The old man desperately wanted a grandson. Three generations of the Li family had only produced one son each. Li Zude’s mother had given birth to six daughters before finally having him.
“Go on then,” Li Dashan said casually. “Xiaomei’s sleeping at home.”
Qin Suian cursed inwardly. Old bastard.
When they reached the Li family house, Qin Suian asked Xie Kaihua to wait outside while she and Xiaojuan went in.
“Xiaomei? Xiaomei?” Qin Suian pushed open the half-closed gate and stepped into the yard.
The place was filthy and chaotic. Chickens flapped everywhere, dogs barked nonstop, chicken droppings and trash littered the ground, and a foul smell hung in the air.
Li Dashan was lazy, and Li Zude was an even worse bum. Ever since Li Zude’s mother died giving birth to him, the household had depended entirely on the daughters who hadn’t yet been married off.
Even the fifty-yuan bride price for Li Zude had been scraped together by his married sisters.
After the sisters gradually married away, all the housework fell onto Xiaomei.
And once Xiaomei became pregnant, naturally everything became even harder.
“Mom?”
Xiaomei had been washing clothes in the back courtyard. When she heard Qin Suian calling her name, she thought she was imagining it. She stood up too quickly and nearly fainted from dizziness.
“What happened?” Qin Suian hurried over. Seeing Xiaomei’s huge belly and painfully thin frame, she noticed a fresh slap mark on her face.
“Did Li Zude hit you again?”
Rage exploded inside her.
She had known all along Li Zude was trash, but she never expected him to keep beating Xiaomei even while she was heavily pregnant.
Only then did Xiaomei remember the beating from two days earlier.
At this point she had almost gone numb to it. After enough pain, you simply got used to it.
She quickly covered her cheek.
“I’m fine. He didn’t mean it. Mom, Xiaojuan, why are you here?”
Despite everything, she was overjoyed to see them.
Xiaohe Village and Li Village were far apart. Traveling between them wasn’t easy.
Since returning home after her wedding last year, she had only seen Qin Suian once—when she’d sent word through someone that she was pregnant.
After that, no one had visited again.
“Come inside first. Where’s that bastard Li Zude?” Qin Suian asked as she helped Xiaomei walk.
“He… didn’t come home last night.”
Xiaomei hesitated.
He was probably off at the grove again, watching people gamble.
She had once asked whether he was gambling too. Li Zude had impatiently replied, “How would I have money to gamble?”
But Xiaomei understood what he really meant:
If he had money, he absolutely would gamble.
The bitterness in her heart had nowhere to go.
Li Dashan was lazy. Li Zude drifted through life like a useless loafer.
Living in this family was pure torment.
“That bastard!”
Qin Suian cursed again as she helped Xiaomei into the main room.
Xiaomei struggled over the high doorstep and tried to pour them water, but Qin Suian stopped her.
Not wanting to waste time, Qin Suian dragged Xiaomei straight into the bedroom.
“Xiaomei, Mom’s taking you to the county hospital for a checkup. You’re about to give birth—you need to be careful.”
As she spoke, she began packing things up, telling Xiaojuan to open the chest and pull out clothes and bedding.
“No, I don’t need a checkup,” Xiaomei protested immediately.
She knew her mother had no money, and the Li family certainly wouldn’t pay for it.
“Listen to me. Sit down and don’t move.”
Qin Suian pressed her onto the edge of the bed and searched for something to wrap their belongings in.
After searching for ages, she couldn’t find a single decent cloth. Instead, she found only old rags sewn into diapers and tiny baby clothes.
Judging by the stitching, Xiaomei had made them herself.
In the end, Qin Suian simply spread out the bedsheet and bundled all the clothes and bedding together.
The Li family barely owned anything decent anyway. The only newer quilt had been bought years ago with money pooled together by Li Zude’s sisters.
Working quickly together, the mother and daughters packed Xiaomei’s belongings and left the Li house.
Xiaojuan even found some clean straw in the backyard and spread it in the wagon first.
Xie Kaihua came over to help, and together they prepared a soft place for Xiaomei to sit.
As they left Li Village, Li Dashan even waved goodbye casually.
It was already dark by the time they reached the county town.
Xie Kaihua drove the three women to the guesthouse where Qin Suian had been staying.
Qin Suian paid her.
“Thank you for your hard work, Master Xie.”
Xie Kaihua smiled brightly as she took the money. This was her favorite moment.
“No trouble at all.”
“Master Xie, one more favor,” Qin Suian added quietly. “If you happen to run into Xiaomei’s father-in-law, please don’t tell him where we’re staying.”
“Got it. I won’t say a word.”
“Thank you.”
Qin Suian bought food nearby and carried it upstairs so the three of them could finally enjoy a proper meal.
Later, while helping Xiaomei wash up, Qin Suian discovered countless injuries across her daughter’s body—old scars, fresh bruises, purple and blue marks everywhere.
Her heart broke.
Tears streamed down her face.
“Xiaomei… I’m sorry. I never should’ve married you into the Li family.”
She felt like a complete fool for allowing this marriage in the first place.
“Mom, I’m okay.”
Xiaomei hugged her tightly and burst into tears too.
“Xiaomei, don’t go back to the Li family before the baby’s born, alright?”
Qin Suian was afraid of overwhelming her daughter, so she didn’t yet say that she never intended to send her back at all.
Nor did she mention the divorce yet.
The three women lay together talking late into the night before finally drifting off to sleep.
The next day, Qin Suian brought Xiaomei to the county hospital for an examination.
She also had Xiaojuan checked.
Fortunately, Xiaomei’s results weren’t too serious. The baby was healthy.
The main problems were severe anemia and malnutrition. The doctor advised proper nutrition, rest, and absolutely no heavy labor.
Qin Suian and Xiaojuan’s results were similar: anemia and malnutrition from years of hardship.
After returning to the guesthouse, Qin Suian asked Xiaojuan to stay with Xiaomei while she went out to buy some things.
In truth, she wanted to look around the county town for a place to rent.
She needed somewhere permanent. Xiaomei needed a stable place to recover, and Qin Suian planned to start making and selling pickles.
She couldn’t keep staying in a guesthouse forever.
In her previous life, she had eventually opened a pickle shop in this very county, so she knew the area well.
Wandering through the streets and alleys, she eventually found a small courtyard enclosed by broken bricks and stones, with a brick-tiled house faintly visible inside.
In her past life, she had rented this very place.
Later, the entire area had been demolished and rebuilt into a bustling riverside commercial district.
But now, the surroundings were still old and worn—mud-brick houses and gray brick homes everywhere.
Although Qin Suian already knew who owned the place, she still knocked on a neighboring door.
After a moment, it opened slightly.
“Auntie, could I trouble you for a bowl of water?”
The woman peeking through the door was exactly the person Qin Suian remembered:
Qin Fang.