Chapter 2 Leave the Child Behind

"Well, if it isn't Jiandong, what are you and your wife carrying so tightly wrapped?"

"Picked up a child? A girl? Sigh, what's the use of bringing home a foundling girl."

Yue Jiandong and Zhang Ying made their way back to the village, encountering many fellow villagers.

Everyone was curious about how the couple went to the city for a doctor's visit and ended up picking up a child.

Once they heard it was a girl, expressions quickly shifted from surprise to a mix of sympathy and scorn.

In those days, girls were worthless, especially after the country only allowed one child per family; the river behind the village often drifted with the bodies of female infants.

Some people even suffocated female infants and buried them in the ground to be trampled upon, to deter future girls from being born into their family.

The Yue Family was already one of the poorest in Daye Village; Yue Jiandong must have lost his mind to bring home such a money-losing burden.

Daye Village wasn't large, and news spread throughout the village quickly.

Laughter and ridicule were incessant.

As the couple neared their home, Lin Chunju, having already received the news, was waiting at the doorway.

Catching sight of her mother-in-law from a distance, Zhang Ying's grip on the child tightened, wishing she could shrink into a ball.

Zhou Ergou's wife next door mocked purposely, "Look, Jiandong's wife, what treasure are you cradling? Let us have a look."

Lin Chunju shot her a fierce glance and briskly retorted, "Mind your own business, and stay inside your house."

Ergou's wife shrank back, her neck retracting. She dared to sneer at Zhang Ying but didn't dare to provoke Lin Chunju.

This widow was notoriously fierce; she was the village's expert at starting fights and hurling insults, and not even two of her could be beaten.

Pah, having once been a young lady of a wealthy family only to end up like this?

The woman snickered again with schadenfreude, thinking today Zhang Ying brought home a girl, and her scalp might just get torn off by Widow Lin.

The closer they got to home, the more Zhang Ying's back bent, and her shoulders trembled ceaselessly.

Seeing this, Yue Jiandong sighed and stepped in front of Zhang Ying.

"Mother, Yingzi and I brought back a child."

"Hmm."

Lin Chunju didn't react with the anticipated fury Ergou's wife was hoping for; she simply acknowledged with indifference and went into the house.

Seeing there was no drama to watch, Ergou's wife snorted and reluctantly went back inside her home.

"Speak, what happened?" Lin Chunju stared at the couple, as Zhang Ying told her the story in a low voice.

She was afraid of her mother-in-law, but not in the way the villagers thought, due to Lin Chunju's fierce and aggressive nature.

In fact, since her marriage into the family, her mother-in-law had never laid a finger on her, rarely even raising her voice.

But she always felt that her mother-in-law was no ordinary woman, far more formidable than the other mothers-in-law who constantly nagged their daughters-in-law.

Therefore, she always spoke respectfully and never dared to talk back.

After listening to Zhang Ying's words, Lin Chunju's face darkened, "All you know is that this child was abandoned by others? What if they turn the tables and accuse you of stealing the child?"

Yue Jiandong hastily explained, "We waited a long time at the hospital and asked the nurses. They all said there were no mothers who lost their children, so we brought the child home."

"Can't you see the situation at home? Your brother's wife just had a baby, and things are already tight. Now you bring another mouth to feed; I think you find it too luxurious here!"

The couple bowed their heads and took the scolding, not daring to utter a word.

Yue Qingqing in the swaddling clothes sensed trouble and began to cry, having already experienced the male preference of this world on the journey, fearing another abandonment.

Because she had not been properly fed since birth, her cries were feeble, like a kitten gasping for air.

Lin Chunju frowned and peered into the wrap; the child within had lost her newborn redness, looking white and tender.

Her barely open eyes were like black grapes with drops of water hanging from them, her rosy little mouth slightly open, quivering.

Zhang Ying implored her mother-in-law, "Mother, this child is so well-behaved. On our way here, she never cried or fussed; even when she wanted to urinate, she would hum quietly. Please, let's keep her."

Lin Chunju's expression remained stern and unspoken.

Seeing her mother-in-law's expressionless face, Zhang Ying dropped a bombshell, "Mother, the doctor said I can't have children. Please, I'm begging you, let me raise her."

Yue Jiandong was startled, "Yingzi! What are you talking about?"

He quickly knelt down, "Mother, it's me, I'm the one who can't have children, not Yingzi."

Zhang Ying also immediately knelt beside him, clutching the child tightly.

"Mother, please let's keep this child."