Chapter 53 Farce (2)_1
Old Man Mo was knocked over before he could get out of the way, hitting the back of his head on the cold, hard ground. Waves of dizziness washed through his brain, and before he could regain his senses, Mrs. Hong plopped her plump body onto him, nearly suffocating him.
"You old, useless thing, daring to raise your hand against me! I’ll let you have it, let you have it!"
Mrs. Hong, her eyes red from a slap, scratched at Old Man Mo’s face with her good left hand, quickly drawing blood.
Old Man Mo, small and thin, was pinned down by Mrs. Hong and couldn’t resist. He shoved at her as he shouted at his stunned son and daughter-in-law, "Don’t just stand there, come and help!"
Mrs. Niu and the others snapped out of their stupor and rushed over, frantically pulling at Mrs. Hong. Once Old Man Mo was free, he struck Mrs. Hong hard across the face again. She refused to submit and with a loud wail pounced on him once more, beating him with a flurry of punches and kicks.
Outside, Mo Wu, the eldest daughter-in-law, watched indifferently as she comforted her three-year-old son. Thinking of her little daughter who had been sold by Mrs. Hong, a deep hatred flashed in her eyes, and she had no intention of intervening in the fight.
...
Meanwhile, Mo Yan and Mo Qingze, who were discussing clearing land to plant vegetables by lamplight, were oblivious to the chaos unfolding at Lao Mo’s House.
Mo Qingze, intrigued by the sketches Mo Yan had drawn, listened to his daughter explain what "greenhouse vegetables" meant. He then pointed at the crisscrossed lines on the sketch and asked, "Does this mean dividing that twenty acres of land into sections?"
Mo Yan put down her pen and shook her head, "These lines represent water channels. Eventually we can pump water from the river to irrigate the fields easily."