Living like a widow? My rough neighbor is coaxing me to have a baby every night.

As he spoke, he made a move to untie the pork rope from the handlebars.

"No, no, no! Cut! It has to be cut!" When Niu Guihua saw this, her anger was instantly extinguished by greed.

Meat! And that's big chunks of fatty meat!

She had no time to argue anymore. She quickly rummaged through the cupboard for the rusty kitchen knife, found a chipped bowl, poured in some water, and presented it to Qin Rushan with a fawning expression.

"Son-in-law, have some water! You must be tired from riding your bike all that way. Let it soothe your throat!"

Qin Rushan glanced at the bowl of water; there was a dark fingerprint on the rim of the bowl.

He didn't take it, only glancing at Li Xianglian indifferently: "I'm not thirsty. Xianglian, are you thirsty?"

Li Xianglian looked at the bowl of water, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

In the past, this kind of "treatment" was always reserved for Li Dabao in this family. She would come home exhausted from work and wouldn't even get a hot meal, let alone have her own mother serve her tea or water.

Now, just because she married a powerful man, her treatment is completely different.

"I'm not thirsty either." Li Xianglian shook her head. She really didn't want to drink a drop of water from this house; she found it disgusting.

"Then I won't drink it." Qin Rushan took out a handful of White Rabbit milk candies from his pocket, peeled one off and stuffed it into Li Xianglian's mouth. "Eat some candy, sweeten your mouth."

The milky aroma melted in her mouth, so sweet that Li Xianglian's heart trembled.

Niu Guihua held the bowl of water, feeling so awkward she didn't know where to put her hands. Her eyes widened again as she looked at the handful of large White Rabbit candies.

Qin Rushan has really struck it rich! You need ration coupons to buy these White Rabbit candies at the supply and marketing cooperative, and they cost several yuan a pound! How could he just casually grab one and feed it to his wife?

At this moment, Li Laogen, who had been silent all along, came over with his grandson Hu'er in his arms.

"Ni'er..." Li Laogen's voice was rough and hoarse, as if he had a mouthful of sand, "Hu'er hasn't tasted what White Rabbit is like yet."

The little tiger cub in her arms stretched out a tiny, dark hand, its fingernails full of mud, and scratched at Li Xianglian, saying, "Candy...eat candy..."

Li Xianglian didn't move.

Looking at this so-called nephew, she recalled how, before her divorce, every time she came back, she would bring some food, and this child would never call her aunt; he would just grab it from her.

She picked up a piece of candy from Qin Rushan's hand.

Without peeling it, it was placed directly in Tiger's hand.

"Take it." The voice was cold and indifferent. "This is from your uncle."

Tiger grabbed the candy without even saying thank you, and bent down to put it in his mouth.

Li Laogen quickly stopped him, his face crinkling with a broad smile: "Oh, this is good stuff! Thank you, Uncle!"

"Da Bao! Where have you been! Come and see your brother-in-law!" Niu Guihua's eyes darted around as she shouted into the yard.

Li Dabao ran in, shaking his wet hands, and immediately spotted the handful of milk candies that Qin Rushan had placed on the table.

"Candy! I want candy!" Li Dabao didn't care about anything else and reached out to grab it.

"Snapped!"

Another crisp sound.

This time, Qin Rushan didn't make a move; instead, he swept all the candy into Li Xianglian's handbag.

Li Dabao grabbed at empty air and stood there stunned.

"What are you crying about?" Qin Rushan looked at him coldly. "These are snacks I bought for my wife. You're a grown man with hands and feet, go buy them yourself if you want some."

"Mom! Look at him!" Li Dabao instantly became aggrieved, grabbing Niu Guihua's clothes and throwing a tantrum. "Sister's married now, she's an outsider! This candy should be given to our family!"

"Shut up!" Niu Guihua quickly covered her son's mouth, afraid of angering this god of wealth.

She finally understood; this guy wasn't one to reason.

You can't force him to give you anything.

Niu Guihua's eyes darted around, and her gaze returned to the pig's leg.

"Son-in-law, look, it's already noon. Since the meat is already here, why don't you let your father show you how to cook?"

Niu Guihua rubbed her hands together, a calculating smile on her face. "Cut half of this meat off, and we'll stew it with cabbage and glass noodles, so you can taste the flavors of home!"

half?

That old hag has quite an appetite; she takes half a mouthful with every bite.

Just as Li Xianglian was about to speak, Qin Rushan spoke first.

"Sure," he readily agreed, a playful smile playing on his lips. "But as for the knife skills, I think I'll do it myself. This meat is expensive; I'd feel bad if I ruined it."

Without waiting for Niu Guihua's reaction, Qin Rushan pulled out a gleaming dagger from his waist.

That was the military knife he used in the army; it was incredibly sharp, and you could feel a chill even before you got close.

He walked up to the pig's leg, flicked his wrist, and the dagger seemed to come alive as it deftly sliced ​​across the pigskin.

Niu Guihua and Li Dabao stared wide-eyed, waiting to see him cut off a large piece of fatty meat.

However, Qin Rushan did not cut the meat.

He simply used the tip of his knife to gently poke at the thick layer of fat, then precisely sliced ​​off a small, paper-thin piece.

It's about the size of a fingernail.

"Here you go." Qin Rushan used the tip of his knife to pick up a small piece of meat and handed it to Li Dabao. "Dabao, right? You look so strong, you must eat a lot of oily food. Just have a taste of this piece, eating too much will make you feel greasy and upset."

Li Dabao stared dumbfounded at the translucent slice of meat.

Is this over?

Such a big leg, and you give it to this?

"You...you're playing me?!" Li Dabao's face trembled with anger. "Are you trying to fob me off like a beggar?"

"don't want?"

Qin Rushan raised an eyebrow, flicked his wrist, and the piece of meat flew straight into a rat hole in the corner. "Never mind then. Looks like this meat is only fit for rats."

"You!" Niu Guihua was so angry that she trembled all over, pointing at Qin Rushan and unable to speak for a long time.

This is an insult! A blatant insult!

Qin Rushan sheathed his knife and slowly wiped his hands.

"Auntie, I'm a straightforward person, I don't mince words. I bought this meat to nourish my wife. She's suffered so much in your family all these years, I won't hold it against you for Xianglian's sake. But that doesn't mean I, Qin Rushan, am a sucker."

He stood up, his tall figure exuding a sense of oppression, and approached Niu Guihua step by step.

"Want some meat? Fine. If you treat Xianglian like a princess when she comes back to her parents' home, I might be in a good mood and give you a sip of soup. But if you dare to act like a vampire again..."

"...I'll make this knife see blood."

Qin Rushan's voice wasn't loud, and even carried a hint of nonchalant laziness, but the chill in his words was like a bucket of ice water poured over Niu Guihua and Li Dabao's heads.

He twirled the dagger in his hand in the air with a neat flourish, and with a "whoosh," it was sheathed back into the leather sheath at his waist.

Niu Guihua was so frightened that her legs trembled, and her flabby body dared not even shake.

Having lived most of her life, she was a bully who preyed on the weak and feared the strong. Normally, she would throw tantrums in the village and no one would bother with her. But now that she had encountered a real ruthless character who had seen blood and dared to use a knife, her shrewishness instantly shrank so much that she didn't dare to utter a single fart.

"Oh...oh! Son-in-law, you're being too polite! I'm the mother, how could I not love my daughter?"

Niu Guihua forced a smile that looked more like a grimace, but her eyes still kept drifting towards the pig's leg. "As long as... as long as you come back to visit often, I'll be content, content."

Li Dabao huddled in the corner, his beady eyes staring in terror at the hilt of the knife at Qin Rushan's waist, afraid that the thing would cut him the next second.

Qin Rushan snorted coldly and ignored the ugly behavior of the mother and son.

He turned around and looked at Li Xianglian, who had been standing there without saying a word.

Looking at her mother and younger brother, who had just been bossing her around and practically draining her of her life, now acting like two spineless scoundrels in front of her man, Li Xianglian finally let out the pent-up resentment that had been building up inside her for over twenty years.

It turns out that evil people really do need other evil people to teach them a lesson.

"Wife, what do you think we should do with this meat?" Qin Rushan suddenly asked, handing the decision over to her.

Li Xianglian was stunned for a moment, then met Qin Rushan's deep and encouraging eyes.

He was trying to establish his authority over her!

They were showing her through their actions that from now on, she was in charge of the household.

Li Xianglian took a deep breath, her gaze sweeping over the greasy octagonal table and her greedy relatives.

She recalled being beaten on the head by Li Dabao when she was a child for a bite of leftovers, and the smug look on Niu Guihua's face as she counted the money when she was sold to Butcher Zhang.

"Since they have plenty of money, let's not keep the meat."

Li Xianglian's voice was clear and cold, "Take it back. Cut a piece for Aunt Wang who spoke up for us earlier, and pickle the rest so we can eat it slowly."

"You brat! You're siding with outsiders!" When Niu Guihua heard that the meat was about to fly away, her greed overcame her fear, and she screamed as she lunged forward.

Qin Rushan glared at her with his tiger-like eyes, his figure standing like a mountain in front of Li Xianglian.

Niu Guihua's paw hovered in mid-air, too afraid to fall. She could only stomp her feet in anger, slapping her thigh and wailing, "What a tragedy! How could I have raised such an ungrateful wretch! He won't even give his own family a bite to eat! Heavens above, open your eyes and see!"

"Alright, stop howling. Save your energy for the New Year."

Qin Rushan put his arm around Li Xianglian's shoulder, ignoring the wailing behind them, and said, "Wife, let's go."

He pushed the cart, with Li Xianglian following beside him.

The two walked out of the main room, which was filled with a musty smell and malice, one after the other.

The sun was shining brightly in the courtyard, and the sunlight felt warm and comforting on my skin.

Li Xianglian glanced back at the dilapidated wooden door, and at that moment, the last trace of attachment she had for her so-called "home" was completely severed.

From now on, her home will be in the place where Qin Rushan is.

Even after leaving the Li family's gate, the villagers who had come to watch the commotion had not yet dispersed.

When Qin Rushan pushed the cart out, with the huge pig's hind leg still intact on the handlebars, not even a piece of skin missing, the crowd immediately erupted in commotion.

"Oh dear, look! They didn't leave any meat behind! They brought it all out again!"

"Tsk tsk, it seems the Li family has really offended their new son-in-law. He can't even get a sip of meat soup."

"Serves her right! That Niu Guihua, who's always been so heartless, has finally met her match! Qin Rushan loves his wife, he's not stupid!"

Amidst the murmurs, Qin Rushan strode confidently onto the bicycle. Li Xianglian skillfully jumped onto the back seat, wrapping her arms around his strong waist and pressing her face against his broad back.

The bicycle bell rang crisply a few times, and the shiny black bicycle, carrying the enviable pork and the beautiful couple, sped away under the watchful eyes of the crowd, leaving behind only a cloud of flying yellow dust and the curses echoing from the Li family's courtyard.

……