Chapter 57: Domestic Violence

  Qī Zhēnér picked a full basket of wild fruits, selecting only the big, round and bright red ones. She took them to the creek to wash, then picked some large leaves, preparing to wrap them up one by one to give to the people who came to help, for them to take back when they left.

  It has to be said that with many people working together, things get done quickly. As the sun sets in the west, the house is already built, and even the pigpen and chicken coop that Qi Zhener temporarily suggested are both practical and impressive.

  Looking at this latest finished house, Qizhen'er smiled so much that her eyes narrowed into a slit. Looking at Huzi again, he was in a similar state.

  Ye Baiji really couldn't stand their silly appearance, so she hid far away and chatted with Lu Yuan about the happy event in the city today. Although Lu Yuan didn't know the origin of Liao's fifth sister and Ye's family, he was a person who loved to chat about these things, and it turned out that he had the same interests as Ye Baiji.

  Ye Lao Ye Zi left his home in the village and went to visit several families who were seriously injured yesterday. Seeing that they were all right, he returned home with peace of mind. He heard that Ye Song and other villagers were helping Zhen Er build a house, so he hurried over to take a look.

  To get Zhen'er to settle down, someone had to introduce her. At that time, he asked the village chief to count Zhen'er as one of his relatives. He had a maternal aunt who married far away and hadn't been heard from in many years, only to hear that their village was flooded and everyone left. It just so happened that Zhen'er's siblings were also from Lingqu, so it was settled that Zhen'er was the granddaughter of his cousin. Now that Zhen'er is building a house, as a senior and relative, he must attend.

  "Ah Song, you guys don't leave either, just have dinner at my place tonight." Old Master Ye warmly invited everyone to stay.

  Ye Shiwei also came to help today, and now he's pulling people along, enthusiastically inviting them home.

  The men all waved their hands and said they had already cooked at home and were just waiting to go back and eat.

  Ye Lao Yezi was somewhat unhappy, "What's wrong, is this looking down on Uncle? Can't Uncle even afford a meal for you?" Having helped without taking money, if he couldn't even afford a meal, it would be hard to justify.

  The men were somewhat frightened by Old Ye's words, as he was a senior and should not be refused. However, they also understood that Old Ye was not a real relative of Qi Zhen'er, but rather someone who cared for her as a junior. The problem was that Old Ye's household consisted of multiple families, including the loyal Ye Shiwei's family. If all these people were to go to Qi Zhen'er's house, it would likely cause trouble and conflict. If they were to blame Qi Zhen'er and her siblings for any mistakes, then their efforts would be in vain. Moreover, Qi Zhen'er was a clever girl who had already bought watermelon to eat, which was a luxury item at the time. Who would be willing to spend tens of cents on a pound of melon? They acknowledged Old Ye's kindness but couldn't bring themselves to accept his invitation, so they all stiffened their necks and refused.

  After hesitating for half a day, Ye Qiushu finally said, "Third Uncle, let's not eat today. We'll come to help Zhen'er move house next time and have a big feast then." He thought about it and decided that the two taels of silver he had already returned would be enough for Zhen'er to host a housewarming banquet.

  Everyone nodded in agreement, thinking this was the best solution. They came to help today to apologize for past mistakes and thank them again. Once this matter is over, they can consider that page turned. In the future, when they come to visit, it will be a normal village friendship, and they should have a proper meal together.

  Ye Lao Yezi saw them being so persistent, thinking that today was a rush and he hadn't prepared anything, he would give them a good treat the next time they came over, after thinking it through, he didn't keep anyone behind.

  Ye Lao Ye Zi took Ye Shi Wei, Ye Bai Ji and Qi Zhen Er to see off the people who came to help. When those people left, each of them carried a bag of fruit and walked away with joy. In his heart, he couldn't help but feel that Qi Zhen Er was capable.

  After seeing off the guests, Qizhen and her siblings ran around the house, while Old Man Ye smiled and watched their childish antics.

  She walked back and forth, inside and out, three times before Qi Zhen calmed down her excited mood. She began to carefully plan how to clean the house and also find a carpenter to fix the doors and windows.

  Ye Qiushu said he would come to give her a housewarming party, and that day she had to entertain guests. These two days she must earn some money, otherwise it would be really hard to afford this housewarming party.

  As soon as they entered the house, Qi Zhen and others' excitement had not dissipated yet, when they saw Ye Baiji crying and rushing into Ye Baizhi's arms. Before they could say a word, a loud noise came from the east wing of the house.

  Everyone was shocked and rushed over.

  Ye Shiyan and his wife stood at the door of the west wing, shouting loudly: "Second brother, stop fighting!" But they didn't go to knock on the door of the east wing either. When they saw Old Master Ye enter, they rushed over and said: "Dad, second brother doesn't know what's wrong with him today, he came in and closed the door of the east wing, locking second aunt inside and beating her for so long."

  Ye Lao's eyes widened in anger, "When did this happen? Why didn't you go find me? And why didn't you bring your second brother along?"

  Ye Shiwei was also furious after hearing their words, but now is not the time to talk about this. Walking to the door of the east wing, Ye Shiwei shouted in a loud and clear voice: "Ye Shixie, open the door for me! If I have to break in, you'll be the one who suffers!"

  As soon as Ye Shiwei's voice fell, the east wing of the house quieted down. Just when everyone thought Ye Shi would open the door, a painful scream from Sunshi came from the east wing again.

  Ye Shiwei didn't dare to hesitate, and with a swift kick, he kicked the door of the east wing. The wooden door was not sturdy to begin with, and Ye Shiwei's kick made it hang crookedly on its frame.

  The crowd rushed in, and everyone was shocked by the scene inside. Ye Shiwei and Ye Shiyan grabbed Ye Shixian, who had a red face and ears, while Ye Baiju hurried over to hug Sunshi.

  Sun's clothes were loose and tattered, with many places torn, looking like they had been whipped, with red marks. Her ankles and wrists were all bruised. Her eyes were swollen, her mouth was purple, as if she had been slapped in the face.

  Ye Baiqi's strength was small, and she couldn't even hold onto Sun Shi. People who have been hurt like this must be comforted by those closest to them. Qi Zhen'er looked towards Ye Baiqi, who was hiding behind Ye Baiyu, her body shrinking towards the door, as if she had received some kind of shock, or as if she was waiting for something bad to happen in the house so that she could run away early. Qi Zhen'er shook her head in disappointment.

  Jiang looked at Sun with a pitiful gaze as soon as he entered the door, and kept saying comforting words in his mouth, but didn't plan to go forward to help.

  Qizhen saw that Ye Baiju couldn't support Sunshi, so she pulled the bed sheet from beside her and wrapped it around Sunshi. Together with Ye Baiju, they supported her to Ye Baiju's room.

  In that house, Ye Shixian drank wine and wasn't very drunk at first, but after a while the effects of the alcohol kicked in and he felt uncomfortable being pressed down. He struggled with all his might. At this moment, Ye Shiwei and his brother were pressing him down but couldn't quite hold him down. Old Master Ye saw that it was no use, so he picked up a leg stool from the ground and hit Ye Shixian's occipital bone with it. Ye Shixian rolled his eyes and fainted.

  The Ye brothers let go of Ye Shi Xie, letting him fall to the ground, and gave him a ruthless kick. Looking at Old Man Ye holding the stool again made them feel a bit apprehensive. Old Man Ye was a doctor who practiced moderation, never having been in a fight or even an argument before, but today he had knocked his own son unconscious with that stool without showing any mercy.

  "Get him tied up for me and take him back to the house. Today, no one is to bother him, let him sober up properly, he's had a few too many cups of dog piss and doesn't even know who he is anymore." Old Master Ye said as he threw down his leg rest and walked out the door, not even giving Jiang a glance as he walked beside her.

  Ye's family lived at the end of the village, quite a distance from the nearest household. It was so noisy on this side, but the people next door didn't know anything about it.

  Ye Shiwei brothers tied up Ye Shixie and threw him into the courtyard, without caring about his situation, and each went their separate ways.

  Jiang knew he had made a fool of himself just now and that Ye Lao had been annoyed, so he hastily pulled Ye Baihe down to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

  In the east wing, Ye Baiju hugged her crying and heartbroken mother, with a look of resentment in her eyes. Qi Zhen'er had never encountered such a thing before. Not to mention that her father and mother's relationship was very good, they had never even had a red-faced argument, let alone Liu Shi and her eldest brother-in-law having an affair, so she didn't know how to comfort them either.

  Huzi had been sent to Ye Baiwei's place by Qizhen'er when the unpleasant sounds were coming from the courtyard. Now that it was quiet here, he worried about his sister and hurried over to take a look.

  Qī Zhēnér felt it was better to give the mother-daughter pair some time, so she pulled Hǔ Zǐ away to go upstairs and find Yè Lǎo Yezi to get some wound medicine. She sent it over to Yè Bái Zhī and then came out. From start to finish, Yè Bái Jì stood at the door, stiffly watching everything. She didn't know whether she should go comfort her mother or pick up things.

  In the west wing, from the entrance hall to Sun's residence, Ye Shi Xia had smashed everything, leaving almost no intact furniture. Qi Zhen'er was tidying up and sweeping with Hu Zi. As for Sun's room, she didn't plan on touching it, it wasn't suitable.

  Mrs. Mao took her son Ye Sumu to water the soybean sprouts and cotton flowers today, as soon as she entered the house, she felt that the atmosphere at home was not right. When she saw Ye Shixian tied up, she became even more convinced of her thoughts.

  After washing and combing her hair, she returned to the east wing, where Ye Baiwei had already told everything.

  Ye Baiwei had been keeping her sister-in-law Du Yun company in the house, who was pregnant and feared that she would be frightened and have a miscarriage. She hadn't seen what happened next door with her own eyes, but the sounds were quite frightening, and she could guess what had happened more or less.

  Mrs. Mao glanced at her pale-faced daughter-in-law and left her son to comfort his wife, then went to Ye Baiji's house to see Sun Shi.