Chapter 10

“Little girl, don’t worry. We’ll talk about those things after you’ve moved out. Besides, building a house doesn’t happen overnight. Where will you stay during this time? Why don’t you come stay at my house?”

“Uncle Captain, no need to trouble you. Isn’t there an empty storage room in the village committee? I’ll stay there for a while. I’ll move out when my house is built. I can pay for it so you won’t be in a difficult position, Uncle Captain.”

“Okay.”

The Captain said, “Uncle, Auntie, what do you say about the little girl’s requests? Do you agree or not? If you agree, I’ll go write the document for severing ties. You can sign it.”

Xia Lao and Old lady He looked at each other. Xia Lao nodded. He knew he couldn’t push the little girl too hard. What if she really did something reckless? They would be left with nothing. Anyway, a month would pass quickly. If the deadbeat couldn’t come up with the money by then, they wouldn’t blame her.

The Captain said, “Uncle, Auntie, since you both agree, I’ll go write the document. Once you sign it, you can’t go back on your word.”

Old lady He said, “We won’t go back on our word. We just hope that the damn girl will give us the money. Otherwise, I won’t be happy.”

Xia Yunxuan said, “Don’t worry. You’ll get your money. I just hope you stick to the agreement. I don’t want to have to argue with you again.”

The Captain quickly wrote the agreement, four copies in total. One for Xia Lao’s family, one for Xia Yunxuan, one for the team office, and one to be registered at the police station so Xia Yunxuan could live independently.

The Captain was afraid that Xia Lao’s family didn’t know how to read and would go back on their word, so he read the agreement out loud in front of everyone. After confirming that everything was correct, Xia Lao’s family, Xia Yunxuan, and the Captain signed the documents.

Xia Dahai and Gao Meihua refused to sign, but Xia Lao glared at them, and they reluctantly signed.

Xia Yunrou’s was the happiest. The deadbeat was finally moving out. Now, all the good things would be hers. She wondered if the deadbeat would starve to death after being so tough and moving out.

After signing the documents, Old lady He said, “Damn girl, since you’ve done this, move out immediately. Now that we’ve signed the document to sever ties, we have no relationship. I don’t want you to stay here.”

“Auntie, you don’t have to be so cruel. You might need the little girl’s help one day. At least let her pack a couple of changes of clothes,” the Captain said.

“Humph, I’d rather starve to death than ask her for help. Since she’s so tough and wants to move out, she can only take two changes of clothes. She can’t take a single thread.”

Xia Yunxuan said, “Uncle Captain, no need. Since we’re breaking ties, let’s do it cleanly. It’ll save us from trouble later. I’ll go to town and borrow some money from my classmate. Uncle Captain, don’t worry. This little obstacle won’t stop me.”

The Captain felt helpless when he heard Xia Yunxuan’s words. But he thought about it. With his aunt’s temper, they would probably argue later. It was better to break ties cleanly.

The Captain said, “Since your classmate is willing to lend you money, you need to repay her as soon as you have the money. Remember her kindness.”

“We’re farmers who work the land. We can’t be ungrateful,” Xia Yunxuan said. “Uncle Captain, I know. I won’t forget those who are kind to me. And I certainly won’t forget those who are unkind to me.”

“Little girl, come with me to the team office first. Clean up that storage room. Where will you sleep tonight?”

“Okay, Uncle Captain. I know. I’ll go clean up the room first. Then I’ll go to town to find my classmate. Maybe I’ll stay at her place tonight. So, Uncle Captain, don’t worry. My classmate is a very good person.”

Xia Lao’s family watched as Xia Yunxuan left with the Captain. After they were gone, Gao Meihua said, “Mom, when the deadbeat gives you the money, can I have some too?”

Old lady He was the most stingy. She yelled, “You’re dreaming! You wouldn’t let the little girl call you ‘mom’ before. Now you want money? There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

Gao Meihua said meekly, “I didn’t want to have to feed another mouth. Besides, our family was so poor. There wasn’t enough food to feed a little girl.”

Old lady He snorted. “You haven’t thought about a lot of things. I know your little tricks. You like to take advantage of people, but you don’t want to pay anything.”

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch. You can’t have all the good things. Gao Meihua said, “Mom, if you won’t give me any, you should at least give some to Dabao. He’s your grandson. He needs to carry on the family line. We’ll rely on him to support us in our old age.”

Old lady He said, “We’ll talk about that later. You haven’t eaten yet. Hurry up and cook something. We have to go to work soon. You have no common sense.”

“Really, you’re useless except for giving birth to a grandson. Gao Meihua was tired of hearing these words. Her mother-in-law always criticized her.

Gao Meihua muttered to herself. It was all that deadbeat’s fault. She had dared to knock over their lunch. She should have taken advantage of her unconsciousness and given her a good beating. That way, she wouldn’t have become a different person when she woke up.

Gao Meihua shuddered as she thought about it. The little girl had changed after waking up from the river. Had she encountered something unclean?

The deadbeat had never been so bold before. She dared to hit them and fight back. She even dared to break off ties. The more Gao Meihua thought about it, the more scared she became.

Seeing Gao Meihua still standing there, Old lady He yelled, “Are you dead? You still haven’t cooked? You don’t need to eat, do you? I don’t know why I married you. Our Xia family is cursed.”

Gao Meihua was thinking about whether Xia Yunxuan had encountered something unclean. She didn’t hear her mother-in-law scolding her.

Meanwhile, Xia Yunxuan followed the Captain to the village storage room. The Captain called his wife and Xia Yunxuan to help clean up. The room wasn’t big, so they finished quickly.

The Captain’s wife, Hu Guiqin, said, “Little girl, this place is empty. How will you sleep tonight? Your grandma is really cruel. She didn’t even give you any blankets or food.”

Xia Yunxuan said, “Auntie, it’s okay. I’ll go find my classmate later. Her family is rich. I’ll borrow some money from her. I’ll bring pots, pans, blankets, and everything else back. Don’t worry about me. I’ve left that family of bloodsuckers. Maybe I’ll be better off.”

“Auntie is just worried that your classmate won’t lend you money. Besides, you’ll have to repay it later. What will you use to repay her? How will you live on your own? That family is really cruel.”