Chapter 765: Jim Thorne Gets a Beating

When Tang Xiaonan and the others returned to Millstone Peak, it was already pitch black. The Thorne family home, however, was in an uproar. Phoebe Huxley had come home from work to find two chickens missing—the fattest ones, at that. Two of the largest slabs of cured meat were gone as well, along with some dried fish and preserved duck.

Phoebe Huxley’s first reaction was that they had been robbed. But with Dollar guarding the house, a petty thief shouldn’t have been able to get in. Then she realized it was dark, and the siblings, Tang Xiaonan and Jim Thorne, still weren’t home. Amanda Chapman didn’t know where they were either. That’s when Phoebe really started to panic, thinking a kidnapper had abducted her daughter.

Fortunately, Felix Thorne was calmer. He thought it was unlikely. Jim Thorne had probably just taken his sister out to play. Still, Felix couldn’t figure out why they would take so much meat—and catch two chickens—just to go out and play.

Most importantly, the bicycle was gone too. Felix Thorne was worried about his precious bike, so his mood wasn’t actually all that calm either.

Adrian Hawthorne went straight home. Jim Thorne pushed the bike with Tang Xiaonan on it, the siblings returning together. A beam of light from a flashlight cut through the darkness; it was Felix Thorne, peering out from the doorway. Seeing the brother and sister return home safe and sound, Felix’s heart was finally at ease.

But Phoebe Huxley’s heart was still in her throat, because all that meat and the chickens were still gone.

"Jim, did you take the chickens, the cured meat, and the dried fish?" Phoebe Huxley bellowed.

"Yeah, I took it all."

Jim Thorne admitted it. He wanted to explain what he had used it for, but before he could open his mouth, a fist the size of a clay pot came crashing down. Phoebe Huxley grabbed Jim with one hand and pounded on him with the other—WHAM, WHAM, WHAM. Standing beside them, Tang Xiaonan’s heart leaped into her throat as she listened, terrified that her third brother’s bones would be broken.

"You little spendthrift! Where did you take everything? And you just had to pick the biggest and fattest pieces! Haven’t been spanked in a few days, so your hide is getting itchy, huh? I’m gonna skin you alive today!"

Phoebe Huxley grew angrier the more she hit him. Even though the family was a bit more well-off now, that was still so much meat! And this little brat had squandered it all.

"Mom... OUCH... Stop hitting me! I gave that stuff to someone, I didn’t waste it... OUCH..."

Jim Thorne twisted and squirmed like a monkey, but he didn’t dare let go of the bicycle he was holding steady. If he did, his little sister would fall. But his mom’s fists really hurt today; it felt like his bones were about to break. ’If I don’t dodge, I won’t be able to take it!’

Tang Xiaonan quickly scrambled off the bike. ’I can’t hold my third brother back.’ As soon as she was off, Jim Thorne shot off like a rabbit, running so fast that Phoebe Huxley wouldn’t have been able to catch him even if she had four legs. She was left panting with rage.

"You get back here! I won’t hit you anymore," Phoebe Huxley said, her tone softening.

Jim Thorne wasn’t about to fall for that. When his mom said she wouldn’t hit him, it usually meant she would hit him even harder. He’d fallen for that trick a few times already. ’If I fall for it again, I’m a real idiot.’

"Momma, I gave the stuff to Crazy Uncle—the one who’s always buying me clothes."

Taking advantage of the lull, Tang Xiaonan quickly explained the situation. Phoebe Huxley froze. "You mean that ’Crazy’ guy from Capria?"

"Crazy Uncle’s surname is Ye," Tang Xiaonan said. She had heard June Lowe call him Uncle Ye, so she figured his surname must be Ye.

"When did he get to Vessaria?" Phoebe Huxley’s anger had subsided considerably. If the gifts were really for Crazy Master, she certainly had nothing more to say. Not to mention the fact that he was always buying things for her daughter; if it weren’t for the fabric he sold her wholesale, she wouldn’t be able to pedal her sewing machine to earn extra money now.

Compared to the money she was earning, the things Tang Xiaonan had given away were hardly worth mentioning.

"He got here today. A few days ago he was in Tristone, bringing his friend’s wife and daughter back," Jim Thorne shouted from a distance.

Only then did Phoebe Huxley believe him. She shot Jim Thorne a fierce glare. "Why didn’t you say so sooner? If you had explained things clearly, would I still have hit you?"

Jim Thorne looked up at the sky, exasperated. ’She started swinging her fists before I even got in the door, without bothering to get the story straight. What chance did I have to say anything?’

’His mom was a completely unreasonable tigress. In the future, I’ll have to marry someone even fiercer than her. Otherwise, my future wife and I will never have a chance to stand up for ourselves.’