Wu Huahua shouted loudly, “You contracted smallpox? Then hurry up and get out of Hulu Village!”
“Are you trying to drag us all to our deaths?”
An Xia lowered her eyes and pursed her lips, saying nothing, appearing guilty.
An Chun and An Qiu wanted to explain, but she gave them a look, and both of them stayed silent.
Seeing An Xia silent, Wu Huahua became even more convinced that she must have smallpox!
Zhang Cuihua also felt that they were just holding on to go out and earn money.
She stood with her hands on her hips, taking the moral high ground to accuse An Xia, “You three little sluts, you knew you had smallpox, yet you still rode the Sun family’s ox cart to town yesterday.”
Old Madam Qian also chimed in, “You are trying to kill everyone in Hulu Village!”
“Village Chief, shouldn’t people like this be driven out of Hulu Village?” Wu Huahua looked at the village chief and said angrily.
The village chief’s brows knotted in a deep frown!
He couldn’t bring himself to drive a few sick children out of the village—that would be forcing them to their deaths!
But if it were really smallpox, they would likely have to stay in this house and not be allowed to go out!
As the village chief, he also had to consider the villagers.
“Xia girl, what is going on here?” he asked gently.
An Xia raised her eyes, her eyelids slightly red, and rolled up her sleeves. “Village Chief Grandfather, look, we three sisters do not have smallpox.”
“Perhaps we accidentally touched poisonous weeds on the mountain and developed some rashes, and that was why we were… kicked out of the family!”
Aunt Sun, having heard the commotion in the courtyard, hurried over and chimed in, “What do you mean ‘kicked out of the family’? They were just taken advantage of and driven out!”
Zhang Cuihua’s anger rushed to her head. “If you didn’t have smallpox, why did you look so guilty just now?”
An Xia bit her lip, her eyes filled with unshed tears, looking incredibly pitiful.
“I wasn’t feeling guilty, but saddened, because my stepmother and grandmother keep splashing dirty water on me over and over again!”
This was An Xia’s first attempt at playing the victim.
However, using such tactics on someone like Zhang Cuihua, forcing her to swallow her bitterness in silence, felt simply wonderful!
As expected, the village chief sternly scolded Zhang Cuihua and Old Madam Qian. “Do you two still have the manner of elders? Look at what you’ve forced the children into!”
“If you stir up trouble again, Hulu Village will have no place for you!”
Aunt Sun’s husband, Li Zhaocai, also chimed in at the right moment. “Indeed, in our Hulu Village, we don’t bully children like this.”
Zhang Cuihua was left speechless. Her chest heaved violently from anger as she pointed at An Xia. “You… you little slut…”
Before she could finish her sentence, she rolled her eyes back and fainted from rage.
An Laifu hurriedly reached out to catch her, but Zhang Cuihua was too heavy, and he couldn’t hold her. He was even knocked to the side by her heavy body.
An Xia clicked her tongue in her heart, “Is this a coma caused by phlegm rising to the head? She is so fragile!”
Behind her, An Chun and An Qiu kept their heads down, laughing until they were trembling, only barely managing to hold it in!
The village chief looked at the three sisters earnestly. “It is truly unacceptable that you three little girls were separated from the family to live on your own. Move back in; I will handle everything. Do not be afraid.”
An Xia’s heart skipped a beat, and she shouted inwardly that this was a disaster!
She had gone through so much trouble to escape the sea of misery; she didn’t want to go back!
She continued to look pitiful. “Village Chief Grandfather, thank you for looking out for us, but… but if we go back, sigh!”
“Why make them unhappy? Forget it, we can live well on our own outside!”
This was An Xia’s second time playing the victim, and she was getting increasingly skilled at it.
The village chief knew what kind of life the three sisters had endured at home, so he did not force them.
He looked at them with pity. “Then I will make the decision: you shall have this house to live in.”
“Thank you, Village Chief Grandfather!” An Xia thanked him sincerely.
The matter of the family separation could now be considered officially recognized.
The people of Hulu Village would no longer be able to point fingers at the sisters. After all, everyone now knew they had been “driven” out of the house.
The village chief waved at the noisy crowd. “Disperse, don’t crowd into someone else’s home.”
Old Madam Qian, An Fugui, and An Laifu had long since wanted to leave. As soon as the village chief spoke, they prepared to slip away.
However, how could An Xia just let it go!
“Stop!”
“Did I tell you that you could leave?”
Her tone was icy, completely different from her pitiful demeanor just moments ago.
Old Madam Qian had been suppressed for most of the day and finally snapped.
Pulling a long, sour face, she said, “What else do you want, you little slut?”
The village chief also turned back to look at An Xia!
An Xia pointed to the items in the courtyard that had been smashed into a mess. “Straighten these things out and restore them to exactly how they were before I left.”
Old Madam Qian spat. “You little slut, don’t even think about it! No matter how the family is split, I am still your grandmother. Do you dare to order me around to do chores?”
An Xia laughed instead of getting angry, her tone full of threats. “Up to you. If you don’t fix it, I will go to the county magistrate tomorrow to argue this out. Let’s see what the penalty is for breaking and entering for robbery?”
Old Madam Qian wasn’t falling for it; the magistrate was too far removed from lowly laborers like them.
“Who are you trying to scare?”
The village chief knew very well that if this matter were brought before the magistrate, a beating would be the lightest consequence; they might even be thrown into jail.
He darkened his face. “You lot, the sins you committed, you will clean up yourselves!”
“Otherwise, get out of Hulu Village!”
With the village chief’s word, no matter how unwilling Old Madam Qian was, she had no choice but to stay.
However, it was impossible for her to tidy up for this little slut.
She pointed at An Laifu. “You raised such a good daughter; you clean up this house yourself!”
An Laifu pulled a bitter face, reluctant. “Mother, how can I clean this up by myself?”
Old Madam Qian turned her head. “That is not my concern. If you are really too busy to handle it, just splash a ladle of water to wake your wife up.”
“If it weren’t for her stupidity, we wouldn’t have been in such a passive position!”
An Xia’s eyes curved into smiles. “Qiu’er, go fetch a ladle of cold water for Father!”
An Qiu ran over, ladled a scoop of water, and obediently handed it to An Laifu. “Father, here!”
An Laifu was genuinely furious with Zhang Cuihua. If it weren’t for her and that Wu Huahua acting like idiots, how could they have been so passive?
Without hesitation, he splashed the ladle of water down!
Zhang Cuihua’s chubby face scrunched up, and she slowly opened her eyes!
Looking at the ladle in An Laifu’s hand, she touched her water-soaked face in disbelief.
She shrieked loudly, “An Laifu, you god-forsaken wretch, you dare splash water on me? I’ll kill you!”
Before An Laifu could speak, Old Madam Qian glared at Zhang Cuihua. “Whose mother are you calling yourself? Since you’re awake, why haven’t you cleaned up the things in the courtyard yet?”
They dared not let them clean the inside of the house, so the three sisters cleaned that part themselves.
…
At night.
An Xia, taking advantage of the fact that An Chun and An Qiu were sound asleep, took out the ring that had traveled through time with her and examined it closely.
As her fingers brushed over the name engraved on the ring, a powerful suction force pulled her in.