Chapter 3: Taking Down the Cruel Parents

“Crack!” With a crisp sound, Qin Rongsheng’s left ear was struck again by the wooden spatula.

Qin Nian had heard him call her a shrew, so she hit harder this time than before.

Qin Rongsheng let out a howl and stumbled back more than ten steps before barely managing to steady himself.

His left ear started buzzing loudly—it was worse than the right—and he felt completely dazed.

He shook his head vigorously and glanced at Li Dahua, hoping she would come and fight Qin Nian instead.

At that moment, Li Dahua was charging toward Old Lady Li, planning to push her down, snatch the stick from her hand, and throw it as far as possible.

She wanted to teach her a lesson—see if she’d still dare to stop them from taking Qin Nian back.

The household had been out of food for days. Selling that girl in exchange for some grain to survive—what was wrong with that?

But Old Lady Li was clever. She knew she couldn’t match Li Dahua in strength. A head-on clash wouldn’t work. She had to use strategy and precision.

Seeing Li Dahua coming at her, maybe it was the few dandelions she had just eaten that gave her a burst of energy.

This time, she swung the stick—not at the head, but bent low and aimed straight for Li Dahua’s ankle.

Direct hit.

Crack! Li Dahua fell to the ground, clutching her ankle and howling in pain.

“Mother! My own mother! I’m your daughter, and you hit me in the ankle with a stick? How could you be so heartless?

It’s over. I swear it’s broken. The pain is killing me. Qin Rongsheng! Come save me!

Wuwuwu—”

“I’m heartless?”

Old Lady Li, leaning on her stick and panting heavily, glared at her.

“Sixteen years ago, you two dumped your own baby into the woods behind the village to feed the wolves.

Now sixteen years later, you want to take her back and sell her off again. No one is more heartless than you two beasts. Even wolves have more compassion and loyalty than you.

Get lost. If you don’t, I’ll fight you with everything I have and send you straight to the underworld.

Don’t believe me? Get up and try me again.”

Qin Rongsheng looked at Old Lady Li with her big stick, then at Qin Nian holding her wooden spatula. He couldn’t decide whether he should risk another round.

Qin Nian stared him down, her gaze fierce and ready—like she’d strike his head again without hesitation.

The last glimmer of sunset faded from the sky. Darkness fell, and an eerie atmosphere settled over the courtyard.

To Qin Rongsheng, Qin Nian and Old Lady Li, each armed with a weapon, looked like a pair of tigresses—one large, one small.

He hadn’t eaten properly in days and had no strength left. Seeing Li Dahua still down and injured, he didn’t dare go forward.

He shook his still-buzzing head, went over to pick up the crying Li Dahua, and helped her hobble away, cursing all the while.

As they reached the gate, he turned back and shouted:

“We’ll be back in a few days. Qin Nian must come home. We will sell her. No one can stop us.”

Qin Nian wanted to rush up and smack him again, but her legs wouldn’t move, and sweat was pouring down her face.

This body had been starved too long and was too weak. Just those two swings had used up all her energy.

For now, this was all she could do. She had to get stronger in the future.

While Qin Rongsheng and Li Dahua were still there, she’d held herself together by sheer willpower.

Now that they were gone, exhaustion washed over her. She quickly turned the spatula upside down to use as a crutch.

Old Lady Li held her hand tenderly. “Xiao Nian, go lie down on the kang. Grandma will make you some soup.”

Qin Nian nodded slightly. Cold sweat trickled down her cheeks as she followed Old Lady Li into the house.

The house had two mud-walled rooms—one for the kitchen, the other a bedroom. The roof was low, and the interior was very dark.

Qin Nian didn’t lie down on the heated bed. She was afraid if she lay down, she’d never get back up. She sat on a small stool to gather herself, then began helping Old Lady Li pick dandelion greens.

She was too hungry to be thorough, so she did a quick job. Due to the drought, water was scarce, so they washed them with just a little water.

She chopped the greens briefly, tossed them into a pot, added some water and a few grains of salt, and boiled it into two big bowls of dandelion soup.

After drinking one bowl, Qin Nian felt a little strength return to her body.

She looked around the house. Aside from the old cabinet on the bed, there was nothing else. It perfectly illustrated the saying “as poor as a church mouse.”

This won’t do. Things must change.

Qin Nian made up her mind. She had to find a way to earn money, fill her belly, and change their living conditions.

But how?

Where should she begin?

Just as Qin Nian was deep in thought, a sudden wail pierced the darkness of the night and reached her ears.

“Oh Heaven, are you trying to kill us off? What are we going to do? What now?!”

“Ma, don’t cry! Come help!”

A young man’s voice rang out, filled with panic and urgency. “My dad’s leg is bleeding—we need to carry him inside first!”

Grandmother, who had just lain down on the heated bed, blinked her eyes. “That’s your Aunt Geng from next door. What’s she wailing about? Let’s go take a look.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she climbed off the bed, slipped on her shoes, and rushed outside.

Qin Nian followed closely behind. As they stepped outside, they could see into the neighboring courtyard through the low wall. A very young man was backing into the house, supporting a middle-aged man’s arms from behind.

A disheveled and unkempt middle-aged woman staggered behind him, holding the man’s legs while crying uncontrollably.

The man they were carrying was tall and burly. His leg appeared to be badly injured, his face twisted in pain.

“Meizi, what happened?” Grandma asked as she stepped over the low wall. Her body wobbled with the effort—she was still too weak.

Qin Nian quickly steadied her and followed her over the wall.

Ye Meizi stopped in her tracks and said through sobs, “Aunt Li, Zhenhai and Feng went hunting on the mountain. A wild boar bit him—his leg might be lost.”

As she cried and spoke, her strength gave out. The man they were carrying almost dropped to the ground.

Qin Nian quickly rushed over and helped Ye Meizi support Geng Zhenhai’s injured leg.

They got him inside and laid him on the heated bed. Geng Feng, ignoring the sweat pouring from his forehead, hurried to light the oil lamp.

Under the lamp’s glow, they could see the gaping wound on Geng Zhenhai’s calf. The wild boar’s tusks had ripped it open more than half a foot long.

The wound was deep enough to expose bone, and blood gushed from it in a steady stream like a flowing river.

Geng Zhenhai’s face was deathly pale, his eyes shut tight. He had lost so much blood that he couldn’t even open his eyes.

Ye Meizi was still sobbing. “The only doctor in the village, Old Doctor Zhou, died over a year ago. What are we going to do?”

Grandmother remained calm. “Geng Feng, go to town—pound on the door of any clinic you find. Kneel if you must. Beg the doctor to come save your father.

Tell him that whatever the medical fees are, you’ll pay him back tenfold.”

Geng Feng nodded. “Alright. I’ll go right now!”

“Wait!”

Qin Nian called out to stop him. “Even if you go now and run the whole way, the fastest round trip will take half an hour. And there’s no guarantee the doctor will come.

Uncle Geng’s injury is too serious. He’s lost too much blood. If we don’t stop the bleeding right now, I’m afraid it’ll be too late.”

In her past life, Qin Nian had been a doctor. She had performed surgeries.

She was unusually calm as she turned to Ye Meizi and said, “I know some medical skills. Let me treat Uncle Geng.”

“You know medicine? How come I’ve never heard that before? Who did you learn it from?”

Ye Meizi was stunned by what Qin Nian said. It sounded too unbelievable. She turned her eyes to Old Lady Li. “Aunt Li, does Xiao Nian really know medicine?”