MLMD -Chapter 189 The Porridge‑Snatching Incident

Ma Laosi strode up to the end of the queue. He glanced at the long line ahead, then at the porcelain bowls everyone around him was holding, and finally at his own empty hands. His brows knit together. Judging by the situation, he would have to wait at least another half an hour—and he didn’t even have a bowl to hold the porridge. That was a real problem.

But for Ma Laosi, it wasn’t much of one. He looked around and noticed that the nearest soldier was still at least a hundred paces away. Growing impatient, he immediately left the line and walked toward the front.

Just then, a ragged little girl was carefully carrying a large porcelain bowl past him. The bowl was filled to the brim with thick rice porridge, its fragrant steam making many people sniff hungrily.

Ma Laosi, starving to the point of misery, rolled his eyes. He suddenly grabbed the girl by the arm and yanked her over, making her cry out in alarm. Without hesitation, he seized the big porcelain bowl from her hands and, ignoring the heat, tilted his head back and gulped the porridge down in great mouthfuls.

“Ah… that feels so good!” After draining the bowl in one go, Ma Laosi let out a satisfied belch. In this freezing weather, there was nothing more comfortable than a bowl of steaming hot porridge.

“Ah… w‑waah… my porridge… give me back my porridge!” Just as Ma Laosi was basking in the warmth spreading through his body, the little girl burst into tears. She threw herself at him and kicked his legs a few times, crying and shouting, “Give me back my porridge! Give me back my porridge! My mother is waiting for me to take this to save her life! Give me back my porridge!”

As the girl cried, the people around them quickly understood what had happened, and waves of contemptuous looks turned toward Ma Laosi.

With his violent temper, Ma Laosi couldn’t stand being stared at like that. In a fit of anger, he hurled the porcelain bowl at the girl’s head. It struck her with a sharp crack and shattered on the ground, breaking into pieces. Blood immediately began to pour from the girl’s forehead.

Still not satisfied, Ma Laosi pointed at her and cursed angrily, “You little slut! I was doing you a favor by drinking your porridge. What’s the big deal? At worst you could just get another bowl. And you dared to kick me? Believe it or not, I can call a dozen brothers and have them run a train on you today!”

“You stole my porridge—it was to save my mother’s life! Give it back to me!” Even though blood was still flowing from her forehead, the little girl stubbornly glared at him and repeated the same words.

“Oh? You little bitch, you still dare talk back?” Ma Laosi roared. He had followed bandit armies for years and had more than a few lives on his hands. He’d long grown used to pulling a knife at the slightest provocation. Now that a mere little girl dared defy him, he flew into a rage and swung his palm—big as a cattail fan—toward her small face. With his strength, if that slap landed, half her teeth would surely be knocked out.

“Stop!”

At that moment, a clear, sharp voice rang out. A figure came running from the front of the line. When she arrived, the waiting refugees finally saw that it was a young married woman of eighteen or nineteen. Her hair was styled in a drooping‑horse bun, and she wore a thick lake‑green long dress. Her eyes were as clear as autumn water, her delicate face as fair as congealed jade, and her whole bearing carried an indescribable charm.

She hurried over in quick, small steps, pulled the little girl behind her, and pointed at Ma Laosi as she scolded him angrily, “You brute! Have you no decency at all? If you wanted porridge, you could have queued up like everyone else. In less than half an hour you would have had some. Instead, you went and robbed a little girl! Do you have no shame? And after that you even struck such a young child—are you even human?!”

Though young, the woman spoke quickly and forcefully, leaving Ma Laosi momentarily speechless. The surrounding refugees began to murmur.

“What kind of man is that, stealing from a little girl?”

“Exactly. A grown man snatching food from a child—how shameless.”

“He even dares to hit her. Is he still a man?”

People naturally sympathized with the weak, and Ma Laosi’s behavior was truly ugly. In an instant, everyone began pointing and whispering, especially the women, who fiercely condemned him.

Ma Laosi, already violent by nature, completely lost his temper when he heard the crowd. He glared with bulging eyes and shouted, “You stinking woman, don’t think just because you’re handing out a few bowls of porridge you get to boss me around! Push me and I’ll show you no mercy either!”

Just then, two maidservants who had been following behind the young woman came running over, panting. They pulled her aside and pointed at Ma Laosi, scolding him, “You crude brute! How dare you insult our madam! Do you know who our madam is?!”

“I don’t give a damn who you are! I just drank one lousy bowl of porridge—believe it or not, I’ll have my brothers gang‑rape all of you too!” With several lives already on his hands, Ma Laosi had no fear of these women. Enraged, he stepped forward and raised his hand to strike them.

“Stop!”

“Stop!”

Two thunderous shouts rang out.

All of this had happened in only a short moment. A small squad of soldiers armed with firelances had already rushed over, led by a squad leader shouting loudly. At the same time, Wang Shaozong and the others arrived in a hurry as well.

The fully armed soldiers quickly placed themselves in front of the young woman and the others. The squad leader, his face tense, said respectfully to her, “Madam Long, are you all right? It is entirely my fault for failing to protect you and letting this brute frighten you. I will seize him at once and leave him to your disposal.”

This Madam Long was none other than Yue Yang’s wife, Yu Long. She had come out today to help distribute porridge as well. With a frown on her lovely brows, one hand on her hip and the other pointing at Ma Laosi, she said, “Squad Leader Su, you arrived just in time. This man not only jumped the line, he even stole this little girl’s porridge. Worse still, after stealing it he actually assaulted her. Such an evil man must be punished.”

Yu Long was usually gentle, but what had just happened filled her with anger. She simply could not imagine what kind of person would steal a child’s porridge and then beat her. Having grown up by the old madam’s side, she had rarely been scolded like this, and after marrying Yue Yang everyone in the household treated her with respect. Yet Ma Laosi had just insulted her with filthy language—it truly enraged her.

After bowing to her, Squad Leader Su said respectfully, “Madam Long, rest assured. I will arrest this criminal and leave him for your judgment.”

Turning around, his posture straightened and his presence instantly became cold and imposing. He stared at Ma Laosi and said grimly, “Will you kneel and surrender, or shall we take you by force?”

Surrounded by more than a dozen armed soldiers, Ma Laosi finally began to regret it. Why had he acted on a whim and provoked someone he shouldn’t have? It looked like he was in real trouble now.

He glanced around again. He was completely encircled by soldiers, every one of them holding a firelance with a gleaming bayonet pointed straight at him. One wrong move, and they would rush him at once.