"Aunt Li, you've been holding my hand and won't let me go home to see my mom. Are you saying my mom has a relapse and you're just trying to scare me?" Song Yueying asked Aunt Li innocently.
Of course she knew that Aunt Li wasn't bluffing; she was just trying to lower Aunt Li's guard so she could strike decisively.
"I... Ah!" Aunt Li was about to say that she hadn't scared her when a sharp pain in her wrist made her scream and fling Song Yueying away.
Her frail body was thrown several steps, but a tree on the edge of the field stopped her from plunging headfirst into the field.
She was pale, her head was bowed, and she clung tightly to the tree trunk with both hands.
He was trembling all over, clearly terrified.
The fields are currently planted with rice, and there isn't much work to do; it's mostly older women and young wives doing the work. When Song Yueying almost fell into the field, not a single person spoke up to help her.
They all lowered their heads and pretended to be seriously pulling weeds in the rice paddy.
The young man driving the oxcart couldn't bear to watch any longer and wanted to help Song Yueying to a safe place. He took a step, but then felt it was inappropriate and stopped.
Turning to Aunt Li, he angrily questioned, "Aunt Li, how could you push Comrade Song like that? What if she falls into the paddy field and damages the rice?"
"The rice won't be ripe for another month. If it's spoiled now, it's really spoiled. We can't eat it, and it would be a waste."
Ha! Song Yueying's lips twitched. She had thought the young man driving the oxcart was speaking up for her. But it turned out... he wasn't worried about her as a person, but rather that she would damage the rice.
It's all because people aren't getting enough to eat; a few rice plants are more important than people.
At that moment, Aunt Li's wrist was in great pain, as if the bones in it were about to shatter. Sweat poured from her forehead, and her contorted face alternated between pale and flushed.
Hearing the young man's accusations, Aunt Li was furious and, despite her pain, shouted, "Chen Yuan, what nonsense are you spouting? I didn't push her!"
"It was her, Song Yueying, who grabbed my wrist and crushed the bones in it."
"I just shook her off because I was in pain, how did that count as pushing her?"
Are you blind?
The young man driving the oxcart was named Chen Yuan, the youngest son of Captain Chen.
“Aunt Li, what you’re saying doesn’t make sense.” Chen Yuan turned around and pointed at Song Yueying. “It was clearly you who said that Aunt Song had another episode.”
"Comrade Song wanted to go home to see Aunt Song, and you grabbed her arm to stop her from leaving. Now how come it's the other way around, saying that Comrade Song crushed your wrist bones?"
"Isn't this just the thief crying 'stop thief!' and turning the tables on the victim?"
Everyone in the village had to give Aunt Li face, but Chen Yuan didn't.
He was a rebellious and unruly child who never gave anyone face. In addition, his father was the brigade leader, while Aunt Li's husband was the squad leader, meaning his father was one rank higher than Aunt Li's husband.
Both families share the surname Chen, so they are somewhat related.
Unfortunately, Aunt Li was proud and resentful because her husband was the squad leader. She always wanted to outdo the brigade leader's wife, which made the relationship between the two families very delicate.
"I'm the one crying 'stop thief!' and I'm turning the tables on you?" Aunt Li trembled with anger. "Chen Yuan, are your eyes even there to breathe?"
"Or are you blinded by that vixen Song Yueying and unable to see the truth?"
"Don't forget, Song Yueying is a widow. Your parents would never agree to you being with Song Yueying."
Chen Yuan blushed with embarrassment when Aunt Li brought up his hidden feelings, especially in front of so many people and his beloved.
But he also knew that Aunt Li was unreasonable, and if he tried to explain, she would only get more worked up.
Chen Yuan didn't want to explain, and he was too lazy to argue with Aunt Li.
He walked up to Song Yueying, who was hugging the tree trunk, and said with a blush, "Comrade Song, don't listen to Aunt Li's nonsense. You are not a vixen, nor have you deceived my mind."
This was the first time Song Yueying had met such an honest person, and she nodded speechlessly. As for what Aunt Li said about Chen Yuan wanting to be with her, she didn't believe it.
After all, your aunt is right, she is a widow, and a martyr's widow at that.
Seeing that Song Yueying didn't take Aunt Li's words seriously, Chen Yuan felt a pang of bitterness in his heart. After a pause, he asked, "Can you stand properly by yourself, letting go of the tree trunk?"
Song Yueying nodded again, then slowly released the tree trunk. She carefully steadied herself and stood still.
"Comrade Chen, thank you!" Song Yueying thanked Chen Yuan.
"You're welcome." Chen Yuan shook his head, then reminded her, "Comrade Song, you should go back and check on Aunt Song. I hope nothing bad has happened to her."
"You're right. How could I live if something happened to my mother?" Song Yueying turned around in a panic and ran towards the village.
Watching Song Yueying leave, Chen Yuan didn't even glance at Aunt Li before driving away in his oxcart.
Aunt Li glared hatefully in the direction where Song Yueying disappeared and spat viciously.
"You little vixen, you little slut!" Aunt Li cursed as she walked away.
Based on the original owner's memories, Song Yueying found a small courtyard. She had just reached the courtyard gate when she heard a noisy commotion coming from inside.
"Tie her up tighter, tie the rope tighter, so she doesn't break free and start making a scene."
"She has already fainted, so she shouldn't get up and cause any more trouble."
"She's just fainted, she's not going to never wake up. Just you wait and see, when she wakes up and can't see Song Yueying, she'll definitely make a huge scene."
"I have to say, Song Yueying is really something. Where did she run off to be lazy so early in the morning? Doesn't she have any idea how much her crazy mother needs her?"
"I used to think she was a dutiful daughter because she always defended her crazy mother. But now that her mother has had an episode, she's nowhere to be seen."
The crowd started talking all at once, getting more and more excited, and eventually it turned into a denunciation of Song Yueying.
At this moment, a young woman's delicate voice said, "Please don't say that about my cousin. My cousin definitely didn't leave my aunt behind on purpose."
"Something must have kept her waiting, that's why she didn't come back all night."
"Dear aunts and sisters-in-law, I beg you to let my aunt go. She's just having a relapse; she didn't mean to make a scene and disturb you."
Upon hearing this, the crowd began to murmur again, "What? Song Yueying didn't come back all night? Where did she go?"
"Where else could she go? Maybe she'll run off with some random guy again."
"She wouldn't do something like this again, would she? Her mother is still here!"
"What do you mean it's not that serious? It's not like she hasn't done this before. Think about it, didn't she abandon her crazy mother and run off with some other man over a year ago?"
"Didn't they say she got married and her husband died before she came back?"
"I also heard that she got married and went to live with her husband, and only came back after he died. Could it be..."
The word "could it be" is brilliant; it leaves endless room for imagination.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com