Yang Zhenli, despite sharing the same surname Yang, had only moved to the village to escape famine over a decade ago. At that time, his eldest son Yang Xiaoliu was only three years old. Because they shared the surname and Yang Zhenli and his wife were kind and just, they were quickly accepted by the villagers. Since then, they had taken root here. Therefore, his name differed from Old Man Yang’s by only one character, but that was merely a coincidence. According to age, he called Yang Peili ’uncle.’
"Indeed, the terms they set during the division of the family were harsh enough, but who would have thought that even the two hundred jin of food they shared was adulterated, I’ve really seen it all now..." An old woman barged in, inspected the grains in each sack, and, all of a sudden, began waving her hands excitedly, as if she enjoyed the chaos, "Even tigers don’t eat their own cubs, ah, the old women of the Yang Family are even worse than tigers..." Her voice was so loud it seemed as if there were echoes reverberating through the Xiaocang Mountains.
As a result, even more people flocked to watch the excitement.
The corners of Yang Ruxin’s mouth twitched, it seemed the reaction was bigger than she had expected.
Yang Peili’s old face turned alternately red and white. He couldn’t help but turn around and glare at Yang Anshi. This old woman really was shortsighted.
"Out, out, what are you all doing in my house? Get out..." Yang Anshi shouted, "You busybodies, eating your radishes and worrying about nothing. That group of ingrates intends to leave and taste the good life. How’s that? Am I, an old woman, supposed to starve and support them? Aren’t they afraid of divine retribution?"
"Whether those poor children will face divine retribution, we don’t know, but you, this old woman, will definitely face it..." The old woman’s voice grew louder, and she even directly started cursing at Yang Anshi, "With your black heart and rotten liver, you’re sure to meet a bad end, oh dear, everyone come and see, not even the landlord bullies are this stingy, is that her real grandmother? She’s nothing but a wicked bandit, a villain..."
Yang Ruxin’s pupil’s narrowed slightly, what was this? This old woman... had no relations with her family, but this performance... was definitely born out of enmity with Yang Anshi.
The crowd watched, all nodding in understanding.
"Old hag, what business is it of yours?" Yang Anshi became agitated at the sight of the old woman, "You hairless hag, what are you doing in my house? Get out, don’t dirty my home..." she said, charging towards the old woman.
The old woman was not to be outdone, rolling up her sleeves and confronting Yang Anshi head-on.
The two exchanged a flurry of insults and blows, cursing and kicking one another, quickly escalating into a physical fight.
Yang Ruxin watched, dumbfounded. So this person was the wife of Li Gaga from Xiaobudong Village, known as the Gaga Old Woman. She truly did have a grudge against Yang Anshi.
Xiaobudong Village neighbored Dapu East Village, and there were many intermarriages between them. Gaga Old Woman’s daughter, Li Dafeng, had married into the He Family of Dapu East Village.
One day, the new bride Li Dafeng went out to pick wild vegetables and ended up pulling some shepherd’s purse from the Yangs’ field. Yang Anshi caught her and berated her for four hours, shaming the new bride so much that she tried to hang herself with her belt. Although she was saved, the incident left her deeply traumatized, and she remained depressed. It wasn’t until the doctor discovered she was pregnant that Li Dafeng began to recover slowly. Having a child might have been what saved her, but the incident had sown the seeds of hatred between the He and Li families and Yang Anshi.