“You… why did you eat them?”
“They were for your parents.”
Cheng An’an handed the basket back to Wang Xiulan.
“For them? That would be feeding dogs.”
“Mom, keep the egg and have it with Shen Yu for lunch.”
Before leaving, she searched around the courtyard. In the end, she really did pick up the half-bald, battered broom. After thinking for a moment, she pulled a wrist-thick wooden stick from the firewood pile and tucked it behind her waist.
“I’m leaving.”
Wang Xiulan stood there, watching her daughter-in-law’s carefree figure walking away, unable to recover for quite some time.
She was going back to her parents’ home carrying a broom and a firewood stick?
What kind of plan was this?
Cheng Family Village wasn’t far from the Hongxing Brigade. It took only about ten minutes to walk there.
Cheng An’an walked at an unhurried pace.
“Well, isn’t that An’an?”
As soon as she entered the village, a middle-aged woman carrying a basket spoke in a deliberately sarcastic tone.
“What brings you back to your parents’ home? And what’s with that broken broom? Are you planning to sweep your parents’ bad luck back to your husband’s family, or sweep your husband’s family’s poverty over to your parents’ home?”
Cheng An’an stopped and turned to look at her.
A particularly “kind” smile appeared on her face.
“Auntie, you have such sharp eyes. I heard there have been a lot of people in the village with filthy mouths lately, so I specifically brought a broom to sweep away all this foul breath floating around. See? I could smell it as soon as I entered the village.”
The woman froze before realizing Cheng An’an was insulting her.
“You little brat! How dare you talk to me like that? Just because you’re married now, you think you’ve grown wings?”
“Don’t know about wings, but my mouth is definitely sharper than yours.”
Cheng An’an waved the broom, kicking up a cloud of dust that made the woman cough violently.
“Coming through, coming through. Don’t block the way while I’m going to fulfill my filial duties.”
With that, she completely ignored the woman’s furious curses behind her and headed straight toward the Cheng family home.
The Cheng family had three spacious brick-tiled rooms. In Cheng Family Village, it was considered quite impressive.
In these hard times when people could barely afford enough food to eat, the Cheng family had only been able to build such a house through the blood, sweat, and hard work of the original owner and the Shen family.
The moment she reached the courtyard gate, she heard laughter coming from inside.
“Baozhu, this polyester fabric really suits you. You look just like a girl from the city wearing it.”
“Of course, Mom. I’m going to marry into the city someday. Unlike some people, who can only spend their whole lives taking care of a cripple.”
“All right, all right. Hurry up and cook. An’an should be back soon. Remember to be nice to her. Get the money out of her first.”
Standing at the gate, Cheng An’an listened to this warm family conversation and nearly burst out laughing.
What a heartwarming, loving family.
Since they were all looking forward to her return so much, wouldn’t it be a shame if she didn’t give them the surprise she’d specially brought this broom for?
“Bang!”
Cheng An’an raised her foot and kicked the courtyard gate.
The laughter inside abruptly stopped.
Three pairs of eyes immediately turned toward her.
Cheng An’an stood at the entrance with the broom over her shoulder, smiling brightly.
“Dear Mom, Dad, and Sister, I’m back. Did you miss me?”
Cheng Fugui was the first to recover. He frowned and put on the imposing air of the head of the household.
“You brat! Don’t you know how to be gentler when you enter? What if you broke the door? Are you going to pay for it?”
Liu Fen’s eyes traveled over Cheng An’an.
When she saw that Cheng An’an had brought nothing with her except the broken broom, her expression immediately darkened.
“Why did you come back empty-handed? Is the Shen family so poor they can’t even spare a single grain of rice?”
Cheng Baozhu rolled her eyes.
“Tch. I told you she was born to pick through trash. You’ve only been married a few days, and you’ve already lost all resemblance to a normal person. And now you’re carrying a broom. Are you planning to sweep the streets?”
Cheng An’an calmly walked into the courtyard and planted the broom firmly on the ground with a heavy thud.
“Sis, that’s not right.”
She looked at Cheng Baozhu with a sincere expression.
“I heard your mouth has been a little dirty lately, so I specially brought a broom home to brush your teeth for you. After all, I’m a hygienic and considerate little sister.”
Cheng Baozhu froze, then exploded in fury.
“Cheng An’an! How dare you insult me?”
“Insult you?”
Cheng An’an shook her finger.
“No, no. I’m merely stating the facts. Look at your face. You’ve piled on more powder than there’s plaster on a wall, and every time you open your mouth, it practically flakes off. Anyone who didn’t know better would think you were doing renovations.”
“And that outfit. That pink polyester dress with your sallow complexion makes you look like a plastic flower stuck in a pile of cow dung. So unbelievably tacky, yet you think you’re fashionable.”
“Pfft—”
Cheng Fugui spat out the tea he’d just taken into his mouth.
Liu Fen’s eyes widened too, as though she no longer recognized her own daughter.
The old Cheng An’an would never fight back when hit or talk back when insulted. She did whatever she was told.
What had happened today?
Had she taken the wrong medicine?
Or had that cripple from the Shen family somehow infected her with madness?
“You little brat! You’ve gone completely out of control!”
Cheng Baozhu trembled with rage, pointing at Cheng An’an with a shaking finger.
“Mom, look at her! How dare she talk to me like that!”
Liu Fen immediately felt sorry for her eldest daughter and shouted at Cheng An’an.
“An’an! How can you talk to your sister like that? Apologize to her right now. And what about Shen Yu’s compensation money? Did you bring it? The family is practically starving, and you still have the nerve to keep it for yourself?”
There it was.
The real reason had finally been revealed.
Cheng An’an sneered.
“Compensation money?”
She tilted her head, looking innocent.
“What compensation money? Oh, you mean that little bit of money Shen Yu earned with his life?”
“Yes, we have it.”
Cheng Fugui and Liu Fen’s eyes lit up simultaneously.
Liu Fen stopped scolding her and hurried over to pour Cheng An’an a cup of water.
“How much? Five hundred yuan?”
“I knew it. With Shen Yu’s rank, the army wouldn’t treat him unfairly.”
“Quick, quick, take it out.”
Looking at their greedy faces, Cheng An’an slowly replied,
“Yes, there was money. But I spent it.”
“You spent it?!”
Even Cheng Fugui couldn’t sit still anymore. He shot to his feet.
“Where did you spend it? That’s several hundred yuan! You spendthrift woman, what did you do with it?”
“Medical treatment.”
Cheng An’an casually made up a story.
“Shen Yu is paralyzed and bedridden. He needs medicine every day, and he needs good food to nourish his body. That money disappeared like water down a stream.”
“And…”
She deliberately paused.
“I heard there’s a miracle doctor in the city who can cure paralysis, but his consultation fee is extremely expensive. I used the rest of the money as a deposit.”
“What?!”
The three members of the Cheng family screamed in unison.
Several hundred yuan was just gone like that?
And they hadn’t even heard so much as a sound?
“You idiot!”
Cheng Baozhu shrieked.
“That cripple can’t possibly be cured! If you’d thrown that money into the river, at least you’d hear a splash! And you spent it trying to cure a living corpse? Were you kicked in the head by a donkey?”
“Exactly.”
Liu Fen was furious too.
“That money was supposed to be saved for Baozhu’s dowry. How could you waste it on that cripple? What is his life even worth? It would be better if he died. Then you could marry someone else and collect another bride price.”
Listen to that.
Was that even something a human being would say?
Better off dead, so they could sell her off again?
“Mom, you’re right.”
Cheng An’an suddenly smiled.
Her smile was so chilling that it sent shivers down their spines.
“Since you’re all so desperate for money, I happen to have one more thing here that’s worth a lot of money. Do you want it?”