Chapter Seventeen: The Quarrel Between Father and Mother Huo

Suspicion was one thing, but after all, Jia Mei was still just a child.

Yet, Lin Hui had an inexplicable intuition, a gut feeling telling her that Jia Mei was hiding something.

Standing silently for a while, Lin Hui clenched her fingers tightly and quietly went to the kitchen.

What she thought to herself was known only to her.

In recent days, Mrs. Huo had taken on some temporary weaving work to help make ends meet. Though the income wasn’t great, it was still bearable—especially compared to the mere one hundred and eighty yuan they had before.

Mr. Huo, on the other hand, was harboring resentment, blaming his wife for raising an unfilial son who spent his days idling with a group of lazy men in the village, listening to songs.

At his age, enjoying some light melodies was understandable, but gathering in groups inevitably invited judgment and comparison.

News of Mr. Huo’s family troubles spread throughout Huo Village. The neighbors laughed and teased him, saying his household had a thief and even ended up in the police station—clearly a result of poor upbringing.

Mr. Huo’s face flushed with shame. Unable to finish listening to the song, he grew restless, stood up abruptly, and headed straight home without hesitation.

Seething with anger, he spotted Huo Qian playing in the sand under a large tree in the village, his face covered in dirt. This only fueled his fury further.

With a scowl, Mr. Huo walked over and grabbed Huo Qian, spanking him twice on the bottom. “What are you playing at? Covered in sand like this—come home!”

The children nearby were frightened, watching helplessly as Huo Qian and his grandfather confronted each other.

Huo Qian seemed stunned by the spanking, taking a moment before realizing what had happened. His eyes welled with tears, and he burst into loud sobs.

“You hit me! You hit me! I’m going to tell my dad! Waaaah—”

The boy’s cries echoed loudly, making Mr. Huo’s forehead veins bulge with irritation.

“Stop crying!” he barked impatiently. The shout startled Huo Qian, who stared wide-eyed, filled with fear.

Children’s eyes are clear and reflective; at that moment, Huo Qian saw his grandfather as a grim specter—dark-faced and fierce-eyed—making him tremble uncontrollably.

The other children scattered instantly, each rushing back to their homes and mothers.

Huo Qian could not run away. The man before him was his grandfather.

He sniffled quietly, too afraid to utter a word.

Seeing Huo Qian fall silent, Mr. Huo’s expression grew no gentler, but rather more impatient as he dragged the boy back home.

Though over fifty, having worked the fields in his youth, he was still strong enough to carry a small child.

As they returned, they happened upon Mrs. Huo arriving at the doorstep, beaming with a handful of money.

Mr. Huo’s face darkened further at the sight of her smile. “What are you so happy about?”

He felt mocked by everyone, laughed at for having a son who had been caught by the police.

Mrs. Huo was taken aback by his sudden anger, her face puzzled. “Why are you so angry? I earned a lot of money today—can’t I be happy?”

When she dared to talk back, Mr. Huo’s face hardened, and he slapped her sharply.

“You taught that good-for-nothing son of yours! You’ve made me lose face in the village!”

His harsh words stunned Mrs. Huo at first, but anger and resentment quickly filled her heart. She didn’t hold back and launched into a fight with him.

“You’re the one! If you only planted seeds but never watered them, would he be like this? I’ve worked myself to exhaustion for this family, and now you blame me! Huo Tao, you useless root—if I’d known it would be like this, I never would have married you!”

She scratched fiercely and cursed his weaknesses mercilessly, flushing Mr. Huo’s face with rage.

Though he had some education, hearing such vulgar insults left him speechless. All he could do was vent his anger through action.

Their quarrel escalated fiercely. Little Huo Qian stood dumbfounded to the side, utterly lost.

Neighbors from nearby houses, hearing the commotion, came out to see what was happening.

Lin Hui, cooking in the kitchen, also stepped outside, only to feel as if the sky had fallen upon seeing the scene.

Her heart tightened when she spotted Huo Qian standing there. She hurried to bring him close.

Wiping the dirt from his face, she softly asked, “What happened? Why are Grandpa and Grandma fighting?”

Though she had married into the family years ago and often witnessed verbal spats between her parents-in-law, nothing had ever escalated this badly. It was clear they had been bottling up their grievances for a long time, now boiling over.

Lin Hui stood helpless, unable to separate the two. Since her priorities lay with family interests, she instinctively believed she couldn’t intervene.

So she let the fight continue.

The Huos had never been well-liked in their youth. The neighbors watched with schadenfreude.

Just then, the village chief came by to discuss some matter with Mr. Huo. Seeing the quarrel, he quickly rushed forward to pull them apart.

Even after being separated, the two still tried to strike each other, fists clenched and striking fiercely. One punch accidentally hit the village chief, turning his face pale as his bones audibly cracked.

Lin Hui screamed in shock, “Father! Mother! Stop fighting! You hurt the village chief!”

Her words snapped them back to reality.

Mr. Huo saw cold sweat on the village chief’s forehead and was alarmed. He hurried to support him. “Xian Jun, are you alright?”

Though he was angry, Mr. Huo cared about maintaining good relations within the community and looked apologetic.

The village chief waved a hand, recovering. “I’m fine, just need to rest. Taozi, I have something to discuss with you.”

Upon hearing this, Mr. Huo immediately understood and gave Mrs. Huo a sharp look before escorting the chief inside.

Mrs. Huo snorted, smoothing her hair. The anger she’d held for days had somewhat subsided.

Lin Hui watched everything quietly until Mrs. Huo noticed her and, displeased, pinched her arm sharply. “You idiot! Why didn’t you help me just now?”

If Lin Hui had intervened, Mrs. Huo was sure she could have won the fight against Huo Tao.

But this dull-witted woman stood frozen, watching helplessly for a long time without stepping in.

Mrs. Huo curled her lips, then glanced at Huo Qian, who was safely guarded by Lin Hui. Her heart softened somewhat.

Though slow to act, at least she knew to protect the child, so she wasn’t a complete fool.

Straightening her clothes over a face marked with bruises, Mrs. Huo smiled at Huo Qian. “Grandma made a lot of money. Qian’er, do you want some candy? Grandma will take you to buy some!”

Huo Qian had been scared by her fierce expression, but at the mention of candy, his eyes lit up. He slipped from Lin Hui’s hand and grabbed Mrs. Huo’s.

“Yes! Qian’er wants candy!”

Lin Hui frowned. “Qian’er is losing his baby teeth. Mom, you shouldn’t let him eat too many sweets.”

At six years old, Huo Qian was soon to start elementary school. Lin Hui was already worried about which school to enroll him in. Now, with the troubles at Mount Huo, she had no choice but to borrow money from her own family to support his education.