Chapter 4: Someone Wants to Inspect the Child

The elderly woman’s face darkened visibly, her disappointment in Song Liangzuo palpable. Just as Song Xiaoxiao suspected that she might be hit, the woman raised her hand and slapped Song Zhaodi across the face.

“You useless girl! I asked you to follow your brother yesterday; how did you follow him? Song Chengjiao got close to your brother, and you didn’t even notice! What good are you to this family? If I had known you were so useless, I would have sold you off to the old widower in Wangjia Village to save food for your brother!”

Song Xiaoxiao was momentarily stunned. Seeing the woman raise her hand to hit again, she rushed over with her short legs, shouting, “Don’t hit her, don’t hit my sister!” Originally, she wanted to say, “Don’t hit the little girl,” but quickly remembered that she was now Song Liangzuo, and the little girl was her sister.

The education she had received didn’t allow her to watch a little girl get hit without doing anything.

The elderly woman’s hand paused in mid-air, blocked by her “grandson.”

However, her tone remained harsh. “I live in daily fear for your future because you are the only male in the Song family who can ensure our livelihood in Daliushu Village. If your identity is exposed, your mother will have to remarry. You will end up just like your two useless sisters, being sold off to marry old widowers in another village. When the holidays come, there will be no one to burn paper money for your grandfather; how can you let him rest in peace down below? If I die, how can I face your grandfather?”

The elderly woman sounded devastated, as if stabbed in the heart. She sank to the ground, crying pitifully.

Although Song Xiaoxiao was an adult in her previous life and had been provided with a comfortable living environment by her parents, she had never dealt with such situations before. The suddenness of the event left her feeling somewhat helpless.

Seeing her little brother looking at her with some fear, Song Zhaodi pursed her lips and approached the woman, softly asking, “Grandma, what should we do?”

The woman immediately stopped sobbing as if she’d realized something. She sprang up from the ground like a firecracker, raising her arm to curse in the direction of the village.

“So, what if that little brat saw? Whatever he says is true? They want to see my grandson’s private parts. In their dreams! No way they’re going to see that! Do they think my dear grandson is easy to bully? Let’s go home! I’ll see who dares lay a finger on my dear grandson!”

As the woman spoke, she turned to grab Song Liangzuo, comforting him, “Don’t be afraid, my dear grandson. I’ll fight with everything I have to protect you from them.”

The elderly woman’s rapid change in demeanor made Song Xiaoxiao feel like a fool thrown into the whirlwind.

After taking a couple of steps, she suddenly came to a halt, and the woman stopped as well.

“What’s wrong?” the old woman asked, looking down.

Song Xiaoxiao looked up at her so-called “grandma” and asked earnestly, “Grandma, do you plan to fight them when we go back?”

While she was unclear about the current situation and the various interests involved, she wasn’t foolish. When Song Zhaodi had mentioned “giving up land,” she could guess part of the family’s intentions.

Going to fight? That was not a way to handle matters.

The elderly woman took her fear for cowardice, pressing down her ire as she said sternly, “With me here, what are you afraid of? You are the male of the family; you must act like one! If anyone dares to touch you, I’ll fight them!”

Song Xiaoxiao felt anxious; she was already a clay bodhisattva struggling to cross a river, how could she act like a legitimate male heir?

Moreover, the old lady’s methods were too crude!

She forced herself to calm down, thinking of a countermeasure, while gently patting the old lady’s hand in a comforting manner. “Grandma, don’t be anxious. Let’s think of a way together.”

“What way can you think of? You’re spoiled and raised at home…”

“Grandma, I’m not a little kid anymore. The neighbor Li Erniu is four and already helps his family collect firewood.” Song Xiaoxiao recalled one of the few village kids from the original owner’s memory.

“My dear grandson! Why is our fate so bitter?” the elderly woman knelt down and reached out to stroke the child’s head.

Song Xiaoxiao felt something strange in the woman’s words, but she couldn’t pinpoint what was odd.

Seeing that the woman wasn’t saying anything further, Song Xiaoxiao turned to look at Song Zhaodi, her elder sister.

Facing a child so tiny, she really couldn’t bring herself to call her “sister,” so she vaguely asked, “Did Mom say anything?”

“Mom didn’t say anything, but when she grabbed my arm tightly, it hurt! Mom meant for you to hide first. Little brother, I know the way to our uncle’s house; how about I take you there to hide for a few days? Once they leave, I’ll come back and get you.”

“That’s nonsense! Your mother is such a pushover; what does she know? Where can Liangzuo hide? If he runs away, he can leave the monastery, but not the temple! That so-called ‘grandmother’ of yours isn’t a good person. That old hen in the yard was clearly ours, but Liu Cuiyun, that venomous witch, insisted it was hers! She constantly takes advantage of the fact that your grandfather and father aren’t around, while we’re left with a yard full of orphans and widows. She has your granduncle and three sons backing her up, and she straight-up took half of our chicken last year! That was a new hen, and it could lay eggs for two more years, and just like that, that foul-mouthed woman had it slaughtered!”

At this point, the elderly woman took over, directing another round of curses at the people in Song Daqian’s yard.

Song Xiaoxiao was somewhat speechless at the woman’s outburst. Turning back to look at Song Zhaodi, she shook her head in response to her sister’s earlier suggestion. “We can’t go. Grandma is right; you can hide on the first day, but not the fifteenth. Our home is here, and sooner or later, I have to come back.”

Just then, Song Xiaoxiao noticed a hint of madness in the old woman’s eyes.

“You stay here; I’ll go back myself. I’ll show them who dares to cause trouble in our house. I’ll fight them!”

With that, the old woman took a step forward.

Song Xiaoxiao hurriedly hugged her leg, pleading, “Grandma, don’t act irrationally! I have a plan! Please listen to me.”

Song Liangzuo hadn’t developed well; he had just reached the elderly woman’s thigh in height.

Song Zhaodi and Song Pandi didn’t need to think about what their younger brother would do; whatever he did, they would follow.