The two men had borrowed a cart from the Li family and were carrying soil into the yard when they bumped into Qiu Dayu, who was rushing over in a hurry.
"Uncle, what brings you here?" Qiu Xu frowned slightly. Could it be that Qiu Dayu heard that his family had received some money and came to borrow some?
Qiu Yan looked at Qiu Dayu with the same confusion. Qiu Dayu had borrowed a lot of money from his second uncle, and he had never paid it back.
Qiu Dayu gasped for breath, "Qiu Xu, what do you need the mountain mud for?"
Qiu Xu replied calmly, "Repair the roof."
"Repair the roof?" Qiu Dayu stared blankly at the undried water stains inside the house for a moment, then said to Qiu Yan:
"Qiu Yan, sister... oh, your aunt is here! You'd better go back and check on things, a fight is about to break out at home!"
"Auntie is here?" Qiu Yan thought of her aunt, Qiu Yumei, based on her memory.
Their aunt treated the three siblings very well, and every time she came home, she would bring them a lot of food.
Of course, Qiu Yan and the others could only eat these foods when their aunt was around. Once their aunt left, they could only watch from the sidelines.
Could it be that my aunt was bullied by the Qiu family?
Thinking of this, Qiu Yan followed Qiu Dayu without saying a word.
...
The Qiu family is quite lively now!
Qiu Yumei stood in the Qiu family courtyard, carrying a basket of eggs and two bags of pastries in her hands. She was furious when she saw that the house that once belonged to Qiu Yan and her family now belonged to Qiu Hui.
She pointed at the house that had changed hands, "Mother, if you don't hand over those three children today, I'll smash the Qiu family to pieces!"
Qiu Yumei works at a wonton shop in the county town. Yesterday, she happened to run into Zhao Zheng having a meal at the wonton shop and heard about how Qiu Yan was not sold off by Yang Shi and was kicked out of the Qiu family.
Upon hearing this, she disregarded the muddy road and drove her own oxcart to the village alone.
Upon inquiring about the situation, Yang told her that Qiu Yan had moved to the Qiu family's old courtyard with her younger siblings after arguing with her.
Upon hearing this, Qiu Yumei rushed to the old courtyard to check, only to find that there wasn't a single ghost in the house.
Qiu Yumei came back empty-handed and then went to Yang to demand an explanation.
She vaguely felt that Yang had secretly sold her third sister, which made her both angry and anxious.
Qiu Yumei knew about the current situation of the Qiu family because Qiu Dayong had borrowed a few taels of silver from her a few days ago.
Yang Shi had a sweat towel over her head and looked listless. "Yu Mei, didn't Mother say that Qiu Yan and her two sisters really did move to the old house?"
She fell ill after returning from the old courtyard that day, and caught a cold last night. With no medicine and no doctor, she is now half-lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) and can't even get out of bed.
Yang didn't want to fall out with Qiu Yumei, since Qiu Yumei was the most successful member of the Qiu family.
During holidays and festivals, or when visiting her parents' graves, she would expect her daughter to take good care of her elderly parents.
Madam Qian chimed in, "Sister-in-law, how would we know where this person went? Maybe he went to the mountains early this morning and was carried off by wolves... You can't put all the blame on the Qiu family."
Qiu Yumei stepped forward and grabbed Qian's collar, "Are you cursing them?! You're stupid yourself, but do you think they're stupid too? The mountains are muddy now, how can they walk?"
She knew that Qian was no good person, and that she often bullied Qiu Yan and the others when she wasn't around.
Qiu Yumei was filled with unbearable rage at the thought that she would never see Qiu Yan and the other two again.
Qian's face flushed red instantly. "Yu Mei, what are you doing? Let me go!"
The veins on Qiu Dayong's neck were bulging. Qiu Yumei, relying on the fact that she had bought a house in the county town, didn't respect her poor relatives like them. "Yumei, let go of your third sister-in-law!"
"Auntie, we're here!"
As Qiu Yan's clear voice rang out, Qiu Yumei turned her head and saw her poor niece and nephew.
Qiu Dayu ran away as soon as he saw Qiu Yan and her brother enter the yard; he didn't want to face the troubles at home.
Qiu Yumei casually tossed Qian Shi to the ground, ran a few steps to put down what she was holding, hugged Qiu Yan tightly, and looked around behind Qiu Xu again and again, "Xiao Yan, A Xu, why don't I see Ling'er?"
Qiu Yan briefly recounted how her younger sister had caught a cold the previous night. Only after Qiu Yumei confirmed that her niece hadn't been sold did she feel much relieved.
Through Qiu Yumei's words, Qiu Yan learned the basics of what had happened and comforted her, saying:
“Auntie, we’ve moved to the Qiu family’s old courtyard. The roof was leaking last night, so our neighbor, Aunt Ye, let us stay for the night.”
So that's how it is! Qiu Yumei, seeing the scars remaining on Qiu Xu's head, became angry again.
"Ah Xu, did they beat you again? Xiao Yan, how can you live in the old courtyard? I went there this morning, it's damp and wet, the ground is full of sewage, how can anyone live there!"
Qiu Yumei had always known that Yang was finding all sorts of ways to torment the three children.
Even though she resented Yang because of her second brother's affair, she still bought a lot of things for the Qiu family every time she returned to her parents' home, giving gifts to the older and younger children, all in order to make Yang treat the three children better.
Even so, it did not awaken Yang's conscience.
Yang's expression was extremely unpleasant. "Qiu Xu's head injury was from his own bump. You just heard it too, they had a nice house but insisted on moving to the old courtyard."
The mention of moving made Qiu Yumei even angrier. "Don't think I don't know. You were the one who tried to sell Xiaoyan to a brothel first, leaving her with no way out!"
After she finished speaking, she picked up her things and left the Qiu family courtyard with Qiu Yan and her brother.
Because of what she had just witnessed, Qiu Yan felt a little closer to Qiu Yumei. She and Qiu Xu didn't even glance at the Qiu family members from beginning to end.
Yang and the others, including Qiu Hui who was guarding the house for fear that Qiu Yan would take away their room, watched helplessly as Qiu Yumei took away the eggs and pastries from her hands, their faces extremely ugly.
Madam Qian took a few steps after her, "Yu Mei, these eggs and pastries are quite heavy, let me help you carry them..."
She reached out and grabbed the basket from Qiu Yumei's hands.
Qiu Yumei glared at Qian Shi and pulled hard, "Let go! These things are what I bought for Qiu Yan and the others. From now on, don't even think about eating anything I send you!"
Now that Qiu Yan and the others have left this house, she no longer needs to maintain this fragile relationship with the Yang family.
Upon hearing this, Ms. Qian gripped her hand even tighter.
She thought that she should take advantage of any opportunity to get a discount.
"Yumei, Mother is still here. When you buy things, shouldn't you give them to Mother first?"
During the struggle, the basket fell to the ground...
The Qian family was extremely anxious; eggs were such a precious thing.
Qiu Yumei watched helplessly as her basket fell to the ground. "Qian, do you have any shame?!" She had gone to great lengths to bring these eggs, and her nephews and nieces hadn't even had a single bite yet. She would be heartbroken if they were ruined.
Qiu Yan had been watching their movements for a while, and she stepped forward the moment Qian made her move.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
