Chapter 24: Things Get Explosive

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Originally, when Wansheng Zhang's slap was coming towards her, Tang Ailian could have easily dodged it. However, she was just an infant of less than a year old and couldn't exhibit extraordinary abilities.

So, she had no choice but to anticipate the force of Wansheng Zhang's slap. She stumbled a few steps backward, following the direction of his strike, and then fell to the ground, crying loudly.

Although she had resisted the force of Wansheng Zhang's slap, her body was so small, and her facial skin was too tender. Wansheng Zhang's palm still landed on her face, leaving a high, swollen red mark immediately.

Aishi saw her sister being struck down by Wansheng Zhang, panicked, and rushed over to help Ailian up, brushing off the dirt from her. Then, she shouted at Wansheng Zhang, "Uncle Wansheng, our Ailian was trying to save Jixiong brother. Why did you hit her?"

She had clearly heard Ailian saying she was trying to save her brother.

Though Liu Xiujuan was a bit far away, her ears were sensitive to her daughter's cries. Upon hearing Tang Ailian crying, she hurried over and took Tang Ailian from Aishi's hands. She patted her to make sure she was okay and pulled on Tang Ailian's ear, saying, "Ailian, don't be scared. Come back, come back to Mommy and have some breast milk."

This was a practice known as "calling the soul" in rural areas. When a child got frightened and their soul became unstable, they needed to be called by their name immediately to bring their soul back. This was called "calling the soul."

Tang Ailian felt a bit awkward. In fact, she hadn't been drinking breast milk since she was about eight months old.

After calling her daughter for a while and realizing that, apart from some swelling on her face, she had no other injuries and didn't appear too frightened, Liu Xiujuan felt relieved.

She turned around, and her expression changed immediately as she pointed at Wansheng Zhang and scolded him angrily, "What's the matter with you, heartless man? Ailian is only ten months old, and you still dare to hit her."

In fact, after Wansheng Zhang's palm landed on her face, he regretted it. After all, the other party was just a child of ten months, and even though she was more intelligent and walked earlier than most children, she was still just over ten months old. How could she know whether someone was alive or dead? She might just want to play with someone she saw lying there.

However, he was in a bad mood at the moment, and he didn't want to reason with anyone. When he saw Liu Xiujuan pointing at him and scolding him, he felt even more irritable. He waved his hand to push away her hand and said, "So what if I hit her? What's wrong with a family member like you, bullying me just because you're a family member? My son is already gone, and your daughter is still bothering him, trying to feed him water. Is she trying to make my son drink even more water? I'm already being kind not to have killed her."

Liu Xiujuan became even angrier. She jumped up and gave Wansheng Zhang another slap, saying, "So what if I'm a family member? I'm proud to be one. You dare to harm a child who hasn't even turned one year old. Do you have a conscience? A grown man like you hitting a child, are you even a man?"

Normally, Liu Xiujuan was gentle and kind, but now, she was like an enraged mother tiger. Tang Ailian was a bit surprised; she had never seen this side of her mother. But her mother was doing this to protect her!

Wansheng Zhang was hit by the woman, and the child resisted him and couldn't strike back. He was already irritated, and now, he was being surrounded by people who were reprimanding him one after another. He was furious but didn't want to hit Liu Xiujuan again.

He turned to look at Tang Ailian and pointed at her, trying to explain, "Family member? What's so special about being a family member? Does that give her the right to bully others? My son has already drunk his fill, and your daughter is still feeding him water. Is your daughter trying to harm my son?"

Hearing that his daughter was feeding Jixiong more water, Liu Xiujuan felt a bit embarrassed. However, before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly heard a voice from behind, saying, "You... are all making too much noise!"

"Shut up!" Wansheng Zhang and Liu Xiujuan both shouted at the source of the voice.

After they shouted, they both turned around, but they felt that something was amiss. They simultaneously turned their heads back to look in the direction where the voice had come from. Then, their eyes widened in disbelief.

What on earth did they see?

Jixiong Zhang was already sitting up, touching the back of his head, and looking at the two adults who had been scolding him. He said with a bewildered expression, "Why are you scolding me? What's so great about being an adult?"

(End of this chapter)