Chapter 444: 444: All you know is to eat, I'll beat you to death!

Suck up?

Upon hearing these words, Tong Tiehu couldn’t hold back a cold laugh. “Who do you think you are that she would need to curry favor with you?”

“She’s someone who has prestige in front of the retired Emperor, and she’s on good terms with two princes. She needs to suck up to you? Just how big do you think your faces are?”

This naked statement was a straight, direct slap.

Tong Eralang flushed, “So what if she has prestige? She still sends sour plum soup as always. Our family has no relation with her, but she keeps sending the soup, isn’t it just because she wants to please us in hopes of marrying into our family?”

“Stop fooling yourself. That’s her way of showing gratitude for the numerous times I’ve helped her.” Tong Tiehu snorted coldly.

“Marry? Do you even know the current state of our household? She’d rather put up with us without complaint than marry in.”

“Dad, you can’t put it that way.” Tong Xingda, who was silently cutting grass at the side, spoke up. “It’s wrong for Lao’er’s family to demand things from Xiaomai. However, you shouldn’t belittle us either.”

“You’re the village chief, she’s just a village girl no matter how much favor she has.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Shut up,” glared Tong Tiehu. “Everyone, get back to work. If we don’t finish planting the sweet potatoes today, no one goes home tonight!”

“Grandpa, I’m thirst. I want to drink some sour plum soup,” whined Tong Eralang, his face all scrunched up.

Glancing over with a gloomy face, Tong Tiehu picked up his hoe and swung it at Tong Eralang. “Drink, drink, drink – you want to drink, earn it yourself! How long have you been in this world, and have you ever made a penny? Am I supposed to just keep feeding you parasites?!”

“Other children can cook and do housework at a very young age. You’re in your twenties and you can’t do anything. Seems like you’re just asking for a beating!”

Tong Tiehu struck fast and fierce, catching Tong Eralang completely off guard as the back of the hoe smacked his back.

With a yell, he scrambled to run away. “Grandpa, was that really necessary?!”

“Sanlang, hold him down!” commanded TongTiehu coldly.

Hearing the command, Tong Sanlang dropped his hoe and promptly seized Tong Eralang.

With Tong Eralang’s hands twisted behind his back, Tong Tiehu wielded the hoe like a stick, striking at Tong Eralang’s knees.

At the jolt of pain, Tong Eralang immediately fell to his knees. Tong Tiehu wielded the hoe like a club, repeatedly landing strikes on him. “You brat, the only thing you know is to eat! Can you do anything other than that?!”

“I can still work for a few more years. When I’m old, I’ll be relying on you to take care of me! But looking at you now, you can’t even take care of yourself!”

Tong Eralang had never been punished like this in his life.

The hoe struck him again and again. The pain was intense, but he dared not move in case the hoe cut him somewhere and drew blood.

He could only yell out, “Dad, dad! Mom, please, plead with grandpa! It hurts so bad!”

Tong Xingda squatted to one side, a frown on his face as he watched the scene in silence.

He used to dream of becoming an emperor, who wouldn’t need to worry about being taken care of in his old age.

But now, the Tongs were just an ordinary family, and he had to think about this problem.

He could take care of Tong Tiehu when he got old, but what about when he himself got old?

Could they rely on Tong Eralang?

This second son of his was less capable than other families’ seven- or eight- year-old children.

Yes, it was time to discipline him.

Sparing the rod spoils the child.

Tong Xingda remained silent, but from the Zhang family, a woman stood up to intervene. “Dad, Eralang is still a child! You could just scold him. Does your anger have to be this severe?! He makes a valid point!”