Madam Cao’s eyes darted around like a cornered rat’s as a scheme formed in her mind.
“Fine… they can move into the Old Property! It’s a big yard! There’s even a walnut tree and—oh, right—an old well!”
She gloated inwardly. That move would save her two wild-vegetable buns a day! Since this girl had dropped a silver tael and a half to buy back the boy, she clearly wasn’t going to vanish anytime soon. Once that cripple Erlang finally kicked the bucket, wouldn’t they just be able to drag the girl back here?
The Old Property was a ruin. Once the girl had suffered enough out there in the cold, she’d be as submissive as a beaten dog when they brought her back.
Shen Li froze. A big yard? A walnut tree? An old well? Was she talking about that treasure of a courtyard halfway up the mountain?
“Fine,” Shen Li replied.
Usually one to keep her emotions locked behind a mask of indifference, she had to fight to suppress a surge of genuine joy. To the onlookers, she appeared as cold and detached as ever.
The neighbors behind the wall, however, were frantic on her behalf. How could she agree to such a raw deal?
“Child, don’t say yes! No one has lived in that shack for years! And the walnuts from that tree aren’t even edible!” A grey-haired elder waved his arms at her, terrified she hadn’t heard him.
Xiao Huai-ren stomped forward, waving the man away like a pesky fly. “Go on, get! What business is it of yours?”
He, too, thought exile was a brilliant idea. The cripple was already half-dead. Autumn would bleed into winter soon enough, and the brothers had no grain. Once the mountains were buried in snow and ice, where would they dig for wild greens? If the cripple didn’t survive the winter, this fair-skinned little thing would be his for the taking.
The more Huai-ren thought about it, the more he liked it. He tugged at his mother’s sleeve. “Ma, agree to it! It’s only for a month or two anyway!”
Madam Cao was more than ready. The sooner she threw Erlang out, the sooner the new courtyard belonged entirely to her and her son. She was already mentally calculating how to renovate the stable once they were gone.
“However…” Shen Li wasn’t about to let them enjoy their “victory” quite yet. She narrowed her eyes, her voice trailing off with a warning edge.
“However what?” Madam Cao’s small eyes narrowed as she glared at Shen Li, terrified the girl was about to ask for a share of their supplies.
Shen Li held out an open palm. “I want my deed of sale.”
“The deed? Not a chance!” Madam Cao snapped. Was this girl planning to take her papers and run?
Shen Li didn’t rush. She tucked her hands behind her back and surveyed Madam Cao with an icy calm. “I’ll buy it.”
A collective gasp went up from the crowd. Another purchase? She had just bought the boy, and now she wanted to buy herself?
“Buy it?” Madam Cao sneered. “With what money?!”
A thought suddenly struck her, and her face turned thunderous as she remembered the silver Shen Li had given the trafficker. “Where did you get the money for the boy anyway?! Did you steal it from me?!”
Madam Cao whipped her head around to look at her brick house, eyes landing on the half-open door. She charged toward Shen Li, red-faced with rage. “Well, look at you! You’ve only been here a few days, haven’t done a lick of work, and already you’ve learned to steal?!”
She grabbed a willow switch from the base of the wall and swung it toward Shen Li. The neighbors held their breath.
Shen Li didn’t even flinch. She reached out and caught Madam Cao’s wrist in a iron grip.
“Wait! Wait, wait, wait!” Xiao Huai-ren came running over. “Don’t be rash!”
He still remembered the bone-crushing pain of his own wrist being squeezed. Fearing his mother would suffer the same fate, he jumped in to intervene. Shen Li arched an eyebrow, curious to see what nonsense was about to come out of his mouth.
Huai-ren gently pried his mother’s hand away and turned to Shen Li with a greasy, placating smile.
“A-Li, we really don’t know where that money came from. Think about it—we bought you from a trafficker. If you had silver all along, why didn’t you just buy your own freedom back then?”
The courtyard went silent. As much as the villagers despised Huai-ren, they had to admit his logic was sound.
Shen Li looked at the pair of them—two bloated pigs in human clothing—and decided she wasn’t going to waste her breath explaining.
“If you won’t sell it, fine. I’m done offering. But I promise you this: if I decide to leave, none of you can stop me, and you’ll never find me. As for that piece of paper? It means nothing to me.”
Her expression was as stagnant as a frozen lake.
“Wait! I know where she got that silver!” an out-of-breath voice called from behind the wall.