Chapter 16: Proposing Separation

Wu Jingui had never been so wronged. Her hatred for her parents-in-law, her sister-in-law, and her brother-in-law’s family had long surpassed her hatred for Zeng Yanne. What was a little abuse? I’ll make you all pay for this!

The crowd was in an uproar again. They knew Hu Sifeng was greedy and bad, but they never thought she could be this evil. And Zeng Fugui and his wife—they were so cold-blooded, it really didn’t seem like Yanne was their own child.

The village leader’s face was terrifyingly dark. He wanted nothing more than to slap the living daylights out of this family of heartless monsters. “You all have a lot of nerve.”

Hu Sifeng wanted to strangle Wu Jingui. She quickly tried to justify herself. “I didn’t do it! Don’t listen to that stinking woman’s nonsense. She’s trying to frame me!”

Some people were just superficially evil, without much brain. Hu Sifeng’s shifty eyes had already given her away.

Zeng Fumao’s expression was knowing. He pointed to a few people. “Go inside and search for the medicine.”

Sun Jiazhi was forced to hand over the key to the main room. The neighboring Zeng Laonian family wasn’t spared either. Zeng Laonian, who had been checked out since they came down the mountain, was a little flustered. His gaze at Zeng Yanne was scrutinizing, and he said to the village leader, “Fumao, as the village leader, you can’t just blindly believe rumors. My wife just has a bad mouth; she doesn’t have the guts to harm anyone. There’s no need to search our house.”

Zeng Fumao gave a mocking smile. “You’re so scared. Are you hiding something you shouldn’t be?”

Zeng Laonian immediately tore the keys from his waistband, his attitude becoming cooperative. “We’re not hiding anything. Go ahead and search all you want.”

Beside him, Hu Sifeng and her daughter understood that anything they said would only make things worse. Instead of admitting their fault, they gritted their teeth, their eyes filled with such hatred that if looks could kill, Zeng Yanne would have already been turned into a sieve.

Zeng Yanne wasn’t afraid of their murderous stares. She had her dimension. The Zeng family couldn’t harm her. But if the original girl had survived this ordeal, the old hag might have actually succeeded in selling her granddaughter. The original girl was just an ordinary person of this era, working desperately for a little love and warmth. In the end, she got neither love nor warmth, only wave after wave of humiliation and persecution. What had she done wrong? How innocent was she?

If this were a play, she should be screaming, questioning Hu Sifeng, “Why are you treating me this way? What did I do wrong?”

But this was real life, and scumbags and idiots were meant to be beaten, not spoken to. Speaking even one extra word to them was a waste of life.

“Village leader, I want to sever all ties with this family.” Zeng Yanne’s attitude was firmer than ever. “Can I temporarily stay in the old lighthouse keeper’s house next to the abandoned lighthouse? I don’t have money for rent right now, but I’ll pay it back little by little once I earn work points.”

Before the village leader could speak, Liu Xiuhong, the women’s leader, spoke up to persuade her. “That house has been empty for years; the doors and windows are broken. It’s on a cape, so the wind is strong, and it’s especially cold in the winter. Not to mention it’s far from the fields, and getting water is a pain.”

Housing in the village was always tight. If that house were a good option, someone would have taken it long ago. Liu Xiuhong thought to herself, This child is still young; she doesn’t think things through. It was my oversight that things got this bad, so I should take care of her. “You can stay at my place for now. You can live with my daughter, Chuntao.”

From the moment he entered the courtyard, Zeng Fumao had been thinking about what to do with Yanne. Now, with this new development, it was clear that the child was not safe living at home. It wasn’t that moving out was a bad idea, but the place she suggested was not just inconvenient; there were no other households nearby, making it even more dangerous than living at the Zengs.

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“There’s an empty warehouse by the village office. You can stay there for now,” the village leader said, making the final decision.

Behind her frail exterior, Zeng Yanne had a maturity that didn’t belong to her age. She faced everyone and said earnestly, “I never want to come back to this family. Staying with Sister Chuntao or at the village office can only solve the immediate problem; it’s not a long-term solution. I don’t want to trouble anyone. That house is perfect for me. I’m not afraid of hardship, I’m not afraid of being tired, and I’m not afraid of being alone. I have my hands and feet, so I have no problem providing for myself. As long as I’m away from the Zeng family, I know I can make a good life for myself.”

The broken-down house in everyone else’s eyes was exactly where Zeng Yanne wanted to live. This whole performance was staged to get her there as soon as possible. What was a little distance? She wished it were even farther away; living in the middle of the sea would be even better.

A few people were moved and helped plead her case. “Yanne is so determined, Village Leader. Please agree to her request.”

The hot-tempered old Granny Yu gave Zeng Fugui a hard stare. “If anything happens to Yanne living there, the Zeng family will be held accountable.”

The young girl had the spirit to be self-reliant and the sense not to cause trouble for others. Since no one’s personal interests were affected, no one present objected.

The village leader thought for a moment and finally nodded. He said to Zeng Yanne, “You can stay at the village office for the next two days. Tomorrow, I’ll arrange for people to fix up the house. The cost of the repairs and the rent… will be paid with the work points the village rewarded you. How does that sound?” With so many people watching, Zeng Fumao couldn’t show favoritism towards Zeng Yanne. Even though they all sympathized with the child right now, someone would cause a scene if money got involved.

There was no reason for Zeng Yanne to say no. She immediately nodded. “I’ll do whatever Uncle Fumao says.”

The people who went to search for the medicine quickly returned with results. They had found two packages of brown powder wrapped in newspaper from both Zeng Fugui’s and Zeng Laonian’s homes.

Old Xiao, the village veterinarian, knew a little about medicine. He picked up a package and sniffed it. “This contains jimsonweed. It’s potent. It could knock out a cow, not just a person.”

“You’re a vet. What do you know? My son and I haven’t been able to sleep lately, so I got this medicine from someone,” Hu Sifeng’s mouth was hard as she tried to put up a fight.

Old Xiao spit. “If it’s really a sleeping aid, would you dare to drink some for us? Don’t say I didn’t warn you, because this stuff is highly toxic.”

The onlookers started heckling. “Drink it! Go on and drink it!”

Hu Sifeng was like a cricket in the autumn, immediately losing all her fight.

Zeng Fumao was troubled by how to handle this family. Things were chaotic right now. The higher-ups were too busy to deal with small cases like this, and at most, they would just lock the family up for a couple of days and let them go. A light punishment was out of the question. At the very least, they would have to continue clearing land for the village until next year.

Hesitating for a moment, he quietly asked Zeng Yanne, “Girl, you’re the victim. What do you want to do? Tell me what’s on your mind.”

Zeng Yanne was also weighing her options, considering what would benefit her the most. Her thoughts were similar to the village leader’s. This was an era where class struggle was everything. Internal family crimes would likely not be handled by the police even today. And since the Zeng family had only attempted a crime and hadn’t caused any real harm, sending them to the police would be a waste of time. They had the evidence and witnesses; it would be better to use this opportunity to formally separate from the Zeng family, in a written agreement.