The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 446 - 445: Fight Fire with Fire

"Dani, didn’t I give you a lot of clothes last time? Why aren’t you wearing them, and where are your shoes?"

Xu Dani’s ears turned red, showing she was at a loss, "Aunt Mingzhu, I’m not cold."

Although winter had just begun a few days ago, the highest temperature today was only about ten degrees. Shen Mingzhu, wearing a cashmere coat, still felt chilly.

When she looked at Xu Dani, her upper body was clad in an old coarse cloth shirt with holes, the pants she wore were far too short, and on her feet were half-worn straw sandals.

The skin exposed to the air was bluish-white, her lips were purplish, she kept sniffling, and her frail figure shivered non-stop in the cold wind.

Touching the back of her hand felt like touching a block of ice.

Shen Mingzhu quickly took an old jacket out of the car, "Put this on for now."

The soft and thick old jacket, with a blue floral fabric surface and a fine cotton lining, was both good-looking and warm, but Xu Dani avoided it as if it were a thorn.

"No need, Aunt Mingzhu, I don’t want it."

"Why not? Do you dislike it because there are patches on the clothes?"

"No!"

Xu Dani hurriedly shook her head, her face showing urgency, as if afraid Shen Mingzhu would misunderstand.

Such a beautiful cotton coat was beyond her wildest dreams; how could she possibly disdain it?

Shen Mingzhu handed the coat over, "If not, then put it on. This is specially from Aunt Feng that I found for you. She has a daughter a few years older than you, who will go to junior high next year. If Feng’s daughter hadn’t outgrown the coat, it wouldn’t have ended up in your hands."

Biting her lip, Xu Dani’s eyes gradually reddened, "Aunt Mingzhu, I’m scared..."

"First put on the coat, and we can talk slowly after."

Ultimately unable to resist the warmth, Xu Dani took the cotton coat and carefully put it on, as if she was afraid of soiling or damaging it.

After Xu Dani had put on the coat, Shen Mingzhu took her to the same noodle shop as last time.

It was still the steaming hot mutton noodles, but this time with an additional bowl of mutton blood soup.

After eating the noodles and drinking the soup, Xu Dani’s face and lips finally gained a hint of rosiness.

"Tell me what’s going on. Speak your mind confidently; I’ll stand up for you."

At these words, Xu Dani’s eyes reddened...

Xu Dani had a cousin named Xu Liang, about the same age as her and also attending the town’s elementary school, currently in the second grade.

The clothes and shoes Shen Mingzhu gave were taken by Xu Liang the moment Xu Dani wore them to school.

For city dwellers, those old clothes were not valuable, but for rural children, they were treasures.

Especially the white sports shoes; hardly anyone in the entire school wore them—most children wore cloth shoes made at home.

Xu Dani dared not accept the cotton coat for fear that it would be stolen by Xu Liang again.

"Besides clothing, has he taken anything else from you? Does he bully you usually?"

Xu Dani sniffed, "He also took my pen and notebook."

"Did you tell the teacher?"

"I did, and the teacher told him to return my pen and notebook, which he did, but after school, he took them again."

An upright official finds it hard to settle domestic disputes; teachers can manage what happens in school but not after school.

As for Zeng Fengxian, she would rather Xu Dani didn’t attend school at all, so naturally, she wouldn’t stand up for Xu Dani.

...

Shen Mingzhu parked the car at the entrance to the town, a path all the schoolchildren had to pass.

Before long, Xu Liang and two kids of the same age came towards the town, laughing and chattering.

Shen Mingzhu recognized Xu Liang in an instant—among the group of children, only he was wearing white sports shoes.

Probably because he didn’t take care of them, the white sports shoes were covered in dust, becoming gray sports shoes.

"Is that him?"

Xu Dani nodded.

"Get out of the car, go up to him, and demand that he return what he took from you."

Xu Dani looked at her, her eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment, "What if he doesn’t return them?"

Shen Mingzhu stared at her and spoke word by word, "Courtesy before force; if he won’t return them after you ask nicely, then there’s no need to be polite. Whatever he did to take your things, you do the same to take them back."

"Dani, you’re barefoot now; you don’t have to be afraid of those with shoes. The more you’re afraid, the more they’ll bully you. The only way to deal with a bully is to fight back, and fight back hard."

Xu Dani clenched her palms, "I’m afraid I can’t beat him..."

"How do you know you can’t beat him if you haven’t even fought? The worst outcome is just losing, but even if you lose, you have to let him know that you’re not easy to bully. Whoever bullies you, you must strip away a layer of their skin and make them feel pain."

"Look at the bee, it can be pinched to death with just two fingers, but everyone is afraid of it, why? Because although it’s small, its sting is itchy and painful. Even if it dies after stinging someone, it just wants to let people know that it’s not to be trifled with."

Under Shen Mingzhu’s coaxing and encouragement, the timidness in Xu Dani’s eyes gradually gave way to determination and bravery.

Right before getting off the vehicle, Xu Dani took off the cotton-padded coat she was wearing.

Not because she was afraid that Xu Liang would steal it again, but because she didn’t want to get it dirty.

...

"Xu Liang, give back my shoes and clothes!"

Seeing Xu Dani approaching him on her own, Xu Liang raised his fists in contempt as a threat: "Get lost, or I’ll beat you."

Facing Xu Liang, who was half a head taller and notoriously domineering, a natural fear sprouted from the depths of Xu Dani’s heart.

But soon, she thought of the bee.

She also wanted to be like the bee and let Xu Liang know that she was not to be bullied!

"I’m asking you one more time, are you returning them or not?"

"What if I don’t return them, you gonna bite me, huh? Come on, bite me, come at me..."

With Xu Liang’s jeering, laughter erupted from the crowd around them, all watching Xu Dani as if they were spectating a captivating drama.

"Alright, this is what you said."

Xu Dani clenched her fists, and her body shot towards Xu Liang like a cannonball!

Xu Liang was caught off guard and knocked to the ground. As he raised his hand to hit Xu Dani, she ferociously bit down on his hand.

"Ah——"

Pig-like squeals filled the air.

Unsatisfied with just a bite, Xu Dani rained punches like drumbeats onto Xu Liang’s head and body.

Though she was slim, she was surprisingly strong; after all, she had been doing all sorts of farm and household chores since she was a child, able to carry a twenty-pound child for half an hour without getting winded.

For a moment, Xu Liang found himself being pummeled by Xu Dani, unable to fight back.

The nearby onlookers, who were there for the entertainment, were all stupefied.

The sprout-like Xu Dani was actually beating up the stocky Xu Liang so badly that he was scrambling for his teeth on the floor.

"Stop, stop, I’ll return them to you, I’ll give them back!"

Hearing Xu Liang begging for mercy, Xu Dani stopped her assault and stood up from the ground, looking down at Xu Liang who lay there groaning, her chest heaving violently. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

Unbelievable, she had actually won.

She turned her head to look at Shen Mingzhu not far away.

Seeing Shen Mingzhu smile and give her a thumbs up, she too smiled along.

It wasn’t a timid smile, but a radiant one showing all eight teeth.

Like a wild daisy swaying by the roadside, beautiful and unyielding, fearless of the frost and the wind.

"Take off the sneakers and give them back to me!"

Xu Liang grudgingly removed his shoes, still resentful inside but intimidated by Xu Dani’s assertiveness, and flung them at her feet.

The sneakers smelled foul and were dirty from wear, but Xu Dani picked them up as if they were a treasured possession, holding them close to her chest.

For her, who walked forty miles every day, such a pair of sneakers was desperately needed.

"What about the rest?"

"They’re at home."

"Go back and get them now."

Xu Liang impatiently said, "I’ll bring them to you tomorrow."

Xu Dani was adamant, "No, now. I’ll wait right here for you."

Xu Liang glared at her for a good while, and seeing that Xu Dani showed no signs of backing down, he got up and walked back.

Half an hour later.

Xu Liang returned, but two adults followed behind him.