"Qing'er, do we really have to do what you said?"
Standing at the Qin family's doorstep, Tang Min hesitated, afraid to knock.
Thinking back to what Qin Qing had said on the way here, Tang Min's heart was still racing.
When had her daughter become so bold? Was this really appropriate?
"Mom, if you want us to live a good life, do what I say. Otherwise, we'll jump into the river together and go find Dad!"
Qin Qing deliberately provoked Tang Min with her words, and sure enough, Tang Min was instantly frightened into a panic.
"Alright, alright! Mom promises you—if your grandmother really doesn't want us anymore, we'll do what you said!"
That was the biggest concession Tang Min could make.
Qin Qing sighed and turned to knock on the Qin family's door.
The biting December wind cut through her, leaving Qin Qing frozen to the bone.
"Who is it?"
A vigorous female voice rang out.
"Xiaomei, it's me, your second aunt."
Tang Min recognized the voice as He Cuiyun's daughter, Qin Guangmei, and answered immediately.
There was no response from inside for a long while, so Qin Qing knocked three more times.
The door creaked open…
Whoosh!!
A basin of cold water was dumped out, drenching Qin Qing and her mother from head to toe.
Qin Guangmei tossed the basin aside and pointed at the two of them coldly.
"You still have the nerve to come back? Qin Qing, Grandma said since you ran off today, don't even think about returning to the Qin family!"
Qin Guangmei stared at Qin Qing with burning jealousy. Even standing there without saying a word, Qin Qing looked like a beauty from a painting, delicate and endearing.
But she had taken after her father's looks.
Beany little eyes, a flat nose, thick lips, and a stocky build.
Even their names—she and Qin Qing were both of the Guang generation, but her second uncle had named Qin Qing against the family's objections, saying the character Guang sounded bad and dropping the generation marker altogether.
And she was stuck with the tacky name Qin Guangmei!
"Qin Guangmei, get a towel and wipe my mom clean!"
Qin Qing glared at Qin Guangmei with fierce intensity.
"Dream on! Get as far away as you can! The Qin family doesn't want you here!"
"Are you going to get it or not?"
"Not happening!"
Qin Guangmei craned her neck defiantly. She refused to believe it—she'd always bullied this little slut before; there was no way things were going to change today.
"Fine!"
Qin Guangmei blocked the doorway, refusing to let them in. Qin Qing walked over to the drainage ditch in front of the house and scooped up a big handful of filthy mud.
She walked up to Qin Guangmei and slapped the mud right across her face. The rancid stench made Qin Guangmei vomit on the spot.
"Qin Qing, you crazy bitch, I'll fucking kill you!"
Qin Guangmei hopped around, lunging to hit Qin Qing. Seeing that Qin Qing was about to get hurt, Tang Min stepped in front of her.
"Xiaomei, your sister didn't mean it."
Though Tang Min had a soft temperament, her grip was incredibly strong.
All the heavy labor in the Qin family fell on her shoulders—she could carry a two-hundred-pound load without breaking a sweat.
Qin Guangmei was sturdy, but in terms of pure strength, she was no match for Tang Min.
"You filthy widow, a married-off piece of trash, and you still want to come back to the Qin family! And you dare to block me? Mom! Mom!"
Qin Guangmei cursed viciously, and Qin Qing shoved a handful of mud straight into her mouth.
"No one's mouth is filthier than yours—shut up!"
The stench in her mouth made tears stream from Qin Guangmei's eyes.
He Cuiyun and Shen Chunhua walked out just in time to see Qin Guangmei with a mouthful of mud.
"You dead widow, how dare you hit my daughter—she's your junior!"
He Cuiyun rushed forward and shoved Tang Min aside. Qin Guangmei spat out a mouthful of dirty mud and burst into loud sobs.
"Mother, Grandmother, these two jinxes are bullying me! Kick them out, kick them out of the Qin family! Ugh…"
Qin Guangmei cried and vomited at the same time, utterly pathetic.
But Shen Chunhua didn't bother with Qin Qing first. Instead, she stared hard at Tang Min and grabbed hold of her.
"Tang Min, who told you to come back! You're married to Wang Mazhi now, so you belong to the Wang family!"
"Mother… I don't want to marry Wang Mazhi. It was my sister-in-law who said there were fish to catch in Hexi Village. She said she'd take me fishing, but instead she delivered me to the Wang family. Mother, I really don't want to get married. I beg you, please let me stay."
By the end, Tang Min dropped straight to her knees, pleading with Shen Chunhua.
"Qing'er, quick, beg your grandmother with me. Ask her not to throw us out."
Qin Qing stood still, her back rigid, not moving an inch.
She knew her mother too well. She used to be just like her—always thinking of the Qin family, putting them first in everything.
But she had since learned that to the Qin family, people were only coaxed and deceived when they had value, and cast aside the moment they became useless.
"Tang Min, you're no longer part of the Qin family. Qin Qing hit her third aunt today and bullied Xiaomei. We don't need a shrew like her in this family either. Take her and get out!"
"Mother, I don't want to go to the Wang family. I beg you…"
"You won't leave, is that it?"
Shen Chunhua had completely lost her patience. She grabbed Tang Min by the collar and started dragging her out.
"Fine! If you won't go, then this old bag of bones will personally escort you back to the Wang family!"
When Tang Min reached out, one could see the dense bloody welts covering her arms, but Shen Chunhua acted as if she hadn't seen them at all.
He Cuiyun's eyes flickered back and forth. No wonder Wang Mazhi couldn't find a wife—beating someone that badly, who wouldn't run away!
But Wang Mazhi was a deadbeat debtor. The money had already been paid, and if they didn't get the person back, the whole family would be in trouble.
"Mother, I'll go with you. That little slut dared to run—she has to be sent back."
"Mother, no! Mother!"
Tang Min didn't dare lay a hand on Shen Chunhua, so she could only let herself be dragged toward the door.
No matter how bitterly she wailed, Shen Chunhua's expression didn't soften in the slightest.
Qin Qing pressed down firmly on Shen Chunhua's hand.
"Grandmother, we can leave. But what belongs to us, you have to give back."
Qin Qing pushed Shen Chunhua aside and helped her mother to her feet.
Tang Min had never expected the old woman to be so heartless. She stood behind Qin Qing, dazed and disoriented.
"What belongs to you?"
"All these years, my mother has worked like a beast of burden for the Qin family, toiling day and night without taking a single cent. Now that we're splitting up, it's not too much to ask for 10 yuan, is it!"
10 yuan.
Thirty years from now, it wouldn't mean much. But in this era, 10 yuan was a small fortune.
Shen Chunhua had just pocketed 10 yuan in bride price from Wang Mazhi. She could definitely afford it.
"You want money? Dream on!"
Shen Chunhua's voice shot up an octave. Getting money out of her pocket was harder than taking her life.
"You've been eating and living off the Qin family all these years. How do you figure that?" He Cuiyun bellowed in her coarse voice.
"Third Aunt, your hands are soft and fair. Take a look at my mother's hands…"
Qin Qing held up Tang Min's hands—they were covered in cracked, split wounds, rough and ugly.
She and her mother had always eaten the least and worked the most in the Qin family.
"Grandma, I just need one word from you—are you giving me the money or not?"
Qin Qing didn't waste any words with them and asked directly.
Pfft!
Shen Chunhua spat right at Qin Qing. "You want my money? Only over my dead body!"
"Fine!"
Qin Qing had long expected this family to be nothing but trouble. She nodded calmly.
"Since you insist on making this ugly, then so be it—we'll go down fighting, even if it means burning the whole bridge!"