In the village, the neighbors’ houses were all very close to one another. When they heard the children’s cries coming from the Lu family, they all came over to see what was happening.
As soon as they arrived, they saw the two children sitting on the ground, covered in dirt and crying miserably, while Su Yuanyuan stood there holding a broom and confronting Li Hua and Wang Chunhua.
When the second daughter-in-law, Wang Xiujuan, saw the neighbors gathering around, she quickly pulled her mother-in-law and sister-in-law apart.
The eldest and second eldest sons’ children were playing with mud beneath a tree. Seeing Lu Siyuan and Lu Mingzhu crying so miserably, they giggled gleefully.
The neighbors who had been drawn over by the children’s cries could tell what had happened just by looking at the scene.
Everyone had seen how the Lu family normally treated the third son’s family.
They were constantly ordering them around and often refused to give them food. If it weren’t because Su Yuanyuan was sickly, she probably wouldn’t have escaped being beaten and cursed at either. The only reason they didn’t hit her was because they were afraid they might beat her to death.
“What are they making such a fuss about?” The neighbors who arrived later stood outside the low wall and peered inside, still unaware of what had happened.
“What else could it be? The Lu family got robbed today. They normally aren’t even willing to give the third son’s family a bite to eat. I heard they only gave the three of them one corn cake today. That’s downright heartless. They take the wages their son sends home every month, yet treat his wife and children like this.”
“It’s a sin. They won’t even feed the children, yet they make them do heavy work. Washing a stone mill is such a difficult job, and they made three-year-old children do it. They must have completely lost their conscience. Look, the children couldn’t do it, and they even wanted to beat them.”
“Exactly. The Lu family is behaving terribly. Even if they can’t treat everyone equally, they shouldn’t torment people like this. Look at the other two grandsons. They’re both chubby from eating well. Look at how thin the third son’s family is.”
The neighbors hadn’t witnessed the entire confrontation, but they had all seen what kind of life Su Yuanyuan and her children lived.
The neighbors’ voices weren’t particularly loud, but they were just loud enough for Li Hua and the others to hear clearly.
Li Hua and the others’ faces turned red and then white. They glared viciously at Su Yuanyuan and the children.
Troublemakers!
Everyone lived in the same village, where they saw each other every day. Although outsiders normally had no business interfering in other people’s family affairs, if someone behaved too terribly, they’d be criticized by the neighbors for the rest of their lives and never be able to hold their heads up in public.
With all the neighbors watching now, if they went too far, people wouldn’t be willing to lend them rice or grain later.
“Forget it, forget it. If you can’t wash the stone mill, go do something else. Second daughter-in-law, you wash it. You two, sweep the ground clean. Third daughter-in-law, go wipe the windows and doors.”
After Li Hua finished speaking, she impatiently turned around and headed back inside.
Wang Xiujuan immediately objected.
“Why should I do it? Doesn’t the eldest sister-in-law have to work too?”
She really couldn’t understand it. They were all daughters-in-law, yet because the eldest sister-in-law was married to the eldest son, her mother-in-law favored her too. Whenever anything happened in the household, she was always the one expected to handle it.
“Sister-in-law, what are you talking about? Don’t I have to take care of two children? I still have to wash their clothes later.”
Wang Chunhua rolled her eyes.
That’s what you get from someone who grew up in a tiny village—always quibbling over everything.
“You don’t want to work? Then don’t eat the family’s food either! You make so much fuss over doing a little work. If you’re really that unhappy, hurry up and pack your things and go back to your mother’s house.”
Li Hua was already irritated.
Was Wang Xiujuan trying to make the neighbors laugh at them even more by dragging this out?
Wang Xiujuan’s eyes reddened, and she could only reluctantly carry the bucket over to wash the stone mill.
She had been married into the Lu family for several years. Even after giving the second son a big, healthy boy, her mother-in-law had never treated her kindly.
She knew very well that even if she really packed her things and returned to her mother’s home, nobody would care.
Instead, the old woman Li Hua would probably simply have her son marry someone else.
Su Yuanyuan stopped once she’d made her point and picked up a rag to wipe the doors and windows.
In the village, dust accumulated on the doors and windows within just a couple of days. Su Yuanyuan wiped them slowly while secretly observing whether there were any other places in the house where money might be hidden.
She hadn’t found much money in the eldest and second eldest sons’ rooms. She didn’t know whether they’d hidden it somewhere else.
Unfortunately, after looking around several times, Su Yuanyuan still found nothing.
It seemed there really wasn’t anything there.
Li Hua was ruthless enough. She kept all of her sons’ wages in her own hands and spent the money freely.
At least the eldest and second eldest sons’ families weren’t shortchanged.
The third son’s family, however, was truly pitiful.
After the morning’s commotion was over, there wasn’t much left to do for the time being. The chickens and ducks had all been stolen, so they didn’t even have to bother feeding them.
Lu Mingzhu and Lu Siyuan saw their two cousins playing with a pinwheel. It had been made by the family themselves and made a rattling sound as it spun. It looked incredibly fun.
The siblings looked at it enviously and went over, hoping to play with them.
But the moment they approached, Lu Zhengning’s son, Gouwa, shoved Lu Mingzhu away.
“You stink! Go away!”
Lu Mingzhu staggered backward a couple of steps. Once she steadied herself, she glared at Gouwa.
“I take a bath every day! I don’t stink! You’re the dirty one! You stink!”
When Lu Siyuan saw his sister being bullied, he immediately stepped forward and shoved Gouwa away.
“Don’t bully my sister!”
He was already skinny, so how could he possibly push the round, ball-like Gouwa?
Instead, the force bounced him back two steps.
Lu Zhenggang’s son, A Niu, pointed at him and laughed mercilessly.
“You’re skinny as a stick and you still want to fight us? Eat a few more meals first, bean sprout!”
“If you’re so kind, then give us some of your food!” Lu Siyuan protested, stepping in front of his sister.
Gouwa and A Niu had often heard their mothers and grandmother say that their younger cousins were annoying. Gradually, they came to hate the younger siblings too.
“We’re not giving you anything! We’re not giving you anything! Why should bastards like you eat the family’s food? You deserve to starve to death!”
Gouwa stuck his tongue out at the siblings. His round, sun-darkened face looked incredibly punchable.
“What did you say? We’re not bastards! You two fat pigs!”
Lu Mingzhu put her hands on her hips and shouted back.
Gouwa and A Niu had been hit where it hurt. Their little faces turned dark red with anger, making them look even more comical.
“That’s right! We have a dad! Our dad is Lu Zhengning! We’re not bastards!”
In the village, Lu Siyuan and Lu Mingzhu were very sensible children. To save money, they would help everyone with odd jobs.
Most of the villagers felt sorry for the two children, so no one had ever called them bastards to their faces.
But they had heard other people use the word before and knew what it meant.
Gouwa realized that he’d hurt them and deliberately twisted his butt at them provocatively.
“You are bastards! Your dad doesn’t want you! Otherwise, why hasn’t he come back even once since you were born?”
A Niu chimed in.
“Exactly! We heard that soldiers who go off to serve in the army usually bring their families with them. They wouldn’t leave their wives and children at home for so long without caring about them. Where’s your dad? He doesn’t care about you at all.”
“That’s right. He doesn’t want you. What’s the point of arguing with us? Your dad doesn’t want you. You’re children nobody wants! You’re bastards! Hahaha!”
After saying that, Gouwa and A Niu ran away, laughing obnoxiously and chanting, “Bastards! You’re bastards!”
Lu Siyuan and Lu Mingzhu stood where they were, at a loss. They looked at each other helplessly.
Mom had told them before that Dad was just too busy, which was why he hadn’t come home.
But what their cousin had said—was it true?
Their father hadn’t come back even once since they were born.
Could it be that he really didn’t want them?
They had never considered this possibility before.
But the thought that they might have been abandoned made their eyes redden.