Thinking of Sanya, who might still be waiting for her behind the crowd, Lin Ran grew a little anxious and wanted to find her quickly.
On this side, Shi Yan didn’t care at all about the attitude of these people. He only wanted to go back immediately to shower and change; being soaking wet was incredibly uncomfortable.
Seeing that Shi Yan was about to leave, Shen Wenfang didn’t have time to step forward and argue with those people on her son’s behalf. She pulled her two children along, wanting to thank him in person.
But since Lin Ran was worried about Sanya, she figured it would be enough for Shen Wenfang and Lin the Third to go and express their gratitude to Shi Yan.
She handed the basket filled with wild vegetables and mushrooms to Lin the Third.
She knew there were no good things at home right now, so these would have to serve as a makeshift thank-you gift for the time being.
Lin Ran spoke to Shen Wenfang and then went to find Sanya.
Shen Wenfang didn’t think much of it; she was in a hurry to catch up with Shi Yan, so she let Lin Ran go.
…
When Lin Ran walked quickly to the outermost edge of the crowd, she saw Zheng Sanya crouching alone in a corner with her hands around her knees. Her small face was filled with terror as she stared toward the crowd, looking like a puppy abandoned by its owner.
The moment she saw Lin Ran appear, Zheng Sanya’s tears finally couldn’t help but pour down.
“Sister Ranran…”
Lin Ran walked over, rubbed her head, and comforted her warmly:
“Your brother is fine. Don’t worry. Do you remember what I just taught you? Go now, don’t be afraid.”
Zheng Sanya had also just heard the news that her brother had woken up, and she felt a huge surge of relief. This way, even if she was beaten, she wouldn’t be beaten to death.
Hearing Lin Ran’s words, she nodded obediently.
“Sister Ranran, I remember.”
With that, she took a deep breath and followed the method Lin Ran had taught her earlier.
She tore several holes in her clothes, rolled around on the ground, and finally smeared a handful of mud on her forehead. Only then did she rush into the crowd crying, wailing as she ran:
“Brother, you’re finally awake!”
“I just came back from cutting pig grass and was stunned when I heard the news of your accident. Thank goodness you’re okay, otherwise what would our family do! Waaaah…”
“…”
Zheng Sanya wailed all the way to Jin Bao’s side, her mouth never stopping.
To be honest, this level of wailing was quite a challenge for a delicate “white lotus” type like Zheng Sanya.
Even though she was doing her best to avoid being beaten to death, her voice still wasn’t quite loud enough, but fortunately, it was just enough for the surrounding crowd to barely hear her.
Auntie Zheng’s temper flared the moment she saw Zheng Sanya.
“You wretched girl, where did you run off to just now? Don’t you know to keep a close eye on your brother? Do you know your brother almost died because of you?”
Zheng Sanya was so scared she wailed even louder, but she didn’t forget the words Lin Ran had taught her.
“Mom, I had to go cut pig grass this morning to earn work points, and didn’t you tell me to dig for wild vegetables and pick mushrooms every day?”
“I wanted Jin Bao to come with me, but he refused. I thought since Eldest Sister was at home, she could watch him, so I felt safe going up the mountain.”
“I didn’t know how he ended up playing here. Mom, I was wrong. Please don’t hit me, I won’t do it again!”
“As soon as I heard Jin Bao was in trouble, I ran to kowtow to the heavens.”
“I begged the heavens to bring Jin Bao back. I’m willing to trade my own life for his. As long as Jin Bao wakes up, it doesn’t matter if I die.”
“Mom, it must be that the heavens heard my prayers and let Jin Bao come back.”
Auntie Zheng spat at her:
“Stop trying to make yourself look good! Our Jin Bao is a lucky person with heaven’s protection; how could anything happen to him!”
“Instead, it’s you, you jinx! Maybe Jin Bao falling into the water this time was caused by your bad luck! And you dare to drag your eldest sister into this! I’ll beat you to death, you jinx!”
As she spoke, she began swinging her palms at Zheng Sanya.
Zheng Sanya took the opportunity to fall to the ground. Through the holes in her clothes, she revealed bruises all over her body. She clutched her head and begged for mercy:
“Mom, please stop hitting me. Sanya’s body hurts so much. Sanya is going to die from the pain!”
“Mom, I will definitely work hard to earn work points for the family. I won’t even drink the pot-washing water anymore. I’ll go out and eat dirt to save food for the family. Please, Mom, don’t hit me anymore. It hurts so much! Waaaah…”
Zheng Sanya’s miserable state was more than the onlookers could bear. There was a buzz of discussion among the crowd, but Auntie Zheng remained completely unmoved.
Suddenly, someone cried out in shock:
“My god, look at the injuries on Sanya. Were these all from beatings? Is she even her biological mother? If I didn’t know better, I’d think there was some deep-seated hatred!”
Someone lamented:
“Sigh, you guys don’t know. My house is right next to the Zheng family, and I can hear Sanya’s crying almost every day. This child is beaten basically every day and is often locked out in the middle of the night. Sometimes when I get up in the morning, I can still see the child sleeping on the ground by the door.”
Everyone looked on in disbelief.
“My goodness, Sanya is so pitiful! Sister-in-law Zheng is too cruel. Does Accountant Zheng know about this? Why doesn’t he look after Sanya?”
A person nearby said disdainfully:
“They live together, so how could he not know? Besides, look at Sister-in-law Zheng hitting her for a while now—has Accountant Zheng said a single word of persuasion? Perhaps some of those injuries were even caused by Accountant Zheng himself!”
Someone didn’t believe it.
“That can’t be, right? Accountant Zheng seems to have a very good temper. He’s always smiling when he sees anyone. It shouldn’t be possible for him to lay a hand on her. Seeing Sister-in-law Zheng like this, I guess Accountant Zheng can’t stop her either.”
Those who understood the situation looked at each other and smiled.
Zheng Sanya’s screams continued until finally, a soft-hearted woman urged:
“Sister-in-law Zheng, a little lesson is enough. Besides, you can’t blame Sanya for today. What an obedient child Sanya is! At such a young age, she already knows how to help ease the family’s burden.”
“You don’t know how many people in the brigade envy you for having such a caring ‘little cotton jacket.’ You can just wait to enjoy your blessings in the future!”
With someone starting, others followed suit with their advice:
“That’s right, Sister-in-law Zheng. The child still has to earn work points every day. If you beat the child into an injury, you’ll have to see a doctor and she won’t be able to earn work points. It’s just not worth it!”
Hearing this, Auntie Zheng finally hesitated.
She glanced at Zheng Sanya, who was lying on the ground looking half-dead. If she really beat her until she collapsed, who would do the housework?
Actually, this time Auntie Zheng was mindful of the people present, so the beating wasn’t actually that heavy. Zheng Sanya’s weak appearance was entirely faked.
Seeing her mother actually stop, Zheng Sanya finally breathed a sigh of relief.
As for the beating she just received, compared to the past, it was merely a drizzle, so she didn’t feel much pain.
But she was afraid her mother was only stopping temporarily and would beat her to death once they got home.
Thinking of this, Zheng Sanya felt despair. She felt her future was pitch black, with no hope in sight.
Sometimes she even wondered if she was truly her parents’ biological child. Why, out of the four children in the family, was she the only one mistreated?
Even strangers would pity her, yet her own relatives were worse than strangers.