Chapter 3

Xiong saw his daughter return safe and sound, and he was overjoyed to the point of tears. he rushed forward to embrace her and sobbed uncontrollably, hitting her several times while saying, “You silly girl, where did you go? You made your mother worry so much.”

The younger brothers, Da Niu and Erniu, and the young sister, Xinghua, also crowded around her, hugging her and shedding tears.

Pear Blossom had just allocated a point to the intelligence column, and now she felt a bit clearer in her mind. Hugging her mother and siblings, she said, “Mother, don’t cry. I ran all the way back and I’m exhausted.”

The villagers, not knowing the full situation, assumed Pear Blossom had been playing and came back late. Madam Qin and Sister-in-law Gui were relieved they hadn’t spoken up earlier. Otherwise, the old lady would have lashed out at them.

Little did they know, Old Madam Xiang and her second daughter-in-law, Madam Zhou, were pale with fear and trembling inside.

Today, they had indeed sold the girl, and now that this fool had returned, the buyer wouldn’t let the matter rest. What were they to do?

The village elder saw Pear Blossom return and couldn’t help but scold her, “You child, don’t you know to come home when it gets dark? You made your mother worry and almost caused a misunderstanding with your grandmother.”

Pear Blossom blinked her clear eyes and said, “It’s not a misunderstanding. Today, my grandmother did take me to the city to sell me, but I escaped.”

This statement was like a splash of cold water into a hot pan, causing an uproar among the onlookers.

Old Madam Xiang finally came to her senses and, seeing everyone pointing at her, instantly retorted, “When did I take you to sell you? If I really sold you, would you still be here?”

“I just said I escaped. Didn’t you hear me?” Rika looked at her as if she were a fool.

Since her mind had become sharper, she felt like everyone else had become dumber.

“You little slut, running off to play and causing trouble, and now you’re blaming the old woman? Watch me tear your mouth apart—”

With these words, she viciously lunged forward.

Pear Blossom had always been simple-minded and never avoided Old Madam Xiang’s beatings. She often received many lashes. This time was no different, but Lady Xiong, unwilling to see her daughter beaten, hugged her taller daughter and tried to shield her. In the process, Old Madam Xiang scratched Lady Xiong, leaving several bloody marks on her face.

Seeing her mother scratched, Pear Blossom was instantly enraged. She broke free from her mother’s embrace, shoved Old Madam Xiang to the ground, and shouted, “If you dare hit me, my mother, or my siblings again, I’ll beat you.”

Old Madam Xiang fell heavily, crying out in pain.

Onlookers began to point and whisper again.

“Pear Blossom, how can you push your grandmother? That’s extremely disrespectful.”

“Behaving like this, you’ll never get married. Who would want to marry a girl who doesn’t respect her elders?”

Pear Blossom didn’t care; she didn’t like men anyway and didn’t want to marry. She liked the young widow. As long as the young widow didn’t mind, it was fine with her.

She glanced around, feeling a bit disappointed that the young widow wasn’t there to witness her brave stand against Old Madam Xiang.

Old Man Xiang finally stood up and scolded, “Pear Blossom, you’ve turned the world upside down. Tomorrow, I’ll take you to see the magistrate.”

Pear Blossom didn’t care about seeing the magistrate, but a sound echoed in her mind: “Host, stop immediately. Disrespecting elders will decrease your reputation, which will hinder your growth.”

She had agreed to bind with the system because it promised to help her achieve her wishes, one of which was related to the young widow. Despite her disgust for Old Madam Xiang, she reluctantly stopped for the sake of her wish.

She thought hard with her not-so-bright mind and pointed at Old Madam Xiang on the ground and the pale-faced Madam Zhou standing nearby, “Today, they took me to town and bought me candy and tea. After drinking the tea, I fell asleep. When I woke up, two people were trying to tie me up. I struggled hard to escape and run home. Isn’t that selling me?”

Everyone in the village knew Rika was simple-minded and incapable of lying. Her words carried significant weight. Even if the villagers didn’t dare speak out, they began to suspect Old Madam Xiang, casting her doubtful glances.

The village elder shared their sentiment. Ignoring Old Madam Xiang’s curses on the ground, he turned to Madam Zhou and asked, “Is what Pear Blossom said true?”

Madam Zhou was trembling with fear but didn’t dare admit it. She quickly shook her head, “No, we didn’t sell Pear Blossom. She’s lying.”

The village elder sighed, “If you didn’t sell her, and Pear Blossom is back, let’s consider it a misunderstanding. If you did sell her and her father finds out, he might refuse to return to the military, which would be a great loss.”

Madam Qin finally gathered the courage to say, “If she was sold and the buyer finds out she ran away, they’ll come looking. Then we’ll know if Pear Blossom is telling the truth.”

Others agreed.

This was precisely Old Madam Xiang’s fear. If the buyer came to reclaim their money, it would be a small matter. But if the whole village found out, the Xiang family would be too ashamed to show their faces.

Old Madam Xiang continued cursing, but everyone found it uninteresting and dispersed.

The village elder gave a few more instructions before leaving.

Pear Blossom ignored the Xiang family and led her mother and siblings back to their western room, only to be stopped by Old Man Xiang, “Pear Blossom, look at the trouble you’ve caused, making the whole village laugh at our family.”

Pear Blossom looked at him, confused, “Grandpa, why don’t you question Grandma? She’s the one who sold me. Why blame me? Or do you think I shouldn’t have come back?”

Old Man Xiang was puzzled by Pear Blossom’s sudden sharpness. How did this usually foolish girl find her way back from the city? Had she become smart?

“Nonsense, your grandmother never sold you.”

Pear Blossom didn’t care, “If you say she didn’t, then she didn’t. But when the traffickers come tomorrow, let’s see how you explain.”

Rubbing her belly, she said, “I’m so hungry. I only had two candies and a drugged cup of tea today. Has Third Aunt cooked dinner?”

Cooking was usually done by the second and third households, not Lady Xiong. For dinner, they needed Old Madam Xiang’s approval.

Old Madam Xiang, still furious, shouted, “No food! After running around all day, you have the nerve to ask for food? There’s none.”

“No food, fine. But if there’s no dinner tonight, we won’t have the strength to work tomorrow. Don’t expect the first household to work the fields.” Pear Blossom said, leading her mother and siblings back to their room.

Old Man Xiang and his wife were busy discussing their next steps. After some cursing, they stopped blocking them and returned inside.

Back in their room, Pear Blossom closed the door tightly and led her mother and siblings to the sheep pen.

Lady Xiong, still worried, held her daughter’s hand and asked, “Pear Blossom, were you telling the truth? Did your grandmother and second aunt really try to sell you?”

“Of course it’s true, but don’t worry, Mother. I knocked those two people out.”

“But what if they come for you tomorrow?”

“Grandma took their money. They’ll ask her for it back. It has nothing to do with us.”

“But they want you, silly girl.”

“I’m not afraid. As long as I don’t want to go, they can’t take me.”

Lady Xiong wanted to ask more, but Pear Blossom interrupted, “Mother, aren’t you hungry? I have something good for us to eat.”

She pointed to the little ones following behind, “Everyone gets some.”

Da Niu, now thirteen, was also tapped by his elder sister and grinned widely.

Pear Blossom led everyone to the sheep pen, took out the small pot containing pig trotters and chitterlings, and then dug out the bundle of white rice wrapped in banana leaves, placing them in front of the group. She said, “Eat quickly, it’ll be bad if they find out.”

It was already dark, and the food in the pot wasn’t clearly visible, but the white rice could still be seen. The smell of meat wafted nearby, and the stomachs of the younger siblings immediately growled. They reached out to grab the rice.

Pear Blossom didn’t stop them and let them eat as they pleased. She even tore off a small piece of banana leaf, wrapped a rice ball, and handed it to their mother, Mrs. Xiong. “Mother, eat.”

Mrs. Xiong felt uneasy, but there was no way out of the situation, and after a day of labor, she was very hungry. Seeing the children eating happily, she couldn’t resist either, so she squatted down and started eating.

The meal eaten in the dark was very satisfying for the mother and her children.

Da Niu, who was growing fast and could eat a whole cow, would have eaten more if not for considering his mother and younger siblings. Apricot Flower and Erniu were contentedly patting their full bellies.

Erniu said, “Finally, we get to eat meat. In past years, we could have some when Dad came back, but this year Dad didn’t return, and I’ve almost forgotten what meat tastes like. If only we could eat like this every day.”

Pear Blossom recalled the system’s promise to let her family live a good life and patted Erniu’s head. “Sister will make sure you eat like this every day.”

Erniu rubbed his head against Pear Blossom and said, “Sister, you’re the best.”

While the four of them were enjoying their feast in the sheep pen, chaos erupted in the east room.

The pig trotters and chitterlings that had been simmering in the kitchen were gone, and only the rice crust at the bottom of the pot remained. Old Third’s wife rushed into Old Man Xiang’s room, shouting, “Something’s wrong, there’s been a robbery!”

Old Man Xiang and his wife, along with the second son and his wife, were discussing plans for tomorrow when Old Third’s wife burst in, making everyone unhappy.

“What is it? Why all the yelling?”

“The food in the kitchen is gone,” Old Third Daughter-in-law, Liu, said anxiously.

Upon hearing this, Old Lady Xiang quickly stood up and headed to the kitchen. They had sold Pear Blossom for ten taels of silver today and had bought pig trotters and chitterlings for a feast. The others followed her to the kitchen.

Indeed, under the oil lamp’s light, the pot was clean, with not even a drop of soup left, and the rice was gone.

Old Lady Xiang was furious, shouting curses, but cursing didn’t bring the food back. The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

“Could it be the people in the west room who stole it?”

Mrs. Zhou thought for a moment. “When we were in the front, the eldest family was all there. How could they have had time to steal the food?”

“Who could have done it then? That little brat came back, and now even the meat from the pot is gone. It’s really strange.”

“Should we go find the village chief?”

“Are you out of your mind? In these times, who could afford to eat a whole pot of pig trotters and chitterlings? Going to him would just reveal our recent gains. Isn’t that asking for trouble?” Old Man Xiang couldn’t help but knock on the second son’s head.

“So, should we just let it go?”

“What else can we do? We need to figure out how to deal with tomorrow. What if those two buyers come to claim the person?” Old Man Xiang returned to his room angrily, lay on the bed with an empty stomach, and felt extremely frustrated.