Gan Li observed this and thought to herself, "This girl is quite clever; at such a young age, she has already mastered the essence of moral blackmail."
These onlookers originally had no intention of getting involved, but Gan Yingzi brought up her widowed mother. In this kind of rural place, people might not have a sense of national honor, but they certainly had a sense of village honor. If word got out that their village's orphans and widows had been bullied by outsiders, then the whole village would lose face.
That's why the villagers changed their attitude after Gan Yingzi said all that.
Gan Li knew the dangers involved and naturally wouldn't fall into a trap. She pretended to know nothing and loudly proclaimed:
"Who bullied you orphans and widows? If you're talking about orphans and widows, I'm not afraid to tell you, I'm also a divorced woman with a child now, not much better off than you! Although I was married out before, I'm back now, so I'm still a villager. Whether you're from another village or another, we're all from the same village!"
Upon hearing this, the onlookers were stunned for a moment, and then they were dumbfounded!
What? That bloodsucking Gan family actually got a divorce? She actually let them get a divorce?
This news was so explosive that everyone couldn't help but start discussing it right in front of Gan Li.
Even Chen Pan'er looked at her mother in shock, not understanding why she would choose to bring up the matter of divorce at this time...
Gan Li looked at the person openly cricketing at her in front of her, but didn't care much.
She chose to reveal this at this time, partly to ease the villagers' hostility towards "outsiders," but also because she felt it was the right time. Her divorce would be exposed sooner or later, so what did it matter when it was exposed?
Having revealed this bombshell, she steered the conversation back to Gan Yingzi, asking, "Since you say you caught these fish, what proof do you have?"
Seeing that things weren't going as she'd imagined, Gan Yingzi was starting to panic, but she still stubbornly insisted, "Why should I have evidence? You robbers should be the ones with the evidence. What evidence do you have to prove that your daughter caught this fish?"
Seeing that she actually asked her a question in return, Ganli laughed: "I actually have evidence."
As she spoke, she pointed to their legs: "These fish don't jump into the bamboo basket by themselves; you have to go into the water to catch them. You said you caught these fish, but you were wearing shoes that were perfectly fine, with not a speck of mud or dust on them, and your skirt wasn't wet at all."
And look at my Pan'er, her skirt is half wet, and her shoes are completely soaked and covered in mud. Everyone's not blind; it's obvious who caught the fish and who the robber is.
Upon hearing this, Gan Yingzi panicked and instinctively tried to hide her feet inside her skirt. But while she could hide her feet, she couldn't hide her skirt. Everyone wasn't blind; surely they could see that her skirt was spotless.
The truth is already quite clear.
Finally, someone couldn't stand it anymore and spoke up: "Yingzi, you were wrong this time. If you want to eat fish, there are plenty in the stream. Why do you have to wrong someone like this?"
"Exactly! Just for two fish, you want to get us to stand up for you? You're trying to use us as pawns, aren't you? You're young, but you're cunning!"
Gan Yingzi blushed a little at what these people were saying, but she still held tightly to the bamboo basket and refused to let go.
Gan Li didn't have time to waste with her. With a cold face, she stepped forward, grabbed the bamboo basket, and yanked it away. She was strong, and the pull made Gan Yingzi stumble, finally letting go.
Gan Li, carrying a bamboo basket, snorted coldly and pulled Chen Pan'er home.
The others pointed at Gan Yingzi a few more times and said things like, "This girl is just as wicked as her mother." When they saw that there was no more excitement to watch, they gradually dispersed.
Gan Yingzi was left standing there, looking at her empty hands, thinking that she would definitely have nothing to take home today, and she didn't know how her mother would scold her. She was filled with fear.
She didn't want to go back, but it was getting dark, and if she went back late, she would definitely get a beating. So she could only suppress her fear and walk home, stumbling along the dark path.
...
Gan Li carried a bamboo basket in one hand and held Chen Pan'er's hand with the other, chatting incessantly as they walked home.
"Why didn't you tell me you were going out? Goodness, I was halfway through cooking when I realized you were gone. I was so shocked that I dropped the porridge I was cooking and rushed out."
"And why did you argue with her? You're like a bean sprout. If she gets angry and hits you, do you think you can take it?"
"I'm not saying you can't beat them, it's just that fighting is a losing proposition. You lose money if you win, and you lose face if you lose, it's not worth it either way..."
"But then again, this bamboo basket is quite heavy. You must have caught a lot of fish, right? What kind of fish are they?"
Even after the two of them had returned to the courtyard, Chen Pan'er didn't utter a sound, making Gan Li seem like she was talking to herself and getting no response.
Gan Li was also a little angry. As soon as she entered the yard, she turned around and closed the fence gate. Then she put the bamboo basket on the ground before turning to look at Chen Pan'er.
She was initially very serious, thinking that she had to have a good talk with this girl today, but when she turned her head, she saw the girl's face covered in tears and immediately panicked.
"No, why are you crying? I didn't say anything harsh!"
Chen Pan'er didn't want to speak at first, but she worried that if her mother misunderstood her and got angry, she might send her away. So, she forced herself to speak, suppressing her grievances.
"I... I heard my mother say that it would be nice to have fish to cook with pickled vegetables. I thought there were some in the stream, so I came out to catch some."
Who knew that on the way back I would run into that person who tried to steal my fish, which is why I was late. Mother, I didn't mean to, please, please don't send me away..."
"Oh dear, I didn't blame you! No, who wanted to kick you out?" Gan Li was both amused and exasperated, but seeing the girl's genuinely worried expression, she couldn't laugh anymore.
She recalled the insecurity Chen Pan'er had been revealing throughout the day, and thought that she really should have a good talk with this girl.
Thinking it over, Gan Li simply dropped the bamboo basket and went to pull Chen Pan'er. The latter instinctively flinched, but Gan Li firmly reached out and pulled her tightly to sit down on a stone stool.
She looked at Chen Pan'er with a sincere gaze, taking advantage of the still-dark sky.
“Pan’er, I know that in the past, your mother wasn’t very good to you. I was confused. But today, when I was unconscious, you held me and cried, begging your grandmother to save me—I heard it all. And Yao Zu, whom I’ve always cherished, didn’t care about my life or death at all at this moment.”
Perhaps after dying once, one can truly see many things clearly. I've also died once, and only now do I realize how foolish I was before.
I'm not saying this because I resent your brother for not saving me; it's just that I've realized I have a wonderful daughter, and she's the one who deserves my kindness.
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