Chapter 20: Just Eats Grain Without Laying Eggs

Liu Shi winced in pain, clutching her belly, and only after a long while did she manage to catch her breath.

Yang Huaming was so furious he nearly jumped off the stool. He kicked over the basin on the floor, and all the foot-washing water splashed onto Liu Shi.

"I thought you wanted to discuss something serious with me, and you're talking such bullshit? Adoption? Why the hell should I adopt someone else's child as my own? You think I can't have my kid?"

Liu Shi was so frightened she lowered her head, not daring to look at him. She murmured,

"He's dad, don't get so angry. I was just thinking for your sake… I mean… I gave birth to two daughters already, and if this one turns out to be another girl, I'll be too ashamed to face you…"

"Ashamed? If you feel ashamed, then prove yourself! Give it your all and give me a son! I don't believe this curse—why can all my brothers have sons and I can't?"

Yang Huaming's face was red with anger, his neck bulging. He looked over to the inside of the bed, where his two daughters Xia He and Dong Mei had been startled awake, and his temper flared even more.

"What are you staring at? Get back under the covers and sleep! You useless girls—keep staring and I'll smack you!"

The two girls were so scared they almost cried. They yanked the patched quilt over themselves and curled up inside, trembling under the covers.

Outside the window came a banging sound, followed by Tan Shi's scolding voice.

"What are you howling about in there in the middle of the night? If you can't sleep, go out and sweep the yard!"

Yang Huaming paled in fear and shot Liu Shi a harsh glare. She quickly clamped her hands over her mouth and stayed silent. Meanwhile, he hobbled barefoot to the window and smiled apologetically in the direction of Tan Shi's voice:

"It was Liu Shi who knocked over the washbasin. I scolded her a bit and accidentally woke you, Mother. It's all my fault..."

"Hmph! A hen that just eats grain without laying eggs—clumsy fool. Forget scolding, even if you beat her to death, she'd deserve it!" Tan Shi spat, stomping back to her room. Only after they heard the door creak shut did Yang Huaming finally breathe a sigh of relief.

He turned and gave Liu Shi, who was still crying on the ground, another glare.

"Why are you still on the floor? Waiting for me to invite you up?"

"I'm getting up, getting up right now!" Liu Shi wiped away her tears, lowered her head, and slowly got to her feet. She carefully cleaned up the overturned basin and towel. Then she took off her soiled outer garments, rubbed her sore lower back, and returned to bed.

Yang Huaming was already lying flat, snoring loudly.

Liu Shi glanced at her two daughters curled up at the inner side of the bed—both skinny and frail. She sighed, placed a hand on her swollen belly, and her face clouded with anxiety.

She had taken a kick straight to the chest tonight—her heart still ached from it—but she didn't blame He'er's dad.

If anyone was to blame, it was her bad luck. Married into the Yang family for ten years and only gave birth to two daughters. She was three months pregnant with this third child, and when she visited her parents' home recently, she had her mother ask a fortune teller in a neighboring village.

The fortune teller said it was another girl, and worse, that Liu Shi was fated never to have a son.

She had kept that to herself, not daring to breathe a word to He'er's dad. If he found out, he might divorce her.

That long, restless night passed in tossing and turning. As the first light of dawn crept into the sky, the roosters in the backyard coop began to crow, and a new day quietly began…

Yang Ruoqing had a nightmare.

She dreamt she was treated like livestock—bound hand and foot, stuffed into a burlap sack used for rice, and carried onto an ox cart by Old Man Yang and the others.

They crossed several mountain ridges and finally sold her into a remote, backwoods village, to a widower whose wife had died. His barefoot children ran wild in the yard, and his eldest son was taller than she was. The moment she arrived, she was "mom" by default.

During the day, she worked herself to the bone in the fields, cooked meals for the whole family, and washed all their clothes. At night, she'd be dragged into bed, where the middle-aged widower would pin her down and use her like a beast of burden, brutally and relentlessly.

Despite all her skills, she couldn't lift a finger to fight back. But she still had her forehead, and her sharp teeth. She rammed, bit, struggled, kicked—madly resisting.

Then—"Bang!"

A dull thud. Sharp pain radiated from her forehead.

Yang Ruoqing jolted awake, gasping for breath. She found herself sitting on the floor in her sleep clothes, drenched in cold sweat, her palms slick.

Just a nightmare.

She let out a heavy breath and climbed back into bed, but just as she lay down, a ruckus broke out in her parents' room next door.

She could hear Tan Shi's sharp scolding, her Fifth Uncle Yang Huazhou arguing hoarsely, her eldest uncle trying to smooth things over, and Sun Shi's sobbing in the background.

Yang Ruoqing's heart skipped a beat. Her father must have woken up and learned about the plan to sell her—and now he was pleading with Tan Shi, which only enraged her?

If that was the case, then this matter couldn't be resolved peacefully.

That same helpless desperation from the dream suddenly surged into reality, like icy water drowning her from all sides.

Her drowsiness vanished instantly. She quickly grabbed the clothes hanging at the bed's foot, threw them on without caring they were mismatched, slipped her shoes on the wrong feet, and ran out, hair still a mess.

At the entrance of the west wing room, where Yang Huazhong and Sun Shi stayed, her eldest uncle Yang Hua'an was pulling a red-faced, fuming Yang Huazhou away from the door, scolding him harshly as he did so.

"What's gotten into you this early in the morning, huh, Old Five? When our parents make a decision, as sons, we listen. Who gave you the guts to argue with Mother? Aren't you afraid of divine punishment?"

"I don't care. No matter what, you can't sell Qing'er. I'll never agree!" Yang Huazhou panted, voice full of defiance.

Yang Hua'an sneered,

"You? Don't agree? Who do you think you are? You run this house now? What a joke."

"Big Brother, what are you even saying? Isn't Qing'er your niece? When Third Brother was healthy, you never hesitated to make him help you with chores. And now you turn cold like this? How can you be so heartless?" Yang Huazhou shouted, furious.

Yang Hua'an's eyes bulged.

"Who said I'm heartless? I didn't sleep all night, thinking about Third Brother's situation. But let's face it—we're out of options. Girls have to leave the house sooner or later. Qing'er's fiancé doesn't want her. Better to sell her now and use the money to treat her dad. That way, she's still doing her part. You're just too stubborn to see reason—no wonder you're already twenty-two and still no girl wants to marry you!"

"Hmph! I'd rather stay single forever than be some cold-blooded bastard like you who churns out sons with no conscience!" Yang Huazhou pushed Yang Hua'an aside and stormed off.

At that moment, he ran straight into Yang Ruoqing.

Yang Huazhou halted abruptly. His chest still heaved with labored breaths, and his face was flushed with lingering fury. But when his eyes met hers, his expression softened.

(End of Chapter)