The moment Li's Mother's hand touched her, Li Zhaodi froze.
Li's Mother's voice, neither too loud nor too soft, sounded as terrifying as a demon demanding her life to her ears, and her face instantly drained of color.
"Mother, I wasn't hiding." She said stiffly in a trembling voice.
Immediately after, she felt a fierce pinch on her waist. "Do you think your old mother is blind? You were hiding from me like you saw a ghost, and I wouldn't notice."
"Enough talk, hurry up and get me some silver. The household can barely keep the pot open!" Li's Mother spoke directly, not caring if any passersby were around.
Just mentioning this made Li's Mother angry, and she pinched Li Zhaodi's waist again, hard.
"Why did you bring your cousin Qian Momo to your village for no good reason? And she ended up getting bullied!
Your aunt is now holding a grudge in her heart and refuses to help our family anymore!"
As far as Li's Mother was concerned, the root of this matter lay squarely on this good-for-nothing's shoulders. Why did she have to bring an outsider to the village for no reason, only for her to get bullied?
"Mother, it was Cousin who wanted me to bring her. I had no choice," Li Zhaodi explained through her tears of pain, not forgetting to justify herself.
She was not willing to bring Qian Momo along, and there was no way she could have stopped someone as headstrong as Qian Momo.
What could she do? The blame lies with Luo Ge!
If only Luo Ge had let her cousin vent, none of this would have happened.
"I don't care about all that. The fact is, you caused this mess, and now your aunt refuses to help us.
Your father, your mother, and your younger brother all need to eat. You figure it out yourself."
Li's Mother couldn't be bothered with all the excuses. It was a simple matter – either provide grain or money.
Seeing Li's Mother behave this way, Li Zhaodi clenched her fists, lowered her head to hide the various emotions in her eyes, and swallowed her resentment and indignation.
After rummaging in her pocket for a while, she finally took out a small cloth bundle and handed it to Li's Mother with a trembling hand.
"This is all I have left."
"Just this little?" Li's Mother didn't hesitate to take the bundle, but when she opened it and saw the contents, her brows immediately furrowed. After counting, there was less than seventy fen.
How long would this last?
"I really don't have any more. Only this is left."
This was the private savings of their branch of the family. Her mother would come every so often to take things from her.
It hadn't been that long since her last visit.
This money was what she had painstakingly saved over a long time. She truly had no more left.
"Don't your villagers sell lychees? Why don't you go pick them? Why don't you let your man go pick and sell them?"
Li's Mother knew her own family's business, of course.
Seeing Li Zhaodi's reaction, Li's Mother realized she was probably telling the truth.
But the thought still made her frown deeply. This useless girl's life wasn't that bad – the family could eat their fill, and the grandmother left each branch some private savings.
Logically speaking, if they had sold the lychees, shouldn't they have more money left than this meager amount?
Hearing Li's Mother's words, the resentment in Li Zhaodi's eyes nearly spilled over.
"Grandmother forbade me from going," she said gloomily, head lowered.
Yesterday, after returning from the Gu family, she was disciplined, and this morning, the old lady didn't allow her to leave the house.
When her husband heard about this, he also refused to give her the silver he had exchanged.
Hearing Li Zhaodi's words, Li's Mother pinched her again. "As expected, you're just a useless, good-for-nothing drain on resources. An incompetent thing who can't even stand up to an old woman."
"I should have drowned you in the chamberpot when you were born."
"Next time, save up more. It wasn't easy for your mother and me to raise you to this age. Now that you're grown up, you should show filial piety to your parents. If anything happens to you in the future, you'll have to rely on your younger brother.
"Only when we're well can you have a sense of security and do well for yourself."
Seeing that it was getting late, and afraid of running into Uncle Sheng's family on their return, Li's Mother didn't linger any longer. After pinching Li Zhaodi a couple more times, she left, grumbling insults.
Zhu Auntie, who was standing nearby, had witnessed the entire scene. Seeing Li's Mother leave, "Tsk, tsk, tsk," she shook her head and clicked her tongue a few times.
Noticing Li Zhaodi glaring at her with that sinister look, she defiantly glared back.
"Truly stupid to the core. If it were me, I would have cut ties with such an in-law family long ago."
Relying on the in-law family? Hmph!
A good-for-nothing family living hand-to-mouth – how could they be relied upon?
But it was none of her business. At least she wasn't the stupid one.
Spitting in Li Zhaodi's direction twice more, Zhu Auntie twisted her waist and left.
Only after Zhu Auntie's figure had completely disappeared did Li Zhaodi raise her head.
"Mother, San Ya and I gathered some wild vegetables. Grandfather and Grandmother should be back soon, so let's quickly make dinner."
San Ya returned with her younger sister and, noticing that they hadn't started cooking yet, spoke up. Grandfather, Grandmother, and their Uncle had all gone out to work.
They needed to have dinner ready at home, or else Grandfather and the others would have to go hungry after a hard day's labor.
San Ya led her younger sister Si Ya as she spoke, but upon seeing her mother's cold expression, her small body trembled.
"Mother, don't hit Sister! Mother—!"
"Wah—! Mother, don't hit Sister!"
Hearing the cries and beatings coming from next door, Zhu Auntie paused mid-action.
"Tsk, tsk, she really doesn't hold back."
She lived right next door, so she could hear the two little girls' cries every two or three days.
Li Zhaodi truly didn't restrain herself – as soon as she got upset or felt wronged, she would beat the two younger ones.
Afterwards, if Uncle Sheng's wife or Li Zhaodi's husband found out, Li Zhaodi herself would inevitably receive a scolding.
"Tsk!" Zhu Auntie shook her head, thinking.
She felt that Li Zhaodi must have some issues.
Stubbornly supporting that kind of in-law family, stubbornly beating her own children.
Sick.
"Li Zhaodi! Have you gone mad? Haven't you been disciplined enough?" Uncle Sheng's wife's shouting soon drifted over from next door.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
