Hunting 81: Gathering Goods in the Mountains, I Spoil My Ex-Wife to the Extreme

Feng Cuilan was yelling at Wang Yuanchao so loudly that all the neighbors could hear her.

Wang Yuanchao was subjected to this tirade for a full ten minutes, until Feng Cuilan's mouth was dry and she was panting heavily, at which point the vicious and harsh insults abruptly ceased.

"That Feng Cuilan is really something. She's so vicious when she scolds her own son. If she angers Wang Yuanchao and he ignores her, who will take care of her when she's old and can't move?"

"Even as an outsider, I find her insults incredibly sharp and sarcastic. Seriously, how did Wang Yuanchao end up with such a mother?"

"Who knows? But don't forget, back then, Old Wang was constantly being scolded by Feng Cuilan. One time, she scolded him so badly that he went out to drink alone. He got drunk, suffered alcohol poisoning, and apparently had a brain hemorrhage. He was rushed to the hospital but they couldn't save him, and he died."

"Old Wang was a really good person, honest and kind. He used to take good care of us neighbors. Whenever someone went to the grocery store, he would share good things with them without holding back. Even if we just bumped into each other on the street, he would always have a smile on his face. It's such a pity that he's gone."

"Although Wang Yuanchao is Old Wang's son, he doesn't resemble his father at all. Instead, he's just like Feng Cuilan—equally mean and vicious. If he weren't mean and vicious, how could he have done something like beating his wife?"

"It's fortunate that Li Yunlan and Wang Yuanchao divorced. If she had continued to stay in the Wang family, who knows how badly she would have been abused by Wang Yuanchao and his mother. She might even have lost her life."

"It's mainly because her family was so helpful. They rushed over a hundred miles overnight to come. Her mother, brother, sister, and brothers from the same village... If it weren't for the freezing weather and the rush, I would say that Li Yunlan's family could have sent another twenty or thirty people."

"Hey, her family are hunters in the village. They go into the mountains to hunt all year round. These kinds of people are the most united. When something happens, they will definitely point their guns at each other. Wang Yuanchao and Feng Cuilan have really met their match. They thought Li Yunlan was easy to bully, but they didn't expect her to be so tough. Not only did they get a beating, but they were also thrown into the latrine. In the end, they even got divorced."

"..."

The neighbors who heard the cursing coming from Wang Yuanchao's house were initially just discussing it in their own homes, but as Feng Cuilan's cursing became more and more intense, they simply left their homes and went to the gate of Wang Yuanchao's house to listen to the commotion.

In this day and age, entertainment programs are scarce, and even everyday family matters can become topics of conversation. Not to mention the affairs of Wang Yuanchao's family, with his wife being abused, being reprimanded by her family, and ultimately ending in divorce. These stories have been circulating widely in Xinghuo Commune for the past two days.

Now, hearing Feng Cuilan furiously berate Wang Yuanchao, everyone became even more excited. Some people even skipped dinner, putting down their bowls and chopsticks and running out.

Anyway, everyone knows that Feng Cuilan was carried back by Wang Yuanchao. It is said that she injured her lumbar spine and had to stay in bed. Even if they gathered at Wang Yuanchao's door, Feng Cuilan could not do anything to them. At most, she could only curse a few words inside the house.

However, the more she was scolded, the more embarrassed and disgraced Feng Cuilan became.

Go ahead and criticize us, we love to hear it.

Inside the house, after Feng Cuilan stopped cursing, Wang Yuanchao looked at her with a deep, unwavering gaze.

He clenched his fists tightly and glared angrily at Feng Cuilan.

From childhood to adulthood, he lived amidst Feng Cuilan's angry beatings and scoldings, which instilled in him a cautious and respectful personality in front of her.

However, in the years since his marriage, Feng Cuilan's beatings and scoldings towards him have decreased, which has given Wang Yuanchao some unwarranted illusions, making him feel that his mother has started to treat him better.

But after being scolded for so long, Wang Yuanchao suddenly had a flash of inspiration and figured it out. The reason why Feng Cuilan hadn't scolded or beaten him much in recent years was because the targets of her scolding and beatings had changed to Li Yunlan and Qianqian.

Now that Li Yunlan has divorced and taken Qianqian with her, Feng Cuilan's target for scolding has immediately become him; he has become his mother's outlet for emotional outbursts.

However, after a while, Wang Yuanchao's clenched fist quietly loosened.

He silently walked out of the room, went to the main room, took a chipped enamel mug, and poured a cup of water into it.

After thinking for a moment, he took a medicine bottle from the table, poured out a pill, crushed it into powder, mixed it with the hot water in the ceramic cup, and then went into the house.

"Mom, are you thirsty? Drink some water to soothe your throat."

Wang Yuanchao handed the water glass to Feng Cuilan and said in a calm and unhurried tone.

Feng Cuilan was parched and saw that Wang Yuanchao didn't seem to react much after being scolded by her, so she didn't take it seriously. She took the enamel cup and drank all the water in it.

"Mother, I'm going out now. You should get some rest."

As Wang Yuanchao spoke, he took the enamel mug and went out.

The moment he stepped out of the house, he let out a long sigh of relief.

Inside the room, after drinking the glass of water that Wang Yuanchao brought her, Feng Cuilan quickly felt sleepy. After her eyelids drooped for a while, heavy breathing soon began to fill the air.

After hearing the breathing sounds coming from inside, Wang Yuanchao opened the door and went in.

He glanced at Feng Cuilan, who was sleeping on the kang (a heated brick bed), and then at the place where he had seen Feng Cuilan hiding money through the crack in the door. After hesitating for a moment, he opened the hidden compartment in the wardrobe where Feng Cuilan had hidden the 100-yuan bills. He took out a stack of 100-yuan bills tied with a hair tie and pulled out ten of them.

Then, he put the large denomination bill away, closed the hidden compartment, took out the loose change that Feng Cuilan had hidden, took out a few five-yuan bills, and some one-yuan and two-yuan bills, before putting the money back in the distance.

"Mom, I'm sorry. This money was either left by Dad or I earned it. It's not too much for me to take a hundred or so yuan. I've had enough of being broke."

After putting the money in his pocket, Wang Yuanchao glanced at Feng Cuilan, who was lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) and sleeping soundly, and muttered to himself.

When his father was alive, his mother held the family's money bag tightly. After his father passed away, he took over his father's job at the commune's grocery store. Most of his monthly salary had to be handed over to his mother, and she still held onto the money bag.

Originally, if Feng Cuilan had given him the money readily and hadn't scolded him, Wang Yuanchao wouldn't have done it this way. But Feng Cuilan valued the money more than his job and gave him a severe scolding.

This infuriated Wang Yuanchao, but instead of confronting Feng Cuilan in front of her, he took the opportunity while pouring water for her to crush a sleeping pill and mix it into the water in the enamel cup.

After Feng Cuilan fell asleep, he took some money from where she had hidden it.

Wang Yuanchao estimated that he had taken about 100 yuan from Feng Cuilan's savings, which was equivalent to more than two months' salary for him.

"With the money, I can buy some gifts and visit Manager Niu to improve our relationship. Maybe then my punishment will be reduced."

Clutching the money in his hand, Wang Yuanchao thought to himself.

"Coo coo...coo coo..."

But just then, his stomach started growling.

However, Wang Yuanchao did not choose to cook at home because he couldn't understand why he would cook.

Now that he has money, Wang Yuanchao plans to eat out.

He quickly put on a military overcoat, closed the door, and left home.

At this moment, seeing Wang Yuanchao come out, the neighbors who had been quite lively outside the gate scattered like birds and beasts.

Wang Yuanchao glanced at the departing neighbors but didn't go looking for trouble or start a fight. He wasn't Feng Cuilan, after all. He had a secure job at a state-owned grocery store, and he was young and thin-skinned, so he couldn't bring himself to argue or fight with his neighbors.

So he ignored his neighbors, closed the gate, and left Kuanshi Lane.

Soon after, he arrived at a small restaurant.

Several years have passed since the special decade, and the reform and opening-up policy has been implemented for some time. Some people who sensed business opportunities, had skills, and were bold began to start their own businesses.

The small restaurant that Wang Yuanchao came to was a newly opened restaurant in the commune, which had only been open for half a year. Wang Yuanchao and his colleagues had eaten there twice before.

Although the main business is home-style stir-fries, the food is delicious, inexpensive, and plentiful, with a perfect balance of color, aroma, and taste.

When Wang Yuanchao arrived, there weren't many people left in the small restaurant.

"Boss, one order of stir-fried green peppers and shredded pork, one order of pan-fried eggs, and a bottle of loose white wine."

After sitting down, Wang Yuanchao ordered two dishes.

He ate alone, and although he had money in his pocket, he didn't order too many dishes to avoid waste.

"Okay, just a moment, it'll be ready soon."

When the boss saw that it was Wang Yuanchao, and knew that he was a salesman at the commune's grocery store, he gave him a smile and quickly went into the kitchen.

In no time at all, two side dishes and a bottle of loose liquor were served on the table.

While enjoying the delicious stir-fry and sipping some local liquor, Wang Yuanchao's depressed mood, caused by the divorce, gradually eased.

After a hearty meal, Wang Yuanchao, half-drunk, staggered out of the small restaurant, carrying a half-empty bottle of liquor.

"Huff huff..."

The cold north wind howled as Wang Yuanchao, holding a flashlight, staggered into Kuanshi Lane and headed home.

As he passed the corner of the alley, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed limply to the ground.

After Wang Yuanchao collapsed to the ground, a figure emerged from the darkness, glanced at Wang Yuanchao lying on the ground, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a wad of cash.

He picked up the flashlight that had fallen to the ground, looked at it, and then put the money in his pocket.

"Damn it, you got off easy."

The shadowy figure kicked Wang Yuanchao and cursed.

If Wang Yuanchao hadn't been drunk, he would have given him a good beating.

Unfortunately, Wang Yuanchao was drunk, and he was afraid that if he rashly beat Wang Yuanchao up, the bastard would cause trouble while drunk.