After hearing the commotion, Bai Zilin slowly lifted his head from the ground and called out to his parents in a hoarse voice:
“Father, Mother, I’m hungry. I’m thirsty. I want food. I want water…”
“Mother, I stink all over. Help me change clothes and bathe. Father, I need to use the latrine. I really can’t hold it anymore. Hurry and carry me there.”
Perched on the wall, Liu Ye covered her mouth to keep from laughing.
Brother Bai was actually…
She could already tell what he was planning. The moment he stuck out his backside, she knew exactly what kind of trick he was about to pull.
Well done. I hope this works.
When Uncle Bai heard this, he exploded.
What?
The cripple actually wanted him to carry him to the latrine? And he wanted food and water too?
Furious, he hurled the bucket into the yard.
“You little bastard! You’ve got some nerve! Ordering your own father around now? You useless cripple! You still want food? You still want water? Why haven’t you starved to death yet? Why haven’t you died of thirst?”
“You worthless mutt! Get out! I won’t raise a bastard! Woman, throw that wretched thing you gave birth to into the burial grounds! I don’t even want to see him! And if you don’t, then you can get out with him!”
Madam Bai dropped to her knees with a thud and immediately burst into tears.
“Husband, no matter what, Zilin still calls you Father. If we just throw him out, the villagers will gossip. You’re the only scholar in the village! Why don’t you go ask the village chief to write a severance document and officially cut ties with Bai Zilin? Then when we drive him away, nobody can criticize us.”
Liu Ye’s jaw nearly dropped.
Good heavens! Brother Bai’s mother is vicious!
But this was exactly what Bai Zilin wanted.
Well done, you horrible woman! For once you’ve done something right!
Uncle Bai slapped his thigh.
“That’s right! Why didn’t I think of that?”
Then he barked at his wife:
“Fine! I’ll listen to you this time. So why are you still standing there? Go get the village chief! What, are you waiting for me to do it myself?”
Inside, Bai Zilin was already celebrating.
But he still needed to act.
Stretching a trembling hand toward his mother, he cried out sorrowfully:
“Mother! No! My legs are crippled—you can’t abandon me! I won’t leave the Bai family! I won’t!”
“For all these years, I’ve been the one supporting this family! Just because my legs are ruined and I can’t hunt anymore? Just because you have to help me with eating and using the toilet? Have I become a burden now? Is that why you’re abandoning me?”
“How can you be so heartless?”
Madam Bai immediately sprang to her feet and bolted for the gate.
In the blink of an eye, she had disappeared.
Uncle Bai walked up to Bai Zilin and glared at him with hatred.
“You little bastard. Letting you stay in the Bai family all these years was already more than generous. If you’re smart, you’ll leave quietly.”
“Otherwise…”
He sneered.
“The day after tomorrow, Village Chief Zhao is leading us south. I’m not taking you with us.”
Bai Zilin covered his face with both hands and pretended to cry.
Seeing him so miserable filled Uncle Bai with satisfaction.
This felt wonderful.
Before long, Madam Bai returned with Village Chief Zhao.
She had even invited several villagers to serve as witnesses.
The village chief handed a severance contract to Uncle Bai.
“Brother Bai, think carefully. Zilin’s legs are crippled. He can’t survive on his own. If you expel him from the family, you’re practically sentencing him to death.”
“Why not reconsider?”
Uncle Bai accepted the two copies of the contract and pretended to read them, though he couldn’t recognize many of the characters.
“Brother Zhao, don’t try to persuade me. I’m doing this for his own good.”
“His legs are crippled. It won’t be convenient for him to travel south with us. We healthy people might not even survive the journey, much less a cripple.”
He sighed dramatically.
“And although Zilin isn’t my biological son—his mother was already pregnant when she married me—I treated him as my own for all these years.”
“Who could have expected fate to be so cruel and leave him crippled?”
Village Chief Zhao opened his mouth, wanting to argue, but eventually gave up.
Taking out an ink pad, he crouched beside Bai Zilin.
“Zilin… your situation really does make the journey difficult. Even healthy people may not reach the south safely.”
He hesitated.
“Zilin…”
Bai Zilin lowered his hands and looked up with a grief-stricken expression.
“Uncle Zhao, you’ve seen how much I’ve done for this family.”
“Since I was old enough to understand things, I’ve worked for the Bai family’s livelihood.”
“Even if I have no great achievements, I’ve certainly endured enough hardship.”
“Now that my legs are crippled, Father wants to sever ties with me.”
“But he can’t expect me to leave with absolutely nothing.”
“The silver I earned from hunting over the years adds up to dozens of taels. I’m not asking for much. Let him give me just two taels.”
“And the family handcart should belong to me.”
“The five chickens in the backyard are mine too—I raised them.”
“And I should get some grain.”
Upon hearing this, Liu Ye nearly choked.
Wait… those five hens that lay eggs on the firewood pile every day belong to him?
What a coincidence.
Uncle Bai snorted.
Silver? Chickens? Dream on.
He laid the contracts before Bai Zilin.
“Put down your thumbprint.”
“I’ll agree to give you the handcart.”
“Though I seem to have forgotten where I left it. If you can’t find it, that’s not my fault.”
“As for money, all of it was spent treating your legs. The silver you earned was spent on you. You’ve got nothing to complain about.”
“And you’re not getting the chickens either.”
“Your mother isn’t healthy and needs nourishment.”
“Put down your thumbprint. The bond between father and son ends here.”
Bai Zilin inwardly cursed him.
Old shameless fool. The only reason you’re willing to give me the cart is because it’s already missing.
Keeping up the act, he trembled as he pressed his finger into the ink and then onto both copies of the severance contract.
Uncle Bai immediately snatched one copy and tucked it away like a treasure.
Village Chief Zhao handed the other copy to Bai Zilin and patted his shoulder.
“Maybe staying in the village isn’t such a bad thing.”
“Perhaps it’ll rain after a while, and we’ll all end up coming back.”
“Zilin, I have faith in you.”
“Hang in there.”
Bai Zilin nodded miserably.
“Uncle Zhao… life has been so hard for me…”
The village chief sighed and stood up.
“I’ll be going now. You two should hurry and finish packing.”
Once the village chief and the witnesses had left, Uncle Bai immediately grabbed Bai Zilin by the arm and dragged him toward the gate.
“Little bastard! Get out right now! I don’t want to see your face for another second!”
Liu Ye saw this and instantly jumped down from the wall into the courtyard.
She rushed forward and shoved Uncle Bai away.
Caught off guard, he fell flat onto the ground.
“You stupid fool! How dare you push me!”
He scrambled up and raised his hand to hit her.
But Liu Ye wasn’t about to stand there and take it.
She grabbed one of the wooden sticks lying beside Bai Zilin and started swinging.
Whack!
Whack!
Each strike landed harder than the last.
She chased both husband and wife around the courtyard, beating them across their backsides until they finally fled into the house clutching their heads and slammed the door shut.
Only then did she stop.
And yes, she had deliberately hit Madam Bai too.
That old woman deserved it more than anyone.
No mother should ever treat her child like that.
Liu Ye helped Bai Zilin to his feet and handed him both wooden crutches.
Supporting him carefully, she led him into the ruined courtyard next door and helped him sit down on a pile of hay.
“Brother Bai, are you alright?”
Bai Zilin happily patted the severance contract tucked against his chest.
“I’m happier than ever.”
“Silly girl, from now on, the two of us will depend on each other.”
“When my legs heal, I’ll take care of you instead.”
“I’ll never break that promise.”
“If I ever go back on my word, may heaven strike me with five bolts of lightning.”
Liu Ye looked at him, and for the first time in a long while, Bai Zilin felt a sense of freedom.
The chains that had bound him to the Bai family for years had finally been broken.