Chapter 24: Zhou Susu Tears Apart the Despicable Zhang Family

Zhou Susu carried the basin of water, walking step by step toward Old Lady Zhang, who was still busy throwing a tantrum.

Looking at Old Lady Zhang, her voice turned chillingly cold.

"You want to take my daughter away?"

"Fine by me."

"But first, ask this basin of water if it agrees!"

Everyone present was bewildered by her sudden, inexplicable move. Why bring out a basin of water? What was she planning to do? Even Lu Zhan, watching her calm demeanor and the liquid in the basin that exuded an odor reminiscent of "chemical weapons," couldn't help but twitch an eyelid.

Only Old Lady Zhang, looking at Zhou Susu standing so close, felt a sense of foreboding shoot from the soles of her feet to the top of her skull.

"What... what are you trying to do!" she shrieked hysterically. "I'm telling you, don't you dare! This is a military compound!"

"Dare?" Zhou Susu smiled. "Auntie Zhang, you really do have a sense of humor."

"Who was it just now, rolling on the ground in front of my door, making a scene and threatening to die?"

"Who was it that twisted the truth, slandered me for abusing a child, and scared my daughter into falling ill?"

"And who was it that took two hundred yuan to 'sell their granddaughter,' only to have the audacity to come back and demand her?"

Her voice grew colder with every sentence.

"And now, you claim I'm the one acting out?"

She took a step forward, closing in on Old Lady Zhang.

"Let me tell you, Wang Guixiang!"

She didn't even call her "Auntie Zhang" anymore, addressing her directly by her full name.

"In the past, out of respect for An'an, I treated you as an elder and gave you some face. But now, I've changed my mind."

"A wretched old thing like you, who torments her own granddaughter to the brink of death and is lower than a beast, deserves no respect from anyone!"

"You!" Old Lady Zhang was shaking with rage at being pointed at and insulted. "You little harlot! How dare you curse me! I'll tear your mouth apart today!"

With that, she scrambled up from the ground, stretched out her hands—withered like chicken claws—and lunged viciously at Zhou Susu's face!

"Perfect!"

That was exactly the moment Zhou Susu had been waiting for!

Just a second before those fingernails could touch her cheek, she gave her wrist a flick—

"Splash!"

An entire basin of foot-soaking water—mixed with dust, dead skin, sweat, and a generous dose of high-concentration, industrial-strength detergent—was unleashed.

With a graceful arc, it landed squarely and thoroughly on Old Lady Zhang, from head to toe!

In the courtyard, everyone’s eyes widened, their mouths hanging open wide enough to fit a fist. They wore expressions of pure shock, as if wondering, "Who am I, where am I, and what on earth have I just witnessed?"

She actually did it!

And with foot-soaking water?

That was just... too savage!

"Ah—!"

A scream pierced the sky.

Old Lady Zhang was completely stunned.

She stood there blankly, drenched, with unknown bubbles clinging to her hair, her face and neck covered in murky liquid that dripped down her wrinkled skin.

An indescribable, pungent stench—a mix of sourness, rot, and synthetic chemicals—began to spread rapidly from her as the center.

Those standing closest to her couldn't help but pinch their noses and scramble backward.

"My eyes! My eyes!"

Old Lady Zhang finally snapped back to reality; the tainted foot-soaking water was so stinging that she couldn't even open her eyes.

She screamed while frantically rubbing her eyes with her hands.

"Zhou Susu! You heaven-damned wretch! You rotten-hearted bitch! I'll fight you to the death!"

Like a rabid dog provoked, she lunged toward Zhou Susu, eyes closed, clawing at the air.

Zhou Susu nimbly sidestepped, dodging her with ease.

She dropped the empty basin with a loud "clang" and planted her hands firmly on her hips.

In that instant, she seemed possessed by the spirit of a battle-hardened square-dance grandma. Tearing off all pretense, she transformed into the most fearsome "shrew" in the entire military compound!

"Fight to the death? Good! I'm standing right here. Let’s see what you shameless people of the Zhang family can actually do to me!"

Her voice was clear, loud, and full of vitality. She didn't use a single profanity, yet every word struck home.

"Wang Guixiang! You have the nerve to lecture me? Let me ask you! After An'an lost her mother at birth, how did you treat her? You threw a wailing, nursing infant into a drafty woodshed, fed her spoiled rice water, and dressed her like a little beggar! Is that what a grandmother does?"

"Let me ask you again! An'an's father, Zhao Weiguo, is a war hero! He sent most of his monthly allowance home! And the result? You took the hero's hard-earned money to buy meat and new clothes for your precious grandson, while the hero's own daughter couldn't even get a single egg to eat! Have your consciences been eaten by dogs?"

"And you!" Her finger pointed at the Zhang family’s aunt, who wore a vicious expression. "Because An'an is a girl, you pinched her, twisted her, and pricked her with needles every single day! You even pushed her into an icy water vat in the middle of winter! Are you even human?"

"The most shameless part is all of you!" Her gaze swept across every member of the Zhang family present. "You saw An'an as a burden, and when you thought she wouldn't survive, you tried to sell her to an old bachelor in the village as a child bride! If Lu Zhan hadn't discovered it in time and 'bought' her back for two hundred yuan, the grass on her grave would be taller than you are now!"

The sheer volume of information in her words caused everyone present to gasp in horror.

Abuse, starvation, needle pricks, selling her to an old bachelor...

These details were a hundred times more malicious than anything an evil stepmother in a play could ever do!

And the ones who committed these acts were the child's own grandmother, uncle, and aunt!

In an instant, the way everyone looked at the Zhang family changed.

It was the look one reserves for garbage, vermin, and the dregs of humanity.

"My god, that is just too vicious..."

"Even a tiger doesn't eat its cubs; this family is worse than beasts!"

"Poor child, what kind of suffering has she been through..."

The Zhang family stood pale and speechless as these "old scandals" were dragged into the light. They never expected that Zhou Susu would know every single one of them!

"You... you're spouting nonsense! Slandering us!" The aunt, being the most thick-skinned, was the first to jump up and protest. "We didn't do any of that! This is slander!"

"Slander?" Zhou Susu sneered. "Then do you dare let my Lu Zhan take a military doctor and go check An'an for injuries right now?"

"The old scars on her body—whether they are from needle pricks, cigarette burns, or falls—a doctor will know the truth at a glance!"

"Shall we go get her examined right now?!"

Her aggressive momentum made the aunt instantly lose her nerve.

A medical examination? That would be disastrous! The scars on An'an’s body wouldn't stand up to any scrutiny!

"You... you little bitch! I'll tear your mouth apart!"

Driven to madness by shame and anger, the aunt lost all restraint and lunged at Zhou Susu, screaming curses.