Chapter 228 Being Dragged
Suddenly, the two of them started fighting.
Mrs. Cui, fueled by a surge of boundless rage and seizing the initiative, dragged Kong Ya to the ground, initially gaining the upper hand, but Kong Ya, younger and stronger, retaliated fiercely. With a swift grab, she pulled at Mrs. Cui’s pants leg and brought her down too, and the two wrestled together on the ground.
The crowd rushed to separate them. With many hands making light work, the two were quickly pulled apart, several people holding them at bay with a meter between them. Although their bodies were restrained, neither woman was willing to let the other one have the last word. They cursed each other with filthy language—a fierce and spectacular verbal duel.
But clearly, Kong Ya had the advantage. Her vocal projections were not weak, and she powerfully dominated the lagging Mrs. Cui. She fixated on the noisy incident in Gao Hong’s bed, "What kind of people let what kind of people through their doors! The whole family, from old to young, has no shame! It’s incredible! If my family ever did something so disgraceful, I’d rather just bang my head against the wall and die to avoid further embarrassment all the way to my ancestors. There’s truth to the saying ’the older you get, the less shame you have’..."
"Who are you calling shameless, you whore smeared with filth! I’ll rip your mouth to shreds!... I’m going to report you to the leaders for spouting nonsense and get your man a demerit! Make you go back to farming! A pestilent wretch!..." Mrs. Cui retorted fiercely, her words making many married women in the crowd blush.
When Kong Ya heard the threat of reporting, she became even more agitated, "Go ahead, report me! You think I’m scared? I’ll go too, I want to ask the leaders if your noisy affairs next door count as ruining people’s silence or if it’s just shameless behavior..."
Seeing the two women escalating their quarrel, and knowing the men of their households were about to return from training, the bystanders started to intervene. Curious about what had actually happened, they urged the women to clear the air and return to their respective homes. Kong Ya loudly demanded justice, "Everyone, judge for yourselves! It’s well known that Mrs. Cui is unreasonable and causes trouble often. She hasn’t stopped picking fights since she moved here a few months ago. Tell me if this makes any sense. Her good-for-nothing grandson threw sand into the pot of soup I was cooking right outside my door, and I caught him red-handed. I was so angry I smacked him. Deserved it, don’t you think? And I barely touched him! No bruises, no bleeding, yet she comes out demanding medical expenses? It’s an outright scam! I’ve even got a loss myself to claim here—I was cooking an old chicken in that pot of soup; they owe me for the chicken..."
"Tch, you heartless creature! My grandson cried for two whole hours because of your slap. Who knows if he’s been internally injured? This is a matter of life and death! There’s no justice anymore. This wretched woman is accusing my grandson based on who knows from where this sand came, still holding a grudge about me accidentally spilling a few of your beans that were drying by your door! Don’t believe her; she’s just out to harm our family!"
"Harm your ancestors, will you listen to her twisting the facts! Her house, with two ill-bred brats that come from a mother but lack a father’s upbringing. Everyone in the courtyard despises them. Didn’t they beat up Sister-in-law Dahua’s son just the other day? We all saw it... This is the epitome of shamelessness... You don’t know what it’s like to live next to them. At night, even more shameless things happen—their daughter-in-law is so loud when they’re at it, sounds like a blaring horn... You tell me, is that something to be proud of? It’s disgraceful! My family has young children, think about the terrible influence..."
Kong Ya had said this during their earlier spat, but the noise and confusion might have made it difficult for some to hear clearly. Now that she repeated it, there was a collective gasp from the crowd. This was explosive news indeed.