Lu Meiyu took out a black stick from her space and handed it over. “If you want it, then take it.”
The village head took the stick. It looked completely ordinary, nothing special about it.
This stick could perform sorcery? He didn’t believe it at all.
When the Liu family saw the stick handed over, they all broke into smiles.
Liu Er immediately snatched the rice container. “You still dare come to my house to steal rice? You’ve got some nerve.”
Lu Meiyu looked at the village head. “Is this what you call fairness? They came to my house and took the rice, and I can’t even take back what belongs to me?”
The village head frowned. “You’ve already split households. This is just trivial family matters—don’t make a fuss.”
Lu Meiyu was so angry she laughed.
Everyone could see that the village head was siding with Old Man Liu’s family.
It was obvious—Old Man Liu must have given him something.
Besides, they were related within the clan.
Lu Meiyu, an outsider who married in, naturally couldn’t contend with them.
Zhangshi also regained her spirit. “You shameless wretch, just as cheap as ever! If you’re not satisfied, go jump into the pond again! As for those two worthless girls you gave birth to, the Liu family doesn’t even want them. Let me tell you the truth—Qingsheng’s military pay is sent directly to the county, and I’ve already collected it twice! My son said so himself—he told me, his mother, to collect it.”
Zhangshi spoke proudly, unable to stop boasting.
Lu Meiyu was displeased. “Then how are my two children and I supposed to survive?”
“How you survive is none of my concern. No matter what, those two girls are still part of the Liu family—you must raise them well. Otherwise, when Qingsheng returns, I’ll have him divorce you and marry another!”
Zhangshi seemed delighted with her idea.
“That’s too heartless!”
“Zhangshi is really cruel. Isn’t she forcing Meiyu to a dead end?”
“No wonder Meiyu jumped into the pond—how could she live like this?”
…
“Village head, since you’re handling things unfairly, I’ll resolve this myself. You all saw that I handed over the stick.”
Lu Meiyu spoke calmly. “Since the rice and money were taken, and you say this is trivial, I wonder—what major matters can you handle?”
Laughter broke out among the crowd.
Wasn’t the village head supposed to deal with exactly these kinds of trivial matters?
The village head’s face flushed red with anger. “I came in good faith to mediate. If you refuse to accept it, then solve it yourself! I won’t interfere anymore.”
Lu Meiyu smiled. “You only saw me hand over the stick, but you don’t know that after I jumped into the pond, the Water Goddess rewarded me with a treasure. When there is injustice, that treasure appears—just like now.”
Another black stick suddenly appeared in her hand. She rushed forward and quickly struck them. Before the Liu family could react, three of them collapsed!
Liu Er, Liu Laosan, and Zhangshi!
The three lay on the ground screaming. Everyone was stunned.
When they looked at Lu Meiyu again, their eyes were filled with fear.
The rest of the Liu family retreated far away.
Lu Meiyu casually dusted her hands. “This is the ‘sorcery’ you speak of. This stick doesn’t always appear—it only comes when there’s injustice and it needs to uphold fairness.”
The village head stammered, “Didn’t you already give it to me?”
He looked at the stick in his hand, then at the one in hers, and turned pale.
“I told you—it appears when I encounter injustice. And in your hands, it’s nothing special at all. Only in my hands does it work. This is the protection granted to me by the Water Goddess.”
Lu Meiyu spoke without concern, making things up as she went.
People in ancient times deeply feared and revered spirits and gods.
The Liu family helped each other up, looking at Lu Meiyu with even greater fear.
Lu Meiyu simply went into the house and took a hoe, a firewood knife, a pickaxe—and even grabbed a chicken!
She also took back the rice container.
Everyone watched silently, whispering among themselves.
Lu Meiyu was very satisfied. “This is the proper way to divide a household. Otherwise, the three of us wouldn’t even have farming tools or a single chicken—how could that be called a division? Let everyone here bear witness—I’ve only taken a small portion of what belongs to me! As for furniture, I don’t want it.”
She spoke as if she were being generous.
Old Man Liu was so angry he felt dizzy, but he didn’t dare speak.
The feeling of being struck by that black stick—he would never forget it.
He didn’t dare experience it again.
Zhou Shi muttered softly, “But you shouldn’t take so many tools…”
Lu Meiyu looked at her coldly. “Do you have a problem with that?”
Zhou Shi didn’t dare say another word.
Lu Meiyu called out loudly, “Xiaoxuan, Xiaowei, come here.”
The two children came over timidly. Lu Meiyu had them help carry things, then smiled at the crowd. “My daughters now have proper names. The elder is Xiaoxuan, the younger Xiaowei. Please call them that from now on.”
After saying that, the three of them simply left.
Leaving everyone staring at each other.
“Are we just letting them go like that?”
“Otherwise what—start a fight?”
“What does it feel like to be struck by that black stick?”
“Come to think of it, if the household were divided properly, those tools should have been given to them anyway. The previous division really was unfair.”
The villagers discussed among themselves.
The village head had already declared he wouldn’t interfere. Now that Lu Meiyu had resolved it herself, he couldn’t step in even if he wanted to.
What more could he do?
The village head angrily pointed at the Liu family. Because of them, he had lost face.
The Liu family felt even more aggrieved. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to resist—but being struck by that black stick was unbearable.
Lu Meiyu returned home with the two children, carrying their spoils. All three of them were smiling.
“Tired?”
“Mother, not at all.”
Xiaoxuan smiled sweetly. Her mother had announced her and her sister’s new names in front of everyone—they were such beautiful names!
Lu Meiyu calculated that she now had forty-seven copper coins.
It wasn’t much, but at least they could survive.
That night, to the sisters’ astonishment, Lu Meiyu killed the chicken!
“Mother, shouldn’t we keep it to lay eggs?” Xiaoxuan felt reluctant.
“It’s fine. Eat when we have something to eat. Otherwise, if we leave it at home, the Liu family might steal it.”
The two sisters fell silent. It wasn’t impossible for the Liu family to steal it.
In fact, even if they did, she would make them pay for it.
She simply wanted to eat chicken.
The chicken was quite fat—half was used for soup, and the other half was stir-fried with ginger, scallions, and garlic.
Fortunately, there were ginger, scallions, and garlic in the garden. Without those, the flavor would have been half as good.
“I should have taken a cooking pot from the Liu family earlier. What a mistake.”
Lu Meiyu felt regretful. At home, there was only one wok and one pot for boiling water.