Just as Lin Erxia had finished lighting the fire, Sun Xiaoyun’s sharp voice rang out.
“Fifth girl, hurry up and wash the sweet potatoes. Scrub them clean—don’t have everyone eating mud. Then go to the vegetable garden, pick some cucumbers and tomatoes, wash and cut them—we still need to stir-fry them.”
With her arms crossed and a ladle in hand, Sun Xiaoyun barked orders at Lin Erxia.
Lin Erxia added another handful of firewood under the stove, then carried seven or eight unevenly sized sweet potatoes to the well in the yard to wash them. She had already been squatting all morning—her back and legs were sore—but she still bent down and endured the ache.
Even after scrubbing them twice, the dirt wasn’t fully gone when Sun Xiaoyun shouted again from inside:
“Fifth girl! Hurry back and add more firewood—the fire’s about to go out! You’ve got no initiative at all, always need me to tell you everything!”
Lin Dachun and Lin Sanqiu wanted to help, but Lin Erxia’s expression darkened as she shook her head at them. Startled, they didn’t dare step forward. In the yard, Lin Erhua and Lin Sanhua exchanged glances, also not daring to move.
Even Lin Yubao widened his eyes in fear and took two steps back. When his sister used to hit him, her face had never looked this terrifying—he’d better stay out of trouble.
Lin Erxia wiped her hands casually and jogged into the kitchen. With her head lowered, she tossed another stick of firewood into the stove. The weak flame immediately flared back to life.
Sun Xiaoyun kept nagging nonstop:
“Fifth girl, this won’t do. You should learn from your mother. Your mother finishes all this work without needing to be told. You haven’t even picked the vegetables yet—at your pace, when will we even get to eat…”
Her mouth rattled like a machine gun.
Grinding her teeth, Lin Erxia forced out a sentence:
“Aunt, you should know when to stop.”
“Hah! Talking back to your elders? Is that what your mother taught you? You look obedient, but just like they say—dogs that bite don’t bark. With your kind of morals, there’s no need for you to go to high school. It’d be a waste anyway.”
Lin Erxia had tried to hold back. A few barbed words—she could endure. But Sun Xiaoyun kept belittling Zhao Lanhua, practically cursing her outright.
That was the last straw.
Lin Erxia shot to her feet, grabbed a fire poker, and stormed into the yard like a gust of wind. Sun Xiaoyun thought she was trying to run and was about to scold her again—
But Lin Erxia suddenly roared:
“Lin Zhuer! Get out here and wash the vegetables! You stay cooped up all day, don’t work in the fields, don’t do chores—where did you learn such disgusting habits?
And you think you’re going to high school? What a joke! Even if you go, you’ll just be a useless bookworm!”
Her shout stunned everyone in the yard.
Sun Xiaoyun rushed out in panic, while Lin Zhuer stepped out of her room, still dazed.
Just as Sun Xiaoyun was about to curse again, Lin Erxia suddenly pointed the smoking fire poker straight at Lin Zhuer, cutting her words off in her throat.
“Go. Wash the sweet potatoes. If they’re not clean, don’t eat. Everyone in this family works—even the nine-year-old boy knows to pour water.
You’re already this old and don’t know how to do anything? Are you blind? Living off others for free all day?”
As she spoke, she slowly pointed the fire poker toward the pile of sweet potatoes in the yard, embers still glowing faintly.
Lin Zhuer seemed frightened by Lin Erxia’s voice. Her large, watery eyes blinked, then she mechanically turned her head toward the sweet potatoes by the well.
After a brief hesitation, she slowly walked over.
Sun Xiaoyun panicked and called out:
“Zhuer! You’ve been weak since childhood—how can you do this kind of work? You don’t need to, I’ll do it!”
Lin Zhuer glanced at her mother, shook her head, and gently refused:
“Mom, I’m not that fragile. I can do it.”
She rolled up her sleeves and continued forward, picking up the sweet potatoes and beginning to wash them.
Sun Xiaoyun grew frantic and rushed forward, but a fire poker blocked her path.
“Aunt, since you’re so free, don’t just stand there. Go pick some cucumbers and tomatoes from the garden. Wash them quickly—everyone’s waiting to eat.”
Lin Erxia shot her a provocative smile and tilted her chin toward Lin Zhuer.
Grinding her teeth, Sun Xiaoyun stomped her foot in frustration—but in the end, she went to the garden to pick vegetables.
Lin Erxia returned to the kitchen to tend the fire, leaving behind a group of stunned onlookers in the yard.
Lin Dachun and Lin Sanqiu exchanged glances. That delicate, porcelain-doll-like Lin Zhuer actually doing chores? It felt unreal.
Since childhood, Lin Zhuer had never worked in the fields or touched housework. Her mother always said she was too frail—though no one had ever seen her actually that sick.
Not only was she doted on by her eldest uncle’s family, even their grandparents favored her. Old Madam Chen, who preferred boys over girls, treated Lin Zhuer as more important than even the grandsons Lin Yuze and Lin Yubao.
And now—even Aunt was doing chores under Lin Erxia’s command? That was even more unbelievable. Normally, cooking rotated between the second aunt and Lin Erxia’s mother. Sun Xiaoyun only held the ladle and avoided real work.
It wasn’t even dark yet, yet everything felt like a dream.
They had to take a moment to process this.
At the same time, their understanding of Lin Erxia’s temper was completely refreshed. When she got fierce, she even scolded Lin Zhuer—and didn’t spare her eldest aunt either.
Impressive.
And honestly… kind of satisfying.
Lin Erxia didn’t know what they were thinking. She only knew that Sun Xiaoyun’s constant belittling of her mother felt like knives stabbing into her heart.
If you want to play with knives, then I’ll fight you head-on.
As the saying goes—strike a snake at its weak point. And Sun Xiaoyun’s weak point was Lin Zhuer.
Besides, there was nothing wrong with making Lin Zhuer work. They were all granddaughters—why should she get to live so easily, doing nothing, being pampered with food and clothes, waited on hand and foot, protected from even the slightest bump?
If she didn’t work, then who would?
Just as she was thinking this, Lin Zhuer carried the washed sweet potatoes into the kitchen. Unsure what to do next, she looked at Lin Erxia with wide eyes.
Sun Xiaoyun hurried in behind her.
“Oh my, Zhuer, why are you still holding those? Your clothes are all wet—put them down and go out. The kitchen is smoky—you might choke.”
Her voice had softened completely, full of motherly concern. She set down the vegetables and reached to take the sweet potatoes.
But Lin Zhuer kept looking at Lin Erxia.
And Lin Erxia showed no mercy.
“What are you standing there for? Put them on the table. Take a knife, cut them in half, then put them into the pot.”
Lin Zhuer’s eyes lit up. She placed the sweet potatoes on the table, spotted the cleaver, grabbed it with both hands, raised it high—
—and brought it down hard.
Bang!
Mixed with Sun Xiaoyun’s scream, a small sweet potato split into two wildly uneven halves.
Lin Zhuer seemed to find it fun. Ignoring her mother’s attempts to stop her, she raised the knife again and chopped down.
But this time—
Bang!
She missed, and the knife slammed into the cutting board, leaving a deep groove.
She pulled it out with effort, repositioned the sweet potato, and charged again.
She seemed to get addicted to it, hacking away enthusiastically, while Sun Xiaoyun stood beside her in anxious panic—too afraid to shout loudly in case the knife slipped and hurt her daughter.
Just as Lin Zhuer was getting the hang of it, Lin Erxia’s voice cut in:
“Hurry up. The water’s already boiling, and you’re still dawdling over a few sweet potatoes.”
Lin Zhuer sped up, finishing with two quick chops. Then she grabbed the pieces and tossed them into the pot.
But since she was too short, the hot water splashed up, landing on her hand. She jerked back and gently blew on it.
Sun Xiaoyun was so distressed she could barely breathe. Ignoring whether her daughter wanted it or not, she quickly threw the remaining sweet potatoes into the pot, covered it, then grabbed Lin Zhuer’s hand and led her out of the kitchen.
Novel by Zhu Lin Luoyu