country bumpkin

Gao Qinglian failed to catch Yun Ya and even strained her back. Yun Ya was as slippery as a cunning mouse. Gao Qinglian was so angry that she trembled, cursing Yun Ya as she chased after her.

"You wild girl, born of no one and raised like a country bumpkin, I'll teach you a lesson today and show you how many eyes the Three Kings of Hell have!"

Yun Ya didn't give her a chance. Seeing that she was about to catch up, she quickly sped up. Gao Qinglian was panting heavily, but she still couldn't catch up.

Exhausted from chasing, Gao Qinglian slumped into a chair and sat down to rest.

She continued to curse, "You brat, you're a waste of money. Going to school is just a waste of money. Even if you get into university, it's useless. You're just someone else's little whore. Once you get married, you'll belong to someone else's family."

Yun Ya snorted at her, then spit out a mouthful of saliva and ran away. Sun Limei followed Yun Ya and ran off.

Enraged, Gao Qinglian went to Kong Xiujuan's house to complain to Sun Zitao. Sun Zitao wasn't home, so she told Kong Xiujuan what had happened.

She didn't say a single word of abuse to Yun Ya. But when Yun Ya spat at her, she embellished and exaggerated the whole thing.

Kong Xiujuan had no idea what kind of person she was, so she replied perfunctorily, "Okay, Mother, I know. When Yunya comes back, I'll teach her a lesson and set some rules for her."

Gao Qinglian was satisfied, and then she leisurely went home.

Yunya, Sun Limei, and Sun Fei went to their classmate's house to play. Yunya didn't take her grandmother's argument to heart at all.

Gao Qinglian, however, held a grudge and remembered it.

Several more days passed, but Sun Zitao still hadn't come to report. Gao Qinglian was furious at her son's incompetence; he couldn't even manage a mere maid, what good was he?

So she went to his house again, intending to question her son about his incompetence. This time, she went on a weekend, and Yunya was home.

As soon as Gao Qinglian entered, she arrogantly shouted, "Sun Zitao, you coward, come out here right now!"

Afraid of being embarrassed, Kong Xiujuan quickly ran over and said, "Mother, what brings you here? What happened again? Who made you angry?"

Gao Qinglian looked around the yard and then ran into the house, but she didn't see her son. He must have gone to work.

However, upon seeing Yun Ya inside, he felt a surge of anger. He walked over and instinctively raised his hand, ready to slap Yun Ya.

Yunya was very alert. When she saw the old lady walking over angrily, she knew that the old lady wanted to hit her.

Already prepared, she leaped up and took off running. Gao Qinglian's hand, raised in mid-air, had already fallen, but she missed her target; the person was already far away!

As Yunya ran, she made faces, "Hehehe... I missed, I missed, I'll make you so angry, I'll make you so angry... Hehehehe."

That smug little expression infuriated Gao Qinglian even more. She roared, "Kong Xiujuan, aren't you going to come and help? Look at the brat you've spoiled! Grab her right now!"

Kong Xiujuan rolled her eyes and asked, "Mother, what did Yunya do to make you angry again?"

Gao Qinglian said angrily, "It's all because of my good-for-nothing eldest son. Last time I came to you, I asked you to tell her to discipline that brat Er Ya. He never replied to my letter. Now it seems that he hasn't been disciplining that girl. Otherwise, how could that brat be so lawless?"

Kong Xiujuan retorted, "What nonsense! Mother, you don't know, when Zitao came back and found out that Yunya had upset you, he gave Yunya a good beating. He just didn't have time to tell you how it went."

Gao Qinglian didn't believe her nonsense. She scolded, "Don't try to fool me with riddles. If I really hit this girl, she'll still be just as disrespectful as ever."

Kong Xiujuan said aggrievedly, "We can't blame Yunya for this. It's our fault for being incompetent. No one helped take care of her after she was born, so we had to send her back to her parents' home in the countryside. She picked up these bad habits in the village. In the end, we are the ones who are sorry for her. We couldn't raise her and cherish her."

Upon hearing this, Gao Qinglian realized that this was an attempt to sow discord between her and Kong Xiujuan! She became even angrier, her hand trembling as she pointed at Kong Xiujuan and roared.

"What? What did you say? What do you mean? Are you saying I didn't help you take care of the kids? Are you blaming me?"

Gao Qinglian's series of questions left the onlookers completely bewildered.

Kong Xiujuan retorted, "No way, how could a daughter-in-law dare to say anything bad about you? I'm just telling the truth."

Gao Qinglian, even when she was in the wrong, still wanted to assert herself. She roared, "You spendthrift wife, how dare you say you're not talking about me? Do you think I can't tell? It seems I haven't set any rules for you in a long time, and you've grown too big for your britches. What, do you think that just because you've moved out of the old house, you're no longer under my jurisdiction? You've gone too far! No matter what, I'm still your elder. Wherever I go, it's still your fault, and you're the ones who are disobedient and unfilial."

Taking a breath, she continued to yell, "Everyone says that parents are never wrong, and I'm not wrong either. I'm just saying you're unfilial, so what can you do about it? Tomorrow I'll go to the neighborhood committee and report you for being unfilial. You allow your daughter to bully an old woman like me."

As she spoke, Gao Qinglian slapped her thigh and jumped around like a rabbit come to life.

The onlookers were all neighbors; everyone knew about their family's situation. A kind-hearted man advised, "Grandma Gao, I think you should just let it go. The child is only a few years old, a child who doesn't understand anything. Why are you arguing with her? Aren't you afraid people will laugh at your family and cause unrest in your household?"

Gao Qinglian glared at him: "What's it to you? Who do you think you are? You're just showing off."

The uncle pursed his lips: "Oh dear, I was just trying to give you some advice, and you took it personally. You're like a dog biting Lü Dongbin, not recognizing a kind heart."

Gao Qinglian shouted, "Who are you calling a dog? You are a dog, your whole family are dogs!"

The middle-aged man sneered, "Whoever answers is a dog, a mad dog at that, a dog that bites anyone it sees."

Everyone present burst into laughter. Yun Ya listened intently and joined in with a loud "ga ga ga..." laugh.

When Gao Qinglian saw that everyone was laughing at her, and that Er Ya was even laughing along, she felt like she was the only one who was angry. She sat down on the ground in anger.

Kong Xiujuan watched this farce from the sidelines and felt utterly ashamed.

In the distance, Sun Zitao returned. It was Yu Huimin from across the street who, seeing the old lady causing trouble, quickly went to find Sun Zitao and bring him back.

Sun Zitao had just returned from a chore when he saw Yu Huimin from across the hall rushing towards him. He knew something must have happened at home.

When he ran back, he saw a crowd of onlookers gathered in front of his house. He squeezed through the crowd and saw his mother sitting on the ground, crying and making a scene.

She was still muttering curses at her wife and daughter. Sun Zitao stared at her and asked, "Mom, what kind of show are you putting on? Aren't you ashamed?"

Gao Qinglian saw her son come back and yell at her. She raised her hand, ready to hit her son in the chest.

Because Sun Zitao had his head down and wasn't paying attention, the slap landed directly on his face. People always say, "Don't hit someone in the face," and this time Gao Qinglian was also scared.

She was afraid her son would get angry and do something reckless, and then hit her. With a "whoosh," she quickly got up and ran away without looking back, shouting, "That's not how it is! I meant to hit your chest, not your face. It's not my fault..."