Transmigrated as a Peasant Girl with Prophetic Dreams: Using My Space to Become the Richest Person - Chapter 72

Chapter 72: Sun Qiuping Also Wants to Separate the Family

The villagers didn’t budge. Just because Old Man Yang felt entitled to beat his daughter-in-law and grandchildren didn’t mean he could lay a hand on the neighbors.

Hmph! They bet he wouldn’t dare. With the County Magistrate currently in the village, if Old Man Yang so much as touched them, they would go straight to the official for justice. Initially, the villagers had been terrified of the Magistrate, but after observing him these past few days, they found him quite approachable—a good official who didn’t punish people arbitrarily but didn’t let bad seeds off the hook either.

Seeing that he couldn’t drive the onlookers away, Old Man Yang’s bottled-up rage had nowhere to go, so he directed a murderous glare at Sun Qiuping and her children. It was all this “wench’s” fault that he had lost face. He’d show her a lesson once the crowd dispersed.

Sun Qiuping’s children trembled under his gaze, and Sun Qiuping herself felt a chill of fear. However, she suddenly realized that if they stayed in this house, there would be no hope for their future.

Both Wang Dani and Old Man Yang were pathologically biased toward the eldest son’s branch. Before, when the third branch was still here, the second branch wasn’t favored, but they were never the primary punching bags. Now that Yang Lao San’s family was gone, the burden of receiving the old man’s fury fell solely on them.

The thought of her family living the miserable life the third branch used to endure made her heart shudder. No, she couldn’t let her children live like that.

With a flash of resolve in her eyes, she looked at the crowd outside and then turned back to Old Man Yang. Her expression was now firm and desperate. “Father, the second branch wants to separate from the family.”

Sun Qiuping had thought it through. Wang Dani was gone, and Old Man Yang didn’t work; he only threw tantrums. The eldest branch did work, but only the light chores. Now, the weight of the entire household’s labor fell on the second branch, yet they still had to endure Old Man Yang’s violence daily. She might as well follow Yang Lao San’s lead and strike out on her own.

Old Man Yang exploded, losing his last shred of sanity. “You wench, what did you say?” He raised his hand to slap her.

Yang Lao Er (the second brother) was still reeling from his wife’s words. Even though he was standing right there, he didn’t stop his father’s hand from landing squarely on Sun Qiuping’s face.

Smack! The sound was crisp, drawing gasps from the villagers outside.

Snap back to reality, Yang Lao Er felt pain for his wife but didn’t want to provoke his father further. He hissed at Sun Qiuping, “What nonsense are you talking about? Hurry up and apologize to Father!”

Sun Qiuping’s children had already rushed to shield her, glaring at Old Man Yang with hatred. Seeing them dare to defy him, the old man swung his wooden staff at them in a frenzy. Caught between his father and his own wife and kids, Yang Lao Er was paralyzed by indecision.

The onlookers saw that Old Man Yang was swinging to kill and began shouting, “Old Man Yang, stop! You’re going to beat them to death!”

The eldest branch family members, having slowly woken up and come outside, watched the scene coldly. They were confused as to why the old man was hitting the second branch, but no one moved to help. Serves them right, they thought. They didn’t help us when Yang Xue’s family was beating us earlier.

Finally, someone who couldn’t stand it any longer ran to fetch the Village Chief.

…

The Village Chief Intervenes

By the time the Village Chief arrived, Sun Qiuping and her children had been beaten to the point of collapse.

“Old Man Yang! Stop this instant! Are you trying to commit murder?”

At the Chief’s roar, Old Man Yang finally paused. He scowled, inwardly cursing whoever had meddled by bringing the Chief. He wasn’t particularly afraid. “Chief, I am disciplining my own disobedient daughter-in-law and grandchildren. That isn’t against the law, is it?”

The Village Chief was disgusted by the man’s shamelessness. He sneered, “Normal discipline isn’t a crime, but beating people half to death is a different story.”

Old Man Yang’s face darkened. “This is a private family matter. I ask the Chief not to interfere.”

“If it were a simple family matter, we outsiders wouldn’t care,” the Chief retorted. “But as the Village Chief, I can certainly interfere with such senseless violence.”

The Chief was cursing Old Man Yang in his head. The County Magistrate was right here in the village! If he didn’t handle this properly, the Magistrate would surely judge him as incompetent and unable to govern his people.

Sun Qiuping caught her breath and gasped out, “Chief, our second branch wants to separate. Please, I beg you to preside over our separation!”

The Village Chief frowned. He could stop a beating, but forcing a family separation was much more difficult.

“Shut up, you wench!” Old Man Yang roared at her.

Sun Qiuping had made up her mind. She ignored the old man and looked at the Chief with pleading eyes. The Chief understood her plight—with the third branch gone, they were the new targets. But their situation was slightly different from Yang Lao San’s.

The third branch had a long, visible history of being oppressed. Furthermore, when Yang Xue was injured, the old couple refused to treat her or let them flee to the mountains for safety. Yang Lao San had a “life-or-death” reason to leave. Plus, Yang Lao San had provided the Chief with critical information about the potential flood—a matter of public safety. Naturally, the Chief had protected him.

The second branch hadn’t faced that level of systemic abuse yet, and the villagers might not speak up for them. If Old Man Yang refused to let them go, the Chief had no legal grounds to force it.

However, seeing Sun Qiuping’s desperate eyes, he couldn’t bear to leave them to their fate. Looking at Old Man Yang’s crazed state, the future for these children looked grim.

A thought suddenly struck the Chief. He looked at Sun Qiuping, then turned to Old Man Yang. “Old Man Yang, you say I can’t manage you. But if you keep beating people, the County Magistrate certainly can, right?”

The Magistrate? Sun Qiuping’s eyes lit up. She immediately turned to the crowd and screamed, “Quick! Someone go get the County Magistrate to uphold justice for us!”