Volume One, Chapter Five: A Spoiled Apple

No! This cannot go on!

Although Ye Ling was only a tiny infant, her survival instinct sparked an inexplicable strength within her. First, her small hands pried apart the palm that was firmly stifling her mouth, and then, using her toothless little mouth, she bit down hard.

"Ah..."

Shen Cuilan shrieked in pain!

Then, Ye Ling began to cry and wail with all her might.

"Waa! Waaah..."

This desperate crying finally drew Li Gai’e’s attention. Before she could even step into the house, she darted right in front of Shen Cuilan.

"What do you think you’re doing?"

With just that one sentence, she snatched the basket containing Ye Ling away.

Shen Cuilan was in such pain that she didn't even process how such a small child had managed to pry her hand open. There were no teeth marks, yet it felt even more agonizing than an open wound.

"What do you mean, 'what am I doing'? None of your business! Let me tell you, this is a matter for the Liu family. It has nothing to do with you. Give me the child!"

"Give her to you? On what grounds?"

"Oh! What a joke! What do you mean, 'on what grounds'? I am this child’s eldest aunt. May I ask who you are? Stop poking your nose into other people's business like a dog chasing a rat!"

Shen Cuilan rolled her eyes aggressively, her hands busy as she lunged forward to grab the child.

Li Gai’e was a simple, honest woman and had never seen such a spectacle. She didn't even realize the basket had been pulled into Shen Cuilan’s grasp until it was too late. By the time she reacted, the basket holding Ye Ling was already swinging wildly between the two women.

Shen Cuilan wouldn't let go!

Li Gai’e wouldn't let go either!

Poor Ye Ling was left dazed and confused, being tossed back and forth in the basket. She didn't know how to save herself!

"Let go, you wretched woman! This is a child of the Liu family!"

"She may be a child of the Liu family, but she is also Liu Qiaohui’s. Qiaohui isn't here, and you aren't taking this child anywhere!"

"Let go!"

"I won't!"

Although Liu Qiaohui lived in a secluded spot, the village was small, and word of the commotion eventually reached the neighbors. First one household, then ten, and finally, almost the entire village crowded around. Even the village head was stirred from his home.

The courtyard was packed inside and out. If not for the village head’s arrival, Ye Ling was certain she would have been shaken into a concussion by those two women.

"What is going on here! What are you doing!"

The village head, holding his tobacco pipe, struck it against something with two loud thuds, finally forcing Shen Cuilan to let go. Li Gai’e clutched the basket tightly to her chest, glaring at Shen Cuilan with disgust and resentment.

"What are you bickering about? With the state of things this year, do you have that much energy to waste? Is it that we’ve distributed too much grain to you?"

That remark hit home. It hit exactly on target. In these times, you could talk about anything, but the moment grain was mentioned, everyone’s expression became inexplicably tense.

Shen Cuilan shot a vicious glare at Li Gai’e and turned to lodge a complaint with the village head first.

"Village Head, judge this for us. This is a child of our Liu family—is it for our Liu family to handle, or for the Xu family to interfere with?"

The village head didn't speak, but he gave Shen Cuilan a cold look—a look that could certainly be interpreted as tacit agreement.

"Since she is a child of the Liu family, shouldn't my family take her? Village Head, everyone, tell me—I am a daughter-in-law of the Liu family, am I not? Today, even when I try to take my own niece, I have others interfering. Is there no justice left?"

Li Gai’e didn't back down. "Humph! Who knows what kind of ill intentions you have!"

Anyone with a brain knew Shen Cuilan was up to no good, and Ye Ling didn't believe the villagers were unaware of it.

"Then tell me, why are you taking the child away?"

The village head tapped his pipe twice more, unaware that the Liu family matriarch—Shen Cuilan’s mother-in-law, Jia Zhang—was already standing behind him, signaling frantically to Shen Cuilan.

With her mother-in-law joining the fray, Shen Cuilan grew bolder.

"Why am I taking her? I’m taking her to dump her! This child is cursed! You might not be afraid, but we in the Liu family are. Humph, who doesn't know that if something bad happens, my Liu family will be the first to suffer? Village Head, everyone, life is hard enough this year. Are we going to let this child bring ruin upon the Liu family? Is there any way for us to survive?"

Shen Cuilan wailed and threw herself onto the ground, rolling about, snot and tears streaming down her face.

Whether or not Jia Zhang felt the performance wasn't dramatic enough, she sat on the ground and began to cry as well, lamenting her hardships with tears and sobs: "Village Head, everyone, tell me, is it easy for a widow like me to survive? I was widowed at thirty-five, scrimping and saving to raise two children. I watched them grow into adults, but my eldest... he barely comes back once every few years. My second son... *sob*... my second son lost his life last year. What hope is left for an old woman like me? I only hope my grandsons can grow up alive. In these times, we barely have one meal to eat, yet now... *sob*... now this damned second daughter-in-law of mine wants to adopt such a cursed child... Everyone judge this for yourselves, isn't this going to be the death of my Liu family!"

"Village Head, you have elders above and children below too. Tell me, can I let my second daughter-in-law keep this child?"

Everyone began to whisper among themselves.

Striking while the iron was hot, Jia Zhang cried out again: "Everyone! This child is cursed! If... if everyone in this village ends up in ruin, my Liu family... we wouldn't be able to face you all even if our line were completely wiped out!"

For people in the sixties, the only goal was to stay alive.

So, this sentence struck a nerve with almost everyone. As the whispers grew louder, someone finally couldn't help but shout out:

"Village Head, this child cannot stay in our village!"

"That’s right! If she’s going to bring disaster, let her bring it to another village! My family wants to live!"

"Exactly! Village Head, we can't let one rotten apple spoil the whole barrel! This is no joking matter!"

A rotten apple?

Having lived for thirty years, Ye Ling had never been called a rotten apple before.

*Sigh.*

How pathetic!

She was currently just an infant, able to express her protest only through her wailing.

But did her protest matter?

The village head glanced at Ye Ling in the basket and took two deep breaths. The smoke ring flew right into Ye Ling’s face, choking her severely.

*Thud, thud!*

The sound of the pipe hitting the ground silenced the crowd.

"Yesterday, I investigated, and the matter is true! This child was indeed rejected by other villagers, and the families who adopted her... they did indeed all perish!"

*Boom!*

The crowd erupted into an uproar.

Everyone had something to say. Some even clamored to kill Ye Ling right then and there to prevent her from becoming a bane to the entire village.

But only Ye Ling knew.

The village head was telling a blatant lie. When had she ever been adopted? And when had all those families perished?

This was clearly... clearly setting her up to be burned at the stake!

*Waaah!*

She cried even louder.

But almost no one could hear her.

"So, since things have come to this, and since I was the one who brought the child back, let me find a place for her. Since the eldest daughter-in-law of the Liu family is here, let’s consider it settled!"

After the village head said this, he squinted at Jia Zhang. She didn't seem to grasp the meaning of his words at first, but after a second, she nodded rapidly: "Alright, Village Head, you are our savior!"

She made a gesture as if to kowtow to the village head, but was stopped by a look from him.

"Come, Li Gai’e, give the child to me. I will find a place for her!"

Li Gai’e likely never expected that she would become the key person deciding Ye Ling’s fate.

"Village Head!..."

"Come! Give me the child!"

"Village Head! This matter... shouldn't we wait for Liu Qiaohui to return and discuss it? No matter what, this child is her daughter!"

"Discuss what? I am the matriarch of the Liu family here; do we need to discuss it with her? Li Gai’e, aren't you afraid of retribution? Hurry up and give the child to the village head, or do you want the whole village to curse you to death?"

Jia Zhang’s words placed immense pressure on Li Gai’e.

At that moment, her heart was racing with only one thought... *Liu Qiaohui, please, come back quickly!!*