158 Kick out or Be Kicked Out?
The three of them followed Lu Jiao’s advice and copied her stance. When they shot their arrows, they managed to hit the target!
The three children cheered and jumped up and down, “Ah, I hit it! I hit it!”
The Second Born excitedly stomped his foot, “Mommy, gimme the bow! I want to shoot!”
He had to make sure he was more impressive than the other three because he was going to become the greatest general.
The Second Born wasn’t the only person who wanted to take a shot. Xie Xiaobao and the others wanted to try as well. In the end, the quadruplets handed their bows to their friends.
!!
Everyone started to shoot according to Lu Jiao’s instructions. The children started to play rowdily all together.
It was rather late and Lu Jiao finally ordered, “Okay, we can come again tomorrow to practice. We need to go home now. Your dad is still home alone.”
The mention of Xie Yunjin calmed the four little ones down. They said in unison, “Let’s go then. We’ll play tomorrow.”
With Lu Jiao leading, the group happily went down the mountain. On the way, everyone shared their thoughts on shooting with the bow. Xie XIaobao and the others automatically said they were going to ask their dad to make their bows tonight so they could compete tomorrow.
Lu Jiao walked behind the children until they arrived home.
“Everyone, get home now. Don’t make your parents worry.”
Xie Xiaobao, Mutou and Gousheng all waved at Lu Jiao, “Third aunt, see you tomorrow.”
Lu Jiao waved back and went inside with the four little ones. The moment why entered the garden, they heard fighting come from the east bedroom.
“Lady Ruan, you should give this opportunity to Daqiang. If there’s another opportunity, give it to your fourth son. What’s the rush? The fourth hasn’t even married. Plus, Daqiang has two sons.”
“No, the fourth is getting engaged soon. If he doesn’t find something to do, how will he take care of his family later?”
Those voices made the four little ones’ faces drop. Terrified that their daddy would get hurt, they rushed inside with their baskets.
Lu Jiao originally wanted to cook dinner. However, she was worried about the children and followed them.
There were two groups of people inside the room, they faced each other aggressively and the tension was high.
Lu Jiao stared at the visitors oddly. Weren’t everyone from the Xie family friendly towards each other? Why did they act like they were about to fight?
“What happened?”
Lu Jiao put down her basket and asked Xie Yunjin.
Xie Yunjin stared coldly at everyone. When he saw Lu Jiao and the four little ones, his gaze softened. Sarcastically, he explained, “This afternoon, the Village and Clan Leaders gathered everyone to talk about leech keeping. My parents brought my first and fourth brothers to the meeting. Both of them want to be in charge of the leeches.”
Lu Jiao couldn’t help but laugh.
Out of everyone here, Lady Ruan detested Lu Jiao the most. When she saw Lu Jiao laugh, she angrily demanded, “What are you laughing about?!”
Lu Jiao responded nonchalantly, “Didn’t the leaders tell you who will be the one teaching everyone how to keep leeches?”
Everyone froze and took a second to react. The only person who knew how to do everything was Lu Jiao. Therefore, Lu Jiao was the decision maker and there was no point in arguing.
Everyone’s face turned dark. Chen Liu was the first to react. She started to smile at Lu Jiao, “Third sister-in-law, we were rude before, please don’t hold a grudge against us. If you’re still angry, we can apologize again.”
This time, Xie Daqiang didn’t stop Chen Liu from apologizing. He wanted to learn how to keep leeches. Once he gains that skill, everyone from the village will have to butter him up. Therefore, Xie Daqiang acted out of character and allowed Chen Liu to suck up to Lu Jiao.
Lady Ruan signaled to her fourth son, Xie Yunhua to do the same.
Xie Yunhua got the message quickly and said, “Third sister-in-law, I made many mistakes before and I must apologize to you and my third brother. If you are able to teach me leech keeping, I will forever be grateful to you.”
Xie Laogen also spoke up, “Third daughter-in-law, you should teach your first brother. He has a whole family to look after, including two sons.”
Lady Ruan shouted shrilly, “The fourth is getting married soon. He doesn’t know how to farm and needs to learn something in order to survive in the future.”
Those two were about to start fighting. Lu Jiao didn’t interfere and watched them.
This time, Xie Lan interjected, “Mom and dad, stop fighting. This skill has to be taught by the third sister-in-law. She’s part of the family. Instead of teaching just one of us, she should just teach both. That way, both brothers can keep leeches for the whole village. Isn’t that ideal?”
Xie Laogen and Lady Ruan had their epiphany. Their daughter was right. It was better to secure that skill and keep it within the family.
Xie Laogen and Lady Ruan turned to Lu Jiao.
Lu Jiao originally wanted to watch those two fight but that got ruined by Xie Lan. impatient, she looked back at them.
“Do you think there’s something wrong with my head?”
Xie Laogen and Lady Ruan didn’t know what she meant and didn’t respond.
Lu Jiao pointed at Xie Daqiang, “This guy here tried to beat me up. If I teach him what I know, something must be wrong with my head.”
She then pointed at Xie Yunhua, “When Xie Yunjin was first injured, this bastard was the one who talked you into exiling us. You really think I’d teach anything I know to that bastard?”
Too annoyed to talk to them any longer, she snapped, “Enough, get out of here. If I teach anyone, it would be the second brother. I am not going to teach anyone else.”
Lady Ruan and Xie Laogen’s faces dropped.
Xie Laogen kept on getting embarrassed by Lu Jiao and he’s had enough. With his eyes wide, he screamed, “Lu Jiao, this is how you behave as a daughter-in-law? You behave in such an unfilial and disobedient manner, I have reasons to kick you out of the family.”
Lady Ruan nodded aggressively, “If you dare to not teach the first and fourth, we will ask the third to leave you.”
Lu Jiao wanted them to go ahead. She would much rather leave this family right now!
Xie Yunjin’s gaze grew sharp again as he breathed, “Why don’t you go ask the Village and Clan Leaders first? I bet that they would kick you out before they let you kick Lu Jiao out.”
Xie Laogen and Lady Ruan choked. They knew very well that there was no way the leaders would let them get rid of Lu Jiao now.
Nobody from the village would support them. If they go too far, there truly was the possibility of them getting kicked out.
The old couple had so much unspeakable frustration as they glared at Lu Jiao and then at Xie Yunjin.
Their third son had truly emotionally separated from them. Even if he does pass his imperial exam and become a government official, he was not going to help out his own siblings. It was better to not have such a son.
Lu Jiao ignored the Xie family and left the room to cook dinner. There were lots of leftovers from lunch so she can just make some porridge and heat up some buns for dinner. The buns were brought over by the Village Leader.