Chapter 154 The Obsessive Male Lead of the Era 16 (2/2)

"Tell me! You little slut! Where have you been all these past few months?!"

Li's mother's roar shook the dust off the roof beams.

She grabbed a bamboo broom from behind the door and lashed the wrist-thick bamboo pole hard across Li Xiaorou's back with a whooshing sound.

With a sharp crack, Li Xiaorou bent over in pain as her cotton-padded coat immediately tore open, spilling out the cotton filling.

"If you hadn't run away, would I have had to suffer like this?!"

"I'm over fifty years old, and I still have to empty people's chamber pots and wash their bloody pants every day!"

"And you, on the other hand, are out there having a good time!"

Judging from the new clothes this little bitch is wearing and her obviously energetic appearance, it seems she's been doing quite well outside lately.

Li's mother spat on her daughter's face, slapping her with every word she spoke, her hatred growing with each word, and raining down blows with the broom handle.

The bamboo pole struck her bone with a dull thud, and Li Xiaorou's hand, which was protecting her head, quickly turned bruised and purple.

She huddled in the corner and peeked through her fingers at her father squatting on the doorstep smoking. Her younger brother Li Jianye, her older brother Li Jianguo, and her sister-in-law Zhang Chuntao were all peeking through the crack in the door of the inner room, but no one came out to stop them.

"I...I just went to the county town to work!"

She finally found a moment to shout, her voice hoarse beyond recognition.

Li's mother grabbed her hair, forcing her to look up.

The tearing pain in her scalp made Li Xiaorou's vision go black. She could smell the lingering smell of lard and urine on her mother's hands.

"Work? Where's the money? Give it to me!!"

"Your sister-in-law couldn't even afford a whole old hen during her postpartum confinement, and your brother is still short a few hundred yuan for his wedding dowry! You heartless bastard!"

Li's mother's triangular eyes gleamed, and her rough hands grabbed Li Xiaorou and pulled her into her arms.

Li Xiaorou clutched her chest tightly.

There really was all her money sewn there—her entire savings from selling grain coupons on the black market over the past six months!

What's even more infuriating is that yesterday Zhou Mingyuan reminded her that it would be best to deposit money at the credit union, but she didn't take it seriously. And then she happened to run into her father going to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy tobacco leaves!

"That's what I earned myself...and it wasn't much..."

Her voice trembled as she clutched her chest with all her might.

"You're talking nonsense!"

"You're dressed so flamboyantly, you must be hooking up with some random guy and making shameless money!"

"Tell me! Was it money you earned by selling your body? Huh?"

Li's mother slapped Li Xiaorou across the face, and blood immediately appeared at the corner of Li Xiaorou's mouth. She suddenly raised her voice, her cloudy eyes filled with contempt.

The main room fell into a deathly silence.

Li's father, who was squatting on the threshold, finally raised his head and slammed his pipe heavily against the door frame with a dull thud.

Unburnt tobacco from the pipe splashed out, scorching several small, blackened pits into the muddy ground.

Behind the crack in the inner room door, the newlywed daughter-in-law, Zhang Chuntao, gasped, her mouth, painted with cheap lipstick, agape as if she could fit an egg inside.

"Really? Your sister is selling herself for money?"

She tugged at her husband Li Jianguo's sleeve and asked in a whisper.

Their voices were brimming with barely concealed excitement, as if they were discussing some exciting drama.

Li Xiaorou trembled all over, not from fear, but from anger. She stared intently at the so-called relatives in the room.

The mother, Wang Xiulan, had a shiny, oily face that gleamed under the kerosene lamp, and her double chin trembled as she cursed.

The younger brother, Li Jianye, and the older brother, Li Jianguo, have gained a lot of weight compared to six months ago. Their once sharp-faced and monkey-like faces are now round like steamed buns.

The eldest sister-in-law had a rosy complexion and a plump, healthy appearance.

The most ridiculous thing is the father, Li Youfu. Is the tobacco pouch embroidered with gold thread hanging from his waist a sign of being poor?!

The old man is now tapping on the threshold with his pipe, looking all sanctimonious.

"What are you looking at?! Hand over the money right now!"

Li's mother swung the broom at him again.

Li Xiaorou suddenly laughed, her eyes reddening with laughter.

These are her family members, and now they're looking at her like she's a prostitute!