Never underestimate an enraged mother.
Lin Chunju, like a ferocious beast, pinned Li Zhaodi firmly underneath her.
Her palm came down heavily, every strike eliciting a scream from Li Zhaodi.
Li Zhaodi might look sturdy, but it was all flabby flesh she had put on in recent years; she couldn't muster enough strength to turn over.
Ma Jinbao didn't react at first, dumbfounded in place.
Only when his own mother started screaming like a slaughtered pig did he rush to push Lin Chunju away.
In the process, Lin Chunju seized the opportunity to land a punch on Li Zhaodi's face.
Li Zhaodi covered her mouth, and a moment later, spat out half of a broken tooth.
Lin Chunju stood up, dusting the dirt off her body.
"Pah, serves you right!"
With the broken tooth lying in the palm of her hand, Li Zhaodi, shaking, pointed at Lin Chunju and her group, "Beat... beat them."
Her speech was starting to whistle.
Ma Jinbao, already seething with rage, raised his foot to viciously kick Lin Chunju.
Lin Chunju may have been a good fighter among women, but she certainly couldn't match the strength of a grown man.
Ma Jinbao didn't care whether she was his mother-in-law or not; putting his full force into the kick, it would have been unbearable for Lin Chunju at her age had it landed.
Li Zhaodi, with her mouth covered, grinned maliciously while Zhang Ying wished she could stand in front of Lin Chunju to protect her, but she was holding a child in her arms.
That was when Ma Jinbao felt a sharp pain in his arm.
Yue Xiaofang had already charged to his side at the first chance and bit down hard on Ma Jinbao's arm.
Despite the layers of winter clothing, teeth are, after all, the hardest part of the human body; Yue Xiaofang's bite caused Ma Jinbao so much pain that he sweated coldly and naturally stopped his kick.
"Let go, let go of me!"
Ma Jinbao grabbed Yue Xiaofang's hair and yanked it hard.
But Yue Xiaofang did not let go, her eyes bloodshot and filled with hate as she glared at Ma Jinbao.
Ma Jinbao was startled; although his family had bullied Yue Xiaofang for a long time, this was the first time he saw such an expression on her face.
It was as if she wanted to bite off a piece of his flesh.
Li Zhaodi shrieked, wanting to rush over and beat Yue Xiaofang, but she was stopped midway by Lin Chunju, who pushed her to the ground and began to beat her again.
The two groups tussled in the middle of the village road, and soon enough, adult men came over to break them up.
"What's going on here, whose family is this?"
"Seems like strangers, come to bully people in our village?"
Villagers are naturally protective; if it weren't for the fact that Lin Chunju's group were women, there might well have been people taking sides and playing dirty.
Seeing the turn of events, Li Zhaodi plucked up the courage to speak, but Lin Chunju beat her to it.
"Who am I? I am the mother-in-law of that animal, Ma Jinbao. I gave my precious daughter to him, and this is how he's repaid me?"
She pulled Yue Xiaofang over and lifted her sleeve, revealing an arm full of bruises that immediately caught everyone's attention.
"My God, it's not rare for husbands to beat their wives, but the Ma Family's gone too far."
"No wonder the mother-in-law came to fight with her life on the line, who wouldn't be angry in this situation?"
Li Zhaodi shrank her neck and wore a guilty expression but spoke defiantly, "What's wrong with beating her? If she doesn't obey, she should be beaten. Should I let her climb onto my neck instead?"
Lin Chunju coldly said, "Xiaofang has been in the village for quite some time now. Everyone has seen what she's like. What did she do to deserve your family's bullying?"
Yue Xiaofang's hair was a mess, pulled askew by Ma Jinbao, and her bruises made the villagers too ashamed to protect one of their own.
"Li Zhaodi, you have to have a conscience. Your daughter-in-law has always been hardworking and uncomplaining, taking on all the household chores. She's practically been the only one looking after that large fruit orchard, and you still have the heart to beat her?"
"Exactly, if my daughter-in-law were like that, I'd be smiling so hard my face would crack. I wish I'd had my son seek a matchmaker to propose."
"Sigh, you still can't beat someone . Ma Jinbao, your wife is good enough."
Li Zhaodi's face turned shades of red and green, and with her true colors exposed, she lashed out in desperation.
"What's it to you? Mind your own business, you lot are like dogs chasing mice—this is my family's affair." She pointed at the men in the crowd who had spoken well of Yue Xiaofang.
"You're defending her so much; what is she, your mistress?"
"You! What nonsense are you talking about?" the man retorted in haste, "I just couldn't stand by and watch."
"I'm putting it out there today; this is my daughter-in-law. What we do behind closed doors is family business. Anyone who pokes their nose into it is saying that they're having an affair with her."
The people who were indignant just moments ago fell silent.
It's said that even honest officials find it hard to settle family disputes. No matter how unreasonable Li Zhaodi's actions were, they, as outsiders, seemed to have no place to intervene.
Besides, Li Zhaodi's words were so unpleasant; where would they dare to get involved and risk getting tainted?
Seeing that no one spoke up, Li Zhaodi snorted from her nose and pointed at Yue Xiaofang.
"You think you have backups because your family's here? Let me tell you, once you married into my family, you became one of us." She commanded Ma Jinbao.
"Beat her, beat this disobedient bitch to death. Let's see who dares to stop us today!"