In a small, dilapidated woodshed belonging to the Zhao family, seven-year-old Zhao Dani huddled in a corner, hugging her knees, silently shedding tears: her mother was dead, and now there was no one to protect her anymore; she was so scared.
"Sister," at that moment the door to the woodshed suddenly opened, and five-year-old Zhao Erni walked in, her patched pockets hanging loosely. Seeing Zhao Dani crying, she quickly went up and hugged her.
"Sister, why are you crying? Sister, don't cry. Erni will protect you from now on."
Zhao Dani held her younger sister, who was filled with sadness, fear, and uncertainty about the future. These complex emotions overwhelmed her, and all she could do was cry; she truly didn't know what else to do.
"Sister, look at this." Zhao Erni wiped Zhao Dani's tears with her sleeve, then carefully took out half a coarse grain cake from her pocket, broke it in half and handed it to Zhao Dani: "Sister, let's each have half, eat it quickly."
"Where did you get this?" Zhao Dani asked curiously. Her grandmother didn't feed them this; they usually only had wild vegetable soup once a day. Her grandmother said they were a waste of money, that feeding them was a waste of good food.
I remember once my mother got half a wild vegetable and coarse grain pancake from my father for the two of them to eat, and my grandmother gave her a good beating for it.
"My aunt gave it to me." Zhao Erni urged, "Eat quickly, don't let Grandma find out."
Zhao Dani was even more puzzled. Their aunt didn't like them and often bullied them, so why would she be so kind as to give Erni cakes to eat?
"Well, you two gluttonous good-for-nothings! I was wondering why five of the pancakes I steamed this morning were missing. You two little brats stole them! You two ungrateful wretches, eating so much, aren't you afraid of dying to see your wretched mother?" At this moment, Granny Zhao pushed open the door and saw Zhao Dani eating pancakes. Enraged, she picked up a broom and started hitting her while cursing.
"Don't hit my sister! The pancakes were given to me by my aunt!" Zhao Erni quickly reached out to protect her sister and shouted.
"Nonsense! When did I give it to you?!" At this moment, Zhao Dahua also rushed in, arguing frantically.
"It was you! I saw you with Scholar Wu..." Zhao Erni said hurriedly.
"Smack!"
Before she could finish speaking, Zhao Dahua stepped forward and slapped her hard across the face. She didn't hold back at all. Zhao Erni covered her face and sat down on the ground with a thud, her head buzzing.
"You foul-mouthed slut, how dare you slander my daughter!" Not only did Granny Zhao not believe her, she grabbed Zhao Erni and began to beat her mercilessly with a broom.
"Ouch!" Zhao Erni frowned. So this is what it hurts like. But every time her grandmother tried to hit her, her mother would protect her and silently endure it. Her mother always said it didn't hurt.
She misses her mother so much!
"Serves you right, for talking nonsense!" Zhao Dahua watched gleefully, hands on her hips. She had secretly taken some flatbread from home to give to Wu Xiucai at noon, but Zhao Erni saw her and promptly gave her half a flatbread to shut her up.
But when she saw that her mother had misunderstood that Erni had stolen food, she decided to take advantage of the situation and pin the blame on Erni. She's really clever!
Zhao Dahua was feeling pleased with herself for her cleverness when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a disheveled person standing at the door. Upon closer inspection…
"Ah! A ghost!" Zhao Dahua screamed, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.
"Dahua, what's wrong?" When Granny Zhao saw her daughter faint, she hurriedly bent down to help her up. Just then, she felt a pain in the back of her head, her vision went black, and she also fainted.
At this moment, Li Rouniang stood behind Granny Zhao, still holding the fire poker she had used to knock her unconscious, her hands trembling slightly.
Li Rouniang rushed back to the Zhao family home, only to hear the vicious mother and daughter bullying her daughter. She hurriedly went to the kitchen, put the child down, grabbed a fire poker, and charged over, ready to fight. However, to her surprise, Zhao Dahua fainted from fright...
"Mother?" Zhao Erni called out tentatively. Li Rouniang threw down the fire poker, rushed forward, and hugged Erni tightly: "Erni, it's your mother. Don't be afraid, your mother is here to protect you."
"Mother!" Zhao Erni cried out as she felt her mother's embrace.
That five-year-old child didn't cry when she learned that Li Rouniang had died, didn't cry when her aunt slapped her, and didn't cry when her grandmother misunderstood and beat her. But now, being held so gently by Li Rouniang, she cried, and cried loudly!
"Erni, don't cry, don't cry," Li Rouniang comforted, her voice choked with sobs.
Her second daughter, in her past life, was smothered unconscious and thrown into a coffin by the heartless Zhao Dahua while protecting her eldest daughter. The little girl screamed in terror inside the coffin, scratching her fingernails until they broke, and just like that, she suffocated to death.
"Mother~" Zhao Dani finally came to her senses, and walked forward tremblingly, calling out.
"Da Ni, it's Mommy. Don't be afraid, okay?" Li Rou Niang gently hugged Zhao Da Ni and said softly.
"Waaaaah~ Mother, you're not dead, Mother? Da Ni is so scared, my sister got beaten, waaaaah~ Grandma is so fierce, I'm scared." Zhao Da Ni's pent-up fear exploded in Li Rou Niang's arms.
Li Rouniang gently coaxed, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Mother will never leave you again."
Her eldest daughter was most like her; she was just as timid and weak. When she died in her previous life, her eyes were wide open in fear, and the thought of that look still pained her heart.
"Mom~" Zhao Dani cried until she had finished, then lowered her head shyly and whispered, "Dani is hungry."
"Come on, let me make you something delicious." Li Rouniang led one of her daughters by the hand out of the woodshed and into the kitchen. She first picked up the baby on the table and said with a smile, "Da Ni, Er Ni, look, this is your little sister, San Ni."
"Wow, she's so tiny and cute! Erni's a big sister now!" Erni curiously stepped forward and saw Sanni, a tiny little bundle. Perhaps it was the power of blood, but a feeling of joy welled up from the bottom of her heart.
"Is it a little sister?" Da Ni wasn't that she didn't like it, she was just afraid. Her father and grandmother hated girls the most. Her mother was always beaten by her father after giving birth to Er Ni. Now that she had given birth to San Ni, would her mother still be beaten?
"Yes, it's your little sister. You must take good care of her from now on, and she'll like you all very much too," Li Rouniang said with a smile, gently placing Sanni into Dani's arms.
Da Ni felt the soft, fluffy baby in her arms and nodded solemnly: "Da Ni will take good care of San Ni."
"Sister, I want to hug you too! Let me hug you!" Erni cried anxiously.
"You're too small, you'll fall and hurt her." Da Ni wouldn't give in, and Er Ni was getting anxious.
Li Rouniang smiled and said, "Da Ni, take your two younger sisters back to the house to play. I'll cook something delicious for you."
"Okay, Erni, let's go, we'll take Sanni back to the house," Dani said obediently.
"Let me hug her, I won't drop her." Erni skipped along, and the two sisters led Sanni back to the inner room.
Li Rou Niang watched the children go back into the house, picked up the hemp rope on the wall, glanced coldly at the woodshed, and sneered inwardly, "It's time to settle some scores!"
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