For a fleeting moment, Cuihua had the urge to dump the basket directly on their heads.
By the time she realized what was happening, she found herself standing in front of Tang Youtian, grabbing his arm and dragging him to the water tank filled with sewage. She was surprised by her own reaction speed. Just as she was wondering whether to let go, the old man started cursing at her.
"You little bunny, what do you think you're doing? Let go of me right now!"
Cuihua stared at him in astonishment: "You're so weak now that you can't even break free from my grip? Dad, you're really something. Come on, don't rush to wail. Look at yourself in the water. Your eyes are dull and lifeless, you get out of breath after just a few steps, and your hair is about to go bald. Even though we're so poor, you haven't lost any weight. You're in your thirties, which should be the time when you're most hardworking. How come you've become a sickly beggar? You stink all over. When you talk to people, don't they feel disgusted?"
As Tang Youtian struggled, Cuihua suddenly let go. He staggered back a step and sat down on the messy ground. Because the sharp stones on the ground bounced up instantly, he jumped up and down as if he had been stepped on and hurt, looking both comical and pathetic.
Cuihua closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and looked at Cao Amei. She was frightened by Cao Amei's sharp and expressionless face.
"You, you unfilial daughter, what do you want to do?"
Cuihua sneered, "What do I want to do? Shouldn't you ask yourselves what you should do first? This house is so big, it's impossible for me to clean it all by myself. I worked hard to pick these vegetables, and there's no share for you. If you don't do any work in the future, you'll go hungry. I won't tolerate you."
"I only came back because I pity you. If you behave well, I can reluctantly give you a bowl of rice to eat, considering that you gave birth to me and raised me until I was three years old. But if you continue as before, then I'm sorry, I may leave here at any time and make sure you two are old and destitute!"
"You, you'll be struck by lightning for being unfilial."
Cao Amei trembled with anger, while Cuihua shrugged indifferently.
"Then let a bolt of lightning strike me dead. Life is tiring enough as it is. I have to take care of you two crippled, lazybones who do nothing but wait to be fed. I've been wanting to die for a long time. I used to worry about my two younger sisters, but now they're gone too. I'll just let God strike me dead with lightning. That way, you two will starve to death because of your laziness. Believe it or not, after I die, no one will sympathize with you. Instead, they'll ignore you even more blatantly because you're so lazy that no one wants to deal with you!"
Cuihua's words were truly piercing, each one striking at the most painful spot in their hearts.
Then, ignoring their expressions, she directly ordered them to work.
"Old Tang, scrub the water vat in the yard and clear the weeds. Old Cao, go to the main room and clean the house. I'll clean the kitchen. Remember, if you don't clean it up today, you won't get any food. The food is simple, just the wild vegetables I brought back. If you don't want to eat, then hurry up and leave. Go somewhere cool and see who will take you two in for a free meal at mealtimes!"
Before, wherever she went, people would always give her some food. Now, when she walks down the street, everyone who sees her whispers and talks about who she is. Even when she greets people, their smiles are very forced. She knows that her family's reputation has been completely ruined by those lazy devils.
Tang Cuihua really didn't want to live such a pathetic life as she had dreamed of. The thought of her younger sisters' ultimate fate filled her with a sense of powerlessness.
She didn't remember when she started having dreams that were both hers and not hers. Her life was full of suffering because of her incompetent parents, who dragged down all nine of her sisters, none of whom died a good death.
She didn't know if it was a dream or what, but whenever she saw herself in the dream, she felt incredibly pathetic.
It is said that there is always something hateful about a pitiful person. The self in the dream is really the self before running away from home, working herself to the bone just because they are her parents. But now she has figured it out and feels that she can't spoil them like this. The more she spoils them, the more they will act up. She doesn't owe them anything, and neither do her sisters. Why should she pay for their laziness?
The more Tang Cuihua hated them, the more she didn't want to end up like in her dream, the crueler she became to them.
She didn't even call them "father" and "mother," but instead called them "Old Tang" and "Old Cao," which enraged the couple, but Cuihua ignored them completely.
"Take it or leave it, if you don't want to, get out!"
She put down the basket of wild vegetables, went inside, found a strip of cloth to cover her hair, covered her face with a cloth, leaving only her eyes showing, put on a tattered piece of clothing, and fully armed herself, took a broom and went into the kitchen to start cleaning.
The couple looked at each other, about to start a fight, when Tang Cuihua suddenly yelled.
"What are you all standing there for? Get to work! Anyone who doesn't work will go hungry. I'm telling you, I'm not going to put up with you now. This is how it is here from now on. No food, no hunger. If you can't stand it, leave. See who will still want to take you in. I've said this so many times. I'm tired of it, even if you're not. I'm definitely not joking with you. If you don't believe me, just try it!"
Tang Youtian glared at Tang Cuihua with a dark face. Cuihua glared back defiantly and waved her fist at him threateningly.
"You can't beat me now. You're so young, and you can't even beat your own daughter. Aren't you ashamed? Are you still the same dad I used to be who could carry a sack of sweet potatoes home without even breaking a sweat? When did you become such an old man who gets out of breath after just a few steps?"
While Cao Amei was still watching the commotion, she retorted without holding back.
"And you, if it weren't for you always thinking about your family, would our family be in this state? My father was driven to this by you, wasn't he? If you dare to drag anything back to your family again, get out of here! I'll have my father divorce you and see who will want to marry you when you go back to your family. If my father works hard, he might be able to find another wife to have a son for him!"
Cuihua knew her words were somewhat hurtful, but when panic and fear flashed across Cao Amei's face, Tang Youtian's eyes flickered for a moment. This effectively restrained them; if they didn't keep each other in check like this, she might very well follow in Meng's footsteps.
Instead of doing that, it's better to plan ahead and give Cao Amei a heads-up, because in the dream, she was indeed kicked out by Tang Youtian, who really did marry a stepmother for them and had four or five sons...
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