With such a wealthy target right here, if she offended him, her mother-in-law would definitely skin her alive.
"My family is not close with yours," Bai Xingguo said. He had never seen such a shameless person.
"Oh, what are you talking about? How are we not close? Our two families are just separated by a single wall." She was still dreaming of taking this meat back. When her mother-in-law stepped in, having meat broth for dinner tonight wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Bai Jiu finally understood. This was the Wang Family Xingguo had mentioned. She hadn’t expected them to be this shameless; they were no better than Gao Yulan.
"Hah, does my family’s stuff need you to deliver it? Can’t I take it back myself?" Bai Jiu was not going to humor her.
Liu Zhaodi finally looked Bai Jiu in the eye. Was this the cheap woman her mother-in-law had mentioned? Bai Xingguo’s secret lover? But she had just called Bai Xingguo her brother. Right, the Bai Family did have a daughter back then, but she had married long ago. She hadn’t returned once since getting married. To think it was her. Her appearance had certainly changed quite a bit.
"Hah, and here I was wondering who it was. If it isn’t the young miss. How could you bear to come back?" Knowing who she was dealing with, Liu Zhaodi wasn’t afraid of her.
Who was Bai Jiu? No one could make her suffer in silence. Hearing the words "young miss," she stepped right up and delivered a resounding slap.
The crisp SLAP echoed loudly.
"Keep your mouth clean. If I hear those words again, I’ll pull your teeth out," Bai Jiu said, glaring fiercely at Liu Zhaodi.
"You dare hit me!" Furious, Liu Zhaodi didn’t hesitate to return the favor.
But before she could get close, Bai Jiu unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks, knocking Liu Zhaodi flat on the ground.
"Ouch! She’s hitting me! The young miss is hitting me!" Liu Zhaodi screamed as soon as she hit the ground.
Bai Xingguo grew anxious. "Shut up!" Their family was already constrained at every turn in this area. It would be terrible if his sister got dragged down with them.
"Jiu, you and Gao Li leave first." Bai Xingguo stepped forward and pushed his sister toward Xiang Gaoli. "Gao Li, take my sister away."
No matter what, he couldn’t let this woman implicate his sister. They needed to leave first; he would bear the consequences.
"Don’t worry, Xingguo. Let’s see who dares lay a hand on me." Hmph, she had a get-out-of-jail-free card.
Only at times like this did Bai Jiu feel a modicum of gratitude toward Gao Zhijun.
"Jiu!" Hearing her words made Bai Xingguo even more frantic.
Meanwhile, Liu Zhaodi screamed even louder on the ground. This quickly alerted the security guards at the entrance.
"Who goes there?" Three or four people burst out of the small guardhouse, wielding batons as they charged straight over.
Seeing this, Bai Xingguo immediately shielded the women behind him.
The guards rushed over in just ten seconds. "Oh, if it isn’t Bai Xingguo. To think you’d be out here bullying a woman." The moment they arrived, they immediately pinned the blame on him.
Bai Jiu pushed her brother aside.
"Watch how you speak!" She wasn’t afraid of these people. "Condemning someone without even asking for the facts first—who do you think you are? Is there no law anymore?!" Bai Jiu’s voice rang out loudly.
Although it was working hours, there were still quite a few people coming and going outside. The commotion disturbed the passersby. Hearing the noise, several curious onlookers gathered around.
"I don’t want to live anymore! The young master and young miss are beating people up!" Seeing the growing crowd, Liu Zhaodi immediately exposed the siblings’ identities.
"Hmph, if you keep spouting nonsense, I’ll drag you straight to the police. I’d love to see how you’ll be punished for the crime of slander.
"What young miss? What young master? Are you dissatisfied with the state’s arrangements? Every single member of the Bai Family is an outstanding worker. We are passionate and responsible about our jobs! Yet here you are slandering outstanding workers. You ought to be sent to the Public Security Bureau!"
Bai Jiu wasn’t afraid of her. She had Gao Zhijun’s status as her safety net. Furthermore, the Bai Family’s background wasn’t that big of a deal. They merely received some strange looks; they weren’t bad people. There was nothing to fear. It was only because her family worried about her too much that they let these people walk all over them.
Liu Zhaodi lacked her mother-in-law’s confidence. Upon hearing Bai Jiu mention the Public Security Bureau twice, she began to panic.
"You hit me," she said aggrievedly.
"Don’t you know exactly why I hit you?" Bai Jiu glared at her. "Listen to me, neighbors..." She recounted the entire incident to the crowd.
However, the security guards from the woolen mill didn’t care about any of that.
"So you think you’re justified in hitting someone? No matter how wrong she was, you still can’t hit people," the leader of the guards interjected.
Bai Xingguo recognized this man. It was the very person whose father wanted to buy his father’s job—and for a mere twenty yuan at that.
"Li Baoguo, don’t throw around baseless accusations! She was the one who tried to hit my sister first."
Li Baoan looked disdainfully at Bai Xingguo. "Why would she only hit your sister? Your sister must have done something bad." His younger brother was about to turn eighteen. If he didn’t secure a job soon, he would be sent down to the countryside. His father had finally found an opportunity recently, and now that the Bai Family had delivered themselves right to his doorstep, he wasn’t going to hold back.
"Bullshit!" Bai Jiu set down her bamboo basket and asked Xiang Gaoli to watch it. "Say that again if you dare, and see if I don’t slap you senseless! Did you see what happened with your own eyes? Or were you involved in it yourself? You open your mouth and start unfairly labeling people! If you ask me, you’re a lackey sent by those bad elements to sabotage our unity! Let me tell you, this isn’t over!"
In the countryside, people might not care much about this kind of reputation, but in the city, such rumors could be fatal. The more Bai Jiu learned about this era, the more she realized the absolute importance of reputation. If she let him win today, life would only get harder for the Bai Family. Therefore, no matter what, she had to emerge victorious.
"Bullshit! You’re spouting bullshit!" Li Baoguo never expected this woman to have such a sharp tongue.
"I’m spouting bullshit? I think you’re the one spouting bullshit! Which eye of yours saw me bully her first? She clearly made a move on me first! You didn’t witness the facts with your own eyes, so who do you think you are?" Bai Jiu wasn’t stupid. This man was obviously targeting her brother. "I don’t care who you are. I am the wife of a martyr! You dare slander me, and this is far from over!" With that, Bai Jiu plopped herself onto the ground.
"I don’t want to live anymore! I don’t want to live! My husband lost his life for his work, and now that there’s no man in the house, people are bullying a helpless widow and her orphans! Oh, my dead husband! Why didn’t you take our whole family with you? Why leave us in this world to be bullied?!"
Bai Jiu’s crying chops were well-practiced. The crowd had initially felt a sliver of pity for Liu Zhaodi on the ground. After all, it was human nature to sympathize with the weak. But now, upon hearing Bai Jiu’s identity, they didn’t dare utter a single word.
And Li Baoguo hadn’t expected the Bai Family’s daughter to have married a...
"You’re trying to force our family to death! I don’t want to live! I don’t want to live anymore!" After wailing a couple of times, Bai Jiu abruptly stood up. Without another word, she lunged straight toward the wall behind her, intending to smash her head against it.
At this, the crowd could no longer remain calm.
"Young lady, don’t do anything foolish! We’ll testify for you—this has nothing to do with you!" Seeing this, several women nearby immediately rushed forward to hold her back.