Chapter 4 Appearance_1

After washing her hands, Liuliu followed Yang Xiaoquan out of the fenced yard. As she walked, she observed the surroundings. The place was surrounded on three sides by mountains, grand and small, layered atop one another, winding and rolling endlessly.

Approximately a hundred families lived in the village, each house spaced about ten meters from its neighbors, some a bit more. Even though the land was vast and the human population sparse, high walls were erected around each house due to the presence of wild animals. It was too close to the mountains for the locals to settle, hence these families were descendants of refugees who fled here generations ago, mostly living off the land they cleared on the mountains. The paddy fields at the foot of the mountains remained the property of the indigenous villagers.

As Liuliu followed Yang Xiaoquan past the neighboring house, she caught a whiff of the aroma of steamed buns.

Sniffing the scent, Yang Xiaoquan became even hungrier, "Sister-in-law, let's go to my second aunt's house for something to eat!" Saying this, he was about to enter the courtyard of his second aunt's house.

Liuliu suddenly remembered her mother-in-law mentioning the bran they had was given by the second aunt, suggesting she wasn't a person of straightforward character. Giving them pig food while knowing they had nothing to eat, and not even offering a steamed bun—while she herself enjoyed delicious buns—confirmed her selfishness. This made a bad impression on Liuliu.

"Second Aunt, you're eating steamed buns here while Sister-in-law and I are starving. Give us some buns!" Yang Xiaoquan proceeded into his second aunt's house without hesitation and asked directly. Liuliu followed him silently, observing around. His second aunt's house had two brick and tile rooms and about six adobe houses, the courtyard growing vegetables that turned yellow from the frost.

In the yard were a young boy and a young girl, both barely in their teens. There was also the second aunt, appearing honest with a face of a middle-aged woman in her forties, wearing a cotton-padded jacket. Was that old man in his forties her second uncle?

Just as Liuliu was observing their house, the second aunt responded, "Xiaoquan, it's not that I don't want to feed you. We have only made a few buns, and your siblings are also hungry too. If you can manage, I can eat half less and you can have a little." The second aunt was upset with Liuliu; she blamed her for her brother's family hardships, and intentionally harrassed her nephew.

In fact, when sister-in-law came over, the two families had agreed to teach them a lesson by making them experience the pain of hunger to make them realize how poor their family was. Being spoon-fed with bran was already a favor. Her mother-in-law also hoped they would become more restrained after this.

Liuliu felt aggrieved at these words and didn't want to listen anymore. She thought inwardly, 'I don't want your charity either!' She turned around to leave, yanking Yang Xiaoquan's sleeve in passing.

"Sister-in-law, Brother Xiaoquan, where are you guys going? Let's play together after we finish eating!" asked the second aunt's son, the young boy. The girl, too, looked eager to play. In the children's eyes, their aunt and Xiaoquan were good playmates despite being mixed up in so much trouble.

"All you think about is playing. Do you know that they've ruined your aunt's family causing them to have nothing to eat? Would you also like to starve?" The second aunt reprimanded her children, pretending to direct her words at Liuliu.

Feeling unfairly accused, Liuliu could tolerate no more. She left in a huff, her face flushing red with suppressed anger. She had been a corporate manager used to disciplining her subordinates, yet today she found herself at the receiving end of a rebuke. Still, she couldn't voice her complaints and could only vow silently to earn money, rebuild her broken family, and never allow herself to be berated like this again.

Not paying heed to social norms, Liuliu gripped Xiaoquan and dashed out of there. Their plan was to go into the mountains, forage for food, and see if the mountains held any treasures. They hoped this day wouldn't disappoint them.

After running out, Liuliu's mood was grim. All the faults of the previous woman of the house were blamed on her and she couldn't even defend herself.

As they crossed the village center, Lan Hua, the daughter-in-law of Li Ergou's family, saw the bruise on Liuliu's forehead. A sense of elation filled her. 'Now the Yang family is doomed! If the Liu Family finds out Liuliu was injured by the Yang family, they will surely kill them!'

Both families had fled here during the refugee times. Li Ergou's family was poor even before they escaped. They were quite pleased when the local wealthy families had to escape too. However, they soon found out that a thin camel is still bigger than a horse. The Yang family, though in exile, still managed to remain fairly affluent, even able to build tile houses, which filled the Li family with envy and caused frequent frictions. The Yangs, however, barely paid them any attention.

"Oh, isn't this Liuliu? How did you hurt your head? Did they hit you?" Lan Hua, the daughter-in-law from Li Ergou's family, feigned concern while pointing at Yang Xiaoquan.

Liuliu scrutinized the woman who appeared to be in her forties. Her seemingly concerned words were laced with spiteful glee. This woman was clearly a mean and narrow-minded person.

Liuliu hadn't replied yet when Yang Xiaoquan interjected, "It was an accident, my elder brother accidentally bumped into her. He didn't hit her!" He hurriedly defended his family members before outsiders.

"Oh Liuliu! The Yang family is bullying you because you're young. They could seriously injure a new bride over a lowly issue!" With a sarcastic tone, Lan Hua indicated Yang Xiaoquan, her eyes gleaming with pleasure.

"What are you rambling about? We told you it's an accident, no need for you to talk nonsense! Let's go!" Liuliu has no patience for this kind of person. Why waste precious time chattering with her, when they could be foraging for food in the mountains?

Knowing he couldn't win against Lan Hua by arguments, Yang Xiaoquan let himself be dragged away by his sister-in-law, ignoring Lan Hua's comments and hurrying towards the mountains.

Seeing that they ignored her, Lan Hua spat in annoyance. She planned to let the information slip out, thinking 'Let's see how you Yangs dare to act wantonly when the Liu family comes after you.'

As they walked together, Liuliu acted clueless all the while, gradually understanding the complexities of her husband's family.

The mother-in-law had birthed five children. Her husband was the eldest, named Yang Xiaotian. Next was the second sister, Yang Xiaomei, followed by the third sister, Yang Xiaojie. Then came her husband's younger brother, Yang Xiaoquan, and the youngest, that disrespectful kid, Yang Xiaowen. Their family had fled to this place during Xiaoquan's grandfather's time, and the village, named Li village, was formed later.

Her second aunt had three sons and one daughter. The eldest was named Yang Xiaozhong, the second, Yang Xiaohui, and they were both in the military. Xiaoquan said they were even younger than his older brother! The remaining kids were the third child, the young girl named Yang Xiaomin, and the youngest boy named Yang Xiaoguo.