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Old Tan was the first to snap out of his stupor. He smiled at Liu Zhoucheng and said, “Liu Shiye, please, come in, come in.”
“Thank you,” Liu Zhoucheng replied. He was tall, and he bent down slightly as he entered the room.
The people inside quickly made way.
Old Tan stepped forward, wiping the chair with a cloth, and said with a smile, “Liu Shiye, please have a seat.”
Liu Zhoucheng didn’t sit immediately. Instead, he smiled and said, “Brother Tan, you’re the elder, please, go ahead.”
Old Tan, flattered, replied, “Liu Shiye, you’re the guest. You sit.”
“Let’s sit together,” Liu Zhoucheng said, pulling him down with him. He didn’t mind the humble surroundings and, smiling, added, “My cousin already told me about your situation. May I ask which of you is Tan Xiaomei?”
Tan Xiaomei, her head lowered slightly, walked forward slowly and said, “Liu Shiye, it’s me.”
Liu Zhoucheng looked up at her, noticing the marks of injury still visible on her face. He understood more and, in a gentle tone, said, “Don’t be afraid. If you have any grievances, feel free to tell me. I will write them up and present them to Magistrate Cao.”
Upon hearing this, Tan Xiaomei couldn’t help but feel a lump in her throat. It was as if she had found a strong tree to lean on, and she collapsed into a chair, telling him everything that had happened over the years.
She had been left outside in the cold winter night, her feet frozen, and it took a long time to heal.
In the summer, her mother-in-law had beaten her with a spiked stick, leaving wounds on her back that festered and rotted in the heat.
She had been forced to eat rotten food, kneel and bow, and live as a servant.
She was beaten every three days, and every ten days, she received a more severe thrashing.
Her hair was yanked, needles were poked into her, and she was burned with hot coals.
The horrors were too much to bear.
She had always hoped that things would get better once she had children, but the recent decision to take a concubine shattered that hope. That was why she had fled her home.
As she spoke, Tan Xiaomei began to cry uncontrollably.
Old Tan and Wan Chunmei listened in furious silence, their bodies shaking with anger.
After a long while, Old Tan, with red eyes, slowly moved forward and grasped Tan Xiaomei’s hand, sobbing, “My sister, why didn’t you tell me? If you had, I would’ve risked my life to bring you out of that den of wolves!”
Since that time when Little Sister was blamed by the Jiang family for delivering rice to their home, Old Tan had hesitated to ask her for help again. He avoided troubling her whenever possible, thinking that without the burden of their poor family, the Jiang family would stop causing trouble and would no longer mistreat their daughter-in-law. Little did he know, the Jiang family never viewed her as a person to begin with.
As Tan Xiaomei cried, she said, “Big Brother, I couldn’t say anything. Our family is poor, we have no standing. The Jiang family may not be a wealthy household, but they’re all powerful people. I was afraid… I was afraid they would make things difficult for you. I thought… I thought that once I had children, everything would get better.”
Old Tan clenched his fists and slammed them down on the chair. With gritted teeth, he said, “Silly girl, so what if we’re poor? Does being poor mean we should be treated as less than human? Does it mean we should be bullied? What did I teach you? No matter how poor a person is, their spirit shouldn’t be broken. Life is all about dignity! Why should you suffer their beatings and insults?! There’s no such logic in the world!”
Tan Xiaomei cried so hard that she could barely speak, still regretting opening up and making her brother feel sad.
Wan Chunmei silently wiped her tears, holding back her anger. After swallowing a few times, her voice hoarse, she said, “Little Sister, the Jiang family… we won’t let them off the hook!”
Old Tan nodded firmly.
At that moment, both he and Wan Chunmei suddenly understood something.
They had always thought that their poverty was just their own matter. As long as the family could live happily, that was enough. If others looked down on them, so be it. Each to their own, without meddling in others’ affairs.
But through Little Sister’s experience, they realized that there are people who enjoy stepping on those beneath them to gain power.
The kind-hearted get trampled on; the poor are despised.
If Little Sister had a wealthy and powerful family backing her, would the Jiang family dare to treat her this way?
Old Tan and Wan Chunmei silently made a vow in their hearts: they would build up their family, no matter how much hardship or suffering they had to endure. They would do whatever it took.
They hoped that one day, Tan Xiaomei and Tan Qiyue would marry and be able to rely on their maternal family, to have a strong family to protect them.
They would no longer be bullied or looked down upon.