So domineering. So utterly unreasonable.
Qin Yuan was so furious at Xia Kunshan’s words that her chest ached.
Clutching her chest, she forced her voice through her fever-roughened throat. Somehow, she managed to shout even louder than he had.
“You’re being unreasonable, and you don’t have a conscience! When the flood came last year, my father risked his life to block the breach and saved Xia Family Bay! He was a martyr! Back then, every one of you promised to treat my widowed mother and us fatherless children well!
“My father’s bones aren’t even cold yet, and now the Xia clan is joining forces to drive us to our deaths! Fine! If saving someone’s life means you have to repay it with your own, then everyone in Xia Family Bay should repay my father’s life first!”
The moment she finished shouting, the entire room fell deathly silent.
Everyone exchanged uneasy glances.
Even Xia Kunshan was stunned into silence.
Qin Yuan’s father, Qin Songtao, had used his own body to block a breach during the flood the previous year. His sacrifice had protected the waterworks upstream and bought the construction crew enough time to repair the embankment. As the village closest to the breach, Xia Family Bay had benefited the most from his actions.
When Qin Songtao was officially recognized as a martyr, every villager had signed their name in support. They had also promised to take good care of his widow and children.
That made things rather difficult.
Xia Kunshan’s lips twitched. He slowly sat down on the only long bench in the main room. His earlier aggressive attitude subsided considerably, replaced by the earnest expression of an elder trying to reason with a junior.
“Qin Yuan, one thing is one thing. Your father was a martyr, and your family has already received the government’s preferential treatment for martyrs’ families. I heard the commune even gave you a university admission slot, didn’t they?
“That’s the government’s compensation for your father’s death. Now that Xia Junsheng died saving you, shouldn’t you compensate his family too? Or are you saying you don’t want to compensate them by marrying into Junsheng’s family? If that’s the case, can you give Junsheng’s family a university admission slot instead, hmm?”
Xia Kunshan might have said those words without thinking much about them, but an explosion seemed to go off inside Qin Yuan’s mind.
Countless mysteries from her previous life and this one suddenly connected.
Her gaze instinctively shifted toward Xia Min, just in time to catch the flash of greed and smugness in the other woman’s eyes.
But the instant Xia Min noticed Qin Yuan looking at her, she lowered her head and continued sobbing softly, as though nothing had happened.
Ha!
So this was the root of everything!
Countless thoughts raced through Qin Yuan’s mind, but her expression remained perfectly calm. Instead of exposing what she had realized, she skillfully changed the subject.
“Grandpa Clan Chief, you’ve misunderstood me. It’s not that I’m unwilling to compensate them, nor am I refusing to marry. The problem is that everyone has been wrong from the very beginning. If you truly believe Xia Junsheng died while saving me, shouldn’t the first thing you do be to search the river for him?
“Forget about saving someone’s life for a moment. Even if I, Qin Yuan, had murdered someone, you’d still need to find the person alive or recover the corpse before you could convict me, wouldn’t you? But all of you decided that Xia Junsheng saved me and drowned in the river based solely on a padded jacket and a pair of padded trousers.
“So let me ask you something, Grandpa Clan Chief. What if I have evidence proving that Xia Junsheng wasn’t the one who saved me? Or what if Xia Junsheng isn’t dead at all? What will the Xia clan do then?”
Xia Kunshan froze.
The production team leader and the clansmen who had come with him were equally stunned.
It had never occurred to them that someone other than Xia Junsheng might have saved Qin Yuan.
Even less had they considered the possibility that Xia Junsheng might still be alive.
It was the dead of winter, and nighttime temperatures dropped to ten degrees below zero. The place where Qin Yuan had fallen into the water was also where three rivers converged, making it especially exposed to the wind. At night, temperatures there could plunge to nearly fifteen degrees below zero.
Qin Yuan had already been frozen stiff by the time she was rescued.
As far as everyone was concerned, if Xia Junsheng had failed to climb out and sunk into the river, his death was practically a certainty.
Yet Qin Yuan was now claiming she had evidence that Xia Junsheng wasn’t the person who had saved her.
For a moment, no one knew how to react.
While Xia Kunshan was still frowning in thought, Hu Yinglian could no longer restrain herself. She burst into loud wails again.
“I don’t want to live anymore! My son clearly died trying to save her, but this little bitch is turning around and refusing to admit it! He was my only son! How am I supposed to live from now on?!”
The women gathered around to comfort her, while the men exchanged glances and waited for the clan chief to speak.
From within the crowd, Qin Yuan’s faint voice drifted over.
“How strange. You’re his mother, yet you haven’t even looked for him before insisting he’s dead. When an elderly person dies in a normal family, they usually keep the body for at least three days before the funeral. Your son only disappeared last night, yet you’re already cursing him as dead today. Hu Yinglian, just how badly do you want your son to be gone?”
“You!”
Hu Yinglian gritted her teeth and lunged at her.
“You little bitch! In weather this cold, how are we supposed to search an icy river? You make it sound so easy—why don’t you go look for him yourself?! Fourth Aunt Mao! Xia Min! Grab her and throw her into the river!”
Fourth Aunt Mao, Hu Yinglian’s most devoted supporter, actually stepped forward to do it.
Qin Yuan raised the scissors in her hand and shouted urgently, “Don’t touch me! I’ve already called the police! If I die, every one of you will be an accomplice! I have evidence that Xia Junsheng wasn’t the one who saved me. The police will come and investigate everything. Can’t you people wait just a few days?!”
At the mention of the police, Fourth Aunt Mao immediately stopped.
In those days, simply hearing the word “police” was enough to make people nervous, even if they hadn’t done anything wrong.
Everyone in the room exchanged glances, their expressions practically asking the same question:
What do we do now?
Just then, Hu Yinglian suddenly threw herself toward Xia Kunshan, snatched the bottle of dichlorvos pesticide from his hand, and poured it straight into her mouth.
Gulp! Gulp!
Her swallowing was shockingly loud, as though she were determined to die right then and there.
Everyone was stunned.
There wasn’t even enough time to stop her.
Then, right before their eyes, Hu Yinglian slowly collapsed to the floor and wrapped both arms around Xia Kunshan’s leg, looking as though she were barely clinging to life.
“Uncle… if no one will seek justice for Junsheng, then I don’t want to live anymore! I only ask you to make Qin Yuan compensate us. Her life, her work points, her house, her university admission slot—I don’t care what it is, as long as they compensate us! Cough, cough… I feel terrible… Please, promise me!”
Xia Kunshan had served as clan chief for many years, but this was the first time anyone had ever swallowed pesticide and then clung to his leg.
He truly didn’t know what to do.
Still, no matter what else happened, saving her life had to come first!
So Xia Kunshan hurriedly shouted, “Someone, quickly! Hitch up the ox cart—no, get the tractor! Take her to the commune clinic for emergency treatment!”
But Hu Yinglian stubbornly clung to his trouser leg and refused to let go.
“No! I’m not going! Not unless you make Qin Yuan marry into our family and hand over her university admission slot! Otherwise, I’m not going anywhere! Even if I die, I won’t go!”
Xia Kunshan nearly broke down.
He was already seventy years old and still wore old-fashioned, loose-crotched trousers held up by nothing more than a cloth cord around his waist.
With Hu Yinglian yanking on his trouser leg with all her strength, Xia Kunshan couldn’t escape, nor could he bend down to help her up.
Because both of his hands were desperately gripping his waistband.
The moment he let go, his trousers would fall.
Normally, even if they did fall, the hem of his shirt might preserve some of his dignity.
But not today!
Last night, in order to coax Widow Zhou into a good mood, he had actually put on Widow Zhou’s gaudy floral underpants underneath!
If his trousers fell now and everyone saw them, his dignity as clan chief would be utterly destroyed!
Xia Kunshan was so furious he could barely contain himself.
Clutching his waistband with both hands, he roared at Qin Yuan.
“You wretched girl! I don’t care what evidence you have! Everyone already knows Xia Junsheng saved you, so you have to compensate his family! Team Leader, write up an agreement! Make Qin Yuan marry Xia Junsheng! Whether he’s dead or alive will be their own family’s business. Hurry up and write it! If Hu Yinglian refuses emergency treatment and another person dies, who’s going to take responsibility?!”
“Yes, yes, yes!”
The team leader hurriedly agreed and scrambled to prepare the written agreement.
Qin Yuan shouted urgently through her hoarse, broken voice.
“Grandpa Clan Chief! I used to work as a health worker, so I know a little about this! Dichlorvos pesticide can rapidly corrode the internal organs. She needs to vomit it out immediately! By the time you finish writing that agreement, Hu Yinglian might be beyond saving!
“I know a folk remedy—a special remedy for people who’ve swallowed pesticide! I guarantee she won’t die! Saving her life is more important!”
??Clan Chief: My trousers are in grave danger. Does anyone have a folk remedy for that? Waiting online. It’s urgent.
?What exactly is Qin Yuan’s mysterious folk remedy? Let your imagination run wild in the comments—the crazier, the better!