Don’t be fooled by how tough Li Fugui seems outside, at home he’s completely dominated by his wife. He’s afraid of his wife.
"Aunt Li, do you have something to discuss coming to my house so early in the morning?" Lin Wan didn’t let Liang Hongmei go out. She rolled up her sleeves to her arms, lazily slicing a radish with a kitchen knife as she spoke.
"What’s the matter? Playing dumb though you know clearly, your shameless mother beat my Old Li last night. We need to settle this account properly." Aunt Li yelled loudly with her hands on her hips, pointing at Lin Wan’s home.
Lin Wan’s hand paused while cutting the radish with the knife, surprised, "The village chief was beaten? ...Why don’t you take him to the hospital, Aunt Li, instead of coming to our house to make noise?"
"My Old Li said it was your shameless mother who beat him last night. My Old Li was beaten black and blue, with two bloody wounds on his head. We need to settle this account properly."
"...Li Xinghua, when did I hit your husband?" Liang Hongmei worried Lin Wan would suffer, so she turned off the fire in the kitchen and came out.
"Yes, when did my mom hit the village chief, did anyone see it?" Lin Wan chuckled softly.
Coming to argue this early, the villagers were still having breakfast. Hearing Li Xinghua shouting, they brought their bowls out to watch the excitement.
Little Grandmother’s family heard the noise and came out too.
"Li Xinghua, do you think our Liang Family is weak and easy to bully?" Uncle Liang Jian Country shouted loudly, holding a smoking pipe.
"Who’s easy to bully, it was my dad who got hit by her." Li Fugui’s son Li Hongqi pointed at Liang Hongmei.
"You say your dad got beaten, what’s the proof that my aunt did it?" Liang Zhi also joined in the battle.
"Last night outside the village, my dad was hit with several sticks by her."
"Last night? You’re obviously lying. My mom hasn’t gone out once after dark for years. Anyone in the village knows that."
"Xinghua, everyone in the village knows about it. You must be mistaken. Last night I saw the village chief wobbling on his bicycle, looking like he drank a lot."
"Perhaps the village chief drunkenly fell down by himself, scared he might get beaten up at home, and get someone to blame with a lie."
Villagers spoke and laughed, knowing it’s common for the village chief to be afraid of his wife.
"Yes, Li Xinghua, you must be mistaken. The village chief is big and strong, could he really be beaten by one woman?" Some villagers who had long seen the village chief unfavorably, knowing he’d been harming the village’s grain for years.
"Why is an outsider interfering? Liang Hongmei, you’re a widow with a daughter, always roaming around the village. Don’t think I don’t know, you want to seduce my Fugui. Couldn’t get it, now you’re up to no good. See if I don’t scratch your face today." Seeing so many people gathered, Li Xinghua felt a little guilty but couldn’t back down, boldly pointed at Liang Hongmei, pulled up her sleeves and rushed forward to tug at Liang Hongmei’s hair.
The village chief’s son saw Li Xinghua start to fight, and he also went forward to hit Liang Hongmei.
Their movements were too fast, Liang Hongmei was kicked hard by Li Xinghua. That kick right into her lower abdomen.
Liang Hongmei collapsed onto the ground from the pain.
"Little sister," Aunt and Little Grandmother hurried forward to help.
"Mom," Lin Wan glanced at her mom, tossed the radish in her hand aside, and picked up the knife to chop at Li Xinghua.
Li Xinghua was frightened and backed away, but the village chief’s son wasn’t afraid of a woman who couldn’t carry half a bag of rice. He wasn’t scared of the knife she held, rushed forward grabbing for it.
Liang Jian Country and Liang Zhi didn’t give him a chance, the father and son pushed him straight down to the ground.