It wasn't fully dark yet when the two of them approached home, and since the busy farming season was over, everyone in the house had already had two meals, so there was no need to cook in the evening, which is why they dared to return this late.
Li Xianglu and Li Jianqing, with joy written all over their faces, pushed open the wattle gate of their home and saw Ge Sanmei standing there coldly with a broom in hand.
Li Xianglu understood right away—her current body was frail, and a direct confrontation with Ge Sanmei would definitely put her at a disadvantage, so she didn't continue walking inward. Instead, she stood quietly at the gate, ready to run at the first sign of trouble.
Seeing the two return, Ge Sanmei noticed that her third son was dragging a thick, dead tree, bringing firewood for the family. Such a sensible child, working at such a young age, the thought made her glare at Li Xianglu with hatred, wishing she could flay her alive.
Li Xianglu wasn't especially scared; after all, it was just a rural old lady—who could be unreasonable and abusive, but what more could she do?
Ge Sanmei, with a cold look in her eyes as she faced her younger daughter, felt her heart twitch, but as soon as she thought of what the older daughter had said earlier, anger surged within her, and she scolded Li Xianglu: "How old are you, huh? Why are you so lazy? Your older sister is pregnant now, and asking you to wash a daughter-in-law, what's wrong with that? You vanished while playing, you girl. If you're not disciplined, you'll grow lazier and lazier." As she said this, she quickly moved towards Li Xianglu.
Li Xianglu certainly didn't wait to be hit; she dodged to the side and ran out, shouting: "Ah, Mom, don't hit me, I'll behave and take good care of my sister from now on, help me, don't beat me, I'll take good care of my sister!"
On the mountainside, the dwellings were a row of cave homes, each family with their own courtyard, and home was right next to home. Almost as soon as Li Xianglu's voice rang out, a large crowd poured out of the various courtyards, some holding large porcelain bowls, watching the commotion while eating. If it wasn't for the fact that the situation wasn't suitable for laughter, she would've burst into laughter—these people thought they were watching a TV drama, even bringing snacks.
Having been beaten almost every day since she had come here, she was utterly fed up. If it were because she had been lazy and hadn't done her chores, that would have been one thing. But it was clearly because Ge Sanmei was in a bad mood and being biased. She was going to be beaten for no good reason, and that was too unjust. She didn't want to indulge Ge Sanmei's bad habits—otherwise, the Li Family would take her as a tool to vent their anger, beating her whenever they felt like it.
Li Xianglu hadn't run far when she suddenly tripped and fell to the ground; her basket also tipped over. She purposely smeared the yellow soil from the ground all over her face and hair, and cried out, "Mom, don't beat me, I'll take good care of my sister from now on, don't hit me." She put on a poor act, resembling Xi'er who had been bullied by Huang Shiren.
The mountain folks had never seen such a scene; they stared with wide, curious eyes, thinking how taking care of others was something maids in the old society did for rich families, wondering why Li Laoer's family treated their own daughter like a servant.
Ge Sanmei didn't notice the growing crowd, only venting her dissatisfaction of late. Everyone was protecting this girl, and her youngest daughter's plaintive cries did nothing to slow her down. Instead, she felt a surge of satisfaction, thinking, "That'll teach you to be so arrogant. I'll make sure to give you a beating."
Ge Sanmei quickly charged forward, and before the broom in her hand could land on Li Xianglu, a figure burst forth and shoved Ge Sanmei hard, saying: "Li Dafu's family, what do you think you're doing!"
The person who arrived was none other than Liu Aidang, Li Dafu's wife, although that wasn't her original name—it was changed after the nation's liberation.
Liu Aidang hailed from Jigu Town, which is now known as Jigu Commune.
Liu Aidang's family background was not very favorable; her father was a schoolteacher and owned several mu of land, making him a 'rich peasant'. However, both of Liu Aidang's older brothers had joined the army to fight, and thus the family was regarded as advanced elements in society. Liu Aidang, following her family's arrangements, married into a rural area. It wasn't that the Liu family's relations were poor; at that time, the old patriarch of the Liu family was farsighted. He believed that the situation would not remain stable forever, and thus he had promptly arranged for his daughter to be betrothed to a wealthy Li family in Li Family Village.
It must be said that the old gentleman had truly seen the world; his predictions about the course of events were very accurate. Liu Aidang, after marrying into the countryside, not only never went hungry but also occasionally managed to send some grain to her two brothers in the county, alleviating the urgent needs of the family.
Liu Aidang then shoved Ge Sanmei away, scolding, "Li Laoer's family, are you trying to beat your daughter to death?"
Seeing it was her elder sister-in-law, Ge Sanmei grew somewhat fearful, but thinking of that damned girl, she couldn't help getting angry and blurted out, "Let her be beaten to death, who needs someone lazy as a pig?"
Liu Aidang, seeing the crowd growing, knew it was not a place to stay for long. She whispered to Ge Sanmei in rebuke, "Good for nothing, Ge Sanmei, you don't want to live anymore, but don't drag the rest of us from the Li Family down with you. What are you trying to do, make your biological daughter serve as a maid for her elder sister who is married off? This is a new society; if you want to be reported and dragged to the county for public criticism, don't harm the rest of us."
Ge Sanmei's original fury was doused by cold water in an instant. Going to the county for public criticism is something she had seen – it was truly unbearable. Not being able to eat every day was one thing, but anyone who held grudges could come up and hit you a few times; for women, it was even worse. Many had their clothes ripped off, with riff-raff watching by the side.
At that thought, Ge Sanmei's scalp tingled. But what did public criticism have to do with her?
Liu Aidang beckoned the surrounding people, saying, "Alright, alright, there's nothing to see here, hurry back home." With that, she picked up the sobbing Li Xianglu from the ground and headed towards the Li Family house.
Li Jianhong, who was standing in front of the fence and enjoying the commotion, saw that everyone had dispersed and that no one was beaten. Puzzled, she addressed Liu Aidang, who had just entered, "Auntie, why did you stop beating her? That girl is too lazy, she didn't even want to wash clothes."
It was only then that Liu Aidang sensed what was happening – it was this troublemaker who was stirring things up. She glared back and then said to her daughter-in-law Li Yan Ni, who was following behind, "Go and call your father-in-law and your grandmother here, tell them it's urgent."
Li Jianhong was stunned, wondering how things had turned out this way. Ge Sanmei followed behind, equally bewildered, glancing at Li Xianglu from time to time.
Li Xianglu sneakily glanced around and, seeing her aunt's unpleasant expression and that her own mother had yet to notice something was amiss, she continued to sob.
Li Jianqing had just come in from outside. Before he could reach the scene, his aunt had already rescued his sister, so he quickly came forward, offering a towel for his sister to wipe the dust off her body.
Li Xianglu took the towel but did not use it to wipe off the dust; instead, she continued to cry with her shoulders shaking.