Chapter 29

The first thing Miao Fengshan did after arriving home was to tidy up the house.

Ye Xiaoxiao went to the pharmacy to check. It was empty, and the door was locked.

Her master must not be back yet.

However, Ye Xiaoxiao had the key to the pharmacy and could go in to get medicine and read books.

She opened the door and tidied up the shop briefly.

On her way back, she met Ye Changning, who was coming out of the house.

“Third Brother!”

“Shh!”

Ye Changning looked around nervously, acting stealthily.

“Keep your voice down. Don’t let Grandpa hear you.”

Ye Xiaoxiao: “…You just left like that?”

Ye Changning patted her shoulder. “I’m just going out to explore. I’m not going to disappear forever. Third Brother thanks you first. Just wait, when I come back, our family will have money.”

Ye Xiaoxiao believed him. Even if Ye Changning didn’t make money, she would.

“Third Brother, be careful on the road. If you encounter any difficulties, you can go to the army compound in Beijing and find Duan Lei. Tell him you’re my friend. He’ll help you. I’ll give you a detailed address later.”

Ye Xiaoxiao was also making sure she had a backup plan. Although Ye Changning might not be going to Beijing, it was hundreds of times easier to go to Beijing from any big city than to go back to Baishi Village.

If he encountered difficulties, it would be easier to go to Beijing.

“I’ll remember. Go back quickly. It’s cold outside.” Ye Changning told Ye Xiaoxiao to go home and added, “Don’t tell anyone at home where I’ve gone.”

Ye Xiaoxiao: “Just wait to get a beating when you come back.”

Ye Changning didn’t care. With a heart full of passion, he waved goodbye and left.

His figure disappeared into the alley.

…

Grandpa Miao didn’t pay much attention to Ye Changning’s departure. He thought he had gone home.

The next day, Ye Changyuan took the things his family had prepared and went to see Ye Lian.

“Come with me. Let’s go see Big Sister together.”

“Let’s go.”

Ye Xiaoxiao had to get to know everyone in the family, so she was quite enthusiastic about this.

Ye Changsheng also got dressed and went out.

The things they brought were mushrooms, ginseng slices, frozen chicken and duck, and a bag of brown sugar.

In this era, this gift was considered quite generous.

Although the Ye family was poor, they were not stingy.

Ye Lian’s in-laws lived in Qianjiatun Village, not far from Songlin Town.

But it still took an hour and a half to walk there.

When they reached the entrance of Ye Lian’s in-laws’ house, they could hear the shrill voices of women in the courtyard before they even knocked.

“It’s already what time, and you’re not cooking yet!”

“Mom, I still have two clothes left to wash. Why don’t you start the fire first?”

“You little vixen, we, the Qian family, married you to eat for free. You dare to order your mother-in-law around? I’ll beat you to death!”

“Don’t hit my mom!”

“Don’t hit! Don’t hit Mom… Wah, wah, wah…”

The cries of children could be heard from the courtyard.

Ye Xiaoxiao and her two brothers exchanged glances.

Ye Changyuan kicked the door open. In the courtyard, an old woman was beating a thin woman with a cane.

Two children were sitting on the ground crying, and one was being protected in the thin woman’s arms.

It was winter, and there were many freshly washed clothes hanging in the courtyard.

The thin woman’s hands were already red and chapped from the cold.

Ye Changyuan was enraged by what he saw. His eyes were bloodshot. “You dare hit my sister. I’ll fight you!”

Ye Changyuan rushed forward and shoved Ye Lian’s mother-in-law, Bao Xueqin, to the ground.

“Who is it? Someone is hitting this old woman!”

Bao Xueqin rolled on the ground, pretending to be beaten.

Ye Xiaoxiao had never seen such a shameless person. “You hit her first, and you dare to play the victim?”

Bao Xueqin jumped up from the ground as soon as she heard this. “Pfft, this is our Qian family’s daughter-in-law. I, her mother-in-law, can hit her if I want. What business is it of yours, outsiders?”

Ye Changsheng stepped forward. “Who are you calling an outsider?”

“Uncle!”

“Little Uncle!”

The two children recognized Ye Changyuan and Ye Changsheng.

Ye Lian also raised her head. “Yuan’er, Sheng’er, how did you come here?”

Tears welled up in Ye Changyuan’s eyes. “Sister, come home with me. We won’t suffer at their house anymore.”

Ye Changyuan picked up Ye Lian’s younger daughter. “Sister, let’s go now.”

“Where are you going? You hit someone and want to run away?”

Bao Xueqin blocked the entrance, shouting loudly, her voice loud and sharp. “Neighbors, come and see. The daughter-in-law brought her family to beat her mother-in-law. What a strange sight!”

Ye Lian knew her mother-in-law’s character. If she left now, who knows what gossip would spread in the village?

Her two younger brothers would go to school and join the army. They couldn’t be affected by this.

Ye Lian gritted her teeth. “I’m not leaving. You guys go back home.”

Ye Changyuan: “Sister, are you going to let her beat you to death? If Mom and Dad knew, they would come too. Don’t be stubborn.”

People on the street were already coming towards them, but most of them were just there to watch the show.

After all, everyone knew what kind of person Bao Xueqin was.

Ye Xiaoxiao stood in front of the woman who was crying loudly. “Mother-in-law of the Qian family, you keep saying we hit you, but you look very energetic. You don’t seem like someone who was beaten. Look at my sister. It’s winter, and she’s wearing a thin single coat. She’s freezing and shivering. And look at her hands, they’re all chapped from the cold. Do you dare to show your hands and compare?”

“Let’s not talk about how you always think your daughter-in-law is an outsider. Look at the two children in the house. You just wanted to beat them to death. You know that killing minors is punishable by death. If you’re not afraid, let’s go to the police station and reason with them.”

Bao Xueqin’s cries stopped abruptly. “What nonsense are you talking about? How could I beat someone to death?”

Ye Xiaoxiao: “Your weapon is still lying in the yard. Do you want to kill someone? We need to let the police come and see.”

Bao Xueqin: “Pfft… Every daughter-in-law gets beaten. Why is mine so precious?”

Ye Xiaoxiao’s face was cold. “Say whatever you want. But we, the Ye family’s daughters, can’t be beaten by you.”

“Fourth Brother, Yuan’er, let’s take Big Sister and the two children with us.”

Ye Xiaoxiao pushed Bao Xueqin aside.

“Let’s go!”

They didn’t even have time to pack their things. Ye Changyuan couldn’t stay for even a minute. He helped Ye Lian out.

Ye Changsheng took the two children and took back the gifts they had brought.

“Old Qian’s wife, you’re beating your daughter-in-law on New Year’s Eve. You’ve driven her away now.”

“I said Ye Lian is already good enough, besides not being able to give birth to a son. She’s still washing so many clothes in this cold weather.”

The neighbors who were watching the show were all gossiping, making Bao Xueqin roll her eyes.

At this moment, someone squeezed through the crowd.

“Mom, what’s going on at our house?”

Bao Xueqin: “What else could be going on? Your wife has become ambitious and taken the children back to her parents’ house.”

Someone reminded him, “Qian Fu, your wife just left. You can still catch up with her.”

Qian Fu didn’t care. “Let her go. She’s taking my children. Where can she run? She’ll come back sooner or later. Just wait and see how I deal with her when I get back.”

Qian Fu had a fierce face and spoke with a cruel tone. Seeing him like this, the neighbors didn’t even dare to joke and all dispersed back to their homes.