Xia Xian took the money, the bundle, and the gold bars, and left without delay, not lingering at the Chu family’s place any longer.
By now, it was already dark, which made it convenient for her to slip away quietly without anyone knowing.
However, she didn’t go straight home. Instead, she stopped near the supply and marketing cooperative. Seeing no one around, she darted behind a large tree, crouched down, and using the faint light from the cooperative, she took out her hairpin, pried it open, and used it as a key to poke into the lock. With a little fiddling, the lock opened.
In her previous life, to save money, she had repaired everything herself, tinkering with things on her own, which had honed many skills—lock picking being one of them.
Once the lock was open, the contents of the box revealed themselves.
Row upon row of gold bars stacked neatly. The color, the shape—truly beautiful!
She hadn’t dug in the wrong place!
Xia Xian couldn’t help but pick up a gold bar and give it a big kiss, her heart finally settling back into place.
At the Xia household.
Father Xia and Mother Xia already knew about the shameless things the Chu family had done. With Eldest Brother Chu dead, there was no hiding it anymore.
Lei Juan picked up her rice bowl to eat, then suddenly let out a long sigh and set the bowl back down.
“What’s the matter, sighing like that? We’re eating here. If you don’t want to eat, fine, but don’t ruin everyone’s appetite.”
Father Xia crunched on his pickled vegetables, looking a bit displeased.
“Yeah, Mom, if you’ve got something to say, just say it. No need to sigh deliberately for us to hear.”
Sister-in-law Xia, the eldest daughter-in-law, saw things more clearly and cut straight to the point. As she spoke, she didn’t forget to keep slurping down her food.
With so many mouths to feed in the family and limited rations, if you ate slowly, there’d be nothing left.
“What else could it be? Sister’s a widow now. No way Mom’s happy about that.”
Youngest Brother Xia sniffled and said loudly, understanding the situation too.
Or rather, everyone in the family understood—some just pretended not to.
“Since you’ve all figured it out, I won’t beat around the bush. I want to go to the Chu family tomorrow and bring Xian back.”
Lei Juan set her chopsticks down on the table. Ever since she’d learned of Eldest Brother Chu’s death, this thought hadn’t left her mind.
“We definitely need to bring her back, but we can’t rush this. If we take her away just a few days after Eldest Brother Chu passed, it’ll make the Xia family look bad.”
Speaking of his daughter’s situation, Father Xia was troubled too, but he cared about face. Xia Xian already had the reputation of being a husband-killer now. If they brought her back too quickly, he’d be the target of gossip, and he couldn’t stomach that.
“What do you mean ‘make us look bad’? Dad, did Eldest Brother Chu take your brain with him? They’re the ones who were shameless—they tricked my sister into marrying over there!”
“I said way back that we should fight our way over and snatch Sister back! We didn’t even need to wait for him to die to discuss it—none of you listened to me!”
Youngest Brother Xia was especially indignant, pouting and falling silent.
“Eat your food. You’re not even as tall as the table, and you’re talking about fighting our way over. If a real fight broke out, they could knock you down with one hand!”
Father Xia rolled his eyes and scolded him. The little brat didn’t understand anything!
“I’m still young, but that’s what you and Big Brother and Second Brother are for! Our family has plenty of people—the Chu family’s only got two left. Why should we be scared of them?”
Youngest Brother Xia was only seven, but he had the look of someone who’d rather fight than back down. Lei Juan felt a bit of comfort seeing her youngest son like that, but then she looked at her eldest and second sons staying silent, and felt a twinge of disappointment.
“What about you two? Say what you’re thinking.”
Second Brother Xia looked a bit troubled.
“Mom, it’s not that I don’t want to bring Xian back. The thing is, our house is only so big. We finally got her married off so Xingxing and Lanlan could sleep together—three people on that little bed is way too cramped, and the kids aren’t happy about it.”
“How about letting her stay at the Chu place until she remarries? We can hurry up and find her a match. She’s going to marry again anyway. Staying at the Chu place for a while can count as their compensation to Xian—they cover her housing and food.”
“I do agree with bringing Xian back, but the family’s got real difficulties. Could Xian contribute a bit more from her wages…”
Elder Brother Xia asked tentatively.
This wasn’t a small matter. Once Xia Xian came back, she’d be a widow, but she’d only been married for a few days. She definitely wouldn’t accept marrying someone much older, and someone with too poor a situation probably wouldn’t work either. Finding her a match wouldn’t be easy.
Elder Brother Xia’s point was that she could come back, but on top of her original living expenses, she should pay an extra rent.
Sister-in-law Xia, seeing her husband say that, hadn’t even swallowed her food yet and quickly waved her hands.
“Cough, cough, cough—Mom, that wasn’t me telling him to say that! I support bringing Xian back. We’ll live just like before. Even if we squeeze together, it’s more comfortable than her staying at the Chu place. Those Chu people are no good—the longer we drag this out, the less likely they’ll be to let her go!”
As she spoke, she stomped hard on her husband’s foot. Always thinking about money—if Mother-in-law ended up blaming her for this, she’d be so wronged!
“Ow! Why’d you stomp on me!”
Elder Brother Xia yelped in pain.
Lei Juan rubbed her forehead in frustration. What on earth had she given birth to?
“Xian is your own sister. How can you be so calculating…”
Xia Xian listened outside the door for a while, then knocked before everyone started arguing.
“Mom, Dad, I’m back.”
“Xian! It’s Xian’s voice!”
Lei Juan’s face lit up with joy upon hearing this, and she immediately got up to open the door.
“Mom!”
“Xian! It really is you! Are you alright? It’s so late—why did you suddenly come back? Those two from the Chu family, did they do anything to you?!”
She hugged her daughter in delight, unable to resist pulling her close to examine her carefully, afraid something had happened to her.
“I’m fine.”
“Second Brother Chu and his mother wanted me to marry him. I refused, and things got heated. The neighborhood committee director there helped me, and the police have already arrested them. I took the chance to run home.”
Xia Xian smiled with curved brows and bright, clear eyes, as if she hadn’t suffered any hardship there at all—still the same innocent, kind-hearted girl.
In her past life, she had lived miserably, and her mother had suffered along with her, passing away early. This time, being able to see her parents again, Xia Xian had nothing to be unhappy about.
“Mom, I missed you so much.”
Xia Xian smiled, but her eyes reddened as she nestled in her mother’s arms, unwilling to let go for a long time.
“Good child, you’ve suffered.”
Lei Juan’s eyes were also filled with tears, and the mother and daughter held each other, weeping. Lei Juan was worried about her daughter’s future.
She hated herself for not seeing the Chu family’s true colors back then!
She hated herself for not going to the Chu household two days before the wedding! She hated herself—on her daughter’s wedding day, she had noticed Eldest Brother Chu’s face looked off, yet she believed their nonsense about it being poorly applied makeup!
It had made her daughter a widow overnight, and her status had suddenly become so awkward!
“What! That Chu bastard is an animal! He dares to covet his own sister-in-law!”
“You came back at the right time! Absolutely don’t give in to him!”
Upon hearing what that mother-and-son pair from the Chu family had been scheming, the Xia family was disgusted beyond measure. They all objected and told Xia Xian to stay at home, not even bringing up their earlier little schemes—after all, they were family, and there was still affection between them.
“Mm, I’ll stay home for a couple of days first.”
“They’ll probably come looking for me. I’ll deal with them all first. Dad, big brother, sister-in-law, don’t worry—I won’t bring shame on you, and I won’t be a burden to the family. I’ll pay for my keep, and once I’ve dealt with those two scoundrels from the Chu family, I’ll move out. I know the house is small, and I don’t blame you all.”