As she turned to leave, Ma's mother's figure had become much more hunched. Even though she was not yet forty, she felt incredibly weary.
Ma Mei initially intended to throw away the note her mother had given her, but watching her mother's retreating figure, she inexplicably kept it. She sensed that her mother had changed.
Unlike before, when she would always be unfriendly, this was the first time Ma's mother had ever given her a kind look, even without a smile, just a simple sentence. For Ma Mei, this was something she had longed for.
Despite receiving the kind face she had always longed for, Ma Mei found herself unhappy. Clutching the note tightly, she watched her mother's figure shrink from large to small, then become blurry, until finally disappearing from sight.
A strange emptiness filled her heart. Ma Mei lifted her foot to chase after him, but she didn't know what the point of doing so would be. Even worse, she feared it was part of her mother's scheme.
This wasn't unprecedented. I remember the first time she won an award and received the prize money, her first thought was to share it with her mother, only to be beaten up by her mother, followed by a beating from her father and Ma Facai.
She was told not to mention her grades at home anymore, as she was afraid of hurting Ma Facai's feelings.
Ironically, for the sake of a so-called high price, they didn't leave any scars on her face, but they left scars on her body and in her heart.
That beating was the one that left the deepest impression on Ma Mei. It was from that time onward that Ma Mei began to become sensitive, suspicious, and distrustful of everyone.
She felt that even the poor horse mother could turn into a sharp blade to hurt her, let alone others!
Recalling the past, Ma Mei withdrew the foot she had half-stepped out. Having finally escaped that home, she didn't want to go back.
After living alone, Ma Mei discovered that the sunshine was bright, not as cold and gloomy as the woodshed, and the air was fresh, not as musty as the woodshed.
She shouldn't be trying to persuade Ma's mother to stay; instead, she should go back and find another place to live. She shouldn't wait passively for Ma's father and his family to arrive, just for a little bit of tenderness—that's not a wise choice.
Ma Mei walked away with firm steps in the opposite direction from her mother.
On the fourth day, Ma Facai and his father did not return, but Ma's mother knew they were coming back. She tidied herself up, picked up a basket, and went out to buy groceries.
Tomorrow, her husband and son will be back, and their family will be reunited.
After being detained for five days, Ma Facai and his father were lectured every day. Finally, they returned home, only to find a table laden with food, and they felt incredibly hungry.
"You old hag, you're wasting the family's money again."
He was satisfied, but the thought of wasting so much money on the meal made him upset, so he took it out on his wife, beating her mercilessly. Only then did he sit down to eat, and Ma Facai followed suit.
No one paid any attention to the mother horse lying on the ground. She struggled to her feet, wearily brushing the dust off her clothes and removing her husband's footprints. This was the cleanest set of clothes she had ever worn; she couldn't let it get dirty.
After the two had almost finished eating, Ma's mother picked up her chopsticks and ate her leftovers. She ate while smiling, but tears welled in her eyes. She looked at the man with a mixture of anger and unease, finding it all strange.
“You wretched woman, eat if you want to eat. My Ma family has wronged you. Why are you crying? You don’t understand anything. Your son and I have been locked up for so long, and you didn’t even go to check on us. You made me suffer in there.”
Enraged, Mr. Ma kicked over the dining table. Bowls and plates crashed to the floor with a loud clatter, and the remaining food spilled out, rendering it inedible.
Ma's mother seemed oblivious, continuing to eat, her chopsticks briefly touching the air before returning to her bowl and scooping up a mouthful of rice.
His unusual appearance made Ma Facai and his father feel uneasy.
"You wretched woman..."
Before she could finish speaking, Ma's mother suddenly raised her head, her eyes fixed intently on Ma's father, sending a chill down his spine for a moment.
Suddenly, Mr. Ma felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He clutched his abdomen with both hands, but the pain didn't lessen at all. His ruddy face turned deathly pale, clearly showing how intense the pain was.
"You stinking...stinking old hag, get out of here and get your ass..."
"Dad, my stomach hurts so much."
He was interrupted by Ma Facai halfway through his sentence. With difficulty, he turned to look at Ma Facai and saw that Ma Facai, like himself, was clutching his stomach tightly with both hands, both doubled over in pain.
Looking up at Ma's mother, Ma's father understood immediately.
"Was it you who did this?"
Despite the pain, Mr. Ma made these words clear and distinct.
Mother Ma smiled. This was the first genuine smile she had ever had since coming to the Ma family, and the first time she had laughed heartily. After she had finished laughing, Mother Ma looked down at Father Ma.
"Yes, it was me. Didn't you notice that the food tasted especially good today? I put poison in it. Do you know what kind of poison it is? It's rat poison."
Her gaze drifted into the distance, as if Ma's mother had returned to the time when she first arrived at the Ma family.
She didn't come to the Ma family willingly; her parents sold her there. The reason? Her family was poor, her brother couldn't find a wife, and the Ma family offered more money, yet she was sold.
Since arriving at the Ma family, she hasn't had a single good day. Although she hasn't had a good life at home either, it's not like being treated like a human being at the Ma family.
At the Ma family home, she had to work during the day and care for Ma's father at night. Even when she became pregnant, she didn't have a single day of rest.
At that time, she had taken the medicine and thought she would just die, but her father's parents found out and beat her again. From then on, she could not even see the work in the kitchen or the money in the house.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
