Chapter 5

Fengyin from Second Brother Lin’s family cried with a wounded face.

Grandma Lin looked at the wound on Fengyin’s face and couldn’t help but scold her harshly.

“Good grief! Why can’t you be more careful? How could you hit your face like that? What will you do when it’s time to marry?”

Fengyin inhaled sharply. She hadn’t intended for things to get so serious; it was just that there happened to be a sharp rock in the field, and by bad luck, it had scratched her face.

“Mother, please don’t be angry. Fengyin is still young; she should just avoid eating anything with strong colors. I doubt it will leave a scar…”

Fengyin interrupted Zhang Yueju, puffing with indignation, “Grandma, it was that Jiang Jiang who pushed me!”

“What did you say?” Grandma Lin momentarily couldn’t recall who that was.

“It’s that Jiang Jiang from the west end of the village, the one Uncle and Aunt Lin want to adopt! She’s the one who pushed me. Otherwise, why would I have fallen from the ridge?”

Not only was her face injured, but her hand was also scraped, and it burned painfully.

She vowed to hold this grudge against Jiang Jiang no matter what.

“She’s not even a part of our family yet, and she’s already so malicious. If she really comes to our home, won’t she turn our lives upside down?”

Grandma Lin had already opposed Lin Youqing’s adoption of Jiang Jiang, and now she had even more reason to express her discontent.

“I will never allow this wretched girl to set foot in my Lin family’s door! I see her as a disaster. Otherwise, how could her parents have died so suddenly?”

The more Grandma Lin spoke, the more she felt her thoughts were justified.

After all, so many women in the village gave birth; how come this girl’s mother died during childbirth?

And what about Jiang Fusheng? He had gone up the mountain with Zhou Fugui and died on the cliff. Not even a complete corpse had been found!

“Mother, you shouldn’t say such things…” Zhang Yueju exchanged glances with Eldest Brother Lin and spoke up.

Jiang Jiang was already in a terrible situation; if word got around that she was a disaster, everyone would avoid her, making it impossible for the child to continue living in the village.

Before Zhang Yueju could finish, Fengyin interrupted, her expression filled with anger. “Grandma is right! That Jiang Jiang is a disaster and a vicious child. If Uncle really adopts her, our entire family will be doomed!”

Zhang Yueju couldn’t help but furrow her brow. It was hard to imagine that such words were coming from a five-year-old child. What had Second Brother and his wife taught their daughter?

When Lin Youqing and his wife returned home, they were greeted by the scene of Grandma Lin crying, causing a commotion, and threatening to hang herself.

“I’ll make it clear today: if you dare to adopt that Jiang Jiang as your daughter, once you step out of this door, you are no longer my son!”

Lin Youqing felt a headache coming on, unable to understand why his mother had suddenly reacted this way. His gaze fell on Fengyin, whose face was smeared with yellow-green medicinal ointment. “What happened to Fengyin?”

“It’s all that wretched Jiang Jiang’s fault! She actually pushed Fengyin into the field. This could leave a scar; how could she be so malicious?”

“Are you saying that Jiang Jiang pushed you?” Lin Youqing’s expression turned serious as he found it hard to believe that Jiang Jiang would do such a thing.

His gaze was intense as he confronted Fengyin, who stiffened and insisted, “Yes, she pushed me!”

“Jiang Jiang was usually alone and didn’t play with the other kids in the village. She might not even know you. Why would she push you?”

“How would I know her?!” Fengyin covered her head, determined not to admit that she had fallen on purpose.

Lin Youqing declared: “If Jiang Jiang did push you, then your uncle will definitely make her apologize and give you an explanation. If not, I will not allow you to slander someone like this.”

“That’s enough! She’s already hurt; how can you, as her uncle, question her like this? Do you think Fengyin deliberately fell and is trying to blame Jiang Jiang?”

“I didn’t say that! Guijuan and I have already decided that we will take her to the county once Jiang Jiang agrees. We won’t leave her in the village to bother you.”

“What? You’re planning to take her to the county?!”

Grandma Lin had forgotten about Fengyin’s injury at this point. Her son wanted to take Jiang Jiang to the county? Why should that wild girl enjoy such good fortune?!

Eldest Brother Lin and Second Brother Lin also disapproved.

“After all, she is someone else’s child…”

He Guijuan spoke up from the side, “Eldest Brother, Youqing and I don’t care about blood ties. We like Jiang Jiang; she is well-behaved and sensible. Both of us are very fond of her and want to adopt her.”

Grandma Lin pushed her son aside as if she had found an outlet for her anger.

She stepped forward and slapped He Guijuan hard across the face.

The loud crack of the slap stunned everyone present.

He Guijuan was momentarily dazed, her head ringing.

It wasn’t until she felt the burning sting on her cheek that she came back to her senses.

With her hands on her hips, Grandma Lin began to berate He Guijuan mercilessly.

“How can you still have the face to speak? You’ve been married into our family for so many years, and you haven’t even given birth to a daughter! Old Third was truly blind to marry a hen that doesn’t lay eggs like you.”

“I will never allow that wild girl to step into the Lin family! You either pick one of your few children to raise, or you divorce Old Third and let him marry a woman who can have children!” Grandma Lin stomped her foot, pointing her finger at He Guijuan.

“What a sin! My Old Third son married you, and now, approaching forty, he still can’t hold a child in his arms. Meanwhile, his peers are already becoming grandfathers. Do you have any idea how much ridicule our family has faced over the years because of you?!”

Her son, the first college graduate from Luling Commune, a county committee cadre, an outstanding individual, had married such a woman who couldn’t bear children!

Lin Youqing stepped in front of his wife. “This is my problem, not Guijuan’s.”

In these years, he and Guijuan had sought medical help and treatments, but having children was a matter of fate; it couldn’t be forced.

“How can it not be her fault?!” Grandma Lin shot back. “Can’t having a son be attributed to my son’s issue?!”

Grandma Lin caused a scene, and the situation became chaotic.

In her youth, she had been skilled at throwing tantrums and cursing, and even in her old age, her fighting spirit remained strong.

Her crude and hurtful words pushed He Guijuan to the breaking point.

Covering her bruised face, He Guijuan ran out of the house.

The cold wind on her face provided a slight relief from the sting, but Grandma Lin’s slap had been fueled by all her strength.

He Guijuan walked along the river for a long time, tears eventually streaming down her cheeks.

Not having children had always been a thorn in her heart.

Over the years, because she worked at the county hospital, even if Grandma Lin had her opinions, she mostly expressed them through sarcasm. She never resorted to such open insults as she had today.

A hen that doesn’t lay eggs…

Each word cut like a knife to her heart.

He Guijuan wandered aimlessly for a long time, and when she finally came to her senses, she realized she had walked all the way to Jiang Jiang’s house.

Jiang Jiang had already laid down to rest, but hearing the howling wind outside, she worried it might snow later in the night and the old hen would be cold.

So, she decided to get up and move the hen from the coop into the house.

Jiang Jiang got out of bed, wrapped herself in a thick cotton coat, and, with the pale moonlight as her guide, fumbled until she finally managed to light the oil lamp.

As soon as Jiang Jiang stepped into the yard, she heard some noise at the gate, along with a woman’s muffled sobs.

Gathering her courage, she opened the door and was surprised to find He Guijuan standing outside.

“Third Aunt, what’s wrong?”

He Guijuan froze in place, not expecting Jiang Jiang to come out.

—o—o—o—