Chapter 15: Fierce Retaliation
With that thought, Su He felt even less afraid. As the village woman charged at her, trying to grab her hair, Su He swiftly delivered a sharp kick.
The woman was sent sprawling several meters by the force of the kick and collapsed to the ground, unable to get up for a long while.
The others hadn't expected Su He to be so strong. Villagers were all about bullying the weak and cowering before the strong. Seeing Su He kick someone like that, those spiteful busybodies who'd been gloating earlier immediately fell silent.
Their husbands and sons were still busy in the fields or working at construction sites and wouldn't return until dinnertime. Without men to back them up, they began to feel afraid.
This was why sons were prized so much back then—people believed that without them, a family would be bullied in the village.
Because they lacked confidence. Just look at the current situation—without their men around, they couldn't help but fear Su He the moment she struck.
If their husbands or sons had been present, things would've been different.
"Oww, she's killing me! She's going to kill me!" The woman Su He had kicked groaned, struggling to sit up.
"You won't die. Those fat rolls on your waist are padding you just fine," Su He sneered.
The crowd fell dead silent—
Who would've thought? They had mocked Su He for being fat, only to be mocked in return.
"Oww, I'm dying, oww!" The woman was also a classic bully—all bark until someone bites back. With her husband and son absent, she didn't dare confront Su He head-on anymore.
In truth, she was usually the one nobody in the village messed with—not just because of her family, but because she herself was built like an ox.
But now that she'd met Su He, who was even stronger, she was instantly terrified.
Su He cut a glare across the crowd and said, "Talk behind my back all you want—I won't hear it, so I won't care.
But you never should've said those things in front of my children.
From now on, if anyone dares to spread rumors to their grandsons' faces, I'll do the same to theirs.
I've got nothing to lose—try me."
Her bold declaration shut the whole crowd up. Only then did they turn their attention to the two children.
Though worry lingered in their eyes, the way they looked at their mother was shining with awe—their mom was their hero.
This was an indirect way of setting an example for them. As someone who'd been pushed around before, Su He wasn't about to let them grow up spineless.
In this era, by the time her kids reached middle or high school, schoolyard bullies ran wild.
Back then, the back gates of schools were always crowded with gangs lurking to jump kids after class.
Later, when the gangster craze took over, wasn't it precisely because the twin brothers in the novel had built such a massive underworld empire during that era that the hero had to wipe them out?
But that was beside the point. As long as she was around, no one would disrespect her where her kids could see—and no one would lay a finger on her children either.
The wars were over now, and most families just wanted to farm and live peacefully. Who had ever seen someone with Su He's kind of fire?
Combined with her size alone could scare them stiff, the village women—who only bullied the weak—instantly clammed up real quick.
*The crowd stood frozen—*
*Until a voice cut through:* *"Su He!"*
Su He turned around and saw Fu Tinghua's mother, Wu Yanhua, running toward her.
When Su He got into that scuffle earlier, someone close to Wu Yanhua's family went to inform her. Upon hearing the news, Wu Yanhua rushed over immediately.
Su He had mixed feelings about this mother-in-law.
Wu Yanhua had given birth to four sons and one daughter, with Fu Tinghua being the youngest. Having so many sons made her the envy of the village, and no one dared to bully their family.
But more sons also meant greater expenses. Raising children costs money, and so does marrying them off.
Back when Fu Tinghua was studying, the Fu family was at their most financially strained.
Rural education was pretty backward, and sending Fu Tinghua to the city for schooling required a significant amount of money.
It was during this time that Su He's father, Su Shiming, really came through.
Fu Tinghua was sharp as a tack. After learning about the Fu family's struggles, Su Shiming covered the costs for Fu Tinghua's education free of charge.
The Fu family was over the moon with gratitude to the Su family at the time, vowing to repay Su Shiming in the future.
Though the money was eventually returned, the Su family's willingness to help during the Fu family's hardest times meant they never forgot this kindness.
However, when this debt was to be repaid through their son Fu Tinghua's marriage, the Fu family wanted no part of it.
Truth be told, apart from the wedding and the birth of the children, the two families had gone their separate ways.
The Fu family still had a chip on their shoulder, while the Su family couldn't look them in the eye.
Wu Yanhua's coldness toward Su He was, in Su He's eyes, understandable.
Before leaving home, Fu Tinghua had given Su He a sum of money—nearly eight hundred yuan. It was unclear whether his family knew about it.
Eight hundred yuan was more money than most folks saw in years, possibly equivalent to a family's lifetime savings.
Su He didn't know if Wu Yanhua was aware of the money Fu Tinghua had given her, but the fact that such a large sum had been gambled away—though not by her—still made her kind of bad about it.
"Mom," Su He called out as Wu Yanhua approached.
She had decided to patch things up with the Fu family. Whether it worked or not, she had to try.
In the original Su He and Fu Tinghua's relationship, Su He was the one who'd messed up, so she couldn't blame Wu Yanhua for her dislike and indifference.
In Su He's eyes, Wu Yanhua was already a good mother-in-law—she had let her son set up his own home, didn't interfere in their family matters, and gave them their space.
In modern society, such a mother-in-law would be what every young wife dreams of.
But in this era, it wasn't enough. Rural communities placed great importance on family ties. Being cut loose by the Fus meant they had no protection, making them fair game for anyone's meanness—today's incident was proof of that.
Hearing Su He call her "Mom" startled Wu Yanhua, and the lecture died on her lips.
She glanced at Auntie Liu, who had been sent flying by Su He but was now back on her feet, and the surrounding villagers before snapping, "Who was it that spoke ill of my son Ting Hua? Step forward now."
Wu Yanhua was all about keeping up appearances—criticizing her was one thing, but insulting her son was unacceptable.
Her son was outstanding—handsome, kind-hearted, and serving his country proud. She would never tolerate anyone speaking ill of him.
Seeing Wu Yanhua take Su He's side, the onlookers quickly dispersed, not looking to catch any trouble.
Auntie Liu, who had been pushed down by Su He, was getting twitchy and tried to skedaddle, but somebody called her out.
"Mom, what's wrong?"
Auntie Liu turned around and saw her son Liu Yi quickly stepping forward from behind to support her.
At the sight of her son, Auntie Liu immediately felt emboldened. She pointed at Su He and said, "Son, it's this woman—she kicked me to the ground. Ow, my butt!"
Seeing his mother being bullied, Liu Yi immediately glared at Su He.
Su He was also looking at him, and their eyes met instantly.
Liu Yi was currently one of the most sought-after guys in Shangyao Village. He was old enough to marry but still hadn't settled down.
Many families had been subtly asking around whether he was looking for a wife. After all, aside from Fu Tinghua, Liu Yi was the best-looking guy in the village.