Chapter 87: Chapter 87: Taking the Fight to Their Door

At An Ning’s words, An Guoqing’s legs buckled, and tears and snot streamed down his face.

"Where’s your sister-in-law?"

"Eldest Brother, she’s inside. I’ll take you."

An Ning was somewhat emotionally detached and didn’t quite understand An Guoqing’s reaction, but she felt a stir in her heart.

She helped An Guoqing to his feet and led him to his wife’s hospital room. After watching him go inside, she paused for a moment, then left.

An Ning got on the bicycle An Guoqing had ridden over and headed for the village.

When An Ning got home, she saw An Guoming pacing anxiously around the courtyard. A large rooster trailed close behind, matching him step for step.

"Second Brother."

"Little Sis, how’s our sister-in-law?"

"She’s out of danger. It’s not a good idea to move her right now, so she’ll stay in the hospital for a couple of days before coming home." An Ning said as she parked the bicycle. "I came to pack some things to make food for our sister-in-law."

"As long as she’s okay, as long as she’s okay."

An Guoming helped An Ning start packing. He had become very familiar with where everything was in the house during the time he was recovering from his injury.

"Tomorrow, I need to go to the An family ancestral graves and burn some joss paper. Our family’s been having some bad luck lately."

"By the way, what exactly happened? The person who brought the message didn’t explain it clearly."

As An Ning took the millet and eggs An Guoming handed her, she shook her head and said, "I don’t know either."

At this, An Ning said, looking troubled, "I had already gone to the oxcart. If only I hadn’t left, this wouldn’t have happened."

An Guoming flicked the top of An Ning’s head with a finger.

"What silly ideas are you having? Our family’s life is countless times better than it was before. It’s normal to have a few bumps in the road. What does this have to do with you?"

An Ning pursed her lips into a faint smile, then said as if remembering something, "Earlier at the market, I ran into a woman who mentioned our sister-in-law’s younger brother. Then Mom had me hit a man. That man’s name was... Gao Guangzong."

"Gao Guangzong!"

An Guoming and An Ning spat out the name at the same time, their faces a mixture of viciousness and disgust.

"That son of a bitch again. We must have gone too easy on him."

"Second Brother, what’s the real story behind all this?"

An Guoming glanced at An Ning and began to explain, holding nothing back.

"That Gao Guangzong is the only boy in our sister-in-law’s family. The whole family is sick in the head and dotes on him. Our sister-in-law is the only one who won’t listen to him."

"That son of a bitch is always finding new ways to bully our sister-in-law."

An Guoming trailed off. His sister-in-law didn’t like to talk about what she’d been through, so he didn’t want to say any more.

An Ning understood the gist of it, and her expression turned vicious.

"We’ll go and give them a beating."

"Don’t be hasty. Let’s wait for Eldest Brother to get back."

An Ning nodded. Taking the things they had packed, she went to the hospital again.

When she got to the hospital, she gave the items to Lin Cuihua. Lin Cuihua stayed, and An Guoqing and An Ning returned to Shili Gou together.

The very first thing An Guoqing did upon returning to Shili Gou was find the handiest club he could and start going from house to house, calling for people.

An Ning followed closely behind An Guoqing. ’Right now,’ she thought, ’Eldest Brother looks particularly charismatic.’

At every house he went to, someone came out to join him, falling in behind him with sticks and clubs in hand.

Once An Guoqing had made a full circuit, he raised his arm and bellowed.

"Gao Guangzong!"

"Gao Guangzong!"

"Gao Guangzong!"

An Ning watched the crowd behind them, all chanting Gao Guangzong’s name as they followed An Guoqing, marching in one direction.

An Ning followed at the rear. Her younger brother, An Guoping, came over and walked beside her.

"Sis."

"Mhm. Are all these people...?"

"Hm? They’re all from the An family."

An Guoping pointed ahead with one finger, beginning to introduce them as a third aunt’s husband and a sixth great-uncle.

"Anyway, they’re all part of the An family clan."

An Guoping lowered his head and whispered to An Ning, "Dad said this place used to be just one big An family clan. Later, circumstances changed, and they started accepting people with other last names, turning it into a village."

An Ning nodded, having learned something new. She pointed to a few men and said, "But their last name isn’t An, is it?"

An Guoping glanced over and said, "Their last name isn’t An, but they’re all from our village. If a village isn’t united, you can’t even win the fight for water against other villages during a drought."

An Ning took this lesson to heart as well.

An Guoqing had rallied those with the An surname, who made up around seventy percent of the village’s population.

But the farther they walked, the more people joined in, and the group was no longer limited to just those with the surname An.

An Ning didn’t know how this fight was going to play out, but seeing so many people gathered together was actually quite stirring.

Along the way, the mob of big men, armed with sticks and clubs, marched menacingly towards another village, creating an imposing and formidable procession.

Anyone who saw them knew at a glance what was happening.

Many people tagged along to watch the spectacle, and in no time, the crowd grew even larger.

The two villages weren’t far apart, which was how An Guoqing and Gao Guifen had been able to meet in the first place.

As the crowd entered the village where the Gao family lived, some children quickly recognized An Guoqing.

"The guy who beats up Gao Guangzong is back!"

"The guy who beats up Gao Guangzong is back!"

Several boys went sprinting over the dirt ground. One of them ran right out of his shoe but kept on running, hollering until the entire village knew what was happening.

An Guoqing, knowing the route by heart, arrived at the Gao family’s home. Without a word, he started smashing things the moment he got there.

The few people who rushed out of the Gao family’s house had no time to stop him and could only scream at the top of their lungs.

CRASH—

CLATTER—

BUK BUK BUK— BUK BUK BUK—

With a few swings of his club, An Guoqing smashed the chicken coop. The chickens inside flew out in a chaotic flutter, and An Guoping, who was right behind, nabbed one.

"Sis, hold this. We’ll take it back for our sister-in-law to help her recover."

Hearing this, An Ning hurried forward, took the big hen, and said to An Guoping, "You’re quite skilled at this."

"Of course. Who knows how many times we’ve been here? That Gao Guangzong must have been kicked in the head by a donkey. He never learns his lesson."

An Ning, who had just kicked Gao Guangzong herself today, felt this wasn’t the best comparison to make.

"An Guoqing, what are you doing? Stop! Stop it!"

"I’m her mother! You stop this instant!"

Gao Guifen’s own mother stepped forward to stop An Guoqing.

An Guoqing’s eyes were bloodshot. A roar tore from his throat.

"Get lost! You want to be her mother? You’re not worthy!"

"Your whole family is rotten to the core! Why don’t you all just die!"

An Guoqing’s vicious gaze searched for Gao Guangzong, but Gao Guangzong was cowering behind his own father.

Not only that, but An Guoqing’s expression so terrified Gao Guangzong’s mother that she, too, retreated to shield her son, blocking him completely.

"The Chief is here! The Chief is here!"

Someone shouted that the Chief had arrived. An Ning saw the man in question approaching at an unhurried pace, but as he reached the Gao family’s gate, he suddenly broke into a jog for the last couple of steps.

"I’m exhausted, absolutely exhausted! Guoqing, my boy, do your Uncle a favor and stop smashing things for now."

After the Chief spoke, An Guoqing resentfully lowered his club. He was clearly still fuming, but he gave the man face and stopped.

The Chief nodded at An Guoqing before turning to look at the Gao family, his own eyes filled with deep disgust.

"Alright, let’s talk it over. What exactly happened?"

An Guoqing snorted coldly and pointed at Gao Guangzong. "That animal kicked my pregnant wife. In the stomach."