"You bastard Liu Maocai, I raised you from the bottom of my heart, and you won't let your daughter upset your wife, but you're so cowardly towards me? Am I your mother?"

"You're my mom, you know what's going on."

"What could have happened? No matter what, I'm still your mother. You've disobeyed me for a woman. You've drifted apart from me. This woman is a menace; she's no good and has bewitched you."

"Who have I ever harmed? Even if I'm the worst person, I would never have thought of strangling my own granddaughter, just so that my daughter could drink my daughter-in-law's milk."

Li Cuihua no longer cared about saving face; she was fearless and willing to risk everything.

Upon hearing Li Cuihua's words, the old woman immediately slapped her thigh and wailed, "You damned bitch, aren't you afraid of being struck by lightning? How dare you frame me? When did I ever let you breastfeed my daughter? You little vixen, you've bewitched my son, he only has eyes for you, he doesn't even care about his mother who gave birth to him and raised him." The old woman's wailing, cursing, and clapping were very rhythmic.

"You've got it! Calm down, all of you." Liu Maocai was so angry that the veins on his face were bulging. "Jianguo, go get paper and pen, I'll write it down. After I'm done, everyone go back and rest." The two younger ones shrank to the side in fright. Liu Erya also came over, and everyone was startled when they saw the bloodstains on her face. The brigade leader roughly understood what had happened. He shook his head, but he still had to say what needed to be said. "Maocai, you can't do this. Your eldest daughter is only fourteen. In a few years, you can send her away and she'll be fine. Don't treat her like an enemy. You'll regret it if she can't get married in the future."

“I know how serious this is. This girl is rotten to the core. I am incompetent, I am useless, and I can’t teach her.”

Liu Daya knelt on the ground, crying as she said, "Dad, I won't do it again. I apologize to my second sister and to my mother. I will do all the housework from now on. I will never bully the three younger ones again, and I will never talk back to my mother again. I will be obedient. Please forgive me this time."

Liu Maocai sat on the kang with his eyes closed. "Da Ya, I've given you so many chances, but you don't know how to cherish them. I'm your father, and you're my flesh and blood. If you had even a little bit of remorse, I wouldn't have done this."

"Mao Cai, let her off this time. You can deal with her next time if she does it again," Liu Mao Cai's elder brothers both stood up to persuade him.

Seeing that everyone was speaking up for her, Liu Daya quickly turned to Liu Erya and said, "Erya, I will never bully you again. I will take care of all the housework. Please ask Dad for my help. I don't want to be kicked out of the house."

Liu Erya looked at Liu Daya kneeling on the ground, feeling nothing. Her older sister was just like that, but she couldn't let her parents really kick her out, otherwise her father's reputation would be ruined. "Dad, let it go this time. My older sister knows she was wrong."

Looking at everyone in the room, Liu Maocai knew this was all he could do today. He didn't want to force his child to her death, but he couldn't ignore her; she wouldn't listen to anything he said, she was heartless. He'd staged this whole thing to scare her, to teach her a lesson. He knew Li Cuihua was tugging at his clothes, so he let it go.

"Okay, I'll let you off this time, but remember, if there's a next time, it won't be so simple."

Liu Daya finally felt relieved; the matter was over. She was relieved, but also resentful that she had been humiliated in front of so many people. She resolved that they wouldn't be able to forgive her for being unfilial in the future.

Everyone left once the matter was resolved. The house was eerily quiet. The children knew their father was truly angry this time, and they didn't dare utter a sound. Liu Maocai sat on the kang (a heated brick bed). "After what happened today, you must remember that siblings must be united and never disobey or look down on your mother and me. Alright, go to sleep now."

The children left one after another. Liu Daya let out a long sigh as she left her parents' room, ignoring her third sister who came to hold her hand. She went inside and lay down on the kang (heated brick bed). Er Ya ignored her sister, got into bed, covered herself with the quilt, and went to wash up. She felt uncomfortable if she didn't wash herself for a day; she couldn't be like her sister, going half a month without washing her feet and never changing her underwear—she felt sorry for her sister. Returning to the room, she saw her sister still lying there fully clothed. Er Ya realized she couldn't pay attention to her; if you paid attention to her, she'd only make a bigger fuss—a lesson learned over many years.

Liu Maocai and Li Cuihua had also finished washing their feet and were lying in bed. "Husband, were you too strict this time? This girl is growing up, I'm afraid she'll hold a grudge. She might never come back to see us old folks again."

"You're just thinking useless things. Even if you hadn't made this scene, she wouldn't have come back to see you after she got married. This girl is selfish and cold-hearted. Don't have any hope for her. Hurry up and find her a husband and settle her down. The sooner you send her off, the sooner you'll have peace of mind."

“That’s my own flesh and blood, how could I not care? I really don’t know what kind of family to find for her. Da Ya has high aspirations, she definitely won’t be happy with an ordinary family.”

"Hmph. That was before. Now, if we find her someone decent, she won't make a fuss. Your daughter is very sensible. Just ask a matchmaker to arrange it, don't worry about it. Don't get angry in the future. I'll take care of everything. When we get old and nothing we say will matter, we'll each have a rope. Right now, I'm here to support you."

"I know that marrying you in this life is a blessing I earned in my previous lives. Our fate has spanned several lifetimes, and the best days are yet to come."

Liu Maocai patted Li Cuihua, "Go to sleep, don't force it, let things take their natural course. Our children and grandchildren have their own blessings, as long as we are healthy and free from illness, that's enough."

The old couple blew out the lamp and went to bed, leaving that aside. But Liu Maocai's mother, back home, felt increasingly uneasy; how could Li Cuihua dare to reveal her secrets in front of so many people?

Liu Maocai couldn't sleep at all, thinking about what happened that year. His mother wanted his wife to breastfeed her youngest daughter, but his mother was too old to breastfeed at the time, and neither of his older sons had children yet. So, Li Cuihua had to breastfeed. However, his mother looked down on her daughter-in-law and never gave her a kind look, so she couldn't bring herself to ask her. But she felt sorry for her youngest daughter, who was barely a puppy's size. So, she made a huge fuss. Less than ten days after Li Cuihua gave birth, she made her go to work in the fields with her two sisters-in-law. The old lady stayed home to look after the two children, finding fault with the older one, ignoring her when she needed to pee or cry. But when Li Cuihua came back, she only breastfed her own child, completely ignoring her sister-in-law. This infuriated the old lady. Seeing the older one breastfeeding while her own daughter had to drink rice gruel, she thought that if the older one died, Li Cuihua would have to breastfeed her daughter.