Chapter 201: Chapter 201: A New Year’s Beatdown

Jiang Xia shot Da Huang a look, and the dog, understanding perfectly, started barking.

’Bad guy!’

"WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF—"

Da Huang barked, snapping at Gao Guangzong’s rear. The moment An Guoqing opened the door with a club in hand, Gao Guangzong, startled by the dog, jumped out from behind his mother.

When An Guoqing saw Gao Guangzong jump out, his eyes lit up.

’I don’t care why he’s here. He’s no good, anyway. I’ll just beat him up first and ask questions later.’

"You’ve got some nerve, Gao Guangzong! How dare you come to my house!"

"THWACK!"

The club smashed into Gao Guangzong’s back.

With a cry of "AOOOWWWW—," Gao Guangzong hunched over and leaped away.

"Mom—save me!"

An Guoqing knew exactly how to handle a fight with Gao Guangzong. He used the club to keep Gao Guangzong separated from his mother, while behind them, Jiang Xia and Da Huang coordinated flawlessly.

Da Huang seized the opportunity to block Gao Guangzong’s mother, preventing her from getting to her son.

"An Guoqing, what are you doing? It’s the New Year! We came to see you out of kindness, so how can you just hit people!"

"Someone help! A son-in-law is hitting his mother-in-law!"

Gao Guangzong’s mother started screaming her head off.

But even after all her shouting, no one came out except for Jiang Xia and the rest of the An family.

By now, Gao Guangzong was being ground into the dirt by An Guoqing.

An Guoping and An Guoming came out of the courtyard shouting, "Stop, don’t hit him anymore!" all while sneaking in countless kicks of their own.

Seeing this, Jiang Xia called out to Da Huang while pretending to break up the fight.

"Da Huang, come back! That’s not your big bone, the meat isn’t tasty!"

"Stop hitting him! It’s not like he can get any worse!"

Jiang Xia shouted a bit here and offered a few words of "persuasion" there, but to no effect. If anything, the beating only got more intense.

Sitting on the ground and wailing, Gao Guangzong’s mother pointed furiously at Jiang Xia. "You shut up!"

"Stop your fucking persuading!"

Jiang Xia looked at Gao Guangzong’s mother with a picture of innocence and said in a wounded voice, "But I wasn’t persuading your mom!"

Her words almost made Gao Guangzong’s mother choke with rage and pass out.

Watching the spectacle from the courtyard, An Ning laughed openly. ’I think I just learned something new,’ she thought. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Stop it, all of you! If you don’t stop right now, I’ll smash my head against this wall and die!"

Gao Guangzong’s mother genuinely doted on her son. She pointed her head toward the An family’s courtyard wall, looking as if she was about to follow through on her threat.

An Sancheng, who had been secretly watching the fun from the courtyard, finally made his grand, belated entrance.

Meanwhile, a few villagers had also gathered.

However, once they saw it was Gao Guangzong, they all kept their distance. No one wanted to get involved.

Not only did they not intervene, but some were even silently cheering them on.

’Beat him!’

’Beat him harder!’

’If they had to name the biggest scumbag they’d ever met, it would absolutely be Gao Guangzong.’

"Alright, alright, hurry up and get on your feet. It’s the New Year, you don’t need to perform such a grand bow."

An Sancheng walked to the gate and looked down at Gao Guangzong, who was curled up in a ball on the ground. He made a show of patting his pockets and said, "Ah, Guangzong, you’re a bit too old for a red envelope from me, I’m afraid."

"Hurry and get up. You don’t need to kneel for so long just to give New Year’s greetings."

An Sancheng’s maneuver showed everyone what it meant to be devious to the core.

An Ning had only one thought: ’Her dad was incredible!’

Gao Guangzong lay on the ground, the cotton padding spilling from his torn jacket. His hair was full of dust and stray leaves, and his body ached as if his bones were broken. And yet, there wasn’t a single scratch on his face.

Jiang Xia pulled Da Huang away, who put on a magnificent show of reluctance. The Oscar for Best Canine Actor would have surely gone to him.

Gao Guangzong’s mother scrambled over on her knees to help him up.

"It hurts—Mom, it hurts—"

Gao Guangzong grimaced in pain, and his mother no longer dared to touch him. She turned her full-blown fury on An Guoqing.

"An Guoqing, what did you do?! Do you believe I won’t report you to the authorities?"

An Guoqing spread his hands in a picture of innocence. "What’s wrong? What did I do?"

"Guoping, Guoming, did you guys see me do anything?"

An Guoping and An Guoming shook their heads in perfect sync. "Didn’t see a thing," they said in unison. "He didn’t do anything."

An Guoqing then turned to Jiang Xia.

Jiang Xia stroked Da Huang’s head. "He just came to offer New Year’s greetings and had a little fall, didn’t he? You can’t blame others when you trip over your own feet."

A perfect excuse, and all witnesses in agreement.

The mother and son on the ground were left sputtering with rage, unable to form a coherent sentence.

’They had thought the An family wouldn’t dare be so brazen during the New Year.’

’But not only were they brazen, they were also this vicious.’

Gao Guangzong’s mother, with her bristly eyebrows and upturned eyes, glared at the people in the courtyard. "Gao Guifen!" she yelled. "Are you even human?! Your own mother comes to visit, and you won’t even show your face!"

Gao Guifen had been in the room the whole time, with Lin Cuihua accompanying her.

After Mrs. Gao Sr. had shouted a few times, the two women finally emerged. They kept their distance, however, and An Ning stepped forward to shield Gao Guifen.

’Who knew what those two were planning?’

Gao Guangzong and his mother finally got to their feet. Standing at the An family’s main gate, they stared at the people in the courtyard.

Mrs. Gao Sr.’s gaze landed on An Ning. Suppressing her fury, she said, "Since my daughter won’t return to her maternal home to see her own mother, I, her mother, had to come to see my daughter. Whatever the case, we should at least be able to talk inside, shouldn’t we?"

There was no arguing with that logic.

An Sancheng was just about to speak when Gao Guifen spoke up from behind him.

"That won’t be necessary. If you have something to say, you can say it right here."

"I recall that when I got married, you told me yourself that once a daughter is married off, she doesn’t need to come back."

"You also said you had no such daughter as me."

"All these years, I’ve kept those words to heart and followed them to the letter."

Gao Guifen knew the Gao family too well.

They were a nest of leeches. Once they caught the scent of blood, they would swarm in like mad.

’She had long been prepared for this. With the An family doing so well now, it was only a matter of time before the Gao family came knocking.’

’She couldn’t give the Gao family any opening to exploit.’

Since Gao Guifen had taken the lead, An Sancheng didn’t feel the need to assert his authority as the head of the family. He silently stepped aside, letting his wife speak.

Mrs. Gao Sr. saw this and sneered, "Such a large family, and you let some old broad call the shots?"

"I’ve lived a long life, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen such a thing."

Gao Guifen found it difficult to respond to Mrs. Gao Sr.’s jab.

An Ning, who was still standing protectively in front of her mother, spoke up.

"Then you’ve wasted all those years you’ve been alive."

"What a waste of food all these years. It would’ve been better to raise a dog."

"And besides, you’re an old broad yourself."

An Ning’s firm retort made Mrs. Gao Sr. turn her attention to her.

"So, you’re An Ning. You’ve certainly got a sharp tongue. A mouth like that will make life difficult for your in-laws when you get married."

An Ning let out a cold laugh, which quickly grew into a full-blown cackle.

"The world is a vast and wondrous place."

"Whether or not I get married has absolutely nothing to do with you."

"And as for this mouth of mine, it’s perfect for telling you off."

"Step aside, daughter. You don’t need to waste your breath on her. I can tear her limb from limb myself."

Lin Cuihua took a domineering step forward. A kitchen cleaver, which had appeared in her hand at some unknown point, was now raised high.

"Let’s go. One on one!"