Xu Sulan was indeed stunned.
"Grandma, you have no idea how awful Uncle and Grandma were when you weren't here!" Before Xu Sulan could ask anything, Ming Fei took the initiative to complain, recounting the entire incident from beginning to end in detail. She emphasized how Xu Cuihua had been bullied by Ming Dade's family until she bled from a head wound, fought back fiercely, and nearly smashed up Ming Dade's house.
"Mom was amazing!"
That was her final summary.
Only after listening did Xu Sulan understand what had really happened. On her way back, she had only heard a rough outline and had no clear idea of the specifics. Now, hearing Ming Fei's account and seeing the disheveled state of the mother and daughter, her heart ached even more. She didn't press further about the earlier oddities.
Even a rabbit will bite when cornered. Given her daughter's temperament, if she hadn't been pushed to the brink, how could she possibly have fought with that unreasonable family?
However, worried that Doctor Hu might not have treated the wounds properly, Xu Sulan led Xu Cuihua to sit in a spot with better light outside to re-examine her injuries.
Faced with Xu Cuihua's pleading gaze, Ming Fei was about to push Ming Erde forward and announce that he had woken up. But before she could speak, Xu Sulan called her name.
"Feifei, you sit here for a while. I'll check you after I finish examining your mom."
Ming Fei herself had forgotten she was still running a fever, but Xu Sulan hadn't. This made her despise Ming Dade's family even more.
Her granddaughter, sick with fever, had been tricked into going up the mountain. Her son-in-law lay in bed, his fate unknown. As the child's own grandfather, grandmother, and uncle, not only did that family not help, but they beat her daughter like this when she went to look for the child. Wasn't this pure bullying?
If only she had taken Feifei with her to the Gongshe today.
Thinking this, Xu Sulan's heart swelled with both pain and regret.
Ming Fei immediately fell silent, obediently sitting to the side, but her mind couldn't help drifting to the original host's memories.
After Xu Cuihua's death, Xu Sulan raised Ming Fei alone. Watching the family that had caused her daughter and son-in-law's death occupy her granddaughter's house and live comfortably, she was filled with hatred. She devoted herself to nurturing her granddaughter, terrified she might one day fall into that family's hands.
Yet, she never imagined the thing she feared most would still happen. In the last two years of her life, Xu Sulan constantly blamed herself for burdening the original host. She died with a heart full of worry, having even asked the Daduizhang to look after Ming Fei. Unfortunately, as Ming Dade's family were Ming Fei's only remaining relatives, there were many matters the Daduizhang couldn't easily intervene in.
The original host's relatively smooth marriage to a Zhiqing had involved the Daduizhang's assistance. However, the Daduizhang hadn't anticipated the Gaokao would be reinstated so soon, nor that the Zhiqing would simply leave without a word.
Later, the Daduizhang told the original host he had thought those Zhiqing wouldn't be able to return home, and with him around, even if that Zhiqing was no good, he wouldn't dare mistreat the original host.
Who could have predicted it?
Sitting on the small stool, Ming Fei's thoughts wandered aimlessly until drowsiness slowly crept over her again.
The day had been too intense. Her current body was only six years old; it was normal for her energy to be limited.
After examining her daughter, re-dressing the wounds, and seeing Ming Fei's little head nodding, Xu Sulan reached out to feel her forehead. Finding the temperature not too high, she decided not to wake her. Instead, she picked her up and placed her on the small bed inside.
Next was Ming Erde.
Hearing Xu Cuihua say that Ming Erde had woken up, Xu Sulan was genuinely surprised and delighted. As a barefoot doctor with a family tradition in medicine, she knew all too well how critical Ming Erde's condition had been. She had already prepared herself to support her daughter and granddaughter, the three generations relying on each other for survival in the future. She never expected Ming Erde to actually wake up.
As long as he was awake, he could recover slowly from there. After examining Ming Erde, Xu Sulan breathed a sigh of relief.
He had finally been brought back from the brink of death.
During these past few days, Ming Erde had remained unconscious, so naturally, he couldn’t be fed. It was only because Xu Sulan had been preparing sugar-salt water daily in an attempt to sustain him that he had managed to hold on until today.
After learning more details from Xu Cuihua, Xu Sulan didn’t care that it was almost dark outside. She stepped out and headed straight for Ming Dade’s house.
Ming Fei had slept exceptionally well. Since the arrival of the Moshi, she hadn’t been able to rest properly for a long time. By the time she opened her eyes again, it was already the next morning.
The house was small, and with it being winter, there was only one stove. To keep warm, the original owner had set up a small bed in her parents’ room, which also made it easier to care for her at any time.
When Ming Fei opened her eyes, she felt a bit disoriented before recalling the events of the previous day. As soon as she sat up, a wave of cold air hit her, making her quickly pull on the cotton-padded jacket placed at the foot of the bed.
It was freezing.
At that moment, apart from herself, neither Ming Erde nor Xu Cuihua was in the room. Ming Fei slipped out of bed, put on her shoes, and walked outside, just in time to bump into Xu Cuihua, who was carrying a bowl.
Seeing her awake, Xu Cuihua immediately set the bowl down and felt her forehead. "It’s good that the fever’s gone. Hurry up and wash your face, then eat. I made something delicious for you."
To be honest, it wasn’t that delicious. Given the family’s circumstances, what could possibly be considered a treat? But neither Ming Fei nor Xu Cuihua minded.
"Okay, Mom, how’s your head? Does it still hurt? Is it feeling any better?"
"It’s fine now," Xu Cuihua replied, touching her head. Xu Sulan had re-dressed the wound for her that morning.
Breakfast consisted of wowotou, and Xu Cuihua had also roasted a sweet potato for her in the stove. When she dug it out, it smelled incredibly fragrant and sweet, making Ming Fei’s mouth water.
Seeing Ming Fei looking like a little greedy cat, Xu Cuihua couldn’t help but laugh, though her laughter soon turned into a sigh.
They were too poor.
No, she had to go up the mountain later to look around. How could they nourish their bodies with just the meager resources at home? And if they didn’t regain their health, how could her daughter practice martial arts with her?
Fortunately, because of her head injury, she didn’t have to go dig the river today, giving her time to go up the mountain.
As Ming Fei ate the soft, sweet roasted sweet potato, she pondered a question.
She felt like she had forgotten something important, something that made her rack her brains trying to remember.
Was it about the plot? The reborn female lead? Ming Dade’s family? Or something else?
The reborn female lead probably hadn’t been reborn yet, but that wasn’t important. Whatever opportunities the other person had were her own business. In any case, Ming Fei had no intention of becoming some Duizhaozu supporting character.
As for the plot, she really didn’t know much. She only knew that the reborn female lead returned to the Dadui, where she met a down-sent professor who became her benefactor. But the down-sent individuals hadn’t arrived yet, and even if they did, it had little to do with her.
Ming Dade’s family? Probably nothing much. That family had been thoroughly dealt with by the fierce version of Xu Cuihua yesterday, so they likely wouldn’t have the energy to cause trouble anytime soon.
Then what was it?
Ming Fei was still deep in thought when she suddenly overheard the transmigrated Xu Cuihua and the transmigrated Ming Erde talking.
"You actually don't know how to cook? You'll have to learn, then. A little man should take good care of the home so that a woman can focus all her energy on outside matters. With no one to help us now, I'm afraid you'll have to bear with it. I can lend a hand when I have time, but I might be too busy with outside affairs."
Xu Cuihua was quite troubled.
Was she really going to have to manage everything both inside and outside the home?
Actually, Ming Erde wasn't entirely incapable—the original host did know a little—but there really wasn't much worth cooking these days.
"Little man? What little man? Once I've recovered a bit more, I'll go out and find work. You'll have to take care of things at home, Cuihua."
"No need. Leave the household matters to you. I'll handle earning money and supporting the family. Take this time, for example—if I had been the one digging the canal, maybe none of this would have happened."
"What kind of family lets a woman hold things up while the man is still alive?"
"…"
Sitting on the doorstep listening, Ming Fei: "…"
Listening to their conversation, she quickly picked up on something.
Both of them believed they should be the one to support the family and take charge in the future.
Oh, so this was a battle for household authority? As a child, Ming Fei definitely didn't qualify to compete—at most, she had a voting right—so she could only watch from the sidelines.
Not only did she lack the right to compete, but even if she had it, she would abstain. Having just returned from surviving Moshi, she really didn't want to exert herself.
Right now, she just wanted to lie back and coast through life.
After talking for a while, the two realized they couldn't quite convince each other. Noticing Ming Fei sitting on the doorstep listening intently, nodding her head from time to time as if in agreement, they turned to her.
"Feifei, who do you think should be the head of our household?"
Somehow, Ming Erde suddenly shifted the focus to Ming Fei, as if hoping to gain her support.
He hadn't really cared that much at first, but seeing Xu Cuihua's insistence had sparked his competitive spirit.
"Huh? Me?" Ming Fei was taken aback, pointing a finger at herself uncertainly.
"Yes, even though you're young, this is an important matter for our family, so we need your opinion too."
Xu Cuihua had no objection to this; she was sure Ming Fei would support her.
"Well, who should be in charge should depend on who contributes more to the family, right? I think it should be based on Mom and Dad's performance! Nowadays, we believe women hold up half the sky, so there's no problem with Mom being in charge. I think either of you is fine."
She didn't favor either side—whoever took charge made no difference to her, as long as it wasn't her!
Ming Erde seemed a bit dissatisfied with this answer, and coincidentally, so was Xu Cuihua. However, neither of them pressed Ming Fei further.
"In that case, let's see how things go from now on. I'll definitely make you feel at ease leaving the household to me."
She would surely prove through her actions that Ming Erde could trust her to manage the home.
Ming Erde smiled without saying a word.
He felt that Xu Cuihua must have come from a very unusual era, even more unusual than his own.
"But a household can't go a day without someone in charge. In that case… let's have Feifei take charge for now."
Ming Fei, who had thought the two would start arguing again: "…"
Hey!
What exactly happened between you two without my knowledge? Is there something off about you two?
I'm only six years old, just a six-year-old child, and I'm supposed to become the head of the household? Isn't this too careless and hasty?
Upon hearing this, Xu Cuihua looked at the shocked child and, after some thought, also felt Ming Erde's words made sense. "Alright, then Feifei will be the head of our household!"
"I don't think that's quite right…"
"What are you two doing? Why are you arguing? Cuihua, Erde just woke up. Don't argue with him; let him rest properly. He shouldn't get too worked up." Xu Sulan, holding some things in her hands, looked curiously at the family of three.
"Grandma!"
"Both Mom and Dad want to be the head of the household, but they're not satisfied with each other and can't out-argue each other, so they decided to let me be the head of the household!"
Quick, stop them!
Xu Sulan: "…"
Author's Note:
Fei: Those Years When I Was the Head of the Household.jpg