Zhang Cui had only given Lin Yuming two taels of silver, while the brothel offered ten taels for the girl. If this deal fell through, she’d lose eight taels for nothing—how could she accept that!
“Don’t touch my sister!” Dabao screamed with all his might, sinking his teeth into Zhang Cui’s plump arm.
The bite was hard enough to make Zhang Cui yelp in pain, forcing her to let go.
“Ow! You little beast!” Zhang Cui cursed, raising her hand to slap Dabao across the face.
Just as the slap was about to land, a loud thud echoed. Dabao only saw the family’s large broom sweep past his eyes before Zhang Cui’s hefty body crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Zhang Cui landed hard on her backside, her eyes glaring venomously at Lin Yuming. “Lin Yu’er! You black-hearted wretch, how dare you hit me!”
Lin Yuming held the broom and glanced at Dabao. “What are you standing there for? Take your sister inside!”
Dabao froze, unsure what Lin Yuming was up to now, but he grabbed his sobbing sister without another word and dashed into the inner room.
Seeing that Lin Yuming was dead set against selling the child, Zhang Cui simply sat on the ground and began to wail. “Someone, come quick! Tieniu’s family is robbing money and beating people!”
Earlier, when the two children were crying and screaming, the neighbors had kept their doors tightly shut. But now, with Zhang Cui making a scene, a few scattered onlookers emerged to watch the commotion.
“Sister-in-law Zhang, even in business, you can’t force a sale. I was momentarily blinded and agreed to sell my child, taking your silver. Now that I’ve come to my senses, you can’t just barge in and snatch her away!” Lin Yuming said, addressing the woman rolling on the ground.
“Pah! You heartless creature! I ran around pulling strings for you, and now with just a word, you say you won’t sell, expecting me to leave empty-handed! And you even dared to hit me! Is there no law anymore?” Zhang Cui’s mouth flew open as she began to wail, rambling and cursing, threatening to report the matter to the authorities.
“Fine! Let’s go report it then! I’d like to know which is the greater crime—owing money or trafficking young girls!”
Lin Yuming sneered. Selling innocent young girls into brothels was against the law, and she doubted Zhang Cui would dare to escalate things.
Sure enough, at the mention of reporting to the authorities, Zhang Cui hesitated, her face turning livid with rage.
Lin Yuming took a deep breath. The mess left by the original owner now fell on her shoulders, and she had to clean it up one way or another.
“Sister-in-law Zhang, how about this: I won’t sell Xiaoya, but I’ll repay the money I owe you double.”
Zhang Cui spat. “Pah! If you could repay the money, you wouldn’t have needed to sell your daughter in the first place!”
With that, she prepared to wail loudly again.
Lin Yuming reached for her neck, pulled off the chain she was wearing, and tossed it in front of Zhang Cui. “Consider this chain as interest. I promise to repay you in three days!”
Zhang Cui snatched the chain, examined it briefly, and spat again. Brass—hardly worth much.
“Think carefully. Either agree to my terms, and I’ll repay you double in three days, or we take this to the authorities.” Lin Yuming understood Zhang Cui’s thoughts perfectly and spoke calmly.
Zhang Cui’s eyes darted back and forth. This whole affair was already shady, and if Lin Yu’er could truly repay double, it wouldn’t be a loss.
“Fine, I’ll trust you one more time. Double—four taels of silver, not a single copper less!” With that, she patted her backside and stood up.
After surveying her surroundings, she pulled out a burlap sack and filled it with the potatoes piled in the yard. "Your little brat bit me—consider this my medical compensation!"
Only then was the unwelcome guest finally sent away.
Lin Yuming finally let out a sigh of relief and tossed the broom aside.
The two children waited until Zhang Cui had gone far away before cautiously stepping out from the inner room and peeking from behind the door.
Seeing the confusion in the children's eyes—though it was overshadowed by wariness and resentment—Lin Yuming sighed inwardly. For now, she should focus on preparing some food for the little ones.
Picking up the nearby basket, Lin Yuming turned and walked away.
Watching her figure disappear into the distance, Dabao finally relaxed. He looked cautiously at Xiaoya. "Sister, Father went into the mountains and won't be back for a while. If that woman still hasn't given up and comes back to sell you, don't worry about me—just run!"
"Brother! Mother wouldn't really sell me," Xiaoya trembled, clutching Dabao's sleeve tightly. "She just chased that person away!"
"Who knows what she's plotting? She said she wouldn't sell us before, but then she turned around and brought someone over!"
"Besides… what kind of mother is she? Look at what she did to you!" Dabao gently pulled up Xiaoya's arm, revealing dark bruises from when Lin Yu'er had beaten her with a kitchen broom the day before!
While hitting them, she had cursed them as "little bastards" and called them freeloaders! By the time their father arrived, the two had already been beaten unconscious from the pain!
If Father hadn't threatened to make things difficult for Lin Yu'er if she dared to sell them while he was away, the woman probably wouldn't have stood up for them today.
"Brother…" Xiaoya couldn't hold back her sobs any longer.
Lin Yuming stood outside the wall, listening to everything the siblings said. She hadn't gone far—instead, she had circled around to the other side of the house. After exchanging some coins for meat, eggs, and rice, she overheard the children's voices.
Thinking back to her previous life, where she had grown up in luxury, how could her heart not ache?
Hesitating for a moment, Lin Yuming exchanged for a whole bag of cheese sticks and casually placed them in the basket on her back.
When enough time had passed, she slowly shouldered the basket and opened the door!
At the sound of the door opening, the two children jumped in fright!
Dabao cautiously peeked outside, his posture full of vigilance. Seeing no one, he finally relaxed. Xiaoya, meanwhile, watched Lin Yuming timidly.
"What are you looking at? Hurry up and start the fire to cook!" Lin Yuming shouted coldly.
Though her heart ached, the original owner had always treated the children this way. To avoid exposing her identity, she had to mimic the original owner's behavior as much as possible.
Startled by the shout, Xiaoya trembled and instinctively followed Lin Yuming into the kitchen.
Watching the four-year-old girl skillfully start the fire and then obediently stand to the side, Xiaoya timidly looked up at Lin Yuming. "Mother, I've finished starting the fire… Mother, please don't sell Xiaoya. Xiaoya doesn't want to leave Mother. From now on, Xiaoya will be obedient and won't make Mother angry anymore."
Lin Yuming casually hummed in acknowledgment, scooped some warm water from the pot, and walked over to sit down: "Come here!"
Xiaoya’s eyes widened instantly!
What did Mother mean by this! Was she asking her to sit on her lap?!
From the day she was born until now, she had never once been held by her mother!