Soon, Li Mei emerged carrying a bag of chicken cakes and, in front of everyone, lifted the lid of the basket holding them.
The basket was filled to the brim with golden-brown chicken cakes; even from a distance, the villagers could seem to smell the enticing aroma.
At the same time, the looks the crowd gave Yang Wenjuan and Yang Liushi changed once again!
As Yang Wenjuan had clearly stated earlier, her family usually bought only one pound of chicken cakes each time they went to the supply and marketing cooperative.
But looking at this overflowing basket—which easily held four or five pounds—it was clearly not theirs.
Instantly, the villagers figured it out: Wen Guang’s wife must have seen that her younger brother hadn’t eaten lunch, so she took out the chicken cakes he’d brought and gave them to him.
As a result, Yang Liushi and her daughter had misunderstood the situation, leading to this whole mix-up!
Although the incident didn’t seem too serious, judging by the circumstances it revealed, the Yang family had indeed acted dishonorably.
Recalling how Yang Zhong had just claimed they treated others like family, everyone was suddenly filled with contempt!
However, Li Yi was never one to go easy on others. Pointing at Yang Zhong’s face, he asked, “Are these the Yang family’s chicken cakes?”
Yang Wenjuan and the others were stunned—obviously not!
“Haha, you Yang family sure are something else. My sister lives under the same roof as you, yet you go out to buy chicken cakes every week, and she doesn’t even know about it. I’m really curious how you manage that.”
As he spoke, a cold smile spread across Li Yi’s face!
To the villagers, that smirk looked like nothing but mockery and sarcasm, making everyone present feel a burning sensation on their faces!
After all, the Yang Zhong family were people from their own village, Juziwa. Doing something like this was truly bringing shame upon the entire village!
“It’s not like that. We bought the chicken cakes mainly to help Juanzi regain her strength…”
Before Yang Zhong could finish his sentence, Li Yi snapped angrily, “She’s already as strong as a bull in a fight—does she really need to be ‘toned up’?”
“Look at my sister—she’s pregnant and still so frail. Doesn’t she need to build up her strength? Don’t you feel a bit guilty saying that?”
Yang Zhong was left speechless by the retort and could only glance at his cousin, Yang Quan.
But Yang Quan couldn’t help him either; he simply didn’t know what to say.
Although he wanted to take his cousin’s side, he also had to consider what the villagers would think. If he, as a village official, lost his authority, who would listen to him in the future?
Li Yi spoke up again: “My sister has been married into your Yang family for three and a half years now. Not only has she been working herself to the bone all this time, but she hasn’t even been able to visit her parents’ home once!”
“I don’t need to spell out the reason, do I? Is this how you people conduct yourselves? Could it be that your Yang family ancestors were the kind of heartless exploiters who’d wake a rooster in the dead of night?”
Yang Wenjuan, however, showed no sign of remorse as she retorted, “And your family is any better? You took a hundred yuan in betrothal money from us but didn’t even prepare a single penny’s worth of dowry. So what, does that make you in the right?”
As soon as she said this, Yang Zhong shouted back, “That’s right! You’re the ones who did wrong first!”
“Bullshit! Who says you have to give a dowry just because you took a betrothal gift? Around here, there are plenty of families who take the betrothal gift without giving a dowry in return. But have you ever seen anyone treat their daughter-in-law this badly?”
Then Li Yi spoke up again: “Besides, since when does the son of the Yang family not make the decisions? Now it’s up to some little girl to call the shots? It’s like we’re going backward in time!”
Yang Quan immediately retorted, “Li’s boy, this whole thing is just a misunderstanding. Besides, you were the ones who were in the wrong first about returning the dowry. Why don’t we just let this matter drop?”
“Let it go? That’s easier said than done!”
Li Yi snorted coldly and continued, “It’s not that the Li family won’t return the dowry—it’s just that a few years ago, we had some family troubles and were short on cash.”
“Things have stabilized now, which is why I’ve come to visit my eldest sister—and to make up for her dowry!”
With that, Li Yi turned and walked into the Yang family’s house, then brought out all the things he had bought for his older sister!
“See? I bought all this today just to visit my sister. Can your Yang family afford to do the same?”
When everyone saw the items Li Yi had brought out, they were instantly stunned.
Besides the sponge cakes he’d brought out earlier, there were several buckets of malted milk powder, a few cans of fruit preserves, and even a huge slab of pork—so marbled with fat it made everyone’s mouth water!
“Whoosh!”
The villagers were stunned once again and began to murmur among themselves!
“The Yang family really has brought this upon themselves. Every family has its hardships—they’re just getting what they deserve!”
“It really is a bit much. Who does things like that? They deserve to be beaten up like that!”
“What do you think will become of this…”
Yang Quan glared fiercely at his younger cousin, then said, “Li’s boy, your Uncle Zhong definitely did something wrong here. I’ll have them apologize to you. How about we just let this go?”
“No way!”
“Then what exactly do you want?” Yang Quan asked in a low, stern voice.
Li Yi sneered, staring at Yang Quan and Yang Zhong. “Haven’t you two been holding a grudge over that hundred-yuan betrothal gift all this time? Well, fine. Today, on behalf of my sister, I’m returning that hundred-yuan betrothal gift to your Yang family!”
With that, Li Yi pulled out a thick stack of bills in front of everyone.
Then he counted out ten crisp 100-yuan bills from the stack and flung them in Yang Zhong’s face.
“I’ve returned the dowry to you. Now I’m taking my sister with me. Tell Yang Wenguang to come back and finalize the divorce!”
Then Li Yi added, “To be honest, I, Li Yi, have absolutely no interest in the measly possessions your Yang family owns!”
With that, Li Yi paid no attention to the others and went outside to lead the bright red mule inside!
He quickly hitched the cart, helped his still-dazed older sister onto it, and then loaded all the purchased goods onto the cart.
Seeing that Li Yi was about to leave with Li Mei, Yang Quan hurriedly said, “Li boy, you can’t do this! You’re putting your sister in danger—she’s carrying the Yang family’s child!”
“Hah. If I let my sister stay in this den of wolves any longer, that’s what would really be harming her!”
Li Yi continued, “Don’t worry. We’ll have this child, but he won’t take the Yang surname—he’ll be a Li!”
The villagers of Juziwa were stunned by Li Yi’s boldness; they hadn’t expected this young man to be so unyielding.
Not only did he beat someone up, but he also flat-out returned the Yang family’s dowry and was determined to secure a divorce for his sister!
Some were also stunned by the stack of cash Li Yi had pulled out!
Though they didn’t know the exact amount, that thick stack must have been at least a thousand or eight hundred yuan.
The cash he carried on him was more than the lifetime savings of many of their entire families—no wonder he was so confident.
Yang Zhong finally snapped out of it and rushed to Li Yi’s mule cart, shouting, “You can’t leave! She’s our Yang family’s daughter-in-law—she has nothing to do with your Li family anymore!”
But Li Yi’s response was a hard slap across his face!
“Smack!”
Five distinct fingerprints instantly appeared on Yang Zhong’s weathered face, starkly visible.
“She is my eldest sister—my sister for life!”
Then, holding the whip handle, Li Yi pointed it at Yang Zhong’s forehead and said again, “She was born to be my, Li Yi’s, eldest sister first, and only later did she become the daughter-in-law of your Li family. You dare say she has no connection to our Li family? Do you believe this old bastard will kill you?”
Stared down by Li Yi’s murderous glare, Yang Zhong felt as if the blood in his veins had frozen solid; he didn’t dare move a muscle!
Li Yi shoved him aside and drove the bright red mule cart toward the gate!
After just a few steps, the mule cart suddenly came to a halt!
Li Yi turned back to face the Yang family and the men and women of Juziwa Village, saying, “Do you know why I’m here today besides visiting my sister?”
“I originally came to tell you that I’d secured two jobs for my sister and Yang Wenguang at the sugar factory in the city, so they could work there. But now it seems there’s no need for that!”
Without another word, Li Yi drove the mule cart away, leaving the Yang family behind, their faces filled with regret!