Yu Nian’an turned back to look at her little house. It couldn’t compare to apartment buildings or villas, but here, it gave her a faint sense of belonging.
No matter who it was, no one was allowed to set their sights on her house.
The well would be finished tomorrow, and by then her three days of leave would also be over. There would be no one in the courtyard, and she would have to go to the fields during the day. She didn’t know when that girl would come back with news, and Yu Nian’an worried that Madam Wang might show up while she was out. After checking how sturdy the courtyard gate was, she decided to go to the commune first to buy another lock.
What she hadn’t expected was that the moment she left, Madam Wang headed straight this way.
The Wang family’s house was old, with only two bedrooms. One was shared by Wang Yaozu and the old lady, while the other belonged to Wang Jianjun and his wife.
As for Wang Zhaonan, after she grew up, she had hung a curtain in a corner of the main hall, barely making it into a place to sleep.
When Madam Wang heard Yu Dingguo say that Yu Nian’an had lost both her parents, she immediately made up her mind to come here directly. As the maternal grandmother, taking care of her orphaned granddaughter no one could find fault with that. Then she could find a family to arrange a marriage for her; once the girl married out, wouldn’t the house become hers?
With money and a house, she could then find a wife for her eldest grandson.
At the thought of this, the wrinkles on Madam Wang’s face deepened as she smiled.
After hearing her plan, Yu Dingguo came up with another scheme. Seeing that only the two of them were in the room, he immediately stated, “Grandma, no wonder I find you so kind. To be honest, I happen to want to marry An-meizi, but she’s always refused.”
“You?” Madam Wang sized him up from head to toe. His clothes were plain, his face greasy no matter how she looked at him, he seemed like a good-for-nothing loafer.
How could someone like that have any money?
She had been counting on Yu Nian’an’s youth to fetch a good price.
Seeing through her thoughts, Yu Dingguo immediately thought of the money Yu Nian’an was carrying. You couldn’t catch a wolf without sacrificing a kid since it was all about risking a small stake for a big gain, it was better to get a firm agreement from the old lady than to let someone else benefit.
Anyway, he had no interest in that shabby little house; letting the old lady have it didn’t matter to him.
After some discussion, the two of them settled Yu Nian’an’s lifelong fate at the high price of twenty-five yuan.
On the way to Yu Family Team, Yu Dingguo was still a bit worried. “Grandma, An-meizi has a fiery temper it won’t be easy to control her. Will she really listen to you?”
“I’m her grandmother!”
Madam Wang snorted coldly. She could run the Wang household, so naturally she could control this insignificant orphan girl as well.
Because Wang Yaozu had a head injury and they were worried something else might happen, Wang Jianjun and his wife didn’t go along. Instead, they stayed home to take care of him.
After Wang Zhaonan returned home, she learned that her grandmother had already left with that man. Taking advantage of a moment while tidying up in the kitchen, she told her mother what had happened when she went to see Yu Nian’an. After thinking it over together, the mother and daughter realized that the old lady had been used as a pawn by that so-called cousin.
At this moment, Madam Wang was sitting in the courtyard, scolding Uncle Jianping and his two nephews.
“Pah! There’s a well in the village for everyone to use why would I need you people to dig one at my place? Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. You saw that my girl has no one to make decisions for her, that she’s easy to bully, so you rushed over to work for her just to squeeze money out of her, didn’t you!”
Madam Wang pulled out all the unreasonable tricks she’d perfected over the years, scolding the uncle and nephews until their faces flushed red with anger. If it weren’t because Yu Nian’an wasn’t home at the moment, they would have left long ago.
Seeing the three of them stay silent, Madam Wang became even more aggressive. Using the excuse that they had come to the house to deceive people into hiring them, she loudly demanded that they return all the wages.
Only then did Uncle Jianping truly understand why, back then, Wang Jia’an would rather cut off all ties than stay in that family.
This old woman was simply too overbearing and unreasonable!
But after all, she was Yu Nian’an’s own maternal grandmother, so he couldn’t really say anything.
While the old lady was rampaging outside, Yu Dingguo noticed that the door inside the house wasn’t locked. He quietly slipped in, intending to take the opportunity to look for where that money was hidden.
After all, he didn’t truly want to marry Yu Nian’an.
Some days earlier, he had seen the newly arrived batch of educated youths in the village good looks, good figures, and most importantly, all with urban household registrations. Picking any one of them would bring endless benefits.
Wasn’t that far better than two hundred yuan?
When Yu Nian’an returned, she happened to run into Uncle Jianping and the other two as they were leaving. Feeling puzzled, she asked, “Uncle, is the well finished?”
The three of them remained silent, all looking grim.
Finally, Uncle Jianping sighed and said in a low voice, “Girl, you’d better go home and take a look first.”
Yu Nian’an immediately sensed that something was wrong. After bidding them farewell, she hurried back home.
She saw an unfamiliar old woman sitting under the eaves, eating the pork cracklings she had rendered just the night before, while the door to the main room stood wide open.
“A thief?”
Thinking of the things she had hidden inside, Yu Nian’an nearly fainted. She didn’t even have time to worry about the pork cracklings she rushed into the house to check, just in time to see Yu Dingguo sticking his backside up, kneeling on the kang.
Thinking of the things hidden inside the room, Yu Nian’an nearly blacked out. She couldn’t spare a thought for the pork cracklings at all and rushed straight into the house, only to see Yu Dingguo sticking his backside up, kneeling on the kang.
The bedsheets and quilt covers were scattered to one side, and everything in the wardrobe had been pulled out.
Seeing this, she immediately hurled the lock in her hand at him.
Metal was even harder than a brick. Though her aim was off, it still almost knocked Yu Dingguo senseless.
“Yu Nian’an! What are you doing? Are you trying to kill someone?!”
“I should be asking what you’re doing! You’ve turned my room upside down like this what, are you stealing?” Yu Nian’an demanded coldly.
As soon as those words left her mouth, Yu Dingguo was instantly displeased. But before he could argue back, Madam Wang outside spoke first, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
“So this is what a child without parents looks like no manners at all. I, an old woman, am standing right here, and you don’t even come over to greet me. You really deserve a beating!”
As she spoke, she stepped inside and raised her hand to strike Yu Nian’an.
But she had clearly forgotten this wasn’t the Wang household, and Yu Nian’an wasn’t Wang Zhaonan.
Before the slap could land, her wrist was grabbed and twisted sharply backward.
Yu Nian’an had held back, mindful that the woman was elderly and not using the same force she’d used on Yu Dingguo, but it was still enough to make the old woman cry out in pain.
“Yu Nian’an! You damn girl! You dare lay a hand on me? I’m your grandmother! You heartless”
The old woman’s string of curses was nothing but noise to Yu Nian’an’s ears. At the same time, she felt it wasn’t worth it for the original owner of this body having such a person as her only remaining relative was worse than having none at all. She turned and dragged the old woman outside, not forgetting to glance back at Yu Dingguo.
“And you aren’t you coming out? Or do you want me to find someone to invite you out?”
Caught red-handed, Yu Dingguo knew he was in the wrong. Covering his head, he followed them outside.
Once outside, Yu Nian’an glanced at the pork cracklings there wasn’t much left. Then she looked at the old woman’s mouth, shiny with grease, and felt a lump rise in her throat.
Seeing that she’d run into someone tough, the old woman immediately changed tactics and began wailing like a banshee.
“Oh heavens! This is terrible! An unfilial granddaughter beating her elders what a cursed family, a cursed family!”
Annoyed by the noise, Yu Nian’an picked at her ear and advised calmly, “Ma’am, you should save your breath. There aren’t many households around here. Even if you scream yourself hoarse, I doubt anyone will hear you.”