Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

Wei Baoguo gritted his teeth and stubbornly held on, relying on the burning desire in his chest to prevent himself from collapsing.

He now had only one thought in his mind: to settle accounts with that old swindler, Li Cuihua!

He didn't even bother to take the Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) and pork belly he had brought to the table. Without even glancing at Zhao Shanhe again, he suddenly turned around and stumbled out of the courtyard gate like a wild dog that had lost its soul and gone mad.

With a loud crash, half of the wooden door swayed back and forth as he slammed it open.

He scrambled and crawled along the bumpy dirt road outside the courtyard, running wildly towards the east end of the village.

Because he was running too fast and his legs were weak, he tripped hard in a mud puddle and fell heavily to the ground with a "thud," covered in foul-smelling mud.

But he felt no pain at all. He scrambled to his feet and continued charging forward, uttering incoherent curses like a wild beast.

The courtyard fell silent again.

Zhao Shanhe stood on the steps, watching Wei Baoguo's disheveled figure disappear completely around the corner of the dirt road before slowly turning his gaze away.

"Azure Dragon, Black Dragon, go back and lie down."

He gave a brief instruction.

The low growls in the two dogs' throats immediately subsided. They wagged their tails, obediently strolled back to the sunlit area under the wall, and lay down to nap again.

Lin Xiu walked out of the main room, glanced at the open doorway, and then looked at the pile of things Wei Baoguo had left behind on the table. She still found it somewhat unbelievable.

"Shanhe, this old man... he really got a marriage certificate with them like that?"

"That's ridiculous."

Zhao Shanhe walked to the table and casually fiddled with the piece of pork belly with alternating layers of fat and lean meat: "This old man is greedy. He wants to use his words to get something for nothing and seize our big house. The other side is even greedier. To keep this old man in check, they've probably even poured their savings into this whole charade."

Lin Xiu shook her head, recalling Wei Baoguo's utterly devastated expression. "Now look what's happened, his underwear is completely exposed. If that old man runs over like a madman, someone might get killed over there."

"Let them make a scene."

Zhao Shanhe picked up the piece of pork belly and handed it to Lin Xiu:

"I'll cook this meat tonight to add to everyone's meal. As for the east end of the village... it's a dog-eat-dog world, and this good show has only just begun."

At the east end of the village, in Old Zhao's dilapidated, drafty courtyard, a great commotion was raging.

A burly middle-aged woman, carrying a "Red Lantern" brand radio, stormed out of the house.

Li Cuihua followed behind, her face plastered with a fawning yet anxious smile, her hands gripping the leather handle of the radio tightly, refusing to let go.

"Auntie, can you lend me your place for two more days?"

"It's only been displayed for a few days, why are you in such a hurry to take it back! My husband is coming over in the next couple of days, and I'll bring it back to you as soon as he's seen it, okay?"

The middle-aged woman abruptly swung her arm, rudely shaking off Li Cuihua's hand, and immediately rolled her eyes.

"Still borrowing?"

"Li Cuihua, do you have no shame? This radio of mine has been sitting in your shabby house for almost half a month! What did you say when you borrowed it? You said it was just for a couple of days to make a show of things, and you'd return it right away."

The middle-aged woman spat on the ground, raising her voice as if afraid the neighbors wouldn't hear her:

"You really think you can swindle some old city guy's pension with this radio from my house? Take a good look at yourself in the mirror! You can't even afford a pot to cook at home, yet you're borrowing half a new wooden cabinet to act like a big shot. Do you really think city folks are fools?"

Li Cuihua's sore spot was hit, and her face turned pale and then red.

Seeing that the woman was really about to take the radio away, she slapped her thigh in desperation, gritted her teeth, and whispered her trump card:

"I'll pay more! Auntie, I'll give you an extra five dollars for the rent! Just for the last day!"

Li Cuihua stared intently at the radio: "If you just leave the radio on for one more day, and I manage to lure that old city man into my house and get the money from his pocket, I'll pay you back with interest!"

Stop making empty promises!

Xiulan sneered, completely unmoved by her attempt to get something for nothing.

"With your current pathetic state, everyone in the village knows it. Your eldest son, the most capable one, has long since severed ties with you because of your despicable character; your second son is nowhere to be found in the city, we don't even know if he's dead or alive; your third son's leg was smashed, he's practically useless. Your family doesn't even have a single able-bodied person left, what are you going to offer me for marriage?"

Xiulan spat on the ground, her face full of disdain:

"Let go right now! If you damage or chip this precious thing in my house, even if you sell your old bones, you won't be able to afford to pay for it!"

The woman shoved Li Cuihua hard, then turned and strode towards the gate, still clutching the radio.

"Aunt Xiulan!"

Li Cuihua stumbled and nearly fell. In her panic, she jumped up and down at the woman's retreating figure, shouting in her hoarse voice, "I'll give you the money right now! Cash! Five yuan!"

The middle-aged woman called Xiulan stopped and turned around to look her up and down, her disdain undisguised.

"Take out the cash right now, and I'll hold onto this radio for another day. If you can't, don't try to act all high and mighty in front of me."

Li Cuihua gritted her teeth, her heart bleeding.

She fumbled around in her patched cotton trousers and pulled out a small gray cloth bag. Unwrapping it, she found a few crumpled bills inside.

With trembling hands, she pulled out five yuan and shoved it into Xiulan's hand: "Here you go! Now you can put your things back!"

Xiulan looked down at the real gold and silver, and the cold smile on her face instantly disappeared.

She deftly stuffed the money into her pocket, turned around, and put the radio back on the broken table in the room.

"Why didn't you just take the money earlier?"

Xiulan pursed her lips, stuffed the money into her pocket, then pointed to the radio on the table, her face hardening as she warned, "Let me tell you this upfront, this thing is very valuable. If it gets damaged, chipped, or has any paint chipped, you'll have to pay me back the original price!"

"Okay, okay!"

Li Cuihua waved her hand impatiently, feeling a pang of regret for the five yuan, but thinking of the long-term meal ticket she was about to have, she snorted smugly:

"That old bastard has already registered our marriage, and he even paid me a portion of his monthly pension in advance. Once we're married, it's a done deal; he's like meat in my bowl, completely at my mercy. He can't run away even if he wants to!"

Xiulan clicked her tongue in amazement: "You're really heartless. Alright, I've left the stuff here, I'm leaving now."

After saying that, Xiulan swayed her hips and walked out of the courtyard gate.

Li Cuihua had just breathed a sigh of relief and was about to follow along when she saw Xiulan stop abruptly as if she had been frozen in place, just as she reached the broken wooden door.

Xiulan glanced at the door with a strange look in her eyes, her expression incredibly interesting. Then, she left with the words, "Then you should explain to him now," and without another word, she slipped out along the wall without even looking back.

Li Cuihua paused for a moment, then looked out through the courtyard gate with some confusion.

With just one glance, the smugness on her face froze instantly, her withered lips parted slightly, as if she had seen a ghost, unable to utter a sound.

Outside the dilapidated wooden door that wasn't properly closed, someone was standing there at some unknown time.

Wei Baoguo, covered in foul-smelling mud, was staring intently at her.

The phrase "rotten meat in the bowl" had hit him every single word.

His cloudy eyes were so red they looked like they were about to bleed, his chest was heaving violently, and his whole body was trembling like a leaf.