9
Barefoot Are Not Afraid of Wearing Shoes
Under Li Xiuran’s stubborn insistence, Old Mr. Li ultimately decided to spend one hundred yuan to buy the third branch’s room. The alternative was to wait for the other party to send someone to demolish it. Since the third branch’s room was wedged in the middle, tearing it down risked collapsing the adjacent rooms on both sides, leaving Old Mr. Li with no real choice.
The only demand was that they move out within two days.
Neither Li Xiuran nor Gu Wenshu had any objections to this.
When drafting the family division agreement, Granny Li demanded fifty catties of grain and five yuan monthly, but this was ultimately rejected. Instead, they followed the village standard for children supporting their parents: thirty catties of grain per month and ten yuan per year.
Going from over two hundred yuan annually to just ten yuan drove Granny Li nearly mad. She wanted to make a scene, but when she met Gu Wenshu’s cold, clear eyes, she didn’t dare utter a word. She feared that this reckless wretch, Gu Wenshu, might indiscriminately blurt out something harmful to her youngest son.
Damn that wretched woman! If only she had known Gu Wenshu would ruin her plans, she should have sold her off immediately after learning of the third son’s accident. Then, she could have simply told people that upon hearing of the third son’s death, Gu Wenshu couldn’t bear it, packed her bags, and ran off with someone.
If she had dealt with her early, even if the third son had returned, so much trouble could have been avoided, and she wouldn’t have lost over two thousand yuan for nothing. The thought made every breath painful.
In her heart, she wished she could bite Gu Wenshu into pieces and swallow her bit by bit.
Back in the room, Li Xiuran glanced calmly at Gu Wenshu and said, “Take the children and prepare something to eat first. I’m going to see Seventh Uncle.”
Because she was the children’s mother and had behaved reasonably well today, he was willing to give Gu Wenshu a chance.
Gu Wenshu responded with a quiet, “Okay.”
He ruffled the two children’s heads and, as he stepped out of the room, turned back to look at Gu Wenshu. “Gu Wenshu, as long as you behave properly, I won’t let you suffer.”
But if she had ulterior motives, then she shouldn’t blame him for being ruthless.
After speaking, he concealed the surging killing intent in his eyes and left.
Gu Wenshu had experienced much since childhood, surviving several life-and-death situations, which made her highly sensitive to others’ emotions, especially those who bore her ill will. Just moments ago, she had sensed the killing intent emanating from the man’s eyes—brief but enough to make her whole body tense, leaving no room for relaxation.
Was it because the original owner had sold the children that he wanted to kill her?
No, she felt it couldn’t be that simple.
This man was hiding significant secrets.
She had no intention of probing into others’ affairs; her past life had taught her that sometimes, the more you know, the quicker you die.
She could tell that as long as she harbored no ill will toward the children and treated them well, the man wouldn’t act against her for now.
At present, she was still safe.
She let the children play in the room and went to the kitchen, only to find the cupboard locked and the usual storage areas for rice and sweet potatoes completely empty.
She suddenly laughed in anger and, without a second thought, walked to the chicken coop behind the house. Her gaze swept over the five confined chickens before settling on the largest hen.
Just as she grabbed the big hen and prepared to slaughter it, Granny Li rushed over upon hearing the news. Seeing her appear, Gu Wenshu didn’t hesitate—with one swift cut, blood dripped into the prepared bowl.
Granny Li’s eyes reddened with rage as she read the scene, cursing loudly, “You damned little slut! How dare you kill my big hen? I’ll end you!”
Gu Wenshu stood up, holding the still-dripping hen, her sharp knife pointed at the advancing Granny Li: “Shut your mouth. If you keep spouting nonsense, I’ll cut you down, then finish off your eldest son, youngest son, and little daughter before turning myself in.”
“I’ve got nothing to lose. If you’re not afraid either, then come try me.”
After speaking, she advanced step by step with the knife, frightening the old woman into stumbling backward, left foot tripping over right, until she collapsed on the ground.
Sobbing and screaming, she cried, “Old man! Eldest son! Come quick! Gu Wenshu’s trying to kill me!”
Seeing the mingled tears and snot streaming down the woman’s face, Gu Wenshu suddenly found it all pointless. She’d thought the old hag was tough, but she was just a paper tiger. No wonder the original host had been so terrified of this old witch, directing all her resentment and anger toward her own two children instead.
If only she’d been braver, turning the rod she used on the children against this old hag, her life in this household wouldn’t have come to such a pitiful state.
Old Mr. Li and his son came running at the cries, finding Gu Wenshu holding the bloody hen and pointing her knife at the old woman (their mother) on the ground. Old Mr. Li immediately flared up, glaring at Gu Wenshu: “Third daughter-in-law, what are you doing? Do you really mean to kill your mother?”
Gu Wenshu sneered coldly: “She took all the food from the kitchen and even locked the cupboard—clearly trying to starve our family of four to death. If others won’t give us a way to live, then I don’t need to give them one either.”
Old Mr. Li understood perfectly that by “them,” his daughter-in-law meant his wife, and indeed everyone in the Li Family except the third branch.
Squinting his eyes, he stepped forward to help his wife up: “I’ll have your mother give you the food right away. Don’t be so impulsive next time. If there’s a problem, talk it out properly, or you’ll set a bad example for the children.”
Gu Wenshu couldn’t help but laugh, though her smile was full of mockery: “When there’s no way to survive, who cares if the children turn out bad?”
Old Mr. Li was left speechless by her words, finally realizing that his third daughter-in-law was truly immovable.
Gu Wenshu had no desire to argue further with these people—she still needed to cook for the two little ones.
She worked swiftly, killing the chicken and plucking its feathers. While simmering the chicken soup, Li Mingshan, the eldest son, entered with a basket containing over a dozen sweet potatoes: “Sister-in-law, Father asked me to bring these. There’s not much food at home, so we’ll have sweet potatoes tonight.”
Gu Wenshu sneered, took the potatoes without a word, washed them, and placed them in a steamer over the pot.
As Li Mingshan was leaving the kitchen, he muttered quietly, “Sister-in-law, Mother actually cares deeply for Third Brother. Don’t stir up trouble between them. If Father, Mother, and Third Brother become enemies, I’m sure you don’t want to see that happen.”
Gu Wenshu grabbed a fire poker and pointed it at Li Mingshan: “Are you going to leave, or do I need to shove your head into the stove fire?”
Li Mingshan was terrified by her cold, fierce expression and vicious words.
Before leaving, he shot Gu Wenshu a deep, meaningful look, his anger clearly visible.
Gu Wenshu sneered, completely dismissing Li Mingshan.
About an hour later, Gu Wenshu carried the entire pot of simmered chicken soup and all the sweet potatoes into her room. Chen Hongzhen and Granny Li, who had been keeping a close watch on the kitchen, immediately darkened their faces. The little old woman completely forgot her earlier timid demeanor and rushed out furiously, pounding desperately on the third room’s door: “Gu Wenshu, how could you take all the chicken soup? What are we supposed to eat?”