Good news: it’s not a human trafficker.
Bad news: it’s the eldest niece coming at him with a knife.
He shouldn’t have listened to the youngest one. Even a rabbit bites when it’s pushed too far.
“Eldest niece, you scared me to death,” Lin Lao’er said with a grin.
“Who’s your niece? I don’t have an uncle like you who sells nieces,” Lin Qimo said coldly, lifting the firewood knife in her hand. Without another word, she slashed Lin Lao’er’s thigh.
Blood gushed out of his leg in a rush, making Lin Lao’er’s vision blur and his legs go weak. He collapsed onto the ground.
“Niece, let’s talk this out properly! Killing is illegal!” Lin Lao’er shouted loudly. The baby in his arms burst into tears.
“Give me the baby,” Lin Qimo said as she approached with the knife, reaching out quickly to snatch the child.
Seeing the faint red glare in Lin Qimo’s eyes, Lin Lao’er dared not loosen his grip. “Niece! It’s illegal to kill people! Help! Somebody help!”
“Help! Help!”
The villagers who heard the commotion quickly gathered.
As they walked, some of them muttered, “We could hear Lin Lao’er yelling for help from far away. Did he try to sneak into a widow’s bed again and get beaten up?”
“Maybe that’s really it. Let’s go see the show.”
Lin Qimo quickly snatched the baby from Lin Lao’er’s arms and took a closer look.
It wasn’t her own baby sister.
She glanced at Lin Lao’er, who was bleeding heavily on the ground, then turned and walked toward a pile of hay nearby.
As for Lin Lao’er, by the time the villagers arrived, he had already fainted.
Everyone assumed he had been beaten for trying to sneak into someone’s bed. To avoid a death, they worked together to send him to the clinic.
Meanwhile, Lin Qimo found the house that Lin Lao’er had mentioned Li Daqiang’s home.
A row of mud-brick houses stood there, one corner of each partially collapsed.
It was clearly even poorer than her own home. The ground was clean, though, suggesting there must be a woman in the house who liked cleanliness.
Li Daqiang wasn’t home; only his wife and children were there.
Lin Guihua sat by the bed, wiping tears while coaxing the child to sleep.
When she turned around, she saw a figure at the door holding a knife and immediately collapsed onto the ground in fear.
“W-what do you want?”
Lin Qimo turned her head, gave her a cold glance, and walked straight to the bed, placing the child on the wooden bed and lifting the patched blanket.
She checked her own little milk-bun sister. No missing limbs, no injuries. Only then did she feel relieved and sit down on a nearby chair.
“You… your family is this poor, your husband is unreliable, and you still dared to have eight children. What were you thinking?”
Li Daqiang’s wife said nothing, hanging her head in shame.
“Your belly… you’re pregnant again, aren’t you?” Lin Qimo asked.
“Five months.”
Hearing those words, Lin Qimo felt like cursing.
“I don’t even know whether to curse your husband for being trash or curse you. Your own child was sold, and you’re still counting money for him.”
Lin Guihua quickly explained, “It wasn’t a sale. My husband said it was an exchange for raising the child. Your family is better off than ours he said the child would go to Lin Lao’er to take care of him in old age, and he wouldn’t be mistreated.”
“Did you know the baby Lin Lao’er took was my sister?”
Lin Guihua shook her head.
“I heard your husband drinks, gambles, and beats people. You’re heavily pregnant and alone at home it’s not safe. You should go back to your parents’ house when you can.”
She didn’t want to be a kind person in this life she only wanted to protect her own family.
Other people’s suffering wasn’t her concern, but she knew something bad would happen to Lin Guihua in the future, and she couldn’t help feeling a bit uneasy.
She couldn’t very well tell her that she would likely be beaten to death during this pregnancy.
Even if she did, no one would believe her. They’d just think she was trying to break up their marriage.
Two lives at stake.
“Remember this: if a woman in this life relies only on a man and not herself, she will end up very badly,” Lin Qimo said.
Lin Guihua looked at her in disbelief, clearly not understanding.
But Lin Qimo had no intention of explaining further. She picked up her own little milk-bun sister and left without looking back.
Lin Guihua stood frozen in place. After a while, she slowly stood up while holding her waist and bit her lip.
She looked at her son who had been returned, feeling both relief and fear.
She was glad the child had come back but what if her husband came home and started beating people again?
When Lin Qimo returned home, Lin Tangtang had already woken up.
The moment she saw her eldest sister return, Lin Tangtang rushed into her arms and finally cried out.