When Wen Mancang pressed his fingerprint onto the document, he let out a heavy sigh, his expression dark.
Afterward, he still put on the airs of an elder and said coldly, “You’re the one who insisted on signing this family-severance agreement. From now on, whether you starve or fall ill and die out there, it has nothing to do with the Wen family. Don’t come crawling back in tears, begging us to take you in once you have nowhere else to go.”
Since he had put it that way, Wenxi was not about to indulge him either.
“I’ll make this clear, too. If any of you fail to recognize your place and come strutting up to me again, putting on the airs of an elder or throwing your weight around, these fists of mine recognize the family-severance agreement, not seniority.”
She released her grip and dropped the half-dead Wen Jinbao onto the ground.
“Jinbao! My son!”
“My precious grandson!”
Madam Liu and Madam Zhang cried out and rushed over, quickly picking up the child and clutching him to their chests as both of them burst into tears.
Wenxi did not look at them again.
She turned and went over to Li Cuihua, helping her sit beneath the eaves. Then she reached out and stroked Wen'an’s head.
“Xiao'an, sit with Mother for a while. Sis is going to pack our things. It won’t take long.”
“Mm!” Wen'an nodded vigorously and clasped Li Cuihua’s hand. “I’ll look after Mother!”
The Village Chief stood at the entrance and called out to several villagers he knew. “Everyone, lend a hand. Go home and bring back some dry grass and wood. Let’s put up a thatched shelter for the three of them first. We can’t just leave them sleeping in the streets.”
They were all neighbors from the same village, and seeing how pitiful the three of them were, most were willing to help.
Several people went home to fetch supplies.
Wenxi walked into the inner room alone.
Ever since the original owner’s father had disappeared, the family of three had been crammed into this smallest, most out-of-the-way room.
The room was dark and damp, without even a proper window, and a damp, moldy smell hit her as soon as she entered.
The room was miserably bare. Apart from a shabby wooden plank bed, there was not even a table.
Each of them had one change of clothes, washed so many times that the fabric had faded almost white and covered in patches. They had nothing else of value.
All their belongings fit into a single bundle.
When Wenxi came out carrying it, the Village Chief was standing in the courtyard, speaking with Wen Mancang.
“Mancang, they’re a widowed mother and her two children. They’re pitiful enough. Give them a little grain so they can get through the next couple of days. Otherwise, if they starve right after severing ties with the family, it won’t reflect well on your family.”
“Give them grain? Absolutely not!” The moment Madam Liu heard that grain was being requested, she exploded. She came out with her hands on her hips and shouted, “She’s the one who wanted to sever ties! If she starves to death out there, that’s her own fault! Why should she get any of our family’s grain? She can’t take a single grain of rice!”
Wen Mancang sat on the threshold, puffing away at his dry tobacco in silence. His attitude was perfectly clear: he was not giving them anything.
The Village Chief frowned and was about to say more, but Wenxi had already walked over. She swung the bundle onto her back. “Village Chief, there’s no need. Let’s go.”
She had never expected the Wen family to give them anything in the first place. As long as they could sever ties cleanly, that was enough.
“Xiao'an, help me support Mother.” Wenxi bent down and took hold of Li Cuihua’s other arm.
Li Cuihua’s legs had no strength at all, and she could not stand steadily.
She gritted her teeth and tried her best to support herself with her arms, unwilling to become too much of a burden to her children.
The three of them slowly made their way outside.
As soon as they stepped out of the Wen family’s gate, two aunties among the villagers gathered outside to watch came forward and reached out to support Li Cuihua.
“Walk slowly. Watch your step.”
“Poor thing. They’ve tormented a perfectly good person until she’s become like this.”
“Thank you, Aunties.” Wenxi sincerely thanked them.
Wen'an copied her and said, “Thank you, Aunties.”
Surrounded by the crowd, they followed the Village Chief toward the edge of the village.
The Wen family’s gate closed behind them, and the place instantly fell silent.
Madam Liu sat down heavily on the stone steps at the entrance and rubbed her still faintly aching stomach, her face full of resentment.
“If I’d known that damned girl would pull something like this, I should have listened to Second Son from the start and sold her to that consumptive[1]a derogatory old expression for someone suffering from consumption/tuberculosis jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3508869_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3508869_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); in the city as a luck-bride[2]the traditional practice of arranging a marriage in the hope that the auspicious event would counteract illness or bad fortune, sometimes when the groom was gravely ill jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3508869_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3508869_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });. We could at least have gotten a few taels of silver. But look at this—we didn’t get a single benefit, and I even took a beating.”
It was not as though she had never considered marrying Wenxi off in exchange for money. But then she had thought of all the work there was to do at home. Once Wenxi left, who would handle the dirty and tiring chores?
“Enough. Say a little less.”
Wen Mancang sat beside her and took a puff of dry tobacco. “You too. Teaching her a lesson is one thing, but why did you have to beat her as though you meant to kill her? Jinbao wasn’t seriously hurt. A couple of blows would have been enough. Look at the mess you’ve made now. Are you satisfied?”
“Wasn’t that how we always beat her before? Who knew what kind of madness possessed that damned girl today?” Madam Liu muttered indignantly, though she was also somewhat frightened inside.
The Wenxi of today was utterly different from the obedient, submissive girl she had been before.
The Village Chief led the mother and her two children along, originally intending to find a spot closer to the other households where they could put up a thatched shelter, so they would at least have someone nearby to look after them.
But as they walked, Wenxi suddenly stopped.
She pointed toward the foot of the mountain and said, “Village Chief, there’s no need to go any farther. We’ll choose that place. It’s far enough from the Wen family.”
The Village Chief froze and looked worried. “Girl, that place is too close to the foot of the mountain. Wolves and wild boars from the mountains might come down at night. A thatched shelter is too flimsy to keep them out. It’s too dangerous.”
“It’s all right, Village Chief. We’ll stay there.”
It was not that she had failed to consider the safety issue. But the land in the village was all needed for growing grain. Who would be willing to let them build a shelter on their own fields?
Besides, they had no idea how long they would be staying. There was no need to make themselves unwelcome.
Being close to the mountain had its advantages, too.
Hunting and gathering medicinal herbs would be convenient. If some beast that did not know its place really did come wandering down, it would actually save her the trouble of going into the mountains.
Seeing how determined she was, the Village Chief stopped trying to dissuade her.
He sighed and called out to the villagers who had arrived. “All right, here it is. Everyone, lend a hand. Level the ground first, then hurry and put up the shelter. It has to be finished before dark.”
The villagers were all very helpful. Some carried over wooden posts, some brought bundles of dry grass, and others brought straw rope.
Everyone divided up the work. Those who dug pits dug pits, those who set up the beams set up the beams, and those who laid the thatch laid the thatch. With everyone chatting and laughing, the scene was quite lively.
Wenxi gritted her teeth and forced herself to keep going. She wanted to step forward and help pass things around, but after only two steps, dizziness swept through her head and her vision went black.
She hurriedly grabbed hold of a tree trunk and closed her eyes. Only after resting for quite a while did she recover her senses. The wound at her temple still throbbed faintly, and every bone in her body felt as though it had been scattered apart.
She knew that the original owner’s body had reached its limit.
Fortunately, the villagers worked quickly. Before long, they had put up a simple thatched shelter large enough for three people to sleep in.
Although it was crude and let wind in from all sides, the dry grass laid across the roof could keep out the wind and rain. At least they now had a place to stay.
A thick layer of dry grass had been spread across the inside of the shelter. It was soft to lie on—far better than the hard-packed dirt.
“Thank you, Uncles and Aunties, for helping us. You’ve all worked hard today.” Wenxi thanked each of the villagers who had helped, her manner sincere.
Everyone waved their hands and said it had only been a small effort. They offered a few more words of comfort, then each returned home.
The Village Chief was the last to leave.
He looked at the crude thatched shelter, then at the mother and her two children, and felt miserable inside.
He sighed. “Make do here for now. I’ll have my family bring over some food and necessities later. Get through the next few days first; you can worry about what comes afterward. Things will slowly get better.”
“All right. Thank you, Village Chief.” Facing the Village Chief’s back, Wenxi bowed deeply.
Wen'an copied her, bending at the waist as he bowed. His little mouth continued murmuring, “Thank you, Village Chief… Thank you…”
References[+]