Zhou Yuehan immediately felt his blood boil and started fighting with him.

Zhu Youcai hadn’t expected him to be so bold today and ended up taking a few hits in his moment of carelessness.

Now, he glared fiercely at Zhou Yuehan, his young eyes already filled with venomous resentment.

“What? You little brat, how dare you hit my grandson! Are you looking for death?” Upon hearing this, Grandma Zhu immediately shot Zhou Yuehan a furious glare. Her sharp features and piercing stare were downright terrifying.

After his burst of anger, Zhou Yuehan began to feel afraid. Under her glare, his legs went weak.

But the next second, a shadow fell over him.

He heard Si Nian’s voice ring out: “Get your facts straight—your grandson threw the first punch!”

“Nonsense! My grandson is a well-behaved boy. How could he possibly pick a fight? Besides, who saw him hit anyone? Who saw it?” Her sharp gaze swept over the surrounding children.

The young onlookers, all around seven or eight years old, were too frightened by her scowling, fleshy face to make a sound.

At that age, they already understood who they could and couldn’t afford to offend.

Naturally, no one dared to speak up.

Wang Jianguo’s face darkened at the scene.

“Zhu Youcai, do you dare say you didn’t bully him?”

With his grandmother by his side, Zhu Youcai showed no fear. He retorted angrily, “I wasn’t wrong! He was almost poisoned to death by his own mom before. I just didn’t want everyone else to get poisoned too. Who asked him to act all high and mighty? I can’t stand him. And he even pushed me!”

Zhu Youcai glared hatefully at Zhou Yuehan.

This brat used to be so insignificant.

But now, he was dressed better than him, carrying a cooler backpack, and even trying to win Xiao Xue over with snacks. Xiao Xue was his future wife—how dare Zhou Yuehan try to steal her? Did he have a death wish?

His words were both arrogant and cruel.

Wang Jianguo’s face turned ashen.

Yet, far from feeling ashamed, Grandma Zhu seemed proud. She sneered, “Oh, so it’s that little brat from Xingfu Village who almost got poisoned by his stepmom? Still alive, huh? Must have a tough hide.”

“Comrade, he’s just a child. You’re going too far.”

“Too far? My grandson was just stating facts. What, are we not allowed to speak the truth? If he were a good kid, would someone have tried to poison him? Maybe he deserved it!” Grandma Zhu’s words were even more vicious, and it was no wonder Zhu Youcai, despite his young age, was already so malicious.

Clearly, he had learned it from her!

Zhou Yuehan’s face paled under the verbal assault. He looked up at Si Nian with eyes full of hurt and confusion—he wasn’t a bad child.

“So, just because my Xiao Han was poisoned, he’s a bad kid? But your grandson, who deliberately targets others’ pain points and knocks over their lunchboxes, is a good kid?”

Si Nian let out a cold laugh. “Spouting nothing but curses—if it weren’t for your age, I’d think you were that rabid shrew from the village, barking and biting at anyone in sight. I thought it was just a case of a rotten apple, but now I see the whole tree’s diseased. If you can’t teach your child, I’ll do it for you. A dirty mouth just needs a few good slaps to clean up.”

Zhu Youcai was startled by the icy look in this beautiful woman’s eyes.

Normally, he wasn’t afraid of adults—they usually just bowed and scraped before his family.

But this woman was different. She carried herself with an air of nobility, her gaze sharp and unyielding.

She didn’t care in the slightest that he was the village chief’s grandson.

Grandma Zhu, infuriated, snapped, “You think you can lay a hand on my Youcai? How dare you! Who do you think you are?”

She had never so much as raised a finger against her precious grandson—how could this woman have the audacity to threaten him?

“I’m not ‘something.’ I’m a person. Since your eyesight’s so bad you can’t tell the difference, no wonder you can’t even raise a child properly.”

Grandma Zhu: “…”

“If I recall correctly, you’re a sales clerk at the town’s supply and marketing cooperative, aren’t you? With such a foul temper and poor eyesight, how did you even get the job?”

“You know I work at the cooperative, yet you still dare to act so bold? Don’t think you’ll ever buy so much as a needle from us again!” Grandma Zhu sneered.

Si Nian scoffed. “The cooperative? Do you really think it’s the only place to shop? Private businesses are popping up everywhere these days. Anyone with sense would rather shop elsewhere than endure your rudeness. How much longer do you think your arrogance will last?”

The supply and marketing cooperative—a relic destined to fade into obscurity.

People like her would eventually pay for their behavior.

Grandma Zhu studied Si Nian more carefully now, a flicker of unease crossing her face.

It was true. Since the 1980s, private businesses had flourished, and fewer people shopped at the cooperative these days…

Her superiors had even warned about the declining numbers.

But Grandma Zhu had brushed it off, convinced that people would always choose the cheaper option.

Now, hearing this woman’s words, she felt an unexpected pang of doubt.

“You’re spouting nonsense! You’re just jealous!”

Si Nian smirked. “Jealous of a sales clerk? Please, my standards aren’t that low.”

Wang Jianguo quietly interjected, “Zhou Yuehan is from the Zhou family of Xingfu Village.”

The name ‘Zhou’ was well-known in the surrounding villages.

They were the first family in the area to open a factory.

Their livestock farm was thriving, and their house was even grander than those in town.

Grandma Zhu was just a clerk, but Si Nian was the wife of the farm’s owner—there was no reason for her to envy a mere employee.

This was also why, despite Zhu Youcai’s previous taunts, he had never dared to lay a hand on Zhou Yuehan before.

In terms of wealth, few could compare to the Zhou family.

It was just that Zhou Yuehan and Zhou Yuedong had always been so low-key, blending in with the other village kids, that people often forgot their family’s status.

But Wang Jianguo had noticed the changes in the Zhou household recently. The two boys were better dressed, happier, and more outgoing.

Even their busy father had started making time to pick them up from school, much to the envy of their classmates.

He had wondered what brought about this shift—but seeing Si Nian now, he understood.

This remarkable woman was undoubtedly the reason behind it all.

The Zhu family had influence, but the Zhou family was no pushover either.

“The Zhou family? What’s so great about—” Grandma Zhu’s retort died in her throat as realization dawned.

The Zhou family?

From Xingfu Village?

Her face abruptly paled.

In the past, she would have scoffed at such upstart entrepreneurs.

But times had changed.

Now that the country has fully opened up, many people are eyeing opportunities with envy. Even her husband had shamelessly approached the Zhou family for collaboration, only to be rejected every time.

At the time, she was both resentful and jealous.

After all, everyone knew the Zhou family was raking in fortunes!

In these times, money could make the devil turn the millstone.

Though Grandma Zhu desperately wanted justice for her grandson, her husband still had his sights set on Xingfu Village, hoping Zhou Yueshen would lend a hand to their community. If things went south, it wouldn’t do her any good.

So she conceded with a condescending tone, “Fine, I’ll let it slide—consider me magnanimous enough to overlook such petty matters.”

“Your child hit ours, and you think that’s the end of it?”

Si Nian’s voice turned icy, her gaze sharp enough to make Grandma Zhu bristle instantly.

Ahhhh—I did it! Not a single day missed in a whole month of updates! The final day is finally over—I’m so happy, so ecstatic ahhhh~~~~

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep