Liu Yong didn’t laugh at her.
If she hadn’t been driven to desperation, who would willingly leave home with not a single coin to their name?
She could have stayed with the Xia family, swallowed her humiliation, and survived... but what kind of home was that? A place with no shelter from the wind and rain, where family members harbored resentment toward one another. Could that even be called a home?
Liu Yong thought Xia Xiaolan had guts. People always said nieces took after their uncles, and he had always favored her. Now, the more he looked at her, the more everything about her seemed admirable.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out several bills.
“Take these fifty yuan for now.” Liu Yong said.
“We’ll sit down and talk through how you want to do this business. If it’s not enough, your uncle will scrape together a little more in a few days.” At the moment, ten yuan was the largest denomination in circulation, affectionately called “Big Unity” by the people.
Liu Fen turned pale in shock. “Big brother… where did you get that much money?”
A brand-new bicycle. Now casually handing over dozens of yuan. What kind of situation was the Liu family really in—how could she not know? They were dirt poor. So poor it practically rattled when they walked.
In the past, Liu Yong had been unreliable, drifting from place to place. Only in the last two years, when life had become unbearable, had he finally settled down to learn masonry. One year to qualify, two years to become skilled. With that trade, life had finally begun to ease a little. Even so, masonry work wasn’t guaranteed every day. Unlike factory workers with steady wages, Liu Yong’s income was unstable.
Knowing his sister was muddle-headed, Liu Yong didn’t explain further. He simply told Xia Xiaolan to take the money.
“Thank you, Uncle. I’ll treat this as a loan.” Xia Xiaolan didn’t stand on ceremony.
She truly had nothing right now. With fifty yuan as seed money, she could seize the opportunity during the busy farming season. Once she earned money, she would repay her uncle double. Refusing his help out of pride would only mean her mother continuing to suffer.
Liu Yong grinned broadly. He had Xia Xiaolan help him bundle everything together and tie it onto the back of the bicycle.
010: Xia Dajun Comes Back—And Walks Straight Into It
Liu Yong didn’t laugh at her.
If she hadn’t been driven to the edge, who would willingly leave home with nothing to their name?
She could have stayed with the Xia family, swallowed her humiliation, and survived—but what kind of home was that? A place with no shelter from the wind and rain, where family members harbored resentment toward one another—could that even be called a home? Liu Yong thought Xia Xiaolan had guts. People always said nieces took after their uncles, and he had always favored her. Now, the more he looked at her, the more everything about her seemed admirable.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out several bills.
“Take this fifty yuan for now,” Liu Yong said. “Let’s sit down and properly plan how you want to do business. If it’s not enough, Uncle will scrape together some more in a few days.”
At the moment, ten yuan was the largest denomination in circulation, affectionately called “Big Unity” by the people.
Liu Fen jumped in fright. “Big brother, where did you get so much money…?”
A brand-new bicycle, and now casually handing over dozens of yuan—didn’t she know her own family’s situation? The Liu family had been dirt poor, so poor it practically rattled when they walked. In the past, Liu Yong had been unreliable, drifting from place to place. Only in the last two years, when life had become unbearable, had he finally settled down to learn masonry. One year as an apprentice, two years as a full craftsman—having a trade had made life slightly easier. But masonry work wasn’t guaranteed every day. He wasn’t a factory worker with stable income.
Liu Yong knew his sister was muddle-headed. He didn’t explain, only told Xia Xiaolan to take the money.
“Thank you, Uncle,” Xia Xiaolan said. “I’ll treat this as a loan.”
She didn’t pretend otherwise.
She truly had nothing right now. With fifty yuan as starting capital, she could seize the opportunity during the busy farming season. Once she made money, she would pay him back double. Refusing his help out of pride would only mean her mother suffering alongside her.
Liu Yong beamed.
He had Xia Xiaolan help him pack everything together and tie it to the back of the bicycle. All the possessions the mother and daughter owned amounted to nothing more than a sack of sweet potatoes, their clothes, and a few daily necessities bought that day.
They hadn’t even reached the village entrance when someone holding a bowl called out to them.
“Your dad’s back!”
“Xia Dajun’s going to beat them to death…”
The gloating and malice were barely concealed. The people of Dahe Village were astonishingly unfriendly. As if Xia Xiaolan had dug up someone’s ancestral grave.
The Xia family’s front door stood wide open. A burly man with broad shoulders stepped out.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he barked.
“Did you and your grandmother get into a fight again?”
His voice was thick and booming. His arms bulged with muscle, his height nearly one meter eighty.
This was Xia Xiaolan’s biological father, Xia Dajun.
So her height really did come from him. In the 1980s, being over 160 centimeters tall was already impressive, and Xia Xiaolan was quite satisfied with that.
Liu Yong didn’t give her a chance to say a word. He hoisted the sack of sweet potatoes and swung it straight at Xia Dajun.
“You son of a bitch! I was just thinking about when to come settle accounts with you! Looks like you brought yourself right to me!”
“Who’s fighting who?”
“Your wife and daughter are being bullied half to death, and you, as a father, pretend you don’t know?” Liu Yong roared.
“Damn you! My sister married you only to suffer eight lifetimes’ worth of bad luck—”
Liu Yong wasn’t tall, not even 170 centimeters. But when he exploded, Xia Dajun didn’t stand a chance. Of course, Xia Dajun only wrapped his arms around his head to shield himself. He never truly fought back.
“Big brother! Let’s talk this out!” Xia Dajun pleaded.
“Talk my ass!” Liu Yong cursed.
“All muscle and no brains! You’ve lived decades like a dog, can’t even bring yourself to care for your own daughter! Fine, then I’ll do it for you!”
Liu Fen panicked and tried to pull them apart, but Xia Xiaolan gripped her tightly.
Watching coldly, Xia Xiaolan noticed Xia Dajun never once fought back. That earned him a sliver of credit. If he’d raised his hands against his brother-in-law, she wouldn’t even know what to think anymore. A man could have a temper. There were cowards, wise men who used brains instead of fists, and hotheads who lashed out at the slightest provocation.
This region had always been rough.
But fighting outsiders and beating your wife were two entirely different things. Xia Xiaolan despised domestic abusers more than anything.
Liu Yong was panting with exhaustion when Xia Dajun’s brothers finally rushed out and separated them. Xia Xiaolan’s eldest uncle and third uncle held Liu Yong down with all their strength, while he continued to kick and punch unwillingly.
Still, Liu Yong’s ferocity frightened the villagers. Those who’d been making snide remarks moments ago all shrank back like turtles.
Xia Dajun’s face was swollen. He spat out a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva.
“I won’t argue with you.” he said stiffly.
“But Xiaolan was wrong. She shouldn’t have fought with her grandma. She made her so angry she fell ill…”
The old madam Xia had raised three sons alone after being widowed. Xia Dajun wasn’t attentive to his wife, but to his mother, he was obedient to a fault.
If she were the original Xia Xiaolan, she would’ve died of anger hearing this.
She felt affection for Liu Fen and closeness to Liu Yong because she’d lacked family warmth in her previous life, and because these two genuinely treated her well. As for Xia Dajun, she felt no softness at all. Whatever debt Xia Xiaolan owed the Xia family had already been paid with her life.
What more did they want?
“Uncle, let’s go.” Xia Xiaolan said quietly.
She had wanted to curse Xia Dajun out, but decided it wasn’t worth the effort.
Her calm refusal to argue only made the fire in Xia Dajun’s chest burn hotter.
“You little bitch—”
He stepped forward, grabbed her arm, and yanked her hard enough to make her stumble.
Xia Xiaolan turned back, her face expressionless.
“Grandma said that me being alive shames the Xia family. Someone like me should just die! I cracked my head open. My mother knelt and begged Grandma to send me to the hospital... she kowtowed until her forehead swelled before she finally let a doctor come to stop the bleeding.”
Her voice was flat, eerily calm.
“If you think I’m still not obedient or filial enough, then how about I return this life I barely picked up to the Xia family?”
She pressed the scissors she carried for self-defense against her neck. The sharp tip sank into her skin.
The ruthlessness hidden beneath her calm tone made everyone’s blood run cold.
She would really do it.
Xia Dajun panicked. He blurted out instinctively, “Aren’t you fine now? Where would the money for a hospital come from? Why can’t you learn to be more sensible, like Ziyu—”
Under Xia Xiaolan’s mocking, half-smiling gaze, his voice grew weaker and weaker.
Why was there no money at home?
Because the “sensible” Xia Ziyu had taken everything when she left. Even Xia Dajun, biased as he was toward his niece, knew deep down that his mother had gone too far this time.
Guilt and anger tangled together, and he roared: “She’s your grandmother! If she scolds you, you listen! If you didn’t do those shameful things, would she curse you?”
Xia Xiaolan wasn’t actually trying to kill herself. At this moment, she wanted nothing more than to stab this blockheaded man to death.
But someone moved faster.
Liu Fen—small and trembling. Threw herself against the much stronger Xia Dajun, slamming him aside.
“I’ll fight you all to the death…!” she cried.
“You won’t force Xiaolan again—!”
She was shaking all over with fear.
But she had to protect her daughter.
That was a mother’s instinct.
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I might just do the same on Chinese New Year!
Comment: Mass Update for Chinese New Year!
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