Chapter 22 One Day She Must Live
When Chu Yanxi got home, she was exhausted and collapsed onto the bed.
The dull pain in her lower abdomen felt like a dull knife cutting into her flesh, a constant reminder of her body's weakness. She lay quietly, listening to Wang Erzhu chopping firewood in the yard and the rustling sounds from Granny Wang in the kitchen.
This family was so poor that they didn't even have a decent clock; they relied entirely on the time of day and the crowing of roosters to estimate the time.
She slowly sat up.
Feeling dizzy and seeing black spots, Chu Yanxi leaned against the edge of the earthen bed for a while to recover.
The original owner's physical condition was too poor, and coupled with the blood loss from the miscarriage, it was already her limit to make it to Shijian Village. Chu Yanxi quickly assessed in her mind: she needed to rest in bed for at least three to five days, avoid strenuous activity for two weeks, and supplement with enough protein and iron for a month—in this mountain village where even eggs were precious, this was almost a luxury.
In this environment of extreme resource scarcity, how can we obtain the maximum living space with the least cost?
The sound of pots and pans clattering came from the kitchen; Granny Wang had started preparing lunch. Chu Yanxi took a deep breath and got up from the kang (heated brick bed). Her legs felt weak, and she slowly made her way to the kitchen doorway, supporting herself against the wall.
Granny Wang was ladling water into the large iron pot when she saw her. Her triangular eyes rolled, "Oh, so you know how to get up now? What, are you waiting for this old woman to serve you?"
The barbs in one's tone can kill.
Chu Yanxi lowered her eyes, her voice weak but clear: "Mom, let me start the fire. You sit down and rest for a while."
Without waiting for Granny Wang's reply, she slowly moved to the small stool in front of the stove and sat down, picking up the fire tongs. Her movements were slow but methodical—first clearing the ashes from the stove, then piling up thin firewood, and finally lighting the dry grass to start a fire. As the flames rose, a warm glow reflected on her pale face.
Granny Wang stood there watching, momentarily forgetting to curse. The new bride worked quite skillfully, clearly someone accustomed to housework.
Chu Yanxi added a piece of firewood to the stove before raising her eyes and saying in a calm tone, "When I was at home, I had many younger siblings, and I started cooking when I was seven or eight years old."
These are fragments of the original owner's memories. A rural girl, whose eldest sister acted like a mother to her, had to do all the chores.
Granny Wang pursed her lips but said nothing more, turning to scoop cornmeal. The atmosphere subtly eased a little—in impoverished mountain villages, being able to work and being willing to work are the most basic survival skills.
Lunch was corn porridge and pickled vegetables. Wang Lao Er rubbed his eyes and sat down, seeing Chu Yanxi serving the rice. He paused, then looked at Wang Pozi. Wang Pozi snapped, "What are you looking at? Eat your food!"
Chu Yanxi filled a large bowl to the brim for Wang Lao Er, while she only filled a small half-bowl for herself, sipping it slowly. The corn porridge was rough and scratchy on her throat, but she drank it very attentively.
Wang Lao Er finished his drink in a few gulps, wiped his mouth, and looked at Chu Yanxi: "Are you... alright?"
"Much better," Chu Yanxi said softly. "It's just that my lower abdomen is still a little bloated. I need to get some medicine to regulate it, otherwise it will become a chronic condition and cause problems later..." She paused at the right moment, the rest of her sentence meaningless.
Granny Wang immediately perked up her ears and widened her eyes: "Get medicine? Where will we get the money to get medicine?"
Chu Yanxi put down the bowl, raised her eyes to look at Granny Wang, her gaze calm and unwavering: "I went to see Granny Miao."
"What do you want with her?!" Granny Wang's voice became shrill.
"I'm going to ask her for an explanation." Chu Yanxi spoke calmly, enunciating each word clearly. "Didn't you say that she took two of your old hens, saying she would persuade the spirits to make Chunni pay with her life? And what happened? In the ancestral hall, she couldn't even utter a complete sentence, and Comrade Lu shut her down with just a few words. Those two chickens, just like that, were given away for nothing?"
Granny Wang was stunned; she clearly hadn't expected this.
Chu Yanxi continued, "I went to ask her what she had to say about yesterday. She hesitated and stammered. I suggested that we go to the village chief to settle the matter and see how the sorceress should be treated if she took money and didn't do her job. She panicked, grabbed a few packets of medicine from the house and stuffed them into my hands, saying that it would be considered payment for the two chickens."
At this point, Chu Yanxi deliberately lowered her voice, revealing a hint of unease: "I saw that the medicine was for treating miscarriages in women, so I accepted it. Um... did I do something wrong?"
Wang Lao Er looked at Chu Yanxi, then at Wang Pozi, opened his mouth, but didn't dare to speak.
Granny Wang's complexion was somewhat mixed.
Two old hens! They could lay eggs and sell them for money, and that old hag fooled them! But even though the sorceress didn't get what she wanted, she couldn't openly ask for the two hens back. She had to swallow this bitter pill.
But the new bride was quite clever; she actually managed to pry something out of the sorceress's hands.
"You..." Granny Wang glared at Chu Yanxi, wanting to curse, but the comment "knows how to manage a household" inexplicably popped into her mind. In this poor mountain village, being able to find a way to squeeze things out of others is considered a skill.
After a long pause, Granny Wang squeezed out through gritted teeth, "Where's the medicine?"
Chu Yanxi took out three oil paper packets from his pocket and neatly placed them on the table: "Three doses of medicine, one dose per day."
Granny Wang grabbed the medicine packet, brought it to her nose, and sniffed it. Besides a faint smell of medicine and ginger, she couldn't detect anything else. Finally, she threw the packet back on the table and said curtly, "I traded two chickens for this. Use it, but don't waste it."
That's tacit approval.
There wasn't much entertainment in the mountain village. After lunch, Wang Erzhu squatted at the door smoking, Granny Wang was tidying up the house, and Chu Yanxi started brewing medicine.
She washed the small medicine pot clean and added the herbs according to the proportions she remembered—angelica, chuanxiong, peach kernel, roasted ginger, and prepared licorice root—it was the formula for Sheng Hua Tang. The aroma of the herbs gradually filled the air, bitter with a hint of warmth.
After feeding the chickens, Granny Wang stood at the kitchen door for a while, then suddenly asked, "You know how to brew medicine?"
"Yes, I took care of my sick younger brother and sister-in-law before." Chu Yanxi stirred the medicine pot without turning around.
Can you read?
"I recognize a few."
Granny Wang thought for a moment, then suddenly said, "There's still half a pound of sugar in the cupboard. It was brought back from the market by my second son last year. You... use it as you see fit."
Chu Yanxi paused in his movements.
This is a test, but also the beginning of acceptance. In resource-scarce environments, sharing food is the most basic way to build trust.
"Mmm," she responded softly. Actually, she had touched the bag of coarse sugar that had already clumped together yesterday, but Granny Wang didn't know it.
Once she's in the kitchen, she'll be in control of the house.
The medicine was ready. Chu Yanxi poured out a bowl of dark brown liquid and drank it in small sips while it was still hot. The medicine was very bitter, but after drinking it, a warm feeling gradually rose in her lower abdomen. She gently massaged her lower abdomen while thinking about her next step.
Wang Erzhu was a cowardly and blindly filial man, and he still felt a bit of novelty towards his newly purchased wife. To gain a foothold in this family, she had to win him over.
Just then, Wang Lao Er, who had finished smoking, came into the room, his face pale, clutching his cheek.
"What's wrong?" Granny Wang asked.
"My tooth hurts...it's been hurting all day, and now it's even worse." Wang Lao Er's words were slurred, and half of his face was visibly swollen.
Chu Yanxi put down the medicine bowl and walked over: "Let me take a look."
Wang Lao Er paused for a moment, then subconsciously opened his mouth. Chu Yanxi leaned closer to take a look—his lower right gum was red, swollen, and congested, a typical case of toothache caused by stomach heat.
“It’s Fire Fang,” she said calmly. “Has Second Brother eaten anything too hot or spicy lately, or has he been getting stressed and feverish?”
Wang Lao Er thought for a moment and nodded. His elder brother had suddenly died, and the family was in such turmoil; how could he not be upset?
Chu Yanxi asked him to sit down, washed his hands, and then located the Hegu acupoint on his hand, pressing it with his thumb. The pressure was moderate, gradually increasing from light to heavy.
"Hiss—" Wang Lao Er gasped.
"Bear with it, it'll be over soon." Chu Yanxi's voice had a strange calming power. She then pressed the Jiache and Xiaguan acupoints, pressing each acupoint for two minutes.
A miraculous thing happened. The excruciating pain actually began to lessen little by little. Wang Lao Er looked at Chu Yanxi in astonishment, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Wife, you...you can do this too?"
"Didn't I tell you? I used to work as a caregiver in a city hospital, so I learned a little bit." Chu Yanxi stopped and went to the kitchen to get a bowl of cold water for him to rinse his mouth. "Don't eat anything hard today, drink something thin, and I'll massage you again tonight."
Wang Lao Er nodded blankly, his gaze towards Chu Yanxi completely changing. This purchased wife was not only literate and articulate, able to extract medicine from the sorceress, but also skilled in healing!
Granny Wang watched from the side, her eyes darting around. She suddenly realized that this daughter-in-law, whom she had bought for "a cow," might... might really be a treasure.
At the same time, in the ancestral hall's storage room.
Lu Zhe sat opposite Chunni, about half a meter apart. This distance was neither too far nor too close; it wouldn't make her feel threatened, but it was enough to transmit his voice.
Chunni huddled in the haystack, even thinner than yesterday, her eyes sunken, her lips cracked and chapped. Deep marks on her wrists and ankles, remnants of the day she was bound. What tightened Lu Zhe's heart most were her eyes—empty, lifeless, like two dry wells.
“Sister-in-law Chunni,” Lu Zhe said softly, as if afraid of disturbing something, “I am Lu Zhe, the one who spoke in the ancestral hall yesterday. I have met Daya and Erya.”
No response.
Lu Zhe wasn't in a hurry and continued, "Er Ya kept crying, saying she wanted her mother. Daya hugged her and comforted her sister, saying that her mother would definitely come back. Daya is very sensible, really. She's only six years old, but she already knows to break the steamed bun in half, give the bigger one to her sister, and eat the smaller one herself."
Chunni's body trembled almost imperceptibly.
Lu Zhe saw this and felt a pang of sadness. His voice softened even more: "Old Wang treated them badly. She gave them two steamed buns and sent them home. Last night, they slept in a house where someone had died."
A tear slid down Chunni's dry eye, leaving a trail on her dusty face.
“Sister-in-law Chunni,” Lu Zhe leaned forward, his voice warm yet firm, “you must live.”
Chunni finally reacted. She slowly raised her eyes, looking at Lu Zhe with unfathomable despair in her gaze: "I killed someone... I can't live anymore..."
"Who said you killed someone?" Lu Zhe said firmly.
Chunni was stunned.
Lu Zhe looked into her eyes and said, word by word, "I've seen the scene. He simply drank too much and vomited, then suffocated because his vomit blocked his airway. I've bought you some time. Once the police arrive and the forensic examination is completed, the truth will come out."
When Chunni knelt before the ancestral hall, her mind was completely blank; she heard nothing and thought nothing at all. But when she heard Lu Zhe say that he hadn't killed anyone and that Wang Dazhu had died from drinking, a glimmer of light appeared in her eyes.
“If you give up on yourself now,” Lu Zhe’s voice deepened, “Da Ya and Er Ya will truly be motherless. Think about it, if even you abandon them, who else in this world will genuinely care for them? Will Granny Wang treat them kindly? Will the villagers take care of them? What will they do when it gets cold? What will they do when they are hungry? What will they do if they are bullied by others?”
Every word struck Chunni's heart like a hammer. Her tears welled up, no longer falling silently, but becoming suppressed, heart-wrenching sobs. She arched her back, like a wounded beast.
Lu Zhe didn't stop her from crying. It's better to cry than to hold it in.
After the crying subsided, he continued, "Sister Chunni, you're not alone. I'm trying to find a solution, and Li Wenshu will report it to the township. For the sake of the children, you have to hold on. Only by living can you hope to see the children grow up; only by living can there be hope for everything."
Chunni suddenly raised her head, her eyes red, but that deathly stillness was broken, and a faint but real flame ignited within them.
“Can I…can I see the children?” she asked hoarsely, her voice like sandpaper scraping against wood.
"Not yet," Lu Zhe said honestly. "But I'll find a way to get the village chief to take them to see you from afar. You have to be well, so they can see that your mother is still alive and working hard to see them, okay?"
Chunni nodded vigorously, tears streaming down her face again.
Lu Zhe pulled a small oil paper package from his pocket; it contained a pancake he had just gotten from Li Wenshu and had secretly hidden away. He stuffed the pancake, rolled with shredded potatoes, into Chunni's hand: "Eat something. You need strength for the sake of the child."
Chunni held the still-warm pancake, took a big bite, and swallowed hard.
Seeing her eating so intently, Lu Zhe stood up and said, "I'll come again. Remember, for Daya and Erya, hang in there."
He stepped out of the storeroom, the afternoon sun making him squint. In the courtyard of the ancestral hall, Li Wenshu was talking to the guard. Seeing him come out, Li Wenshu gave him a wink. Lu Zhe nodded, indicating that the conversation had gone well and he could leave.
The two left the ancestral hall one after the other. Once they were a distance away, Li Wenshu said in a low voice, "The person who went down the mountain to report has returned. I wrote to the township government and notified the police station, but there is no road to the village, and the mountain roads are difficult to travel. It will take some time to organize manpower. I estimate that they will be able to come over in the next day or two."
I can only come over tomorrow or the day after.
Lu Zhe nodded: "Okay."
As evening fell, the Wang family courtyard was filled with the aroma of medicine and food.
Chu Yanxi not only brewed the medicine but also made some sweet soup, and she and Wang Erzhu each drank a bowl. Wang Erzhu's toothache was much better, and he looked at Chu Yanxi with almost adoration in his eyes.
Dinner was prepared by Chu Yanxi—cornmeal pancakes, stewed cabbage and potatoes, and a steamed egg custard. Granny Wang brought out the eggs; there were only three in total. She watched as Chu Yanxi cracked two into the bowl, carefully putting the remaining one away.
"Give the steamed egg custard to the second son to help him recover," said Granny Wang, but glanced at Chu Yanxi, "You should have some too. As long as you're content to be our daughter-in-law, you won't go hungry."
After finishing her meal, Granny Wang cleaned up the kitchen. While there was still some daylight, she sat on the doorstep picking wild vegetables and suddenly asked Chu Yanxi, "Can you do accounting?"
Chu Yanxi looked up upon hearing this: "Yes."
Granny Wang pulled out a handkerchief pouch from her bosom, unfolded it layer by layer, and inside were crumpled bills and a few coins: "I have a total of three yuan and twenty cents. I'll give it all to you after you give birth to your son, and you can take charge of the household."
Wang Erzhu stared wide-eyed, unable to believe it—your mother actually planned to hand over the management of the household? Although it was only 3.2 yuan, in this family, it was a symbol of trust.
Chu Yanxi twitched the corner of her mouth: "Okay." Granny Wang's promise was really "big"!
Granny Wang carefully put the money away again and continued picking vegetables. She had been a strong woman her whole life, controlling every penny of the household finances. But now she was old and unable to do housework. With her eldest son dead, she could only rely on her second son. Men are often careless; in the future, only her daughter-in-law would be there to take care of her. The new daughter-in-law she had bought was capable, shrewd, and knew how to treat illnesses. If she could win her heart, she would have hope for a better old age.
"And another thing," Granny Wang added, her voice stiff, "after you recover, you should help the second son plant those two acres of land in the west room. My back is too sore, I can't dig anymore."
"Okay," Chu Yanxi replied readily.
Wang Lao Er looked at his mother, then at Chu Yanxi, and suddenly felt that this family was different.
It was late at night, and Chu Yanxi lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), staring blankly at the dark ceiling.
Today I made three moves: first, I established my image as a "calculator" by using the fortune teller's story; second, I won over Wang Lao Er's heart by curing his illness; and third, I won the opportunity to manage the household in the future by being down-to-earth and hardworking.
Everything went smoothly, faster than she had expected.
Chu Yanxi suddenly let out a cold laugh.
No matter how much they try to appease, they cannot hide the fact that people are being bought and sold.
Behind every smile lies a scheme!
Human traffickers deserve to die.
Those who sold her here, the Sun family from the neighboring village who abused and forced her, and the Wang family who bought her for three yuan and twenty cents, hoping to win her over and make her contribute her labor and bear children—none of them will escape!
Let's wait and see.
Once she recovers, it will be time for reckoning.
As she pondered, Chu Yanxi's thoughts suddenly turned to Lu Zhe. She wondered if Lu Zhe had seen Chunni yet. If Chunni couldn't be saved, she might have to stay in this world forever.
A scene flashed before Chu Yanxi's eyes: Lu Zhe spreading his orange jacket on a large rock for her to sit on, worried that she would catch a cold or get tired. A slight stirring appeared in Chu Yanxi's heart. This man, whom she had always looked down upon, seemed to have some redeeming qualities. At least, he respected women and respected life.
By the way, Lu Zhe once said that his mother looks a lot like Chunni, which means he has a mother who has been subjected to domestic violence for a long time, and a family full of dangerous factors and instability. Growing up in such an environment, it's normal to be a little weak and impulsive.
Perhaps she could have been more gentle with Lu Zhe.
Countless thoughts swirled in her mind, and Chu Yanxi closed her eyes, forcing herself to rest.
Faint sobs drifted in from outside the window; it was a woman's voice, suppressed and filled with despair. I wondered whose wife was being beaten again. In this conservative mountain village, nights like this were all too common.
Moonlight shone on the mottled walls of the ancestral hall.
In the storeroom, Chunni sat leaning against the wall, clutching half a fried dough stick tightly in her hand. It was given to her by that person; it was the first act of kindness in days that was neither condescending nor servile.
Daya, Erya. She silently repeated her daughter's names in her heart, over and over again.
She wants to live.
She had to live for them.
Chunni carefully wrapped the fried dough cake, hid it in her bosom, then lay down and closed her eyes.
The night is still long, but the day will eventually break.
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