Chapter 30

When Ye Xiaoxiao and her siblings returned home, they startled Grandpa Miao.

“Isn’t this Ye Lian? What happened? Did you fall on the road?”

Ye Lian walked with a limp, looking like she had actually fallen.

Ye Changyuan let the two shivering children get on the kang and said resentfully, “It wasn’t a fall. My elder sister was beaten by her mother-in-law.”

Miao Fengshan was furious. “Unbelievable. How could the Qian family beat someone?”

Ye Changsheng poured a cup of hot water for Ye Lian. “Big Sister, does your mother-in-law always do this?”

Two lines of clear tears flowed down Ye Lian’s pale and thin face. Before she could speak, she was already choked with sobs.

The two children sat uneasily beside their mother, not saying a word.

Ye Xiaoxiao noticed that not only was Ye Lian very thin, but the two children were also malnourished.

Ye Lian hugged her children. “Whenever I do anything, I never satisfy those mother and son. I just endured it.”

Ye Xiaoxiao was angry. “Big Sister, the more you do this, the more they think you’re easy to bully.”

Ye Lian only then noticed Ye Xiaoxiao. This was the first time she had seen her. She hadn’t heard about the things that happened at home.

Before she could express her confusion, Ye Changyuan took the initiative to introduce Ye Xiaoxiao.

Ye Lian looked ashamed. “I don’t know about all the things that have happened at home recently.”

Ye Changsheng: “Big Sister, everything is fine at our house. Now we should solve your problem first.”

Ye Xiaoxiao also said, “I think we should tell Our uncle and Aunts about this, and then invite Mom and Dad to come over. We’ll go to the Qian family together to demand an explanation.

Big Sister, do you want to go back to the Qian family? Why don’t you take this opportunity to get a divorce?”

Ye Changyuan clenched his fists. “Yes, divorce! We’ll never go back to suffer anymore.”

How could Ye Lian not want to? But if she returned to her parents’ house with two children, it would also be a burden on them. She couldn’t be so selfish.

“I’m fine. It’ll be better in a couple of days.”

Ye Xiaoxiao didn’t understand. “Big Sister, I think the Qian family is not only bad to you, but they’re also extremely harsh on the two children. Even if you stay there, nothing will change. You should get out as soon as possible.”

Seeing her younger siblings’ repeated persuasion, Ye Lian finally wavered.

She held Ye Changyuan’s hand. “Yuan’er, don’t tell Mom and Dad first. Let me think about it carefully.”

Ye Changyuan frowned. “Okay.”

So Ye Lian stayed with her two children.

Ye Lian’s two children were named Qian Yunduo and Qian Yunduang.

But Ye Lian’s mother-in-law never called the children by their names. She simply called them Zhaodi and Pandi.

When the children were born, if Ye Lian hadn’t insisted on naming them herself, Zhaodi and Pandi would have been their names.

Ye Lian stayed at Miao Fengshan’s house for three days.

Every morning, she got up early to cook and clean.

Miao Fengshan told her more than once to rest at home and not do any work.

But Ye Lian couldn’t stay idle.

The two children were also well-behaved and obedient. They never cried or made a fuss.

Ye Xiaoxiao went to the pharmacy every morning and read books at home in the afternoon.

On the third day, someone suddenly appeared at Miao Fengshan’s house.

Qian Fu seemed to have finally come to his senses and came to take Ye Lian and the children home.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, his tone was bad. “When are you going home? How long are you going to stay here?”

Ye Changyuan had been dissatisfied with this brother-in-law for days. Hearing this, he was about to lose his temper.

Ye Changsheng held him down and looked at Qian Fu. “Brother-in-law, you came to pick up your sister. Do you know you were wrong?”

Qian Fu looked impatient. “What was wrong? I wasn’t even home. I don’t know what happened. My mother just said a few words to you. Is it worth running back to your parents’ house? You weren’t home for two days. No one did any work. My mother is sick because of you.”

Ye Xiaoxiao heard these shameless words before she even entered the house.

Ye Changsheng’s voice was steady. “Brother-in-law, although you weren’t home, everyone in the neighborhood saw clearly. It’s not difficult to find out the truth. It was clearly your mother who beat my sister and the two children. How come she’s the one who’s sick?”

Qian Fu’s face, covered in acne scars, showed anger. He didn’t dare to say anything harsh to the two young men.

He directly said to Ye Lian in a bad mood, “Are you coming home or not? If you don’t, don’t come back for the rest of your life.”

Ye Lian’s heart, which had been wavering, was now like a stagnant pool.

“Qian Fu, if I go back, you and your mother have to apologize to me, and then promise that you won’t hit me or the two children again.”

This was Ye Lian’s rare act of courage.

She had thought carefully these past few days. It didn’t matter if she suffered, but her two children couldn’t continue like this. They were still young and deserved a happy childhood.

“Pfft! You vixen, I’m giving you face.”

Qian Fu’s face changed, and he directly took off his shoe and hit Ye Lian.

Although Ye Changsheng and Ye Changyuan stopped him quickly, he still hit Ye Lian a few times.

When Ye Xiaoxiao ran into the courtyard, Qian Fu was lying on the ground, and Ye Changyuan was pressing him down and beating him.

She ran over and pulled Ye Changyuan away. It was okay to hit him, but not to kill him.

Ye Changyuan was angry because Qian Fu dared to hit his sister in front of her family. Who knows how arrogant he was behind their backs.

Ye Lian, however, wasn’t crying at this moment. She was filled with endless despair.

She looked at Qian Fu, who had gotten up from the ground and was still cursing.

“Qian Fu, we’re getting a divorce.”

Qian Fu: “What did you say?”

Ye Lian shouted, “We’re getting a divorce! I’ll never go back to your house again.”

Qian Fu: “Okay, okay… You said it. I’ll tell you, we can get a divorce, but you have to return the hundred yuan in bride price you got from your family. And all the food and things you’ve eaten and used at my house over the years, you have to pay me back in cash.”

Ye Lian looked at him in disbelief. “Qian Fu, you’re heartless! How much work have I done at the Qian family all these years? Everything in the house was bought by me. I even gave birth to two children for you. Now you want me to pay you back? Do you have any conscience?”

Qian Fu laughed. “Right… I almost forgot about those two money-losing goods. If you want to take the two children with you after the divorce, you have to give me money too. After all, I raised them. And in the future, when they get married, you have to give me their dowry back.”

Ye Xiaoxiao was so angry just listening. She went into the house, picked up a basin of cold water, and splashed it on Qian Fu.

Qian Fu was caught off guard and got soaked. The cold wind made him shiver.

“You shameless jerk! Get out of our house!”

Qian Fu trembled and reached out. “You, you, you…”

Ye Changyuan raised his fist. “Are you leaving or not? If you don’t, I’ll beat you up again!”

Qian Fu made a threat. “You guys wait for me.”

Then he turned and ran away.

Ye Lian had been holding back, and only after Qian Fu left did she start crying.

Ye Changyuan quickly comforted her. “Big Sister, I’ll go home tomorrow and call Mom and Dad. They definitely don’t want to see you being bullied either.”

Ye Xiaoxiao didn’t know if there was a marriage law now, but if it was like Qian Fu said, they definitely couldn’t get a divorce.

This matter had to be discussed and handled by the elders. They couldn’t let the Qian family take advantage of them.