Once the old lady Liu Wangshi had this idea, she couldn't stop herself. The next day, her son and daughter-in-law went to work, and the children went out to play, leaving her alone at home to rest and take care of her two babies. Looking at her granddaughter, who was a whole size older than her own daughter, she became even angrier. She grabbed her daughter's old mattress and covered the baby's face with it. Seeing that the baby didn't react and was still sleeping soundly, she covered her with another layer, until she had three layers. Only then did the baby stir her little body and let out a faint cry from under the mattress. Liu Wangshi watched from the side, feeling quite frightened. This was still her granddaughter, and she felt very distressed.
As the child's struggles subsided, Liu Wangshi was also torn internally. Suddenly, she heard the door open and was startled. She forgot to immediately remove the mat.
When Li Cuihua entered the room and saw her mother-in-law's panicked expression, she didn't pay much attention, assuming her mother-in-law was secretly eating something good. After all, she was her elder, and she didn't have the right to speak to her. Looking at the kang (heated brick bed), she frantically rushed over and pulled back the mattress. At this point, Daya was barely breathing, her lips turning purple.
Li Cuihua, clutching her child, ran out like a madwoman. Liu Wangshi shouted after her, "You spendthrift woman, stop right there! What are you trying to do?"
Li Cuihua completely ignored the old woman's cries behind her and went straight to the village's barefoot doctor's house. She carried the child in her arms, bouncing along the way. Suddenly, the child coughed and started crying loudly. Some nosy old women in the village were chatting under a tree when they saw Li Cuihua running frantically, carrying the child and crying, so they followed her.
When they arrived at the barefoot doctor's house, everyone was shocked to hear Li Cuihua's account of what had happened. There were mothers-in-law in the village who tormented their daughters-in-law, but none of them were like this. The daughter-in-law was an outsider, but she was her own granddaughter. How could she be so heartless?
"The child is fine now, it's good that he/she coughed up the cough, just take good care of him/her."
Li Cuihua picked up the child and said, "Thank you, Third Uncle. I'm going back now." She then carried the child directly to her parents' house. Only her mother was home. Seeing her daughter return crying with the child, she was startled. "What's wrong, Cuihua?"
Seeing that her mother had finally found her pillar of support, Li Cuihua burst into tears while holding her child. She recounted the events in fits and starts. Li Cuihua's mother was also a shrewish and formidable woman. After hearing her daughter's words, she said, "Cuihua, you stay at home and take care of her. I'll go and call your brother and sister-in-law back. This matter can't be left like this. Our Li family doesn't allow anyone to shit on our necks."
Liu Maocai heard about it at this moment, and in a fit of anger, he collapsed to the ground. His second brother had to pinch his philtrum to pull him back to his senses. Liu Maocai staggered to his feet and ran home, even losing a shoe in the process. When he reached the door, it was locked. He knocked, but no one answered. Liu Maocai, his legs trembling, tried to climb the wall. Just then, someone came by and, seeing Liu Maocai's frantic attempt to climb, quickly told him, "Maocai, your wife and children are at your mother-in-law's house."
Liu Maocai suddenly felt empowered. What he had just said meant that his wife and children were safe and sound. As long as he was safe, that was all that mattered. He hadn't understood the meaning of being resurrected from the dead when he was studying with the scholar, but now he finally understood.
When they arrived at his mother-in-law's house, his brothers-in-law didn't make things difficult for him and let him come in to see Li Cuihua and the child. The child was still sobbing, and his face was still pale. Seeing the child like this, Liu Maocai couldn't contain his anger, and the veins on his wife's hand bulged as he gripped hers.
"Honey, let's live separately, shall we? I'm not afraid of hardship, I'll endure any hardship with you, let's live on our own, please, honey. I don't want anything, I just want you, the child, and me. Right now it's Daya, but what if Jianguo gets in their way too?"
Liu Maocai suddenly opened his eyes. "Cuihua, don't worry, I won't let you and your children suffer. You stay at your mother-in-law's house for now. I'll have Jianguo come over later, and I'll handle this matter."
Liu Maocai stepped outside and saw his six brothers-in-law, both young and old, standing there, and felt a chill. His eldest brother-in-law gave him a meaningful look, and they went into the main room together. "Maocai," he said, "we know you're a good person, but what do you plan to do about this?"
"Cuihua said she wanted to separate the family, and I agreed. I'll go back and resolve it now."
“If you propose dividing the family property, what will become of your reputation? You are the most educated person in our village; you can’t let others gossip about you because of this.” Li Cuihua’s older brother was a sensible man.
"Brother, but my mother will never agree to separate the family property if we don't do it this way."
“Let’s go talk about this. You just stay here and don’t say anything. I feel sorry for my sister. Look at all your sisters-in-law in the family. Didn’t they all go back to doing heavy work in the fields right after giving birth?”
"Thank you, elder brother. I will always remember the kindness of my brothers."
"You don't need to remember our kindness, just be good to my sister."
The group decided to go to Liu Maocai's house together. No matter how much they knocked, no one answered. Liu Maocai then rushed over the wall and opened the door from the inside. Li Cuihua's youngest brother didn't go in; instead, he went to Liu Maocai's field to call for help. The rest of the group didn't go inside; they all stood in the yard waiting for everyone to arrive.
Before long, Liu Maocai's elder brother and his two elder brothers returned. They already knew the gist of the matter, and seeing six men and four women in the courtyard, they knew that things were unlikely to end well.
Liu Maocai's sister-in-law immediately went to greet him, saying, "My brothers and sisters-in-law are all here! Come in and have some water." He didn't want to show up, but there was already a crowd gathered outside the gate, and his son and daughter would need to be married off in the future.
“Sister-in-law, we won’t go in. It’s more comfortable outside. You probably already know why we’re here. My mom is cooking for Cuihua at home. She’ll be there in a bit. Our two families need to have a good talk.”
Upon hearing this, Liu Maocai's sister-in-law felt a toothache. This old woman in the house never did any work, always drinking and partying—had she gotten herself into trouble? She was such a coward, too afraid to even leave the house. "Then I'll go get some stools. Brothers, please sit down and wait." What bad luck! She had to act like a servant, all groveling before him.
Before long, the old lady from the Li family came over. She greeted everyone cheerfully as she entered the courtyard, saying, "Sister-in-law, go and call your mother-in-law out. If she can't come out because of her postpartum confinement, then I'll go in."
"Please have a seat, Mother-in-law. I'll go and call someone right away. My husband has already gone in to find my mother-in-law."
"Okay, I'll sit here and wait."
Liu Wangshi, who was inside the house, panicked. She knew that this old woman from the Li family was from the same village.
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