Chapter 6: Clarifying Rumors
It was almost three in the morning when the three of them returned to Shanglin Village. The diligent old men in the village had already gotten up in the dark to make fires, and they could hear noises coming from several yards.
Lin Yi skillfully took out the key from the kitchen in the yard, opened the door and let Lin Qin and the child in.
The house where Lin Yi lives is just one room, which is divided by wooden boards. There is almost no space left in the front after putting a dining table and a few stools. Behind the wooden boards is a bed, where Lin Yi sleeps.
There were fertilizer bags of all sizes piled under the bed, which were either filled with clothes or some old things that Lin Yi had no use for but treasured very much.
Although the house is small, it is tidy and clean.
There is also a small back door on the side, which opens into a very small patio. Opposite the back door is a shed, where she and her older sister Lin Ying used to live.
Lin Qin took Liu Yaya to open the door of the shed, took out the candle and lit it first.
The shed originally had only one wall, which belonged to someone else. Because there was no room for two girls in their family, Lin Yi talked to the family and borrowed their wall. He then picked up some broken bricks and built the walls on both sides, forming an open-air "口"-shaped courtyard. He then built a wall in the middle, forming a "日"-shaped structure. He covered half of it with a roof and a shed, and thus a house that could live in was made.
If this happened in the north, it would be freezing cold in winter, but they are in the south, where the temperature does not drop below zero at most, so it is no problem to live in such a house. The weather is getting warmer now, so she and her children can stay here for several months.
"Yaya, you and your mother will live here from now on, okay?"
Lin Qin sat on a small stool, hugged Liu Yaya and asked.
She originally wanted to clean the house, but she found it was quite clean. She probably thought Lin Yi cleaned it often, so there was no need for her to dirty her hands.
Liu Yaya nodded heavily, looked up at Lin Qin's head wrapped in gauze, and touched it carefully with her little hand, "Mom, does your head still hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt anymore, Mom, it doesn't hurt!" Compared to what happened in her previous life, she didn't take this injury seriously.
Liu Yaya felt relieved and smiled sweetly, "Mom, let's get some rest! Grandpa said you need more sleep, Yaya won't make trouble for you!"
Lin Qin's nose was sore and tears could not help rolling down. She lay on the bed according to the child's wishes and asked softly, "Yaya, if Dad and Mom get divorced, will you go with Mom?"
This was a question she had always wanted to ask in her previous life, but unfortunately she never had the chance.
Liu Yaya looked at Lin Qin with innocent eyes, "What is divorce?"
Lin Qin was speechless for a while before she explained, "Divorce means that Dad and Mom will separate and will never be together again. Mom will not stay at your grandma's house any longer. If this is the case, do you want to go with Mom or live with Dad and Grandma?"
"Then I want to follow my mother. Wherever she goes, I will go!" Liu Yaya tightly grasped Lin Qin's clothes and choked with sobs, "Mom, please don't leave me, okay?"
"Okay!" Lin Qin hugged Liu Yaya tightly in her arms and swore secretly that she would never abandon her daughter again in this life no matter what she said!
The mother and daughter fell asleep in each other's arms.
Early the next morning.
Lin Qin was awakened by the sound of talking outside the door.
Liu Yaya was still sleeping. She didn't dare to disturb her, so she went downstairs carefully and went to the front yard.
Lin Qingxiang, who was carrying a hoe and preparing to go to the fields, saw Lin Qin with gauze wrapped around her head, and his expression was exaggerated, "What happened? Who did this? It can't be that evil mother-in-law from your husband's family!"
Yesterday, the Liu family sent people to the village to look for Lin Yi, but it caused quite a stir. As soon as they entered the village, they said that Lin Qin was having an affair, and the news spread throughout the village.
Seeing that the visitor was a rare warm-hearted uncle in the village who had a good relationship with Lin Yi, Lin Qin immediately called him politely.
"Uncle, I was injured because of a frame-up by the Liu family. I called the police yesterday and they handled the matter."
Lin Qingxiang was startled. "Call the police? What's going on?"
Lin Qingxiang had a loud voice, so all the aunties and grandmas living next door showed up. They also wanted to hear gossip about Lin Qin. If she really had an affair, it would be a shame for Shanglin Village, and in feudal society, she would be drowned in a pond.
This was exactly the effect Lin Qin wanted, so she pretended to be pitiful and with red eyes, she indignantly accused the Liu family of all the evil deeds.
"I know, they just despise me for being uneducated and having a girl, and they want to get rid of me before Liu Yongming graduates and gets a job, so as to make room for the newcomer!
They really wanted to kill me with that blow. There was blood on my head. Not only did they knock me out, they also knocked out an innocent boatman. Do you think I should not call the police?
If I let them succeed, my reputation will be ruined! Such unscrupulous people will get their comeuppance sooner or later!"
Lin Qingxiang was furious when he heard this. He rushed into the kitchen and dragged out Lin Yi, who was cooking. Lin Yi was holding a pair of firewood tongs in his hand.
Lin Qingxiang was so angry that he yelled, "Why are you still cooking when your daughter has been bullied like this? Let's go! I'll go with you to the Liu family to seek justice!"
Lin Yi didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and struggled hard, "No, no, my girl is very capable. She made a big fuss at Liu's house last night, alarming the police, the street director, and the neighbors.
The Liu family lost a lot of money this time, and her mother-in-law must be so distressed that she can’t even eat.”
The grandmas and aunties who heard the gossip didn't believe that Lin Qin was truly innocent at first. When they heard that even the police and the street director were alarmed, it showed how serious the incident was. Now that Lin Qin was standing here in good health, it was obvious that the problem really was with the Liu family.
An old lady stared at Lin Qin's head and said distressedly: "Don't be careless about the injury on your head. Have you taken care of it?"
Lin Qin nodded obediently, "I went to the health center last night to see a doctor and apply medicine. I plan to recuperate with my dad and wait until I am healed."
The old lady came into the house, took out two eggs and stuffed them into Lin Qin's arms. "Ask your father to make you some stewed eggs to nourish your body. Look at you. You have been tortured by your in-laws for several years after you got married! You didn't have such a miserable life in your parents' home before!"
The other women then realized that Lin Qin was wearing worn-out, patched clothes, and her shoes had several holes in them.
Before she got married, she weighed more than 90 kilograms. After giving birth to a child, she not only did not gain weight, but became so thin that she looked like a bag of bones, and she looked less than 90 kilograms.
Her miserable appearance further confirmed the fact that Lin Qin was abused by her in-laws.
For a time, everyone started to criticize the Liu family, scolding Ma Cuihua for being unkind, and scolding Liu Yongguo and his wife for being good-for-nothings, and even Liu Li's reputation became worse.
Lin Qin looked down at the two eggs in her arms, the corners of her mouth slightly raised.
This time she seized the initiative and told the truth before Li Lian could frame her. She believed that these villagers who loved gossip and claimed to be righteous would definitely publicize her tragic experience everywhere.
She didn't expect the rumors to affect the Liu family, but they could create an image of a weak family and pave the way for a later divorce.
(End of this chapter)
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