When nobody answered the door, Su Wangcai walked over to the window and peeked inside.
Ye Xiu’e wasn’t home.
Only that ugly little girl was there.
Knocking on the window, he shouted,
“Wanwan, open the door. Your uncle has something to ask you.”
Since Ye Xiu’e wasn’t home, why wasn’t he leaving?
What could he possibly want from her?
Su Wanwan had no intention of opening the door.
“Uncle, if you have something to say, wait until my mother comes back. I wouldn’t know the answer anyway.”
Su Wangcai frowned.
When had this ugly little girl learned to disobey him?
Using his usual method, he put on a fierce expression.
“Ugly freak! If you don’t open the door right now, I’ll sell you off and make sure your mother never finds you!”
After saying that, he waited expectantly.
Normally, the child would be terrified, burst into tears, and obediently do as she was told.
Unfortunately for him, the Su Wanwan before him was no longer the timid, gullible girl he knew.
Su Wanwan felt absolutely nothing after hearing the threat.
In fact, she almost wanted to grab some sunflower seeds and settle in to hear exactly how he planned to sell her.
“Uncle, where are you planning to sell me?
I’d like to prepare myself first.”
Although the law in this era wasn’t perfect, trafficking children was still a crime.
Su Wanwan wasn’t afraid of this paper tiger.
Su Wangcai choked on his words.
“You little money-losing brat, you really are—”
His ultimate weapon had failed.
Immediately, he became irritated.
Clearly, Ye Xiu’e must have told the girl something.
Convinced of his own theory, he changed tactics.
“I’ll tell you this.
I’ve already sold your mother.
If you don’t open the door, you’ll never see her again!”
Su Wanwan: “…”
Could he at least come up with something new?
Was selling people the only threat he knew?
Did he really think she was stupid enough to believe that?
Then again…
She remembered she was technically a child now.
And children were supposed to react fearfully to this kind of thing.
Clearing her throat dramatically, she suddenly began screaming.
“AAAAAHHHH! HELP! HELP!
Uncle sold my mother!
Somebody help me!
I’m scared!”
She threw herself into the performance.
Even squeezing out a few tears for realism.
Su Wangcai stared blankly.
Why had she cleared her throat before screaming?
Something felt very wrong.
Then it hit him.
It wasn’t the scream that was strange.
It was Su Wanwan.
Normally she barely spoke.
When she did, her voice was as quiet as a mosquito.
Now she was howling louder than a pig being slaughtered.
The change was bizarre.
The surrounding neighbors heard the commotion and quickly gathered to watch.
Surprisingly, Su Wangcai wasn’t worried.
In fact, he thought having witnesses was even better.
Inside the room, Su Wanwan continued crying miserably.
Her pitiful sobs tugged at people’s hearts.
One neighbor couldn’t stand it anymore.
“Wangcai, isn’t this a bit much?
Why are you scaring a child like that?”
Another chimed in.
“Exactly. She calls you Uncle, doesn’t she?
How can you bully her like this?”
Someone else added,
“Your family just doesn’t stop, does it?
Yesterday Old Madam Su beat the child, and today you’ve brought people here again.”
Even the two men who had accompanied Su Wangcai began feeling uncomfortable.
Several adults ganging up on a little girl looked bad.
One tugged at his sleeve.
“How about we wait a bit?
This is becoming embarrassing.”
The other nodded.
“Right. We came to see Ye Xiu’e anyway.
The child has nothing to do with it.”
But Su Wangcai didn’t care.
Leaning close, he whispered,
“What are you afraid of?
The more people here, the better.
We’re here looking for evidence.
Naturally, we need to get some information from the kid first.”
He continued confidently,
“I know this girl.
She’s timid.
She does whatever she’s told.
If you won’t do it, I will.”
With that, he marched to the door and began kicking it.
The door was wooden.
The latch was wooden too.
After several hard kicks, it started loosening.
The crowd outside was horrified.
“This family is unbelievable!”
“Someone really ought to stop them.”
One particularly quick-thinking villager immediately ran off.
“I’m getting the brigade leader!”
Inside the room, Su Wanwan had already stopped crying.
Honestly, screaming was exhausting.
After only a short while, her throat felt dry.
While the pounding shook the door, she calmly sat at the table drinking water.
She wasn’t worried.
With so many witnesses outside, Su Wangcai wouldn’t dare do anything serious.
Finally, with one powerful kick—
CRASH!
The latch broke.
The door collapsed inward.
Stepping over it, Su Wangcai entered the room.
To his surprise, Su Wanwan was quietly sitting at the table drinking water.
She hadn’t expected the door to give way so easily.
The moment she saw him enter, she instantly set down her cup and dove beneath the table.
Then she curled up into a pitiful, frightened ball.
Su Wangcai: “???”
Wasn’t she perfectly calm just now?
Could this ugly girl change faces at will?
The people entering behind him saw only the second scene.
A tiny, ugly little girl crouched beneath a low table.
Her face was covered in tears.
She trembled in fear while staring at Su Wangcai.
The neighbors who followed inside immediately became even more disgusted with him.
“Look at how frightened you’ve made her!”
“Couldn’t you wait until Xiu’e came home?”
“Why terrorize a child?”
The two men who had come with him wanted to leave immediately.
Unfortunately, the crowd blocked the exit.
“I didn’t do anything…” Su Wangcai protested weakly.
Although this frightened behavior was more like the old Su Wanwan, he had clearly seen her drinking water calmly moments earlier.
Would anyone believe him if he said so?
Looking around, he found only hostile stares.
The crowd looked ready to stab him with their eyes.
Fine.
Nobody would believe him anyway.
Just then, a strong female voice rang out.
“What is going on here?
Why is everyone gathered?”
The crowd instantly turned toward the newcomer.
“Hongxia, good thing you’re here!”
“Quick, do something about your brother!”
“Look at how terrified Wanwan is!”
The villagers automatically parted to make way.
Su Hongxia walked straight into the room.
The moment she entered, she exploded.
“SU WANGCAI!
What exactly are you doing?!
Your younger brother called you Big Brother, and this is how you treat his daughter?”
She immediately walked over and helped Su Wanwan out from under the table.
“Don’t be afraid, Wanwan.
Auntie’s here.
Your mother will be back soon too.
We won’t let anyone hurt you.”
Leaning against her aunt, the pitiful little girl nodded obediently.
Su Wangcai, who technically hadn’t done anything beyond making threats, felt incredibly wronged.
“You’re back already?
I didn’t do anything!
This ugly girl is very good at pretending now.
Don’t let her fool you!”
Su Hongxia spun around and glared at him.
“What ugly girl?
Is that how an uncle talks about his niece?”
Immediately losing confidence, Su Wangcai fell silent.
Then suddenly—
He remembered why he had come.
His confidence returned.
“Hongxia, maybe you don’t know this.
Your sister-in-law stole from a patient’s house while treating them.
Now they’ve come looking for her.”
Su Hongxia frowned.
Her first instinct was disbelief.
There was no way Ye Xiu’e would steal.
But seeing how certain Su Wangcai appeared, she couldn’t help feeling confused.
“Something like that happened?”