jiuli's advice, allocated several mu of good land for growing medicinal herbs. He carefully tended to them daily, and the growth was naturally robust.
The Zhu family's life improved day by day. Once Zhu Qingjiang learned how to identify and cultivate those medicinal herbs, Jun Jiuli departed from this plane.
Upon returning to her body, Zhu Honghong was immensely grateful for her current circumstances. Her husband, meticulously chosen by her grandmother and elder siblings, was naturally to her liking as well, and she lived a very good life in her later years.