Chapter 2 – Who Else Should Be Taken Advantage Of If Not My Father?

“Siya, are you feeling better?” Her father, Xia Zheng’an, entered the room and asked nervously, avoiding looking at Xia Tian.

Xia Tian looked at her father’s helpless expression and felt a surge of anger. Her grandmother wanted to sell her off, and her mother had argued with her grandmother, although it didn’t do much good.

As for her father, he just crouched in the corner of the yard, holding his head in both hands, not saying a word.

Xia Tian ground her teeth and said harshly, “Tell Grandma, I want to get married, but with one condition – I want to eat now. Tell her to cook me a bowl of noodles—plain noodles. Also, I need one or two silver coins to keep for myself. If she doesn’t agree, then she can wait for my body to be collected!”

In the Xia family, only her fourth uncle, who was studying in the county, had the right to eat plain noodles. Her grandmother was always very protective of them, and anyone who wanted to eat a bowl could expect to be scolded for half an hour.

As for silver coins, they were even more restricted. Grandma only ever took in silver, never letting it out—except for her fourth uncle.

Why should she make her father say it?

That was obvious. Whoever brings up the subject gets scolded. And her father was always acting like a weakling. Whenever her mother bullied his wife and children, he never dared to speak up—he only let them endure.

Even now, when her fourth uncle had been married off to a sickly man, her father didn’t dare utter a word.

If she didn’t take advantage of her father now, when would she?

It was time to get some justice for her fourth uncle.

Watching her father leave with hunched shoulders, Xia Tian felt a little relieved.

Soon, she heard Grandma Xia’s angry shouts coming from the main room.

As the scolding continued, Xia Tian rubbed her ears, feeling her body slowly relax. Her head was still a little heavy, and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.

She didn’t know how her father had convinced Grandma Xia, nor how much time had passed, but when Xia Yue woke her up, Xia Tian blinked in confusion at the old wooden ceiling before it hit her.

Seeing Xia Tian wake up, Xia Yue hurriedly handed her an old porcelain bowl with chopsticks.

Xia Tian took the bowl and saw that it was filled with plain noodles, with a soft fried egg on top. Her resentment toward her father eased a little.

Her father wasn’t entirely useless after all.

At that moment, her stomach growled embarrassingly, and Xia Tian smiled at Xia Yue, feeling a bit shy.

“Big sis, are you eating?” Xia Yue asked.

“I already ate, Siya, eat quickly.” Xia Yue replied softly.

Xia Tian was starving by now, so she didn’t hesitate and immediately started eating.

“Ah, I never imagined plain noodles would taste this good,” Xia Tian thought to herself. She had always been trying to lose weight before, avoiding this and that, but now, even if she wanted to eat, she couldn’t get anything.

Xia Yue watched her sister gobbling down the noodles, feeling a bit sour inside. Siya was only fifteen and was about to marry a sickly man who didn’t even know how long he had left to live.

Her younger sister was tough and stubborn since she was little. Xia Yue didn’t know what kind of future awaited her.

Halfway through her meal, when Xia Tian’s stomach was feeling better, she looked up and found Xia Yue staring at her.

“Big sis, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, just eat.” Xia Yue smiled gently.

Xia Tian nodded and was about to continue eating when the door curtain moved, and two children rushed in.

A boy and a girl—Xia Shiji Li and Xia Chen, the twins of her fourth uncle. Xia Chen, the youngest sister, was nicknamed Wuyia.

Actually, both children were nine years old this year, but because they often went hungry and worked hard, they were small and looked about seven or eight.

“Siya, you’re awake? Does your head still hurt?” Xia Shiji Li grabbed Xia Tian’s sleeve with concern, while Wuyia stood next to him, looking worried.

“I’m fine now. The pain’s gone,” Xia Tian replied with a smile, reaching up to gently rub the heads of her younger siblings.

“Big sis, we were really worried about you. Mom said you were asleep and didn’t let us in,” Xia Shiji Li said, looking a little aggrieved. Wuyia nodded in agreement.

Xia Shiji Li and Xia Chen were very close to her because Xia Tian always protected them fiercely, and their mother was very strict with them.

Looking at her two younger siblings, who were so dependent on her, Xia Tian felt a sense of warmth in her heart.

“Xia Shiji Li, Wuyia, could you help me out?” Xia Tian asked, seeing them eyeing her bowl of noodles, their mouths watering.

“Help with what? You tell us, Big sis,” the two children said, their big eyes wide with curiosity.

“Can you eat the rest of my noodles? I’m full now and a little stuffed.” Xia Tian said, pushing the half-eaten bowl of noodles toward them.

Xia Shiji Li and Xia Chen exchanged glances, then both shook their heads. “No, Big sis, you eat. We’ve already had our meal.”

Xia Tian, seeing how understanding they were, decided to tease them. “Then what should I do? I’m full, and Big sis won’t eat. Should I give the noodles to Little Nan at Uncle San’s house?”

Xia Yue, who was standing by, felt a little sad. These two kids had never had plain noodles before, and she hadn’t had any either.

She knew what Xia Tian was thinking—she just wanted to share the noodles with them. So, she spoke up to support her. “Well, give them to Little Nan. He’s the one who’ll enjoy it.”

“No!” Both Xia Shiji Li and Xia Chen shouted in unison. “We won’t give them to Little Nan. Aunt San always bullies us, and Little Nan likes to report us to Grandma, making her scold us.”

Little Nan was Uncle San’s youngest son, who was about seven years old.

As for the names of the Xia family’s children, they were relatively normal, especially compared to the unusual names like Dog Egg and Hoe Head from the village.

Xia Tian’s fourth uncle had studied in the county for years, although he had never passed the imperial examination. Still, he liked to carry himself with the airs of a scholar.

A few years ago, in order to show off his scholarly status, her fourth uncle had given all the children in the family formal names, even if they were somewhat unusual like those from the mountains and rivers, but still much more normal than the village names.

Though the family still referred to them as Erya, Sanya, and Siya.

However, the boys were forced by her fourth uncle to use their formal names.

Xia Tian watched her younger siblings happily eating the noodles and wondered if her father had managed to get the silver coins for her.

Later that night, before going to bed, no one else had come into their room, except for the people from the second household.

Xia Tian was lost in thought, not realizing when she fell asleep.

The next morning, just after the rooster had crowed twice, Xia Tian was woken by her mother calling her.

The sky was still pitch black, with no sign of dawn yet, so it was probably around three or four in the morning.

Xia Tian sat up, fumbled for her clothes, and when she reached out, she realized Xia Yue had already gotten up. Now, only the shallow breathing of Xia Chen could be heard from the bed.

Xia Tian quietly got out of bed, put on her shoes, and lifted the door curtain to step outside.

This was the first time she had left the room after putting on her clothes yesterday, but it was too dark to see anything clearly.

When her mother, Chen Shi, saw Xia Tian had gotten dressed, she hurried her to go wash up.

Xia Tian felt much better today than yesterday. The swelling on her head had gone down a bit, and her dizziness had lessened.

Listening to her mother’s urging, Xia Tian went to the outhouse in the back yard. Afterward, she fetched some water from the kitchen and slowly washed her face.

By the time she finished washing up, the first light of dawn had appeared in the sky.