Meng Shaode's mind had changed. While he knew the original owner was foolishly filial, his own mind belonged to a scholar. He couldn't bring himself to strike his mother. With a defiant toss of his head, he said, "Your daughter is not to be sold. If you want to go, you can go yourself." His voice was firm, as if a sense of justice had suddenly bloomed within him.
A Jiu's heart warmed. Was her father finally having a change of heart? But if he insisted on protecting her today, he would offend the fierce old woman. As expected, after a few seconds of stunned silence, the old woman let out a wail, dropped her cane, and sat on the ground, weeping.
Her tears infuriated Steward Hong, his chest heaving, his old eyes red. "I don't have time to watch your family put on this show. I'm telling you now, if you don't personally deliver the person to the Li family tomorrow, I won't let your Meng family off. Let's go..." The group stormed out of the courtyard.
A Jiu finally breathed a sigh of relief, her shoulders slumping, her small, thin lips trembling uncontrollably.
"A Jiu, go back to your room. Dad will go find your mother," Meng Shaode said gently, looking at her. He then glanced at his wailing mother, feeling helpless. "Mother, if you want to cry, cry your heart out here."
His words were like adding fuel to the fire. Madam Wang, enraged, grabbed her cane and chased him out. "I'll beat you to death, you unfilial son! How dare you speak to your mother like this? Back then, I raised you from infancy with my own hands. I worked hard to raise you and get you married. Is this how you repay your mother..."
The air fell silent. A Jiu then wearily slumped to the ground, her disheveled hair covering half her face. Her dark eyes finally held a glimmer of life. This was quickly shattered by a sharp pain in her stomach. She hadn't eaten in three days. Her stomach was pressed against her back, and she barely had the strength to speak.
A Jiu considered her immediate predicament, thinking she would eat something and then flee home for a few days. After all, her paternal grandmother would surely resort to dramatics for the sake of money, possibly even threatening to hang herself. Her father might soften, and her mother was weak and incapable of managing household affairs.
To her dismay, the woodshed contained nothing but a pile of rotten wood without bark. There wasn't a single morsel of food. She couldn't even find a bowl of water in the kitchen. A Jiu's heart turned to despair. Years of drought had passed, and the only remaining water source was the ancient well in Majia Village, fifty li away. She hadn't washed her hair in a year, and now she looked no different from a beggar.
A Jiu pinched her aching stomach, feeling the gnawing hunger, and walked out of the house. The fields were barren, with no crops. The only riverbed had cracked open with terrifying fissures, as if capable of swallowing people whole. The distant mountains were a desolate yellow, and the scorching sun made it impossible to open one's eyes.
Only a few scattered villagers roamed the village, each face etched with profound despair and confusion. But none of it was as dire as the prospect of being eaten due to starvation. A Jiu's frail body staggered towards Majia Village. She doubted her delicate frame could endure a fifty-li journey. Perhaps, if she perished on the road in her emaciated state, no one would even bother to scavenge a few pieces of flesh from her.
A Jiu managed a pale smile, a flicker of spirit returning to her eyes. She refused to die the same way again after a second chance.
"A Jiu? A Jiu..." Perhaps it was the thirst and hunger, but A Jiu heard a hallucination, someone urgently calling her name. Who else would affectionately call her by her given name? Hadn't she been called "brat" her entire life?
Shu Er looked back. In the distance, distorted by the heat rising from the earth, a sturdy man in a vest was pulling a middle-aged woman towards them. The paper-thin figure swayed precariously and collapsed. A trace of red light flashed beneath her eyelids, and her eyes instantly lost their luster.
"That's our daughter," the strong man pointed in this direction, his voice filled with joy.
"Our daughter? When did we have such a grown daughter? Didn't we fail multiple IVF attempts?"
"Oh, stop asking so many questions. It's great that we've found a grown daughter."
Before the couple reached her, A Jiu's vision blurred and abstracted. Her world went black, and she fell unconscious.
"Oh dear, my daughter!" The raggedly dressed woman exclaimed, breaking out in a cold sweat.
"Our daughter's name is A Jiu, Meng A Jiu, and she takes my surname." Meng Shaode's face was full of pride, completely unsuited to the heavy atmosphere of the era. The flesh on his face seemed to radiate joy.
"Ah? A Jiu? This... is this really our daughter? Heh, so I gave birth to a grown daughter without any suffering? But..." The woman rushed forward as if she had found a treasure, examining her "daughter" from head to toe.