"I was too badly injured to move. My chest would hurt whenever I tried to breathe. Later, Aunt Qiu came to my house and secretly fed me a bowl of medicine, which helped me slowly recover."
“I survived entirely thanks to Aunt Qiu’s care. She secretly gave me so many things, but unfortunately,” Xie’s voice suddenly became much softer, “she passed away when I was twelve years old.”
"How did he die? Was he tortured?"
“No,” Xie sniffed, “Aunt Qiu gave birth to five sons and had no daughters. With her sons by her side, her parents-in-law didn’t dare to go too far. She died because she was ill and couldn’t be cured.”
"This is really..."
Jiang Nuan was at a loss for words.
It was so distorted it was unbelievable.
If you despise girls so much, why go to such lengths to find a wife for your son?
Wouldn't it be better for a bachelor to stay single his whole life and never ruin a girl's life?
"So, does that mean there are very few girls in Xiaoxiezhuang?"
“No, not really,” Xie said dejectedly. “Even if a girl is worthless, she can still be exchanged for a dowry. It’s rare to see parents as unreasonable as my parents. They raise her with wild vegetables, giving her an extra person to do the work, and they can also collect a dowry. It’s a good deal.”
Disregarding a girl and abusing her are two completely different things.
People desperately try to have sons, saying that having many children brings many blessings, but in reality, they are just creating a bunch of burdens.
Many men can't even find a wife and remain single.
Raising a daughter provides more options, whether it's for receiving dowry or for exchanging brides.
No, that won't do!
Xie suspected that the reason she was not favored by her parents was not only because they were indeed sexist, but also because she was born too late and had too much age gap with her brothers, so she was not considered valuable.
“Wife,” Huang Lao Er said with heartache, “you’ve suffered so much, having to be stuck with such a scumbag father and mother.”
“I only suffered for a few years when I was young,” Xie shook her head. “After I turned ten, they didn’t dare to beat me to death anymore. Every day after I finished my work, I would go up the mountain to find food, and occasionally I could pick up a wild egg to eat.”
If it weren't for those shameless people in her family who even stole the things she made on the mountain, she wouldn't have raised herself like a monkey.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore," Jiang Nuan said, her heart aching more and more as she listened, so she changed the subject. "Let's go home first. Aren't you all hungry?"
"Hungry," Huang Lao Er subconsciously rubbed his stomach, "but I'm not willing to let those bastards get away with it."
"Don't worry, it won't happen. Just wait and see."
"Mother, what are you going to do?"
"You'll know in two days at most, don't ask."
"Alright!"
Huang Laoda reluctantly agreed.
He wanted to persist, but he was afraid his mother would get impatient, and besides, he felt that the roadside wasn't the place to talk about these things.
For the rest of the journey, no one spoke; the entire way was silent.
When Grandma Huang saw him return, she rushed over to greet him, "How did it go? Did the Xie family bully us? Why are you back so late?"
“No,” Jiang Nuan shook her head. “We’ve wasted time arguing for a while. Don’t worry, Mom. Is dinner ready? I’m hungry.”
"I've prepared it early and am just waiting for you to come back. Wait here while I reheat the food."
After saying that, he left in a hurry.
“Mother,” Madam Xie was eager to see her daughter, “I’ll play with Daya for a while, you all eat first, no need to wait.”
“I’ll come too,” Huang Lao Er hurriedly followed. “Wife, I’ll go with you.”
"Go ahead, I've left some rice in the pot for you. Just heat it up if you want to eat it."
Even the strongest person will feel uneasy about severing ties with their family.
She has to overcome this hurdle on her own.
It's not a big deal, really. It's just a matter of shallow kinship. Just let it go. Everyone can live well without anyone else in this world.
But some people insist on getting stuck in a dead end, becoming more and more obsessed the more they can't get what they want.
Fortunately, her second daughter-in-law wasn't that kind of person.
It'll only be uncomfortable for two or three days, then it'll pass.
The atmosphere at home became strange, and Ms. Kim quickly noticed it.
After finishing the meal, he quickly pulled Huang Xiaosan into the room.
"Husband, what's wrong? What happened to you? Something feels off."
"They were so angry with the Xie family; that whole family is shameless."
Huang Xiaosan recounted the events of the afternoon in detail, including everyone's reactions.
After hearing this, Ms. Jin's face turned red, as if she were about to burst into flames.
"How could they do this? It's outrageous!"
“That’s right,” Huang Xiaosan shook his head. “Second Sister-in-law rarely talks about her family. I only found out about it today.”
He felt that it was truly a blessing from heaven that Xie had survived.
"Inhuman," Jin said, who was still feeling resentful that her father didn't value her enough. "The girl is also their own child, how could they be so heartless?"
And what about the Xie family patriarch? How can he be so clueless? He's openly and secretly protecting that family. How can someone like that be a patriarch?
She would never resent that her father treated her older brother better again.
Although she wasn't valued as much, she was given everything she was entitled to, and she was fed, clothed, and able to grow up and get married. She was hundreds of times better off than the Xie family.
“If the clan leader were truly willing,” Huang Xiaosan scoffed, “would he allow such a thing to happen?”
No wonder they say that no Xie family girl has been divorced in the last hundred years.
Girls who have been worn down to the point of being like wooden blocks are easy to manipulate and willing to endure hardship; how could anyone bear to let them go?
“That’s true,” Mr. Kim nodded emphatically, “none of them are any good.”
Let's see who's more of a scoundrel!
“That’s right,” Huang Xiaosan said slowly, then earnestly instructed, “Second sister-in-law has been in a bad mood these past few days, so you should be more agreeable to her. If she complains about the Xie family, just listen to her. If she doesn’t say anything, don’t bring it up either. It’s never good to reopen old wounds.”
“You don’t need to tell me,” Jin complained, pouting. “We’re doing great, why would I rub salt into her wounds!”
She used to think her sister-in-law was easier to get along with, as she was gentle, steady, and thorough in her work. However, she later realized that her sister-in-law was not straightforward enough, had a lot on her mind, and was not so comfortable to be around.
On the contrary, the second sister-in-law, who seems aggressive and competitive, is actually quite heartless.
As long as you don't compete with her for your mother's affections, she won't hold grudges about most things.
I used to think she was being too pretentious, but now I understand that her mother seems to have a really different meaning to her.
She is not only a mother-in-law, but also a mother.
"That's good. As for sister-in-law..." Huang Xiaosan paused, then frowned, "Never mind, my brother should be able to handle it."
Huang Xiaosan thought to himself uncertainly: No matter how unreliable my sister-in-law is, she wouldn't do something so unlucky at this time.
In another room, Boss Huang calmly recounted the events and explained the pros and cons.
"My dear husband, my second sister-in-law is suffering so much," Wang whispered with red eyes. "She's so pitiful."
"Mother will avenge her, don't worry."
He felt something was off, he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong, but his wife's reaction made him uncomfortable.
"How can you vent your anger?" Wang asked, puzzled. "Didn't you already sever ties?"
"Mother didn't say, but we should know in a couple of days."
“But…” Wang looked at Huang Laoda, hesitating to speak.
“It’s alright,” he continued to reassure her, “Mother will definitely not forgive the Xie family.”
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