Chapter 67:  Fight

After exchanging a few words with Grandpa Zuo, she slowly returned to the mill. The men were sweating profusely as they ground the last batch of flour, and even the donkey was panting heavily as it walked.

Mingcheng and his younger sister took turns sifting the flour. Otherwise, it was too exhausting for one person, and their hands and arms felt like they weren’t their own.

Wang Qian walked in with her hands behind her back. Wang Zhenhe, seeing his daughter’s demeanor, couldn’t help but suppress a smile. “Qianqian, are you hungry? We’ll be done soon.”

They used a kerosene lamp to finish grinding the flour and tidied up. Wang Zhenhe returned the donkey, and the men carried their belongings back. Wang Qian held the kerosene lamp that her older brother had brought, and the moonlight was already bathing the earth outside.

By the time they arrived home, Zhang Lan had already prepared dinner, waiting for them to return.

The buns in the evening tasted great. The children, who were starving, devoured the buns eagerly. Mingyuan almost choked on his food due to eating too quickly, and Zhang Lan quickly brought him some water to help him swallow.

“Bro, they don’t sell water bottles at the cooperative store. You’ll have to use bottles to carry water from now on,” she said apologetically, feeling sorry that she couldn’t buy the water bottles.

Mingcheng, munching on a bun, said nonchalantly, “It’s okay. We can use bottles to carry water.”

“By the way, wife, let’s move tomorrow. We’ve almost finished. Mom wants to use the shed for storing grass,” Wang Zhenhe said.

Upon hearing that her mother-in-law was trying to take advantage again, Wang Qian felt uncomfortable. They hadn’t even left yet, and they were already being rushed to make way for the shed that was built by them. “Dad, the materials for the shed were borrowed, right? What will we use to repay them?”

The other children looked at him, and Wang Zhenhe felt a bit embarrassed. “We’ll figure out the borrowed materials later. They don’t need them right away.”

Mingyuan swallowed a mouthful of water and said, “Dad, does that mean we’ll have to pay for the materials ourselves in the future? Grandma is really good at taking advantage.”

Mingyuan pouted unhappily, and Zhang Lan glanced at her husband without saying a word. She probably knew that he had already agreed, and there was no point in arguing further. It was better to avoid causing discomfort in front of the children.

Mingcheng set down his chopsticks. “Dad, we owe a lot of debt. Even if we want to repay it, it will take several years. We should think carefully before agreeing to such requests in the future.”

The children were dissatisfied with their father’s actions. It was always the same—whenever Grandma made a request, their family had to comply. They felt it was unfair that they had to give in every time.

The next morning, Wang Zhenhe found a few people to help move their belongings to the new house. The saying “a broken home is worth a thousand pieces of gold” was not wrong. During the division of property, their family had very little, but now they had accumulated quite a few worn-out items. Wang Qian and Zhang Lan packed and moved everything to the new house. They would be able to use these items in their daily lives. Seeing the empty new home, even Zhang Lan felt a sense of desolation. They didn’t buy any furniture this time because they owed too much money and didn’t have any extra funds to pay for the wood.

The mother and daughter organized their belongings in the empty new home. Zhang Lan looked at the house that belonged to her and sighed.

“Mom, don’t worry. We’ll definitely get through this difficult time. We can take care of the furniture later. There are no insurmountable obstacles. With your daughter here, you can live at ease,” Wang Qian comforted her mother.

Seeing her young daughter comforting her, Zhang Lan smiled with relief and affectionately touched her daughter’s face. “Yes, with my little Qianqian here, I have nothing to worry about. By the way, don’t let anyone know about your precious item.”

Zhang Lan reminded her anxiously.

Wang Qian lifted her little head and said seriously, “Mom, you can trust me to handle it. I won’t tell anyone, not even Dad.”

After this exchange, the mother and daughter shared a knowing smile. At present, Wang Zhenhe was the person they were most vigilant against in their family. If they weren’t careful, any hint of their secret could be exposed to Grandma Zuo, and the consequences were terrifying to think about. They might even be captured by some mad scientist for research.

In the morning, Zhang Lan took half a day off to tidy up. She and the children went to gather some grass to burn. After locking the door, they left the courtyard. To the east of their home was a large expanse of farmland, with a water channel running through the middle, leading to the south. Along the water channel, they reached the riverbank and entered a nearby forest. Zhang Lan gathered grass with a sickle, while Wang Qian picked up some fallen dry branches in the woods.

As Wang Qian was focused on picking up branches, she didn’t notice something crawling on her foot. Startled, she let out a cry. Hearing her daughter’s voice, Zhang Lan quickly dropped the sickle and ran over. “Qianqian, what’s wrong?”

Following her daughter’s gaze, Zhang Lan noticed a four-legged snake and promptly kicked it away when it startled her daughter.

“Don’t be afraid. Despite its appearance, the four-legged snake doesn’t bite people. Don’t worry, my dear,” Zhang Lan comforted her daughter while gently patting her forehead.

Wang Qian had been terrified of snakes her whole life, and the four-legged snake had scared her half to death. After regaining her composure, she said, “Mom, I was so scared. Are you sure this thing doesn’t bite people?”

“Yes, don’t be fooled by its appearance. It’s much gentler than a regular snake. The four-legged snake eats insects, so there’s no need to be afraid of it in the future,” Zhang Lan reassured her.

Feeling relieved that the four-legged snake didn’t pose a threat, Wang Qian said, “Mom, I’ll go to the mountain this afternoon to gather some pine baskets to burn. It’s too exhausting to gather grass every day, and if it rains, we won’t have any grass to burn.”

Zhang Lan was concerned about her daughter going to the mountain alone. “Qianqian, wait until your brother and the others have a day off, and then you can go together. You can bring back more that way. It’s too dangerous for you to go alone.”

Wang Qian disagreed, feeling that it would be inconvenient to have more people around. Besides, she had already been there once, and with the protection of the space, she didn’t see any reason to worry. Therefore, she had already made up her mind to go out alone in the afternoon.

For lunch, they cooked noodles with crispy shepherd’s purse, which looked appetizing and satisfied the children’s hunger. Wang Xuan went to the grass storage room to check on her chicks. The ten chicks had grown quite large. Today, the siblings caught some small fish and shrimp in the river, and she brought them to the chicks for lunch.

After everyone had left, she set off for the mountains without any rush. This time, she didn’t dare to enter just any place. Instead, she carried a small basket and went to the mountains from the He Zhengkui family’s side. Walking alone in the lush forest, listening to the birds singing in the treetops, she felt comfortable. At that moment, she felt like the whole world belonged to her. However, she was grateful for the protection of the space; otherwise, she wouldn’t have dared to go to the mountains alone.

She gathered plenty of pine baskets and stored them in a corner of the space. As she continued, she stumbled upon a wild chicken foraging. She decided to capture it and bring it back to improve their living conditions. She stored the wild chicken in the space and then went to tie it up.

After picking wild vegetables with her small basket, she started to descend the mountain. On her way back, she noticed children walking home from school in groups of two or three. She wasn’t sure if her older siblings had also finished school. However, as she approached the river, she heard children shouting, “Stop it!”

She initially didn’t want to get involved, but then she recognized the clothes being trampled on as the ones Mingyuan had worn that day.

Realizing the urgency of the situation, she dropped her basket and ran towards her little brother. The children around were either trying to stop the fight or encouraging it, creating a chaotic scene.

Next to Mingyuan lay a small bundle of dry branches, likely collected by her little brother earlier that day. The child sitting on top of Mingyuan was visibly older and stronger than her little brother.

Wang Qian tried to push the older child off, but she couldn’t budge him. Mingyuan was already taking punches. Anger surged within her. Their parents woudn’t even lift a finger against her family’s children, yet here they were being bullied. She grabbed a branch that Mingyuan had picked up and started hitting the older child.

As she struck, she said, “You dare to bully my brother? I’ll make you taste your own medicine. Today, you’ll also experience my wrath.”

The other children were stunned by her actions. A girl younger than them dared to stand up to the bully.

The older child who was bullying Mingyuan rolled off in pain. Mingyuan, now free, immediately stood up and shielded his sister behind him.

“Don’t be afraid, sister. I’ll protect you,” Mingyuan, though very young, gave Wang Qian the impression of a little man. Despite his frail body, his small figure standing in front of her made her feel as if he were as tall and strong as a city wall.

“I’m not afraid, brother,” she said as she jumped out, pinching her fingers and holding a stick, facing the child who had been bullying Mingyuan. “If you ever dare to bully my brother again, I’ll hit you every time I see you. I’ll even go to your house to complain, and I’ll talk to your school’s teachers.”

However, the other child seemed unfazed. He wiped his nose with his sleeve and looked at her disdainfully. “You little brat, mind your own business. Do you even know who I am? Everyone here listens to me. How dare you hit me? You’re asking for trouble,” he said, and then lunged at her. Despite being small, Wang Qian had a tool in her hand. She swung the stick at his face.

“You jerk, how dare you bully my little brother? You’re asking for trouble. Today, I’ll teach you a lesson,” she said.

However, being small, she was unable to land many hits before the stick was snatched away from her.