PCJ – Chapter 100 Hitting the Wrong Person

“No, no one can stop me today,” Liu Qiaoye said, lifting the stick and striking down.

Liu Biao tried to block, but the stick landed on him with a loud crack.

“Ouch, sister, are you really hitting me?” Liu Biao complained, feeling aggrieved.

“Whose fault is it for getting in the way? Move aside quickly. Otherwise, if I hit you accidentally, don’t blame me,” Liu Qiaoye snapped.

“Ouch!” Liu Biao received another blow, gritting his teeth in pain.

“Come on, sister, can’t you just talk instead of hitting the child? Jiaohua, apologize quickly,” Zhao Lanying urged.

“Yes, Jiaohua, apologize quickly. Your uncle can’t bear it anymore,” Liu Biao said, tears almost welling up from the pain.

Liu Qiaoye struck Liu Biao again, this time with even more force, leaving a red mark on his body, possibly even breaking the skin.

Liu Biao couldn’t hold back anymore, tears streaming down his face. “Sister, if you hit me again, I’ll tell Mom and Dad,” he threatened, though with a hint of playacting.

Liu Qiaoye couldn’t bring herself to continue, knowing the pain she caused her brother. She placed the stick back on the altar.

“You’re deliberately using Jiaohua’s punishment to hit me,” Liu Biao accused, finally realizing her intentions.

“I am deliberately hitting you. So what? You, as his uncle, should set a good example, but instead, you’re leading him astray. If I don’t discipline you, who knows what trouble he might get into later? If I don’t teach him a lesson now, I’ll regret it later,” Liu Qiaoye retorted angrily.

“Well done,” Zhao Lanying chimed in, feeling somewhat satisfied. She had been worried about Liu Biao’s behavior earlier.

“Lanying, you’re saying one thing but feeling another. Seeing someone being punished still hurts your heart,” Liu Qiaoye teased.

“I’m not feeling anything. Some people deserve to be punished. Without a lesson, they’ll never learn. Well done!” Zhao Lanying insisted stubbornly.

Liu Biao grimaced in pain, examining his body. He had three red marks but no broken skin. Liu Qiaoye’s strikes were painful but not injurious. Zhang Jiaohua, observing, couldn’t help but shudder. He had never experienced such punishment himself, but today his uncle had taken the blows for him.

“You brat, fetch me some pain-relieving water. I took these blows for you,” Liu Biao said through gritted teeth, though his expression held a hint of dramatics. While the blows hurt, they were not severe by rural standards.

Zhang Jiaohua dared not act independently this time. He glanced at Liu Qiaoye, who didn’t look pleased but also didn’t stop him from helping. It seemed she didn’t want Liu Biao to suffer excessively.

Zhang Jiaohua quickly fetched a bowl and scooped some water from the barrel.

“Ease the pain, celestial healers; cool the pain, pavilion deities; Li Jing, the Heavenly King, Yang Jian, Nezha, come soothe the pain. Order of heaven, swift as the law!” he chanted, swirling his finger in the water and then flicking droplets onto Liu Biao’s wounds.

The pain-relieving water worked like magic, immediately numbing the pain wherever it touched. It was truly effective.

“Wow, it doesn’t hurt anymore. Jiaohua, your water is amazing. Taking these blows wasn’t in vain,” Liu Biao exclaimed in surprise.

“Since it wasn’t in vain, let me hit you a few more times,” Liu Qiaoye joked, pretending to reach for the stick again.

“Sister, you really want to hit me? I’m a guest in your house. Is this how you treat your guests?” Liu Biao quickly grabbed his sister’s arm.

“If you and Lanying behaved like proper guests, would I need to hit you? I made it clear; I hit you through Jiaohua. Mom and Dad raised you, found you a wife. Your marital problems trouble them. I’m not the head of the household anymore, so you dare misbehave. Remember, you’re my brother. If you mess up, I’ll be the one to discipline you,” Liu Qiaoye said, genuinely angry this time.

“Sister, can’t I apologize and be done with it? I won’t do anything stupid like this again,” Liu Biao quickly apologized.

“Sister, it’s partly my fault too. I shouldn’t have talked to those lowlifes in the village. I didn’t know they were so bad,” Zhao Lanying added, giving Liu Biao a meaningful look. “He didn’t tell me how bad they were. When I found out, I regretted it. But I only spoke to them briefly. Someone shouldn’t have spoken so rudely.”

“I was just anxious at the time. I wish I could beat them up like my brother-in-law does. Then they wouldn’t dare cause trouble,” Liu Biao lamented.

“Alright, you both have kids now. Some matters can be resolved by having a heart-to-heart chat with your spouse. Don’t make the house chaotic. You fought this time, so hurry back tomorrow to avoid worrying Mom and Dad. Xizi rarely visits his aunt’s house, so stay a few more days. You can come back to pick him up later,” Liu Qiaoye seized the opportunity to offer some advice.

Seeing Zhang Jiaohua not coming out for so long, Xizi ran in. “Jiaohua ge, why aren’t you coming out? Let’s go pick some persimmons.”

There are several wild persimmon trees in the forest on the hill behind the house. The persimmons have turned red, looking like a cluster of red lanterns. However, wild persimmons are usually a bit astringent no matter how ripe they are. Even though they’ve turned red and are nearly ripe, they still can’t be eaten directly. Because persimmons need to ripen further, people in Meizi’ao often pick them and store them in the granary for a while until they soften completely and become edible.

Autumn is the season of harvest, and nature bestows bountiful gifts upon diligent farmers. Persimmons, oranges, chestnuts… Many fruits ripen during this season.

“Don’t go there. I’ve stored plenty in the granary. Let me take you to pick oranges to eat,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

Actually, the oranges aren’t fully ripe yet. Only the ones shaded at the bottom of the tree are starting to turn yellow. But oranges shaded at the bottom are usually sour. Their flavor naturally can’t compare to those at the top of the tree. However, these oranges have thin skin and ripen early. In July and August, the rascals have already started frequenting the orange grove, sneaking to pick these small oranges from the bottom of the tree.

Although the oranges are sour, in this era, for these rural rascals, they’re still very good fruits.