Chapter 79: Qin Xue’s Difficult Situation

Inside the house, Liao Fuzhen, who had been questioning Qin Xue, saw Qiao Jiangxin and her uncle about to leave, and stamped her foot at Qin Xue.

“You!  Marrying for the first time is always better than becoming a stepmother!

You don’t want to be a stepmother, and who wants to be a stepfather, and support your in-laws until they die?  Do you think they’re fools?

The Qiao family is much better than the previous families. They’re clearly honest people. If you’re doing well, Zhuzi will do well too.”

Having said that, Liao Fuzhen turned and chased after Qiao Youfu.

“Hey, nephew, nephew, what Xiaoxue said just now doesn’t count.

We old folks don’t need a dowry; you just need to raise Zhuzi well. We can still work and support ourselves.

Even if we can’t move, it’s not Xiaoxue’s responsibility. We have a house and land, and the Xu family won’t let us starve.

We won’t be a burden on you.”

Liao Fuzhen, her voice excited, grabbed Qiao Youfu.

Qin Xue chased after them, her eyes red.  “Mom, what are you doing?”

Liao Fuzhen, also with red eyes, “What do you want to do?”

Qiao Jiangxin was surprised.

Liao Fuzhen pulled Qiao Youfu back into the house.  “Nephew Qiao, let the old woman say a few words to you privately.”

Qin Xue, her face flushed, squatted on the ground and wiped her tears.

She seemed full of grievances, needing an outlet, her trembling lips muttering, “I know in everyone’s eyes, I’m worthless because I’ve been married.

In the eyes of all men, and even in the world’s perception, a woman who has given birth and been married is worthless.

Even though I’m not lazy and even work harder than most people.”

Qin Xue slightly raised her head to look at Qiao Jiangxin. “Men earn ten points, I earn ten points; even if I’m worse, I earn eight points. What am I lacking?

I also know that they come to me because they see my value in sleeping with them, bearing children, and working.

I’ve never dreamed of changing my fate through marriage. I don’t have the skills for that kind of life.

I just want to protect myself and my child so he can live a good life. I don’t want to rely on men, but the world is too cruel and dirty, and it’s hard to guard against.  A family needs a man to avoid a lot of trouble.”

She sniffed.  “Every widow is a target, everyone wants to take advantage. I know my conditions are harsh, but my remarriage is a gamble.

Look around, even first marriages with biological children don’t always work out well; there’s fighting and scolding.

I’m remarrying, a widow with a child.

The chances of a man changing his mind are ninety-nine percent. The remaining one percent depends on conscience. I can guarantee I’ll live wholeheartedly, but can a man guarantee that?”

Qin Xue lowered her head, tears in her eyes.  “I can’t afford to lose. I have to leave a way out for my child. I brought him into this world without asking him if he wanted to; I have a responsibility to take care of him properly.  Right now, I’m his only mother, but later I will be someone else’s mother.

Besides me, no one will support him. I can only think about him for these next two years.

In the future, I’ll not only be his mother but also someone else’s mother, and someone else’s wife. I can’t afford to care so much.

And I will absolutely not end up penniless. If I can’t guarantee that remarriage will be better than now, I’d rather face the storm alone and not marry.

Yes, my conditions are harsh, but I’m worth it. I want everyone to know that even a widow is valuable.

I want men to understand that I’m someone they’ve paid a high price to marry.  If you dare to hurt me, I’ll leave.”

Qiao Jiangxin slightly opened her mouth. For a rural woman of this era, Qin Xue’s clarity was almost unbelievable.

If the person wasn’t her uncle, Qiao Jiangxin would have applauded Qin Xue’s courage.

If she had had even a fraction of Qin Xue’s clarity in her previous life, she wouldn’t have ended up the way she did…

Qiao Youfu and his niece left Xujiadong without much conversation.

Qiao Jiangxin turned to look at Qiao Youfu and asked, “Uncle, what did Grandma Xu tell you?”

Qiao Youfu sighed.  “She said that Auntie Qin used to live with her stepfather, and almost didn’t survive several times. She said she’s a good person, remembering those who were kind to her, and that she’s afraid of being plotted against…”

Qiao Jiangxin felt that Qin Xue was hiding something.

“Uncle, drive the bullock cart ahead and wait for me. I’ll ask someone about something,” Qiao Jiangxin jumped off the cart and ran to the house of the woman she’d asked for directions earlier.

“Auntie, Auntie~”

The woman looked up at Qiao Jiangxin.

Years of experience in gossip made her body tremble; she had a lead.

Qiao Jiangxin didn’t beat around the bush.  “Auntie, I went to Auntie Qin’s house to express my gratitude, and they were arguing.”

The woman’s eyes lit up, and she leaned closer to Qiao Jiangxin, instinctively lowering her voice.  “What were they arguing about?  Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law arguing?”

Qiao Jiangxin also looked curious.  “Grandma wanted Auntie Qin to remarry, and Auntie Qin cried, saying that people’s hearts are dirty, and that Zhuzi had an accident before the New Year.”

The woman immediately chimed in, “Oh, what a tragedy! You outsiders might not know, but that Qin widow has been widowed for five or six years.

Think about it, five or six years ago, she was young, pretty, and had a good figure.  She had no husband, no uncles or paternal relatives, and her family wasn’t good either. I heard her father was also gone, and her mother was a stepmother.

Last year, a fifth-degree cousin of the Xu family, yes, a cousin of her husband, named Xu Ergou, I don’t know if it was because Qin widow couldn’t bear it anymore, but Ergou’s wife made a fuss about them having an affair.

Then Ergou beat his wife half to death, blaming her for talking nonsense and losing face, saying he wanted a divorce.  His wife, having a strong personality, couldn’t take it and drank rat poison in the middle of the night, and died.”

The woman sighed and continued, “Oh, less than a month after that, Ergou came to her, meaning that since she’s a widow and he’s a widower, they could get together.

But Qin widow didn’t want to. Ergou’s wife was dead, but she left three children, the oldest being fifteen or sixteen.  The three children hated Qin widow to death, saying their mother was driven to death by Qin widow.

They threw stones into her water bucket, damaged her crops, and cursed her as a slut and a fox spirit whenever they saw her. If it weren’t for the Xu family elders protecting her, she would have been beaten to death long ago.

During the grain delivery last year, Old Man Xu protected Qin widow, and was hit on the waist with a carrying pole by Ergou’s eldest son, and was bedridden for a month.

At the end of the year, Zhuzi was thrown into a pit in the back mountain and frozen overnight, and fell seriously ill, almost dying.  Many suspected Ergou’s children did it, but there was no evidence.

Liao Fuzhen said everywhere that Qin widow was innocent, saying that Ergou had harassed her, and his wife caught them, causing the whole thing.

But his wife is dead, and seeing how much the three children hate her, and Ergou keeps trying to get Qin widow…

It must be that Qin widow herself is not proper and virtuous, and did something that made Ergou misunderstand her, or why would he choose her?

Or maybe she couldn’t resist and tried to seduce Ergou, and Ergou’s wife found out and it resulted in a death. 

Seeing the attitude of Ergou’s three children, she doesn’t dare to approach him. 

Isn’t that harmful?”