Li Xiaoxiao grabbed Qin Dabao and hurled him toward the villagers who had gathered to watch the commotion. He landed hard on the ground in front of them.
Then she strode forward, seized him by the collar again, and pointed her kitchen knife at the tip of his nose.
“Qin Dabao, come on, tell me something. Do you really want to be my grandson?”
The knife hovering inches from his face finally made him realize what fear felt like. Terrified, he desperately tried to back away, but his collar was firmly trapped in Li Xiaoxiao’s grip.
Yang Xiaocao rushed out, intending to save her precious grandson, but Li Xiaoxiao seemed to have eyes on the back of her head. Without even turning around, she leisurely said while keeping the knife pointed at Qin Dabao’s nose,
“Yang, if you dare take one more step forward, I’ll carve your darling grandson’s nose right off his face.”
The surrounding villagers immediately burst into discussion.
“Looks like Old Lady Yang and her husband still haven’t given up on getting their brother’s family’s property.”
“Hah! They’ve been scheming for years. Just look at this—they’re even trying to send their grandson over.”
“Well, you can’t catch a wolf without bait. But Old Lady Li isn’t someone you can push around either.”
The two villagers exchanged amused glances, delighted by the prospect of even more drama. Some of the others, worried that things might get out of hand, hurried off to fetch the village chief.
Li Xiaoxiao ignored all the gossip and continued speaking.
“Of course, it’s not impossible for him to become my adopted grandson.”
“Sister-in-law!” Yang Xiaocao immediately plastered a smile on her face.
“But adoption comes with conditions.”
Li Xiaoxiao deliberately slowed her speech.
Yang Xiaocao’s smile instantly froze.
“First, every one of his grandparents, parents, older brothers and sisters, uncles, and aunts must be dead. After all, I have no interest in raising a thief who might inherit my property one day and then try to sell off my granddaughter. An adopted grandson isn’t my real grandson. Why should I harm my own flesh and blood for someone else’s child?”
She paused before continuing.
“As for the second condition—if his elders are still alive and he still wants to be adopted into my family, then he must first sign a document cutting all ties with his relatives. After that…”
A wicked grin spread across her face.
“…he’ll have to be castrated and sold off to become a eunuch. Consider it an early act of filial piety toward me, his dear grandmother! Hahahaha!”
Without warning, she pinned Qin Dabao down, freed one hand, and in a few swift movements yanked open his trousers.
Then she raised the kitchen knife.
Qin Dabao immediately let out a bloodcurdling scream.
“I don’t want to be your grandson! Ahhh! I don’t want to be your grandson! Ahhh! Waaaah!”
Yang Xiaocao’s legs gave out completely, and she collapsed to the ground.
Clutching himself with both hands, Qin Dabao trembled violently.
A stream of yellow liquid trickled between his fingers.
He had literally wet himself from fright.
“Grandma! Grandma! Qin Dabao peed his pants! Qin Dabao peed his pants! Hahaha! That’s so embarrassing!”
Erhua clapped her hands and laughed from the side.
Li Xiaoxiao immediately let go in disgust.
Just then, a man charged out of the crowd, shouting,
“Li! I’ll fight you!”
The newcomer was none other than Qin Yougui, Li’s brother-in-law.
Brandishing a hoe, he stormed forward aggressively.
Li Xiaoxiao kicked Qin Dabao aside, sidestepped the attack, and slammed the flat of her knife against Qin Yougui’s arm.
Then, borrowing his momentum, she executed a perfect shoulder throw.
After that…
There was no “after that.”
Qin Yougui lay sprawled on the ground, groaning miserably.
Yang Xiaocao didn’t even know whether to help her grandson or her husband first.
“I’ve already made myself perfectly clear!”
Li Xiaoxiao glanced around the crowd.
“It’s almost noon now. You’ve got until sunset to think it over. If nobody comes to claim this precious little treasure, then he’ll officially become my grandson.”
She grabbed Qin Dabao again and sneered at Qin Yougui.
“Tomorrow I’ll take him to the county town and find the best master around to snip him clean. Then I’ll send him off to the imperial palace. My late in-laws’ graves will practically be smoking with pride!”
Before anyone could react, she dragged Qin Dabao back toward the house.
As she passed Qin Yougui, she deliberately stepped on him twice.
Seeing Grandma leave, Erhua hurried after her while carrying her stick.
Poor Qin Yougui got stepped on two more times.
The moment Erhua entered the courtyard, Li Xiaoxiao slammed the gate shut with a bang, cutting off the villagers’ view.
Then she tied the eight-year-old Qin Dabao to a tree in the yard.
His crying was so loud that she eventually stuffed a filthy rag into his mouth as well.
Admiring her handiwork, she pinched his cheek and smiled.
“Dabao, becoming my grandson is a journey. Consider this your first test. Make sure you savor the experience.”
Qin Dabao was terrified out of his mind.
He swore to himself that even if he died, he would never become this old woman’s grandson.
She was horrifying.
Turning to Erhua, Li Xiaoxiao ordered,
“Go fetch the little clay stove from the kitchen. , Grandma—is going to boil you some eggs.”
As she headed inside to get the eggs, she suddenly remembered the thirty eggs she’d painstakingly collected over half a month by following elderly women around supermarket promotions in her previous life.
She hadn’t even had the chance to eat them.
The memory made her heart ache again.
Forget it. If she couldn’t eat them, someone else would.
With a ruthless decision, she carried out twenty-five eggs.
After some quick calculations, she figured everyone except the six-month-old baby could have two each. The third son’s wife, who was nursing, could have an extra one.
As for the noise outside the gate, Li Xiaoxiao completely ignored it.
By the time she and Erhua were happily eating boiled eggs, the commotion outside had finally died down.
For Erhua, who normally tasted scrambled eggs only during holidays and festivals, this was pure happiness.
She carefully peeled her egg and ate it bite by bite right in front of Qin Dabao.
The boy stared so hard at the egg that his eyes practically stuck to it.
When Qin Dashu and his two younger brothers returned home with their wives and daughters, this was the scene that greeted them.
On the way back they had already heard most of the story from the villagers, but none of them dared ask their mother directly.
Li Xiaoxiao shot them a glance and barked,
“What are you all standing there for? Wooden posts? If you want to starve me to death, just say so!”
Everyone immediately snapped back to attention.
They each found some task to busy themselves with and quickly scattered.
“The eldest daughter-in-law.”
Li Xiaoxiao called out to Wang Zhaodi.
“Take these eggs. Two for everyone at lunch. The third daughter-in-law gets one extra because she’s nursing. Erhua already ate one, so she only gets one more. I’ve already eaten mine.”
Then she pointed at Qin Dabao.
“As for him, weren’t there a few black-flour buns left from yesterday? Give him one. Cold is fine. Don’t waste firewood heating it.”
“Yes, Mother.”
Wang Zhaodi obediently agreed.
She disliked Qin Dabao as well.
The boy constantly bullied her daughter, both openly and secretly.
But he was the only male grandchild in his grandparents’ branch of the family, while she herself had failed to produce a son, so she could only endure it.
Who would have thought this precious little prince would eventually provoke her mother-in-law?
He truly had a death wish.
Lunch consisted of coarse grain mixed with brown rice.
There was a large bowl of wild vegetable salad, a bowl of pickled vegetables, and a plate of stir-fried green peppers with barely any oil.
The portions were generous, however.
What delighted everyone most were the boiled eggs.
Li Xiaoxiao found the meal lacking in oil and flavor, but she hated wasting food.
She picked up her bowl and started eating.
For a while, the only sound at the table was the noise of people eating.
Then an unpleasant voice rang out from the courtyard.
“I want eggs! I don’t want this dry, hard black-flour bun!”
“Eldest!”
Li Xiaoxiao ordered without even pausing her meal.
“Bring that brat in here.”
“Yes, Mother.”
Qin Dashu quickly dragged the protesting Qin Dabao inside.
The moment the boy saw Li Xiaoxiao, he instantly fell silent.
Setting down her chopsticks, Li Xiaoxiao smiled at him.
“If you’re going to be my grandson, then none of these eggs are for you. Neither is this food. Your share consists solely of black-flour buns. Two a day. Eat them or go hungry.”
She spoke gently, almost kindly.
“And those buns aren’t free either. At dawn, when the rooster crows, you’ll get up to fetch water, wash clothes, and sweep the yard. You’ll feed the chickens and pigs before earning your morning bun.”
“In the afternoon you’ll gather two baskets of pig fodder and enough wild vegetables for two family meals.”
“Then you’ll head into the mountains and collect a basket of firewood.”
“Only after that will you earn your second bun.”
“As for sleeping arrangements, you’ll sleep beside the pigsty in the haystack. It’s warm there.”
Using the gentlest voice imaginable, Li Xiaoxiao painted a vivid picture of life as her grandson.
“Why should I?! I’m not some stupid little girl!”
Perhaps her tone was too gentle.
For a moment, Qin Dabao forgot to be afraid.
“Why?”
Li Xiaoxiao slammed the table.
The sudden bang made everyone jump.
“Because your father didn’t crawl out of my belly!”
Her voice thundered through the room.
“Those girls’ fathers did! If you little turtle bastard dare bully them even once, I’ll beat your parents and grandparents along with you—and then I’ll send you to the palace to become a eunuch!”
Erhua instantly jumped down from her seat.
She rushed over and smacked Qin Dabao on the head.
Smack!
“What are you, anyway? Show some respect when talking to my grandma! This is my house!”
The humiliation was too much.
Qin Dabao burst into tears on the spot.
Everyone at the table had been so stunned by the scene that they forgot to chew.
One glance from Li Xiaoxiao’s sharp eyes sent them all hurriedly back to eating.
“Throw him back into the yard. Let him cry. Don’t untie him.”
She waved Qin Dashu away.
Meanwhile, Erhua strutted back to her seat like a victorious rooster and resumed eating.
After lunch, Li Xiaoxiao sat beneath the shade of the tree in the courtyard to aid her digestion.
Everyone else returned to their work.
As for poor Qin Dabao, he had not even gotten a sip of water since morning.
His throat had become hoarse from crying.
Yet not a single person paid him any attention.