The Village Chief was fair-minded, but he couldn’t force others to split the family. He looked over at Qiu Hanlu’s family of three.
Qiu Hanlu listened to Wang’s words and suddenly thought of a good revenge plan:
Since Wang didn’t want to split the family, she would go along with it for now and not split. Starting now, she’d have her family do no work at all, and when it came to meals, they’d pick only the best to eat. After all, the villagers all knew that Wang and her lot were the ones bullying their family. If it caused a scene, everyone would think they were in the wrong—they were the bullies. Within a month, Wang would be begging to split the family.
Once Wang wanted to split, she could negotiate good terms. That way, she could demand more property and give them a good runaround. Why not?
Looking at the Village Chief’s expression now, she could tell this wasn’t something he could decide. After all, this was a family matter. So it was better to drag it out a while longer, let those in the main house suffer a bit, and in the meantime, she could learn more about this era. Then they’d split the family and make them pay.
Qiu Hanlu was getting cold sitting on the ground, so she squatted up and said to Qiu Guangwan, “Father, since Grandmother has said so, let’s give Grandmother and the others a chance. But I have to say this upfront—if they still mistreat us like before, that absolutely won’t do. We’re not slaves. Since they want to change, they need to treat us better.”
Qiu Guangwan didn’t understand his daughter’s meaning. They’d thought about splitting the family before, but never had the chance. Now, if they insisted firmly, even if they couldn’t split today, they could at least negotiate a deadline or something. But his daughter’s hand was nudging him in secret—should he agree or not?
Before Qiu Guangwan could react, Wang quickly agreed, “Fine, just as Hanlu girl said, I promise to treat everyone fairly.”
To show her resolve, she snatched the basin from Zhang’s hands and said to her, “You’ll do the cooking for the next couple of days. Let your eldest sister-in-law rest.”
Zhang understood her mother-in-law’s meaning. After all, now that she’d agreed, once they got home, whatever the mother-in-law said would still be final. So she quickly agreed.
The Village Chief didn’t believe Wang could really change, but this wasn’t something he could decide for them either.
So he could only say, “Everyone’s watching. Qiu Wang, if something like this happens again, I’ll support your eldest son’s family splitting off.”
Wang quickly agreed, “Of course, of course. Village Chief, rest assured.”
With that, she bent down and personally took Qiu Hanlu’s hand: “Girl, get up quickly. It’s cold outside. Let’s go home.”
Qiu Hanlu took Wang’s hand and stood up, feeling Wang’s hand squeeze hers hard. She squeezed back, and Wang winced in pain but dared not make a sound, afraid something else might go wrong.
Qiu Guangwan still didn’t understand his daughter’s meaning, but since things had come to this, they might as well go home first.
Qiu Hanlu bowed to the Village Chief, then bowed to the onlookers: “Thank you, Uncle Village Chief, and thank you all for your concern. Hanlu will remember this.”
Seeing how polite Qiu Hanlu was, the Village Chief sighed with relief: “This child is indeed courteous and kind. Go home with your parents now.” Then he said to everyone, “Alright, disperse now.”
The onlookers, hearing the Village Chief say this, couldn’t very well keep crowding around, so they slowly dispersed.
Sun Zhe was the last to leave. Before leaving, he said to Qiu Hanlu that he would stand on the side of justice.
Qiu Hanlu didn’t know what to say to him, so she could only nod.
Then Qiu Hanlu and her family said goodbye to the Village Chief and headed home.
On the way, Wang didn’t speak, walking at the side with Zhang. For the sake of appearances, they couldn’t say anything on the road, nor could they show anything.
Once they got home, the moment they stepped through the door, Wang’s face changed. She said to Qiu Guangwan, “You three, come into the room with me. I have something to say.”
Qiu Hanlu whispered to her parents, “Watch me in a moment.” Then, taking her parents’ hands, she followed Wang to the main house.
Entering the main house, Wang sat down in the armchair by the octagonal table under the north window of the east room, looking at Qiu Hanlu’s family of three: “All of you, kneel.”
Qiu Hanlu held back her parents who were about to kneel, then said to Wang, “Grandmother, have you forgotten what you said outside? If you don’t keep your promise, I’ll go out to the street right now and cry, saying you beat me the moment we got home and you’re trying to drive me to death.”
Wang never expected Qiu Hanlu to suddenly become like this. She was momentarily stunned: “You, what are you saying? Do you know what you’re saying?”
Qiu Hanlu said, “Of course I know. Grandmother said in front of the Village Chief and the villagers that you’d treat us well from now on. If you don’t go along with us, we’ll go make a scene on the street. We barefoot folk aren’t afraid of those wearing shoes. Our hard times have already hit rock bottom—what more is there to fear? You wouldn’t dare kill us, since murder means paying with your life. So we’re going to start exercising our rights. Grandmother said Auntie Third would cook for the next couple of days. If Grandmother has nothing else, we’ll go home and rest.”
At that moment, Qiu Hanli, who had just come out of the eastern room, froze at the doorway. He couldn’t believe his eyes as he stared at Qiu Hanlu. Was this really the same timid granddaughter he used to know? Though hard of hearing, he wasn’t blind—the tone and attitude she’d just displayed were clearly a direct challenge to Wang.
By then, Qiu Xiaoxue had already changed her clothes. Hearing the commotion, she rushed over from the eastern wing and burst into the room, lunging straight at Qiu Hanlu. “Qiu Hanlu, I’m going to fight you!”
Qiu Hanlu kicked Qiu Xiaoxue away with one swift motion. “Stay away from me. You’re bad luck. Remember this from now on—don’t come near me when you see me, or I’ll knock you down.”
Qiu Xiaoxue landed face-down in the dirt, covered in mud. This was the second time today she’d been humiliated by Qiu Hanlu. She was furious, but there was nothing she could do—she couldn’t beat Qiu Hanlu in a fight. So what could she do? She could only look to Wang.
Wang was just as bewildered. Qiu Hanlu had completely changed, as if possessed by a ghost—and now she could even throw a punch.
Just then, Second Uncle Qiu Guangli and Second Aunt Li Cuifen came in, seething with anger. They’d been counting on their daughter not having to marry that cripple, and on getting a bride price to fund their son’s wedding. Now their daughter had been married off just like that—they were livid.
As soon as he entered, Qiu Guangli charged straight at Qiu Guangwan. “Qiu Guangwan, you’ve been hiding this well! I’ll beat you to death today!” He threw a punch at Qiu Guangwan.
Qiu Guangwan had never seen anything like this. He froze in sheer terror.
Qiu Hanlu knew Qiu Guangli’s martial skills were shallow—he’d only trained for two or three months under someone, and had gotten a job at a gambling house through a friend’s introduction. He was really just a doorman, but he loved to brag, mixing three parts truth with seven parts lies.
As for herself, in her past life she had genuinely trained the Twelve-Step Technique for years. Though this body was a bit frail, she was confident she could use leverage and skill to her advantage.
Of course, at this point, there was no more hiding—she had no choice but to act.
She quickly stepped in front of her father, grabbed Qiu Guangli’s wrist, twisted it hard behind his back, then kicked the back of his knee, forcing him down onto the ground in a kneel.
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