Pan Daidi went to the latrine, and when she thought about how she had missed out on the pearl just like that, her heart began to ache. Clutching her chest, she walked back to her own courtyard.
Although electricity had come to the village over the past two years, nine o'clock was already considered nighttime in the countryside.
Especially for those who had to get up early the next day to go out to sea.
The Pan family had no boat, so they did not need to go out to sea. But they had neither a television nor a radio, and to save a little on their electricity bill, they went to bed early.
She returned to her room and lay alone on the bed, aching with pain and unwillingness for the entire night. It felt as though she had missed out on a hundred million.
She had barely slept all night and only finally drifted off just before dawn. She did not wake until the sun was high in the sky. When she got up, she found that she was the only person in the house who had risen. She began clattering around while making breakfast, making such a racket that she woke the entire family.
Zhou Junjie came out of the room yawning. When he saw Pan Daidi, he asked, "Mom, is there anything to eat? I'm hungry."
Pan Daidi flew into a rage and could not help rushing over to beat him. "Eat, eat, eat! All you know how to do all day is eat! You good-for-nothing spendthrift!"
Zhou Junjie dodged in every direction after being struck, fleeing directly behind his wife, who had the broad back and sturdy build of a tiger. "Mom, what's wrong with you?"
Zhou Junjie's second wife hurriedly blocked Pan Daidi with her enormous body. "Mom, what happened?"
Her husband had been sleeping ever since he returned from the beach. He had not gone out last night to do anything improper, either!
Pan Daidi's elder daughter-in-law and elder son also came out of their room after hearing the commotion to watch the spectacle.
Who knew what the second son had done this time? Surely he had not lost money gambling again?
Pan Daidi said irritably, "That good-for-nothing kicked away a sea snail yesterday, and the Zhou Family opened it and found a pearl inside! Tell me, shouldn't he be beaten? I'm furious!"
It would have been bad enough not to pick up a sea snail containing a pearl, but he had even kicked it away.
Pan Daidi's second daughter-in-law's eyes widened. "Mom, what did you say? That thorny sea snail had a pearl inside?"
Pan Daidi's elder daughter-in-law perked up as well. "It really had a pearl inside? Mom, how do you know?"
Pan Daidi said irritably, "Tian Caihua said so. Do you think she was lying? You good-for-nothing—if you hadn't kicked that sea snail away, our family would have been the one to find the pearl!"
Pan Daidi's second daughter-in-law hurriedly said, "Mom! A-Jie discovered that sea snail first. It should have belonged to us! We have to go to Zhou Chenglei's house and get that pearl back."
Pan Daidi froze for a moment, then slapped her thigh. "You're right! How did I not think of that? A-Jie discovered the sea snail first, so it should have been ours!"
But Pan Daidi's elder son, Zhou Junwen, felt that the two of them were simply twisting logic to make a forced argument. "Mom, once they picked up the sea snail, it became theirs. Don't go over there and make fools of yourselves."
Pan Daidi said, "How does that make it theirs? A-Jie discovered it first."
Her second daughter-in-law said, "Exactly. Whoever discovers it first gets it."
"Come on, let's go get our pearl back!"
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law charged out.
Zhou Junjie followed them out as well, mainly because he wanted to see Jiang Xia.
Those arms, those legs—they were truly slender and fair. Just looking at them made his blood surge.
Zhou Junwen wanted to follow, but his wife held him back. "Don't go. You'll only make a fool of yourself!"
After saying that, she pursed her lips, a flicker of disdain passing through her eyes.
Pan Daidi and her second daughter-in-law left the house, turned a corner, and soon arrived at Jiang Xia's home.
The sun was out today, but the wind and waves at sea were still somewhat strong, so Zhou Chenglei and Father Zhou had not gone out to sea.
After breakfast, Mother Zhou had gone out to water the vegetables. Father Zhou and Zhou Chenglei had gone out to cut bamboo. They did not have enough Sun-drying Mats, so they needed to cut some bamboo and bring it back to continue making Sun-drying Mats for drying shrimp. Only Jiang Xia was home.
The Courtyard Gate was not shut. Besides, in the countryside, when someone was home during the day, people generally did not close the Courtyard Gate, making it convenient for neighbors to drop by.
As soon as Pan Daidi entered, she glanced around. Seeing no one inside the house and only Jiang Xia outside watering the Grape Seedling, she immediately planted her hands on her hips and seized the initiative. "Jiang Xia, bring out that sea snail my son kicked in front of you yesterday, along with the pearl, and return them to me!"
Her second daughter-in-law chimed in, "Exactly! My husband discovered it first! Why did you pick it up?"
Jiang Xia poured half a ladle of water onto the roots of the grapevine before straightening up. She glanced at the three aggressive women and said indifferently, "Where's the Imperial Decree?"
Pan Daidi was baffled. "What Imperial Decree?"
"Without an Imperial Decree, what gives you the right to come here acting as though you're here to interrogate me and demand the sea snail and pearl? Who do you think you are? Anyone who didn't know better would think you were eunuchs delivering an Imperial Decree! The Qing Dynasty has long since perished. Wherever you came from, go back there!" Jiang Xia looked at Pan Daidi, who had taken the lead, with the two women flanking her like her left and right guardians, her eyes full of mockery.
With that, she picked up the bucket and continued watering the strawberries and the flowers by the wall.
Pan Daidi was nearly driven mad with rage. This wretched woman relied on knowing a bit of culture and cursed people without using filthy words. Seeing that no one from the Zhou Family was home, and that Jiang Xia looked so delicate and weak, while the three of them had the numbers, wickedness sprang to her heart. She rushed forward and grabbed Jiang Xia by the hair. "Are you going to hand it over or not? Hurry up and give me that pearl! Return it to me!"
Caught off guard, Jiang Xia had her hair seized from behind. The pain nearly brought tears to her eyes! She immediately swung the bucket hard into the other woman's foot. Then she grabbed the woman's hair and gave it a vicious yank! Pan Daidi released her when the bucket struck her foot and pain shot through it. The next moment, Jiang Xia had seized her hair and yanked hard, sending her stumbling and crashing to the ground.
Seeing this, Pan Daidi's second daughter-in-law hurried over to help, taking the opportunity to grab Jiang Xia's hair.
Jiang Xia's other Fried Dough Twist braid was pulled as well. She turned around and grabbed Pan Daidi's second daughter-in-law by the hair with her other hand, then gave it a vicious yank. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law's heads slammed together, leaving them seeing stars from the pain!
But Pan Daidi's second daughter-in-law reacted quickly too. She held on to Jiang Xia's hair and did not let go, using her enormous body to ram into Jiang Xia with all her strength.
Pan Daidi was just as massive. The two of them seized Jiang Xia by the hair and used their large bodies together to ram her with all their might.
Jiang Xia viciously gripped their hair with both hands and swept out with one foot, tripping Pan Daidi's second daughter-in-law.
A clump of Jiang Xia's hair had been torn out, and her scalp throbbed with pain, making her even more ferocious! With one savage yank, two large tufts of hair filled her hands!
Pan Daidi was also yanked off balance by Jiang Xia and fell face-first onto her second daughter-in-law.
Jiang Xia kicked them viciously!
That ruthlessness frightened the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law! Three people had come to her home to beat up one person—could she afford not to be ruthless? She knew she could only fight ruthlessly!
The second daughter-in-law was pinned beneath Pan Daidi and could not crawl out. Terrified, she shouted at the man standing dumbfounded to the side, "Are you dead? What are you standing there for? Can't you help? Are you waiting to collect our corpses?"
Pan Daidi was also being kicked by Jiang Xia until she was in agony. She had been thoroughly intimidated and could not get up at all. "Help!"
Zhou Junjie was intimidated as well. Coming back to his senses, he hurried forward and pretended to mediate. "Stop fighting! Stop! Let's talk this out! Stop fighting..."
Zhou Junjie reached out and tugged at Jiang Xia's slender, fair wrist. Then he let go, the depravity ingrained in his bones taking over, and took the opportunity to reach toward her waist...
Before you continue