My Happy Family 05: The Implementation Testing
The sun hung mercilessly in the sky, its white-hot rays baking rooftops and steaming the cement paths. Cicadas screamed like boiling kettles, and even the wind seemed to retreat into silence.
Luo Yi stepped out of the house shirtless, fanning himself with a plastic magazine. He kicked off his sandals and dragged a rickety bamboo chair beneath the old banyan tree in the yard. With a groan, he collapsed into it, praying for even the faintest breeze.
He had just begun to doze off when a shrill, sing-song cry split the stillness:
“Chicken feather dusters! Bamboo canes! Anyone need—feather dusters—?”
Luo Yi cracked one eye open. That voice…
He sat up, squinting into the sun-drenched lane. Sure enough, waddling through the shimmering heat was a familiar figure—stocky, red-faced, and dragging a bundle of long sticks wrapped in twine. Auntie Mei Hua was on the move.
She wore her usual sun-bleached pink blouse tucked into a pair of loose white dresses, the cuffs rolled up to her arms. A wide straw hat shaded her round face, while sweat glistened on her neck and chest. She looked as formidable as ever, even under the weight of her bundle.
Luo Yi grinned and called out, “Auntie Mei Hua! What happened to your duck eggs? Finally retired from the egg-selling business?”
Mei Hua waved a hand as she waddled over. “Retired? Hmph. Eggs don’t sell like they used to. The market’s flooded with factory stuff. I was losing money every week. So now—new business, new luck.”
She unrolled the bundle beside him with a practiced snap. “Look at this! Feather dusters—handmade. Bamboo canes—freshly cut, strong, flexible! One stroke leaves a mark! Got any naughty kids at home? Buy a few, keep the household in order!”
Luo Yi chuckled. “Actually, I do. My daughter Jie’s been skipping her studies again. Talks back too. Might be time for something... persuasive.”
“Then don’t hesitate!” Mei Hua clapped. “I’ll give you a good price!”
Luo Yi picked up one of the canes, twirling it between his fingers. “Looks decent. But they all claim that. If I’m buying, I want proof.”
Mei Hua narrowed her eyes. “What kind of proof?”
“You offer your butt,” Luo Yi said, dead serious. “I test the cane. If it leaves a mark like you say, I’ll take a dozen.”
There was a beat of stunned silence.
“You little rascal!” she barked. “You want me to bend over so you can play schoolmaster? Who do you think you are?”
Luo Yi grinned. “If your canes are really that good, you’ve got nothing to worry about.”
She huffed, planting her hands on her hips. “I’ve sold canes for fifteen years. Not once has someone asked to test them on me!”
“Well, first time for everything. Think of it as... live demonstration.”
She stared at him, torn between offense and calculation. Then she grunted. “Fine. But not out here—what if someone sees? You got a back room?”
“Of course.” Luo Yi stood, brushing off his pants. “Come inside.”
The back room was plain but tidy, lit by soft afternoon light filtering through gauze curtains. A polished wooden bench sat beneath the window.
Mei Hua stepped in, looked around, and sighed. “Alright. One stroke. That’s it!”
Luo Yi picked up a cane from the bundle. “Lift up your dress, Auntie.”
She spun around. “You what?”
“How else am I supposed to see if it leaves a proper welt? You want the cane to pass, don’t you?”
“Fine!” she snapped, face reddening. “But just one stroke, you hear me!”
She turned around with a huff and lifted up her dress. Her blouse flared slightly as she leaned over the bench, revealing two round, pale buttocks—surprisingly smooth for a woman in her fifties.
Luo Yi blinked, caught off guard. He remembered Mei Hua from his teenage years—loud, motherly, sharp-eyed, always in motion. But one memory stood out above the rest.
Years ago, during a stormy summer afternoon, he had taken shelter in her egg stall during a sudden downpour. As he waited, he had witnessed something he never forgot: Mei Hua, then in her thirteenth, kneeling in silence while her own mother loomed behind her, cane in hand, shouting over a forgotten payment from a customer. Each stroke fell with a loud, merciless crack. Mei Hua’s shoulders trembled, tears brimming in her eyes. But she never begged, never cried out. Shame clung to her, and pain etched deep beneath her skin—but her pride remained unbroken.
That image—of endurance, humiliation, and stubborn dignity—had never left Luo Yi.
“Well?” Mei Hua snapped. “Are you going to hit or stand there gawking all day?”
Luo Yi shook out the cane. Its smooth, lacquered surface gleamed in the light. He stepped behind her, lined up the tip, and struck.
CRACK!
The cane sliced through the air with a piercing whistle. Mei Hua jolted, a sharp yelp bursting from her throat.
“Aiyah! That one stings!” she gasped, voice thick with indignation and pain.
A bright red stripe bloomed across the center of her cheeks, swelling with heat. Luo Yi stepped back, nodding in satisfaction.
“Now that’s quality.”
Without waiting, he swapped the cane for a longer, more flexible one—one that hummed as it moved. He drew it across her lower cheeks and—
WHACK!
“Yaah! Luo Yi! You brat!”
Her hips bucked forward, and a new welt rose instantly, crossing the first and forming a tender red “X.” Her flesh quivered from the impact, tightening involuntarily.
Luo Yi narrowed his eyes and settled into rhythm.
SWISH—CRACK!
SNAP!
THWIP!
Each stroke rang sharper than the last, echoing off the bare walls. Her body flinched with every blow—sometimes tense and rigid, sometimes jerking wildly. Her once-pristine skin was now a vivid canvas of pain: angry red welts, some puffed and raised, others already bruising purple.
Sweat dripped from her spine. Her blouse clung to her back like a second skin. Her fingers curled around the bench so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Her breath rasped in and out, raw and shallow. Occasionally, a strained grunt or a choked whimper slipped through her lips—but still, she did not cry out.
Luo Yi began to change pace. Two quick strokes landed high on her cheeks—WHIP! WHIP!—followed by a pause to let the sting sink in. Then a cruel flick snapped across the crease where the buttock met thigh.
CRACK!
“Guhhh—ah!” Mei Hua’s knees gave slightly, her legs trembling under her.
Her backside was now a chaotic patchwork of stripes—some straight, others overlapping at angles—radiating a fierce, swollen heat.
Thirty strokes.
By the end, she was slumped forward over the bench, her chest heaving, lips parted in silent exhaustion. Her hair clung to her damp neck and her buttocks—raw, welted, and inflamed—throbbed with every breath.
And yet, as she slowly pushed herself upright, her face flushed and lips trembling, her eyes still burned with fire.
“You better use every one of those canes, Luo Yi,” she muttered hoarsely. “Or next time, you’re the one taking the bench.”
As she limped out to the street, her voice rang loud and clear once more:
“Feather dusters! Bamboo canes! Best in the district! Personally tested!”
Watching Mei Hua’s reddened backside fade into the distance, Luo Yi turned toward the bundle of bamboo canes, now neatly stacked by the bench. A wicked grin curled on his lips.
With this many canes, he thought, I’ll have everything I need to restore order—whether it’s the wife, the daughter, or that mouthy maid who keeps testing limits.
No need to wait—tonight at 7 sharp, during confession hour, I’ll make sure they all know exactly who’s in charge of this household…
Hmm… I’ll bind the canes into bundles—two in one, three in another, maybe even four. Only the handle end will be tied, so each swing will land like a fan across their bare bottoms, leaving stripes stacked like dragon whiskers…
Muhahaha… and I’ll choose the bundle based on the severity of their sins.
Just imagining it filled Luo Yi with purpose—and with that, he eagerly got to work, preparing for the evening.