NOVPUBChapter 54: Chapter 54: The Way of Others
Chapter 54 -54: The Way of Others
Zhang Jie dared not go. The factory leaders weren’t relatives of theirs, and by going, it was clear that they were the ones in the wrong. She was just bullying Bai Ju for being timid and afraid to act. If she really went, what good would come of it for them?
She tried hard to shake off Bai Xiao’s hand, “What are you tugging at me for? Mind your own business. Just because you say go, doesn’t mean I will. I’m telling you, I’m not going!” She was blatantly being unreasonable.
Bai Xiao gripped her wrist firmly, “Then apologize to my niece! And compensate us for our medical expenses, the medical bills, and emotional distress—or you can forget about leaving today, because you’re not going anywhere.” His eyes were as sharp as knives.
Zhang Jie was terrified. She often bullied others and staged accidents, but this was the first time she had been caught in her own game, “Don’t even think about it! Why should I? I won’t pay, what can you do about it?” She was by no means a kind person and was determined not to agree.
What a joke. To demand money from her, for what reason?
“Fine! It seems like you want to meet with the factory leaders! Let’s go!” He pulled Zhang Jie to leave.
Zhang Jie clung to the wall tiles, refusing to let go, “I won’t go! I won’t go!”
The boy beside her started crying out of fright, holding onto Zhang Jie tightly, “Mommy, mommy, I’m scared, sister, we were wrong, it was me who hit He Cuicui, I was the one who did wrong, I shouldn’t have stolen He Cuicui’s things! It’s my fault! Don’t drag my mom away!”
Bai Xiao released Zhang Jie in an instant, and she collapsed to the ground, clutching her son tightly, “Don’t cry! Don’t cry, everything’s fine!”
“Xiao, let it be, it’s too much…” Bai Ju couldn’t bear it! It was heart-wrenching to watch.
Bai Xiao shook his head, no wonder Zhang Jie dared to be so arrogant. With such a temper, he really was no different from himself in his past life.
“We can’t let it be! Today they beat up your child and even tried to make you pay for it; if we let it slide, tomorrow they might feel bold enough to come to your house and take things directly as compensation. If adults don’t set an example, children will just follow their lead! Then you might as well be prepared to let them trample all over you. I refuse to believe that the factory is owned by her family. I really want to see if the factory leaders will deal with such morally corrupt, truth-twisting family members, and to see if such a person can still work in the factory.” Bai Xiao didn’t want his sister to be like she was in her past life, enduring everything until it became synonymous with weakness and being easily bullied! It’s not true that if you give way, others will reciprocate. There are plenty of people who would take advantage of kindness and push you even further.
Bai Xiao knew all too well that sometimes, being a shrew could get you farther than being kind, generous, and meek. Being nice might just invite others to walk all over you, while standing up for yourself often makes life much happier.
At this point, Zhang Jie immediately did a one-eighty with her attitude, turning to Bai Ju to plead, “Bai Ju, you can’t do this to us. It’s hard for any family to get by. Our family relies solely on my husband’s earnings. If your sister makes a fuss, you’ll be driving our whole family to death. Look how young the child is. If our Old Wang loses his job, our family will have to come to your house for meals!”
The only thing Bai Ju could do was to try to reassure Zhang Jie, “No! My sister isn’t like that. I’ll talk to her, don’t worry. My sister has the kindest heart, she’s just speaking in anger. She definitely won’t make things difficult for you!”
Bai Xiao scoffed, “Second sister, I’m not one to mince words. If someone bullies my family, I won’t stand by and watch. Just look at how Xiaocui’s face was beaten. An adult with such a heart of stone. Xiaocui, come here!” He beckoned to Xiaocui with his hand.
The young girl timidly walked up to Bai Xiao, looking at him curiously because she didn’t recognize the fierce and strong girl who seemed to be protecting their home and her mother.
“Xiaocui, remember, we don’t go looking for trouble, but we aren’t afraid of it either. We don’t bully others, but if others bully us, we can’t back down. Even if we can’t beat them, we must at least bite off a chunk of flesh and make them remember that we are not to be trificked with!”
Xiaocui looked up, confused, “But mom says that’s not what good kids do, that we should be obedient! We can’t fight with others!” The child didn’t understand why adults spoke so differently.
Bai Mei saw the commotion and thought, what an opportunity to cause a stir! She wouldn’t be living up to her role as the evil rival if she didn’t take advantage of the situation.
She burst in saying, “Oh my, Bai Xiao, you really can’t teach the child bad habits. Hitting others is wrong, how can you teach a child to hit? The ancients said one should convince others with virtue. It is better to reason properly; resorting to violence is ultimately incorrect.”
Zhang Jie immediately echoed, “That’s right! The child is young; how can adults teach the child to hit others? It’s no wonder, with such poor family education, that you dare to bully our Xiaobao.”
Bai Xiao glared at Bai Mei and said, “Fine, come here!”
Taken aback, Bai Mei subconsciously took two steps back, “What do you want to do?”
“What do I want to do? Didn’t you say that even if someone hits you, you shouldn’t fight back? Then let us witness your virtue.” She took a step forward and delivered two slaps, and Bai Mei’s face immediately swelled up with the prints of fingers.
“You’re insane! Bai Xiao! How dare you hit me!” Bai Mei lunged forward, attempting to tear into Bai Xiao. She had never been bullied like this in her life and found it utterly unbearable.
Bai Xiao grabbed her wrist tightly and twisted it backwards, causing Bai Mei to cry out in pain and nearly fall to the ground.
“I did hit you! What about it? You said, how could we teach children to hit others. Since that’s the case, why should you hit back after I hit you? Didn’t you just preach about winning people over with virtue? What now? Can you not apply your own teachings of virtue when it comes to yourself?
So don’t give me that sanctimonious nonsense. Until the slap lands on oneself, one advocates for others to keep the peace; but when one gets hit, they can’t wait to retaliate immediately. Therefore, let no one talk about winning with virtue or that stepping back opens a broader world. In my book, whoever hits me, I hit back. If someone speaks kindly, then I’ll respond with virtue; but in the face of those who can’t speak properly, it is only fair to give them a taste of their own medicine.”
At this, everyone burst into laughter.
“Ah, right, I like what this girl says. We don’t understand all that fancy talk; I just know that if I don’t hit back when bullied, I won’t feel good inside!”
“That’s what I call reasonable, why should anyone allow themselves to be bullied? If you dare to hit, you should have the courage to be hit back. That’s satisfying.” n𝚘𝚟𝚙𝚞𝚋.𝚌o𝚖
“Right! That’s what I call satisfying!”
“Do unto others as they have done unto you! Awesome!”
Everyone cheered, and Bai Mei, unable to beat Bai Xiao, was seething with rage.
Bai Xiao waved her hand, signaling everyone to be quiet, “Your child hit our Xiaocui, now you say it, how do we settle this? If you don’t say anything, I have two suggestions. First, apologize to Xiaocui and compensate for the loss; second, we might as well go ask the factory management what to do about this.”
She would not let this incident pass quietly. She wanted people to see that Bai Ju wasn’t without protection, that she wasn’t a pushover.
This was a lesson to all.
Zhang Jie felt a lump in her chest, caught between speaking out and the discomfort of remaining silent.
But today, she had seen that this girl wasn’t one to be trifled with. If she hoped to smooth things over, it simply wasn’t possible.
She smacked her son hard on the buttocks. “It’s all because of you, all because of you! I told you not to be greedy, told you not to steal from others, and now look what you’ve done! You little bastard, are we lacking food at home, or drinks? You had to go and do something like this. Now go apologize to them, or do you want them to eat us alive, mother and son?”
