Chapter 24: Splitting Up the Family Assets
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Due to Shao Dong’s revenge, they were unable to stay in the village. Shao Dong, who was less than ten years old, left the despairing village with his younger siblings. Penniless, he even had to beg for money. Later on, Shao Dong relied on scavenging to improve their lives step by step.
Upon recalling the plot in the book, Mu Jingzhe gritted her teeth.
She patted the dust off Shao Dong’s body. “If you have time, I’ll teach you some self-defense moves.”
“You mean kung fu?”
Everyone dreamed of being a hero in the wuxia world when they were young. Shao Dong was no exception. His eyes lit up as he asked this question.
“It’s not like learning kung fu. It’s just simple self-defense. You will accurately find the weaknesses of your opponent. You guys are too young, so the best thing to do is run.”
Mu Jingzhe and Shao Dong had yet to eat when Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao arrived with the crying Fu, Lu, and Shou.
“Mu Jingzhe, come out! How dare you hit my children! Look at how badly you beat them up! If you don’t give me an explanation today, I won’t let you off!”
Zhao Lan and Eldest Brother Shao also followed her closely, their countenances looking extremely ugly. They wished they could devour Mu Jingzhe.
“In the past, when Shao Dong and the others were beaten up, why didn’t you say anything? Now, you feel heartache? Did you see the palm print on Shao Dong’s face? I was just paying them back for it.”
Mu Jingzhe sneered. “You didn’t teach your children well, so I’m doing it on your behalf as their aunt.”
Seeing that Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao was about to speak, Mu Jingzhe immediately raised her hand. “No need to thank me. No matter what, I am still their aunt. I will continue to teach them well in the future.”
Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao didn’t manage to catch her breath and nearly died from anger.
“Are you teaching the kids? Look at how badly you’ve scared them.”
“What? Compared to the way they were beating Shao Dong up, this is nothing. I held back. If they weren’t relatives, do you think they would still be standing?”
Mu Jingzhe didn’t retreat at all. “I’ve already warned you. If you dare to touch them once, I’ll touch your kids twice. If I don’t break their arms and legs, I’ll have let Shao Qihai down!”
She looked at Fu, Lu, and Shou. “I’ll say it again in front of your parents. Stop bullying Shao Dong and his siblings. Otherwise, there will be no warning next time. I’ll keep my word.”
The three of them, who had yet to get over the trauma Mu Jingzhe had inflicted on them, once again burst into tears.
Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao and Zhao Lan were both angry and heartbroken. In the past, they would have walked up to her and grabbed her hair. However, this time, they were afraid of Mu Jingzhe’s monstrous strength and didn’t dare do anything.
Eldest Brother Shao had also seen Mu Jingzhe’s ability. Coupled with the fact that he believed a good man wouldn’t fight with a woman, he simply didn’t look at Mu Jingzhe, but at Shao Nan and the others.
“Shao Nan, Shao Xi, are you just going to stand by and watch? What do I usually teach you? You’re cousins. It’s one thing for you to engage in small fights, but breaking bones and tendons? Are you just going to stand by and watch?”
A trace of sarcasm flashed past Shao Xi’s eyes. “Then what do you want from us, Eldest Uncle? In the future, if Shao Fu and the rest want to hit us, we shouldn’t resist or say anything? We should just let them hit us even if they beat us to death?”
Eldest Brother Shao was usually a man of few words, and no one dared to object when he did speak up. His face was filled with rage when the child retorted like that.
“What do you mean? Beat you to death? Why would they, your older cousins, beat you to death? This is just a fight between children. Such resentment at such a young age…”
“Who would play around with their lives? Shao Fu and his siblings are just playing around with us when they hit us. If we don’t want to die and return the favor, you’ll say we bear great resentment?”
Shao Xi’s eyes were red. “We don’t care for that.”
Eldest Brother Shao was trying to play down the situation, but Shao Xi had exposed him with just a few words.
“You—”
Eldest Brother Shao raised his hand in anger, but Mu Jingzhe sneered.
“What’s wrong? You can’t bear to hear the truth? Are you so angry from embarrassment that you want to beat someone up? Do you want me to beat the gong and drum for the whole village to hear?”
Eldest Brother Shao immediately directed his anger at Mu Jingzhe.
“Mu Jingzhe, I’ve been holding back because you’re my sister-in-law. Don’t push your luck!”
“Who’s the one wanting a yard after taking an inch?” Mu Jingzhe sneered. “You’re still holding back? What are you holding back for? You’re a coward who only knows how to hide behind his mother and suck his younger brother’s blood. A wimpish loser whose only talent is to hide behind his wife and bully his nephew. Now, you get anxious and speak up? Why don’t you continue playing dead?
“You’re a weakling who bullies the weak and fears the strong. You make it sound so nice. Do you think everyone else is a fool and only you are smart? Who doesn’t know what you people are like? Why are you threatening the children when I’m still here? If there’s anything wrong with what I said, come at me.”
Eldest Brother Shao collapsed on the ground, his face turning purple. What was even more infuriating was the fact that Shao Dong and his siblings were staring at him with cold eyes and laughing at him.
Eldest Brother Shao couldn’t take it anymore. “How dare you laugh!”
He rushed forward but was stopped by Mu Jingzhe. “I told you I’m here!”
“Get out of the way. You’re just a stepmother who will leave the Shao Family anytime now to get married. I’m not going to argue with you. I’m only after them!”
Eldest Brother Shao was furious. He glared at Shao Dong and the others with a threatening look in his eyes. “Are they going to fall out with us completely?”
Shao Dong and the others didn’t speak, but their eyes revealed a lot of emotions.
“Great, that’s really great. They’re resenting me after all I did to raise them!”
Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao couldn’t stand it any longer. She immediately added, “I’ve already said that they are ingrates. It would be better to raise a dog than them. Anyway, I can’t take it anymore. Let’s split up the family assets today. If we don’t, I’ll take our kids back to my parents’ house!”
After a lot of discussions, they’d finally managed to bring up splitting the family assets.
They had been thinking about this for a long time.
When Shao Qihai had still been alive, they certainly couldn’t ask to split up the family assets. Now, they had to do it.
They had wanted to get rid of these burdens for a long time. Surely they couldn’t raise them until they grew up and even find spouses for them? Those four were only their nephews and niece. This was no joke. They already had four children of their own.
Eldest Brother Shao and Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao visibly calmed down after they mentioned splitting up the family assets. Zhao Lan quickly forced Shao Dong and the others to apologize and kneel down.
They completely ignored Mu Jingzhe.
They were fearless and certain that Shao Dong and the others couldn’t leave them. They swore to vent all the anger they had felt during this period.
They thought that Shao Dong and the rest were definitely afraid. Later, when the kids knelt down and begged them, they wouldn’t be soft-hearted. Since they had said that they would split up the family assets, they had to do it now.
However, it was necessary to give these brats a hard time before splitting the assets up.
Eldest Brother Shao and Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao had a lot of plans. Fu, Lu, and Shou didn’t even have the time to cry anymore. Zhao Lan wanted to say something but stopped herself. In the end, she said nothing.
However, to their surprise, Shao Dong actually nodded.
He took two steps forward and stood in front of his younger brothers and sister. In spite of his stutter, his words were powerful and resonating. “If you want to split up the family assets, so be it. You never cared about us anyway.”
Mu Jingzhe looked over in surprise.
Although she was surprised, she didn’t try to dissuade him.
From her point of view, it would indeed be good to split up the family assets. They would probably be better off after doing so.
Eldest Brother Shao and the other two were really shocked. When they finally came back to their senses, they immediately shouted fiercely.
“Alright, you guys have guts! Since you’ve agreed, don’t go back on your word. We’ll split it. We’ll split it all today!”
He would just wait for the day when the few of them could no longer survive and came to them begging and crying, expressing their regret for the decision they’d made today!