Chapter 88: Chapter 88: The Chicken Commotion

Su Qing completely ignored the old woman. She simply stirred the chicken soup and placed the lid back on the clay pot.

"Hey, girlie, I’m talking to you." Seeing Su Qing completely ignore her, the old woman grew annoyed, and her tone turned hostile.

"But I don’t feel like talking to you," Su Qing said lazily, picking at her ear.

"Well now! You little brat, how dare you talk to your elder like that? Didn’t your family teach you to respect the old and cherish the young?" The old woman flew into a rage. She started shouting at Su Qing at the top of her lungs, "I came over to have a nice word with you, and this is how you act? You have no manners at all!"

"How I was raised is none of your concern. It’s not like I’m eating your food, so why are you so worked up?" Su Qing had no intention of indulging this old crone. "Besides, respecting your elders? That depends on the elder. If they don’t act their age, why should anyone respect them? Am I wrong?"

"Bullshit!" The old woman was obviously furious. "Apologize! You’re going to apologize to me today, or this isn’t over."

"And how do you plan on not letting it be over?" Su Qing’s eyes narrowed. "What, you think I’m an easy target? You think you’re in the right, coming to my door to steal things?"

"Pah! What did I steal?" the old woman said in a huff. "Don’t you go making baseless accusations, you little brat."

"And you call that not stealing?" Su Qing scoffed. "This chicken soup is for someone who’s sick. The whole pot only has a few pieces of chicken. You come waltzing in here, shamelessly demanding a big bowl, and even telling me to add extra chicken. Does this belong to you? How can you say that with a straight face? Do I even know you? Why on earth should I give you any? If your family was making chicken soup and I showed up with a bowl asking for a serving, would you do it?"

"Pah! Why should I give you a... MMMMPH!" The old woman was about to erupt when her daughter clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Su Qing, please don’t be angry," the woman said, struggling to keep her mother’s mouth shut while forcing a smile. "My mom just got here from the countryside. Neighbors are used to sharing things with each other there."

Su Qing smiled sweetly. "I can tell. Your village must be very wealthy, Auntie, if you can just give away a big bowl of chicken so casually."

A few quiet chuckles rippled through the onlookers. The woman’s face flushed bright red. She mumbled a few more awkward words to Su Qing before hastily dragging her mother back inside.

When the old woman had first shown up demanding chicken soup, many neighbors had been leaning in their doorways, watching the drama unfold. Some looked on with contempt; meat was a precious commodity these days, after all, and they weren’t close relatives. Who just goes to someone’s door and demands food like that? Others were curious to see if a young girl like Su Qing would be too afraid of losing face to refuse. If she caved and gave the old woman a few pieces of chicken, they were ready to try their luck too. After all, if you give some to one neighbor, it would be rude not to give to the others, wouldn’t it?

So when they saw the old woman get shut down by Su Qing, many of them began to look at the young woman in a new light. And, of course, their disdain for the old woman only grew.

"Grandma, I want chicken," the little grandson whined, running up and hugging the old woman’s leg as soon as her daughter pulled her back into the room.

"Oh, my sweet boy, Grandma will buy a nice hen to cook for you later, okay?" the old woman cooed to her grandson. Then, she suddenly raised her voice and shouted in the direction of the Pan Family’s apartment, "That little brat has a rotten heart! You can’t eat the chicken she’s cooking! Anyone who eats it will choke to death!"

"Oh, Mom, keep your voice down! We all live here together; it’ll be so awkward seeing them later," the woman urged, tugging at her mother’s sleeve. "Fu Yuzhen’s husband is a senior engineer. His rank is higher than my Old Hu’s."

The woman hadn’t stopped her mother at first because she’d figured a young girl like Su Qing would be too concerned about appearances to refuse an elder. She’d assumed Su Qing would feel pressured to give them at least a few pieces of chicken. But who knew they’d run into a brick wall? ’Now,’ the woman thought, ’if that girl goes and complains to the Old Pan’s Family, we’re going to be in for it. If my husband finds out what happened today, he’ll probably chew me out.’

The more she thought about it, the more she regretted not stopping her mother from going to the Old Pan’s Family’s door in the first place.

Even with their door closed, the old woman’s shrill curse was heard clearly by everyone in the hallway. The neighbors glanced at each other, stunned. ’That’s just plain vicious. All because she didn’t get any chicken? Why would she curse someone like that?’

No one said a word, though. They just watched from the corners of their eyes, curious to see how Su Qing would handle it.

Su Qing, of course, had heard the curse as well. She simply raised an eyebrow and continued tending to the chicken soup on the stove. Once it was ready, she carried the clay pot back into her room. Then, she walked straight to the Hu Family’s front door.

BANG!

Su Qing kicked the Hu Family’s door clean open. The sudden act didn’t just startle the people inside the room; it made all the gossiping neighbors jump in fright.

’Whoa, this Su Qing girl is a real firecracker! She just kicks a door down without a second thought!’

"You—what do you think you’re doing?!" The woman, Liu Suhua, was incensed when she saw Su Qing kick her front door open without saying a word.

"What do you think I’m doing?" Su Qing asked, her gaze cool as she looked at Liu Suhua. "What was that your mother was just saying? Who was she cursing?"

"You damned little brat! I was talking in my own home, it’s none of your goddamn business, you—"

CRASH! 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Before the old woman could finish her sentence, Su Qing kicked one of the Hu Family’s chairs, splintering it.

This time, everyone—from the members of the Hu Family to the nosy neighbors crowded at the doorway—fell silent, their eyes wide with shock.

’Holy cow, what kind of strength is that? A young girl just kicked a chair to pieces in one go! *Hiss*... Looks like she was holding back when she kicked the door.’

Seeing this, Liu Suhua quickly pulled her mother behind her and shot her a warning glance, silently telling her not to say another word. ’If this keeps up,’ she thought frantically, ’none of our furniture will be safe! We can make a scene later, but if it comes down to it, we were the ones in the wrong first. Who knows how it would turn out? We’d probably just have to suck it up and take the loss.’

"Um, Su Qing," Liu Suhua began, forcing a smile. "About today... we were in the wrong. Please, calm down. Don’t stoop to my mother’s level. She’s just used to how things are in the countryside and hasn’t adjusted her habits yet."

"Does that include the habit of cursing people?" Su Qing asked coolly. "Shouldn’t she be afraid of choking on her own spit while she’s busy cursing others?"

"What did you just say, you little brat?" The old woman flew into a rage the moment she heard Su Qing’s curse directed at her.