Of course, some people didn’t believe Ye Xiaoxiao. Such nonsense—would Li Father and Li Mother, sharp to the bone, really say that?
The answer was obviously no.
But the majority trusted Ye Xiaoxiao. She had been married into the village for several years, always polite, always smiling when greeting others, never gossiping or boasting.
Li Father and Li Mother, relying on their son being an army officer, spoke with an air of arrogance. The villagers could only endure it. Often, when angered, they couldn’t vent, and that imbalance tipped the scales in Ye Xiaoxiao’s favor.
“Li Dajun’s wife is really wicked. She takes Tianyou’s money every month, while Ye Xiaoxiao earns seven or eight work points a day, and her children start working at two. And she says she’s being charitable?”
“Look at Ye Xiaoxiao and her kids—all in rags. Which other Li family member has even one patched garment?”
“Exactly, whose clothes aren’t patched?” said one person, clearly feeling a twinge of envy.
“Li Dajun’s wife dares to call herself kind-hearted? Bah! If she is, then everyone in the world must be good!”
“Ye Xiaoxiao is so naive—her husband sends money home every month, and she doesn’t even know!”
“Have you seen her? Busy all day, never even a chance to chat next door. How could she possibly know?!” someone whispered, leaning close to another, as if afraid Ye Xiaoxiao would hear.
The villagers’ imaginations ran wild. Their guesses weren’t far off—they were close to the truth.
“Ladies, does anyone have sweet potatoes? Could we borrow two? We’re starving!” Ye Xiaoxiao’s pleading eyes swept across the crowd.
The older women softened, ready to offer help.
But others pulled at them, warning not to cause trouble—what if they helped Ye Xiaoxiao and then the Li family came looking for them?
Many responded with awkward but polite smiles, waving their hands: “An Guo’s mother, you’d better go talk to your mother-in-law. Your husband sends so much money home each month—your family is the richest in the commune. We poor folks can’t possibly help you.”
It wasn’t that they didn’t want to help—Li’s family was the wealthiest in the village. Helping them? That would be foolish.
Ye Xiaoxiao was momentarily speechless.
She lowered her head, showing just the right amount of sorrow. “Alright, I understand everyone’s difficulties. These are hard times for all. I’ll take the children up the mountain to find something to eat.
At my mother-in-law’s, I can’t get any food. She says there’s none and definitely won’t give us any. We often go several days on just clear broth and some tough wild vegetables.”
The crowd erupted again. What? Clear broth? Really? If true, the Li family’s cruelty was beyond imagination!
The villagers quietly pitied Ye Xiaoxiao, feeling a pang of sorrow for her.
Strange events happen every year, but this year was extraordinary.
A regiment commander, sending home seventy yuan a month in allowance, and yet his wife and children often survived on clear broth—who would believe it?
“An Guo’s mother, you’d better go home and talk to your mother-in-law,” the well-meaning women urged. “You can’t really tell her to go up the mountain to find food!”
Ye Xiaoxiao smiled bitterly. “Thank you all. I’ll take the children up the mountain to find food—it’s better than starving here, right?”
Some of the more sentimental women were already crying, moved by Ye Xiaoxiao’s suffering. Humans are like that—if a wealthy person suffers, you usually don’t pity them. But if the situation is extreme enough, you feel both pity and amusement, thinking, Finally, someone has it worse than me.
Ye Xiaoxiao, with her children, walked straight toward the mountain under the ‘concerned’ gazes of the villagers.
Some tried to stop her, but others held them back. A fair-minded official couldn’t judge domestic disputes—how easy was it to provoke the Li daughters-in-law?
“Alas, what a tragedy! An Guo’s mother came here during the famine with no one to support her, and she was beaten down—no one helped her!” an elderly woman lamented.
“Exactly. A woman still needs her family to back her. Look at Li Old Lady—would she dare mistreat the other daughters-in-law if An Guo’s mother had support?” another agreed.
Their words were sincere, but their actions cautious.
The women assumed Ye Xiaoxiao was just looking for food at the mountain’s base. They didn’t realize she intended to go deep into the mountains—to the cave she had discovered in her previous life.
She walked along the mountain path for 15 kilometers until she reached the deep mountain range. The cave was behind a waterfall, hidden from outsiders, with manageable wildlife inside.
She planned to stay there for two days with her children, letting the Li family flounder for a while.
Surely the Li family would try to ruin her reputation. She was ready—let them hurt each other!
This appetizer today, she thought, wouldn’t last half a day before Li Mother tried to reverse it.