CH 4

Chapter 4: Xie Yuntang, I’ll Bear You Kids in the Future

“All thanks to” Su Tao, the Su family could eat tender sweet potato leaves. Su Zhi watched eagerly. After he saw his grandmother pick one, he immediately stuffed a chopstick of them into his mouth.

Mrs. Su-Qian couldn't stand the behavior of her younger son’s family and she glared angrily. “Are you the reincarnation of a starved ghost?”

Upon hearing that, Lin Sanzhu tried to pick less sweet potato leaves. She picked two, put them in a bowl and then reprimanded Su Zhi, “Eat properly.”

Su Zhi pursed his lips in an aggrieved manner, not daring to pick the sweet potato leaves anymore.

Su Zhi got scolded for even eating a sweet potato leaf. Su Tao could already imagine how poor the Su family was.

But when Su Tao watched how they were picking the sweet potato leaves with their chopsticks, for a moment, she wanted to run to the field, pull out a bunch and stuff them into her mouth.

It might be a little exaggerating.

But she was really famished. She wished she could eat some rice...

She wished she could eat some rice...

Mrs. Su-Qian noticed Su Tao’s gaze. While scraping the rice, she glared at Su Tao and said fiercely, “When your grandpa comes back, he'll beat you to death. You still want to eat the rice? You might as well starve to death!”

It turned out that her grandfather went out. No wonder Su Tao didn't see the men of this family. The thought of being beaten again made Su Tao's scalp numb, and she wished she could get up and run away.

But where could she run to?

She was a child of seven or eight years old and in a place where girls were worthless. She would be either beaten to death or caught and abused if she ran away from home!

It would be better for her to grit her teeth and persevere, and concentrate on conquering “Milksop”. If she succeeded, she could return to the embrace of her rich father.

When that happened, she would order the most expensive dish and eat her fill!

“Mom, eat. Ignore that wretched lass.” Lin Sanzhu fawningly refilled a bowl of porridge for Mrs. Su-Qian, trying to appease her anger.

She would suffer as well if her mother-in-law stayed angry. She would be scolded for everything she did.

But instead of being appeased, Mrs. Su-Qian glared at her and cursed, “You worthless thing, you gave birth to a loser. Back then, when Su Fu wanted to marry you, I shouldn't have agreed!"

Lin Sanzhu shrank her neck and dared not speak because she gave birth to a girl.

The wife of the older son of the Su family, Mrs. Su-Jin, had always been at odds with the younger son’s family. Lin Sanzhu knew very well why Mrs. Su-Jin was at odds with her. It was because Lin Sanzhu’s husband treated Lin Sanzhu well.

Mrs. Su-Jin persuaded with sarcasm, “Mom, simmer down. Sister-in-law didn’t intend to give birth to a girl either.”

“So what if she didn’t intend to? She still gave birth to a loser.” Mrs. Su-Qian grabbed the rice bowl.

Su Tao couldn't help but roll her eyes when she heard them voice their dislike of her. Then, she moved slightly and the pain in her knees made her hiss.

She couldn’t go on kneeling like this, otherwise she probably had to kneel for the whole day.

After thinking about it, she closed her eyes and “fainted” on the ground.

They wouldn’t make her kneel if she fainted, right?

Her brother, Su Zhi, shouted anxiously while holding his bowl, “Mom, Sister has passed out.”

Lin Sanzhu looked over, but before she could say anything, Mrs. Su-Qian took a disgusted look and cursed, “It's better if she dies. We can save on the food. Eat your food. Get out and kneel if you don't want to eat.”

Su Zhi immediately shrank his neck, not daring to say anything.

Lin Sanzhu knew that her mother-in-law was incensed. She didn't dare to provoke her now, so she held her bowl and ate silently.

Su Tao, who was lying on the ground, “...”

It was hot summer now and the ground was hot. She couldn't stand it after lying down for a while. She felt like a roasted sweet potato.

Sweet potatoes...

She really wished she could eat roasted sweet potatoes.

The Xie family were landlords. Their brick house which was three times the size of the Su family’s house was right opposite them. Xie Yuntang stood by the door and accidentally saw Su Tao faint. He wore a torn expression on his face. Soon, he ran into the house and took an umbrella.

Mrs. Xie-Qin was preparing to make steamed cakes for her son. He could eat them when he was hungry after studying in the afternoon. When she saw that he was about to run outside, she quickly came out of the kitchen and asked softly, “Yuntang, where are you going? It's sunny outside. You’ll get heatstroke easily. What do you want to do? Ask your dad to do it.”

“Daqing, come out now!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming. What’s up?”

The young man had well-proportioned facial features. Although he wasn’t exceptionally handsome, he was quite good-looking.

Anyone who saw him would know that he was Xie Yuntang's father, Xie Qing.

“Dad, Mom, Su Tao has passed out. Let me provide her shade.” Xie Yuntang pointed to the opposite side with worried eyes.

Mrs. Xie-Qin looked in the direction of his hand. The girl had fainted on the ground. A look of sympathy flashed across Mrs. Xie-Qin’s eyes. However, at the thought of the Su family’s behavior, she hesitated and shook her head, persuading Xie Yuntang, “Don't get involved. The Su family is unreasonable. They’ll scold anyone that crosses their path.”

The Su family might not dare to scold them, but they were notorious for their bad temper in the village.

Xie Yuntang picked at his fingers and said softly, “Mom, the sun is hot. She’ll die from the heat.”

He knew that the women of the Su family were fierce, but the teacher said that one shouldn't stand idly by when another was in trouble.

Xie Qing glanced at him, touched his head and said kindly, “Yuntang, you may go over if you want.”

“Thank you, Dad.” Xie Yuntang smiled and then ran off with the umbrella.

Mrs. Xie-Qin gave Xie Qing a look and whispered, “You know as well the behavior of the Su family. You’ll be scolded even if you’re doing a good deed. What if Yuntang is scolded later? Even I can’t stand Auntie Su’s mean words.”

“Since Yuntang wanted to go, I couldn’t refuse to let him go. Otherwise, he’d only think that we are uncompassionate as parents. He’ll learn a lesson next time once he gets scolded.” Xie Qing knew that his son was kind-hearted and would suffer greatly because of that in the future.

When Mrs. Xie-Qin heard that her son would be scolded, she was unwilling to see that happen. Her pretty face assumed a serious expression. “If the Su family scolds Yuntang, I’ll have their house demolished. That piece of land still belongs to our family.”

Most of the lands in the entire village belonged to the Xie family. They were the richest landlords in a radius of more than ten miles.

“I was just making an analogy. As his father, would I let anyone bully my son?”

Xie Qing loved his son no less than she did, and he was usually reluctant to lecture or scold him. If anyone dared to scold his son, he would make them suffer.

Mrs. Xie-Qin was pleased after hearing that. She looked outside the door. Xie Yuntang had already walked to Su Tao's side and opened the umbrella to provide shade for her. “That lass, Su Tao, has a hard life.”

“Yuntang said he doesn't want one. You’d better not look for one.”

“Okay.”

Over at this end, a shadow was cast over Su Tao. Su Tao unfurrowed her brows, wondering whose conscience had been pricked. She was about to squint her eyes to take a peek.

Suddenly, Su Tao heard a clear and crisp voice that belonged to a kid. “Su Tao, are you okay?”

Milksop!

Su Tao opened her eyes suddenly. It was really him. She glared at him and gritted her teeth before she said in a low voice, “It’s none of your business.”

She vented all her "resentment" on him.

Well, other than him whom she could bully, she couldn't afford to offend the others for the time being.

Xie Yuntang was startled. He took half a step back and said in a slightly trembling voice, “Here's an umbrella for you. You don't need to return it. I'm going home.”

As soon as Su Tao heard him say he was going home, she grabbed his hand subconsciously and raised her other hand to make a promise. Her expression was absolutely serious.

“Xie Yuntang, please, kill me. I mean it. I’ll be grateful to you for the rest of my life. If we’re destined to meet in our next lives, I’ll bear you kids. Bah, I’ll toil for you.”

Although the girl could be considered the prettiest girl in the village, she looked a bit hideous now. Xie Yuntang was about to cry in fright. He took a few steps back, tried his best to struggle free, then turned around and ran away.

It was as if he had seen a ghost.