"That's good. If Father ever lays a hand on you, you must tell me."
A Jiu looked up at her mother with earnest eyes, her small frame exuding a surprising resilience.
Now that she had returned to the age of fifteen, she was determined to help her mother stand up and start anew, no matter what.
Cai Lihua's nose tingled, and she thought, "My goodness, I never had children in my past life and always envied those with 'little cotton-padded jackets.' Now I finally have one. No hardship will feel too bitter anymore."
She turned away, secretly wiping her eyes, and then turned back with a radiant smile.
"Jiu'er, you're still young. These aren't things you should worry about. Go back to bed quickly. Your father said if he can't feed us, he'll let us eat his flesh tonight."
She was young? A Jiu was stunned. If it weren't for her malnutrition and the chaotic times, she would be of marriageable age.
Cai Lihua gently pushed her dazed, goose-like precious daughter back onto the bed.
Footsteps echoed from the courtyard, accompanied by muttered complaints: "They've really lost their minds. Why bring them home after they could have died outside? Just another mouth to feed, wasting grain."
"Who is that?" Cai Lihua mumbled to her daughter, looking towards the door.
A Jiu didn't need to look to know it was Grandma again. But her attention was fixed on her mother; how could she not even recognize Grandma's voice?
In past years, the mere sound of Grandma approaching would send her scurrying away to hide as far as possible.
That was right; her head had been badly injured by her father. It was a miracle she was still alive.
As she was thinking, an old woman with tiny feet and a determined stride strode into the main room, her arms swinging. Her triangular eyes immediately fell upon the mother and daughter, filled with disgust.
"Since you're back, you can handle sending that wretched girl to the Li family." Now that she was back, the old woman, though displeased, couldn't be bothered with further reprimands.
She'd assign this thankless task to her.
"Grandma, are you here just to sell me?" A Jiu kindly reminded her.
Indeed, Cai Lihua only then realized, fire sparking in her eyes. After all, her husband had said that she, who looked down on girls and praised boys, was the one who bore their daughter with a "cheap fate."
"Old woman, today my daughter is not being sold to anyone. I can afford to raise her."
Cai Lihua pointed at her own nose, her expression instantly turning ferocious. The old woman was so startled she looked as if she had seen a ghost.
"...What did you call me? Old—woman?" Wang Shi finally recovered, pointing at herself and speaking each word as if grinding her teeth.
She then glanced at A Jiu lying on the bed. This cursed girl had never been allowed to sleep in a room since she was little, having lived in the woodshed for over a decade.
In this scene, the old woman's eyes were filled with confusion, as if she were still in a dream. This must be it; otherwise, why would she feel like the world had turned upside down?
"Yes, old woman. That's what I'm saying. My daughter came from my womb, and you have no right to interfere."
Cai Lihua pointed at her mother-in-law, who had oppressed her for years, without a hint of fear. When she spoke of her daughter coming from her womb, she stood up straight.
A Jiu looked at her mother worriedly. It was fortunate her father hadn't hit her this time, but Grandma could inflict half a death's worth of pain when she hit someone.
"You... What woman can't give birth? What's so special about you giving birth? Why didn't you have a son? Isn't your womb useless?"
The old woman, unaccustomed to such provocation, pointed a trembling finger at Cai Lihua, her hand shaking with rage. Recovering herself, she grabbed her cane and raised it.
A Jiu immediately jumped out of bed and stood between them.
"If you dare lay a finger on my mother, I'm done with you."
There was no hint of playfulness on A Jiu's dirt-stained face. Now, having drunk the spiritual spring water, her dark, bright eyes seemed to conceal a sharp sword.
Her outstretched arms were not as sturdy as the firewood in the room. With this rebirth, she would see who dared to bully her again.
"Are you crazy? How dare you talk to me like that?" Wang Shi was truly stunned, not by fear of this pair of "cheap life" mother and daughter, but by the sheer strangeness of it all.
Everything that had happened today was very strange.
"I'm not crazy. Furthermore, if the Li family can't find the person, they'll surely settle the score with the one who took the money. They definitely won't find us. Grandma should quickly return the money to the Li family, or else the desperate thugs from the Li family might come to your courtyard to commit arson and murder."