She won't clear her name; she'll throw away all the scum.

Chapter 281

Chen Xiangbei didn't escape. After being given a mixed doubles beating by Old Chen and Old Lady Xia, he slumped onto a stool and finally behaved himself.

Grandma Xia was still scolding: "It's the Lunar New Year, tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and you've taken up a new business of stealing chickens and dogs. Of all people to steal from, why did you have to steal from your own father?"

Old Chen was also furious. Tomorrow was New Year's Eve, and the first day of the Lunar New Year would follow. He had planned to wear this outfit on the first day of the Lunar New Year, but now this brat had worn it first. He was upset. "Why did you wear mine instead of your own? Your mother has been so generous this year. Not only did each of us get a new sweater, but even our cotton-padded jackets were newly made. Why did you steal mine when you already have your own?"

Grandma Xia sensed something was wrong and pointed at him, "Where are your own clothes? Let me see them."

Chen Xiangbei remained silent and motionless, simply sitting there, ignoring their insults and acting as if he were deaf.

Grandma Xia: "Chen Xiangbei! I'm giving you one more chance. Are you going to tell the truth or not?"

Chen Xiangbei stubbornly held on, refusing to back down.

Grandma Xia naturally slapped him across the face, turning his cheek askew.

Chen Xiangbei covered his face, feeling both indignant and aggrieved. "Go ahead and kill me, I won't say anything."

Grandma Xia never expected that this brat would suddenly develop such backbone. But how could a loving mother not grant her child's request? Even for such a small request, a mother would do everything in her power to fulfill his wish.

She started hitting Chen Xiangbei hard, telling herself that it wasn't the first day of the Lunar New Year and that it was okay to hit a child. The more she thought about it, the smoother she hit him, until she made Chen Xiangbei cry.

Chen Xiangbei hadn't cried in a long time. He was always the kind of person who was heartless and wouldn't cry even if his parents scolded him or he suffered some unfair treatment. He considered himself a tough guy who would rather bleed than shed tears.

But today, his mother's slap really hurt, and he was the only one who got hit, so he couldn't hold back.

This left Grandma Xia somewhat at a loss. The child had made a mistake, and as a parent, she was just disciplining him, so why did he suddenly cry? For some reason, Grandma Xia suddenly felt a little guilty.

She rarely felt sympathy for her sons, but when Chen Xiangbei suddenly burst into silent tears in front of her, she began to feel insecure. If this brat had cried out loud, she probably wouldn't have felt this way.

Grandma Xia felt like she had bullied a child. She stopped and sat up. What should she do?

She looked up at Old Chen with a questioning look. Old Chen scratched his head. He didn't know why his youngest son had suddenly cried. Wasn't it normal for his parents to hit him a few times?

"Don't cry," Grandma Xia said dryly.

Chen Xiangbei pouted, tears welling up in his eyes, looking like he might as well just cry. Old Mrs. Xia had no choice but to nudge Old Chen and ask him to come up with a solution.

Old Chen had been a stubborn man his whole life, so he had no idea how to comfort people. "If you keep crying, you won't get any dinner tonight."

Chen Xiangbei sniffed and wiped his tears with the back of his hand. Although he was still very aggrieved, he still had to eat dinner.

The three of them remained silent in the living room, the atmosphere eerily quiet. It had been a long time since she'd encountered such an awkward situation. Old Mrs. Xia almost wanted to flee, but she couldn't leave; she was the one who had hit him.

But thinking about it carefully, isn't it normal for a child to be beaten for stealing without giving a reason? Which child in the compound hasn't been beaten? How could a child this age cry after being hit a few times? Old Mrs. Xia felt wronged for herself. She had only hit him a few times like usual, so why was he crying like this?

This makes it seem like she's the one being unreasonable, as if she's the one who's done something wrong.

For a moment, she didn't know what to do.

Just then, Chen Lingling rushed in, "Grandpa and Grandma, you're back!"

With Chen Lingling chattering away, the awkward atmosphere in the living room was broken, and Old Chen and Old Lady Xia immediately started teasing the child.

"Let me tell you, your uncle was really amazing just now. He chased away the bad guys."

Grandma Xia perked up. "Hmm? What bad guy?"

Chen Lingling started rambling on about what had just happened. Apparently, when Chen Lingling was playing outside today, she ran into Hu Jie's wicked mother. When she saw Chen Lingling and Hu Yingying, the old woman showed a disgusted expression and pushed them aside, saying that they were bad luck and shouldn't affect their grandson.

Hu Yingying hadn't spoken since that incident, but she was so frightened she couldn't move and was suddenly pushed down by her mother. Chen Lingling was furious and mustered up the courage to reason with that person.

If Hu's mother could be reasoned with by a child, she wouldn't have done something as sinful as selling her own granddaughter. When she found Chen Lingling constantly talking to her, she got annoyed and started cursing.

Her life here was already unpleasant. Hu Jie's current wife was a mean-spirited woman. In the dead of winter, she wouldn't even let her use hot water when washing clothes or dishes. She only had one set of winter clothes, and the woman complained that she smelled bad and would bother her. No matter what she did, that wretched woman would always find fault with her.

Because of her unborn grandson, Mrs. Hu dared not upset her. If Mrs. Hu was unhappy, she would make a scene and say that the child would take her surname after birth so that no one in the Hu family would benefit from it. This matter held Mrs. Hu's life in her hands, so even if she was very angry, she could only swallow her anger.

But her forbearance was only directed at that wretched woman and her own son. As for others, she made no attempt to hide the malice in her eyes. Under normal circumstances, Chen Lingling would lead Hu Yingying to avoid this annoying old lady. However, living in the same compound, it wasn't always possible to avoid her.

This time, they met again, but this time they were unlucky. Hu's mother had just been upset, and when she saw Hu Yingying, she thought of her eldest grandson who had died young. She wondered why it wasn't this brat who had died.

Seeing them avoid her as if she were a plague, she started cursing, and not only that, she pushed two children. Seeing Chen Lingling muster the courage to seek justice for her best friend, Hu's mother became even more annoyed and raised her hand to slap someone.

Chen Lingling closed her eyes, waiting for the pain to come, but after a while the slap didn't hit her. When she opened her eyes, she found that her uncle Chen Xiangbei had grabbed Hu's mother's hand.

The two started arguing, and as the argument progressed, Hu's mother realized she couldn't win and began to physically attack them. At that time, most people in the compound were either cooking inside or hadn't finished work yet, and there weren't many people at the gate, so no one noticed that Chen Xiangbei, this young man, was fighting with an old woman, and that he was showing no mercy, hurling even more vulgar insults than Hu's mother.

However, it wouldn't be surprising if they found out, given their family tradition of learning.