Chapter 79: The Daughter-in-law of the Han Family Abuses Her Mother-in-law

That afternoon at the town health clinic.

Han Guoqiang had already regained consciousness.

After the doctor's examination, it was determined that his facial injuries were superficial, but his body had sustained multiple wounds, requiring overnight observation.

When he awoke, Chu Ling threw herself onto him, weeping pitifully.

“Guoqiang, you scared me to death,” she sobbed.

Han Guoqiang patted her shoulder, his voice hoarse, “Don’t cry, wife. Seeing you cry makes me feel worse.”

How could he not feel bad? The very thought of being beaten so thoroughly by a woman made him too ashamed to return to the village.

Chu Ling’s face was filled with fury as she gritted her teeth. “It’s all that wretched Lin Xiaodou’s fault, beating you like this. I wish I could tear her apart!”

Lin Xiaodou could mess with anyone she liked, but not her Guoqiang. He was her husband, her life; she would not allow him to suffer even the slightest harm.

Han Guoqiang’s eyes were dark and deep. “That woman is strange—she has an unnatural strength.”

When Lin Xiaodou subdued him, she pinned him with one hand and assaulted him with the other.

Just that single hand felt as though a thousand pounds had pressed him down, rendering him completely helpless.

Chu Ling agreed, “Exactly! I don’t know what’s wrong with her. So strong—it’s not normal!”

Han Guoqiang asked, “Did anything happen after I passed out?”

“The team leader was so biased. He kept making excuses for Lin Xiaodou and didn’t care about you at all,” Chu Ling said angrily. “You’re from Blackstone Village too—how could he turn his back on you?”

“The team leader used to be decent to me,” Han Guoqiang replied, his expression darkening. “I suspect that woman gave him some kind of benefit.”

“Hmph, he’s only out for his own gain!”

Chu Ling snorted coldly and continued, “Guoqiang, Lin Xiaodou beat us so badly—I don’t want to let this go!”

Han Guoqiang’s gaze turned vicious. “Of course. I’ll make sure she pays for this.”

For Lin Xiaodou to publicly humiliate him—he couldn’t swallow that insult.

Hearing this, Chu Ling perked up. “Guoqiang, do you have any good ideas? The best would be if Lin Xiaodou disappeared. I don’t want to see her again!”

She hadn’t existed in her previous life. This woman was like a plague, throwing everything into chaos. Worse yet, she knew about her killing Zhang Lian—that made her even more dangerous.

“Let me think,” Han Guoqiang mused, furrowing his brow. “We can’t rush this.”

Chu Ling grew dissatisfied. “Why not? If we don’t take revenge, she’ll think we’re scared of her.”

“Everyone in the village saw what happened today,” Han Guoqiang explained. “If something happened to Lin Xiaodou now, suspicion would fall on us immediately.”

“Let’s wait a while. When people have stopped talking about it, then we’ll act. It’ll be safer that way.”

Reluctantly, Chu Ling nodded. “Fine.”

Han Guoqiang looked at her, his voice gentle. “You should go home early. The house can’t do without you. Mother and your sister probably haven’t eaten yet.”

Chu Ling asked, “What about you?”

Han Guoqiang ruffled her hair. “I’ll be fine. I can take care of myself. The doctor said I just need to stay overnight for observation. I’ll be home first thing tomorrow morning.”

Chu Ling still felt uneasy. Since marrying Guoqiang on her second day in the countryside, they had never slept apart. Except for her monthly cycle, every night was spent in tender intimacy.

This would be her first time not sleeping in Guoqiang’s arms—she simply couldn’t get used to it.

“Guoqiang, I don’t want to leave you,” Chu Ling murmured, biting her red lips and gazing at him with longing.

Han Guoqiang’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He pulled her close and kissed her.

The kiss was passionate and lingering, nearly igniting something more in the hospital room.

At last, Han Guoqiang regained his composure and held her gently, soothing her. “I’m injured today. The doctor said I shouldn’t exert myself. When I get home, I’ll make it up to you.”

Chu Ling nodded, her cheeks flushed. “Alright.”

While Han Guoqiang comforted her, Chu Ling’s thoughts drifted elsewhere.

She had been married to him for several months now, yet her belly showed no sign of change. In her previous life, she’d conceived twins after just one night.

She thought perhaps the timing was off.

Back then, she’d married him on New Year’s Day, 1971. Now, there were still a few days left until New Year’s.

Once Guoqiang recovered, they could try for a child in earnest.

She owed those two babies so much in her past life—this time, she would cherish them properly.

After chatting a while longer, Chu Ling finally left.

By the time she returned to Blackstone Village, dusk had fallen.

As soon as she stepped into the yard, her little sister-in-law rushed out from a corner.

Her hair was matted, her hands smeared with chicken droppings, and she grinned foolishly as she wiped them on Chu Ling.

“Sister-in-law… eat… eat…”

Chu Ling recoiled in disgust, pushing her away. “Get away, you stink!”

Inside the house, Han’s mother slapped the bed and called out loudly, “Guoqiang’s wife, is that you? Come help me turn over and massage my back—it hurts so much!”

Chu Ling rolled her eyes and headed straight into the kitchen.

She was busy preparing dinner and had no time to turn over the old lady.

Before marrying into the Han family, Han Guoqiang had given some money to the neighbor, Aunt Zhang, asking her to help look after his mother.

It wasn’t very thorough—mostly she cleaned Han’s mother and cooked simple meals.

As for the little sister-in-law, she was simply left to her own devices.

In her previous life, Chu Ling hadn’t bothered with any of this, always absorbed in chasing after her unfaithful lover.

But this time, to maintain the image of a good wife, she’d declared upon marrying that she would personally care for Han’s mother and his sister.

At first, she’d done well.

But no child is dutiful by a sickbed for long.

After a few months in the Han household, Chu Ling was already worn out and impatient.

A crippled mother-in-law who constantly demanded turning and massaging, a foolish sister-in-law who ran wild and ate whatever she pleased—Chu Ling could barely cope, and her resentment towards these burdens only grew.

Now, she regretted it.

Had she known how exhausting it would be, she wouldn’t have bragged so much.

With Aunt Zhang helping, her workload would have been much lighter.

But she couldn’t bring herself to mention it to Guoqiang, fearing he would think less of her.

She decided to wait a while longer.

Once she was pregnant, she could broach the subject with him.

As for her mother-in-law and sister-in-law, she would simply do the minimum—so long as they didn’t starve, it would be enough.

Her mother-in-law was meek and never dared complain to her husband, and her sister-in-law was too simple to understand anything.

After sorting her thoughts, Chu Ling felt less pressured.

With Guoqiang away tonight, she didn’t plan to cook anything special, just whatever would suffice.

What she didn’t know was that, while she was cooking, someone quietly entered the yard.

It was Aunt Zhang, who used to look after Han’s mother.

Having finished her own dinner and feeling bored, she’d come over to chat.

Hearing Han’s mother calling out repeatedly from inside with no one responding, Aunt Zhang’s eyes gleamed as she silently slipped away.

By the next day, rumors spread throughout the village—Han’s wife had been abusing her mother-in-law…