In 1992, a small village owner became the richest man in the village by owning a car.

Chapter 222 The old lady was so angry she cried?

Hou Wanshan subconsciously stopped in his tracks, his heart skipped a beat, but he hid his nervousness well and turned around to meet his eldest sister's calm gaze.

Hou Xiaorong stared at him for a long time, then got up and went to the storeroom next to the west room.

"Go check on your aunt; she's probably getting ready to move something," Grandpa Yu Chen whispered to Yu Dawei at that moment.

“Okay.” Yu Dawei nodded, looking somewhat surprised.

His uncle has never paid attention to these kinds of details over the years, but today he actually took the initiative to ask him to go see his wife. It seems that he really loves his wife.

As Yu Dawei pondered this, he lifted the curtain and stepped outside.

Before long, the old lady was carrying large and small bags of things, with Yu Dawei carrying a piece of pork behind her.

"Sister, what are you doing?" Hou Wanshan frowned slightly, feeling uneasy.

"You're leaving, right? Okay! Take all these things with you! Don't leave them in my house as an eyesore!" Hou Xiaorong tossed all the lampshades, lamp holders, unused gloves from the workers, blankets, some vegetables that could be stored for a while... and the piece of pork that Yu Dawei was carrying to Hou Wanshan.

"Our family doesn't want anything you obtained through such underhanded means, nor does it want money you got by killing and arson!"

"Here you go! Here you go!" Hou Xiaorong didn't know where she got the strength, but she threw the items one by one at Hou Wanshan's feet.

"Sis! I've said before that I've acted with a clear conscience! It's all their fault for provoking me first!" Hou Wanshan's temper flared up as he stood firmly in front of Hou Xiaorong, confronting her relentlessly. "Why! Why are they allowed to hit me and bully me! But I, Hou Wanshan, am not allowed to fight back and beat them to death!"

"Why should I be controlled by others! Why should I live a life of swallowing my anger!" Hou Wanshan almost roared out the last two sentences.

"Slap!" A slap landed hard on Hou Wanshan's face!
"I'm not their sister, I'm your sister!" Hou Xiaorong shouted angrily. "So I can't watch you go astray and go further and further astray! I can't watch you spend your whole life in jail and die a horrible death!"

"Tell me, you're willing to risk your own life! How can you face your aunt who gave birth to you? How can you face your father who raised you?!" Hou Xiaorong couldn't help but pound Hou Wanshan's chest with her fists. "Tell me! Tell me! Tell me..."

Hou Wanshan frowned, his fists clenched tightly. Even though his fingernails were digging into his flesh, he didn't feel the pain. He just stood there like a wooden stake, letting his older sister hit and scold him.

He stood firmly on the gray, rugged road before him, like a gambler with no way out and an unrepentant avenger.

"If this continues, you'll die, you'll die..." Hou Xiaorong was getting old after all, and after pounding Hou Wanshan's chest more than a dozen times, she finally couldn't pound anymore.

The thought of one day burying her child brought tears to her eyes, and she sobbed softly in anguish.

Hou Xiaorong had been strong her whole life, never shedding a tear even when faced with her mother-in-law's difficult behavior. But today, she could no longer control herself, and her tears flowed like a burst dam.

Second sister, eighth sister, ninth sister, and even Yu Dawei looked at their mother (aunt) in utter shock. In their past memories, they had never seen their aunt shed a single tear.

She's had arguments with other women, and even yelled insults in the street, but she's never cried.

"Sigh." Yu Chen, the old man huddled in the corner, saw his wife crying and sighed helplessly.

All in all these years since he met Xiao Rong, he has only seen her cry twice: once because he was incompetent and caused the death of her infant child, and once because of Xiao Sanzi.

Little Sanzi certainly didn't know that when Hou Xiaorong chased him away with a carrying pole, she secretly cried in her arms in the middle of the night, silently shedding tears until she soaked the blankets.

This was the most the old woman had ever cried, and the saddest she had ever been. He thought this, but he did nothing.

However, when Grandpa Yu Chen's gaze fell on that thin, frail figure, a hint of an elder's earnest expectation for a younger generation flashed in his eyes.

"Sister, you, you're crying?" Hou Wanshan suddenly seemed at a loss, like a child who had done something terrible, feeling restrained, worried, and scared... a multitude of complex emotions surged up.

Throughout his life, he had never seen his older sister cry in front of him. No matter what, she always appeared strong and fearless.

But why is she so angry today?
Suddenly, he noticed his older sister's body trembling from overexertion, her hair that had turned nearly half white without him noticing, and the countless wrinkles that had appeared on her face.

He then realized that his older sister had grown old and could no longer stop him from walking into that abyss.

"Get out of my way! Go away, and I'll pretend I don't have a brother like you. Don't tell me whether you live or die after you leave this door." Hou Xiaorong shook off Hou Wanshan's hand that was supporting her, wiped away the tears on her cheeks, but new tears kept falling.

"Sister, don't cry. I was wrong, I was wrong, okay?" Hou Wanshan was scared, especially when he saw his older sister crying incessantly. For a moment, he wished he could slap himself twice on the spot to vent his sister's anger!

“What did you, Third Master Hou, do wrong? It’s my fault. I was wrong to think you still had a chance to turn back.” Hou Xiaorong wiped away her tears and said with a stern face, “I was wrong to think you would no longer bully men and women, or do those murderous and arsonous things. I was wrong.”

The scene became chaotic, and Yu Dawei quickly shrank back to his uncle. If he had known things would turn out this way, he would never have agreed to Lao Qi's words.

He was absolutely the one who started this whole mess. Oh no, how was he going to face his aunt and uncle now? Yu Dawei was filled with anxiety.

Meanwhile, an old man named Yu Chen inexplicably smiled and secretly sipped a mouthful of Monkey Brand tea dregs water from his cup.

"Big sister, I was wrong." Hou Wanshan raised his head the next moment, looking at his eldest sister Hou Xiaorong with a serious and firm gaze. "I, Hou Wanshan, promise you that I will never do murder or arson again in this life, and I will never do those dirty things that stain my hands with blood!"

Yu Dawei, who was lamenting his fate on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), suddenly shuddered and his spirits returned!
And that's when things took a dramatic turn! My third uncle is truly a man of great character, able to bend and stretch as he pleases! Yu Dawei clapped his hands inwardly, finally no longer having to worry about how to make amends with the two of them afterwards.

"Really?" Hou Xiaorong wiped away her tears and looked up at Xiao Sanzi's dark face with some doubt.

"Of course it's true! Sis, don't you know me? I always keep my word!" Hou Wanshan proudly raised his chin slightly and then grinned at his older sister.

"I believe you." After Hou Xiaorong said these three words, her tears flowed even more profusely than before.

"Sister, why are you crying even harder than before? Please, please stop crying, I was really wrong." Hou Wanshan was truly at a loss for words, both exasperated and amused.

If his own father were still alive, seeing him make his older sister cry, he'd probably jump out of bed in anger and beat him with a broom handle. "It's all because of you! Are you still going to eat dumplings?"

"Eat! I'm still not full." Seeing his older sister still crying, Hou Wanshan teased her in the tone of a mischievous monkey from when they were little, "Sis, do you still want the things I gave you back?"

"Eat your dumplings!"

"okay!"

At the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), Yu Dawei's arm was nudged. He turned his head and saw the old man gesturing with his eyes to a corner of pork on the ground.

Yu Dawei: "..."

So, in the end, I'm the one who suffers the most?

Okay, okay, let’s play like this, right?

"Hey, brother-in-law, can you help me out?" Yu Dawei teased his brother-in-law as he passed by.

The two began to clean up the mess on the ground. Yu Dawei's sisters started to liven up the atmosphere again, and Uncle Yu Chen quietly sat back down at the round table, pouring some of the white wine from his glass for Xiao Sanzi.

The two continued chatting, which naturally didn't stop him from eating the sauerkraut dumplings.

Next, Yu Dawei saw that his aunt and uncle had truly resolved their differences. The two talked most about his uncle's childhood and his aunt's unmarried days.

Back then, my aunt was a famously beautiful girl in the surrounding villages. In my third uncle's words, he saw people going to the neighbor's house every day to act as matchmakers.

Anyone who planned to marry Hou Xiaorong was like a million soldiers crossing a single-plank bridge. Even Chuhua Village, the furthest village from Minquan in Luhe Town, had people coming to propose marriage.

Yu Dawei could imagine how popular the old lady was back then. He estimated that the only woman who could rival the old lady in looks when she was young was his own wife.

However, he couldn't imagine how, since the old lady was so difficult to pursue, she ended up being married by a penniless old man.

This is completely unreasonable!

He had heard his grandfather talk about the thought of starvation since he was a child, and how difficult it was for his grandmother, a single woman, to take care of a family of three men and two women.

Back then, I figured life wasn't much better than my third uncle's family's. I really can't imagine how my uncle managed to win my aunt over in that situation.

Because there were too many people around, Yu Dawei was too embarrassed to ask his uncle directly, but he would definitely have to ask him when he had time later.

Since hearing Xiao Sanzi's promise, Hou Xiaorong felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her heart, and she smiled much more often.

The third uncle was also happy, and occasionally he would even joke with his eldest sister.

At this moment, Uncle San appeared exceptionally real and relatable to Yu Dawei, completely different from the cold and aloof Uncle San he usually was.

He then recalled a sentence his wife had read in a book a few days ago.

"Some people are lonely their whole lives, their hearts are closed off, but it's only when they meet one or a few people that things change. They become like keys that unlock that person's heart. Dawei, you are my key."

Yu Dawei was smitten by his wife at the time.

He felt that the saying was still applicable here today.

Perhaps the aunt was the only key to unlocking the heart of the third uncle.

It was already eight or nine o'clock, and it was dark outside, but Hou Xiaorong was reluctant to let her third uncle leave and insisted that he stay at home.

However, his third uncle refused, citing other matters to attend to. After all, the house wasn't just for his eldest sister and brother-in-law; the years of indifference had left an indelible mark of coldness in his bones.

He didn't want to bother Xiao Er's family, or Xiao Ba and Xiao Jiu.

Finally, after Dawei went back to get his car, he got into the passenger seat and left.

On the way, Uncle San became silent again, seemingly even more so than when Yu Dawei first met him.

"Third Uncle, you really promised Auntie you wouldn't..." Yu Dawei stopped there.

“Well, a man’s word is his bond.” Third Uncle unzipped his down jacket and leaned back in his chair, looking somewhat dejected. “Like I told you before, fighting is always the lowest form of violence, and it’s always a backup plan.”

“Even without this alternative, your third uncle is just as good.” Hou Wanshan gave Yu Dawei a faint smile. “Thanks this time.”

"Oh, don't thank me, it's all what I should do." Yu Dawei chuckled, and seeing that his third uncle was alright, he couldn't help but hum a little tune.

"Doesn't your car have a cassette player? Didn't you buy a few tapes?" Uncle San asked, somewhat disdainful of Yu Dawei's tone-deaf voice.

"A cassette tape? That crackling sound, can it sound as good as my singing?"

Third Uncle: "..."

Who gave you such inexplicable confidence?

(End of this chapter)