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Zhang Qiming felt a bit uneasy once he hung up the phone, but Huang Xiaojuan was less concerned and eagerly inquired, “How did it turn out?”
“You heard,” Zhang Qiming said. “I told her to figure it out herself, and to ask the neighbors for help.”
“Did her second uncle really call you?” Huang Xiaojuan said happily.
“There’s no need for a real call,” Zhang Qiming said. “That old fool has always been eyeing Xia Mian’s properties. He married off his daughter at sixteen for a bride price; he’d be no kinder to Xia Mian.”
“Right, if he can marry Xia Mian off, not only will he receive a bride price, but his family can also take over her parents’ house as a matter of course. That old guy plans it well.”
Zhang Qiming scoffed, “Otherwise, why do you think Xia Mian would come running to me, a former brother-in-law?”
“So she can’t return to her hometown,” Huang Xiaojuan said with delight, “and will have to keep causing trouble everywhere.”
As time goes by and the harassment from the thugs continues, let’s see who would still speak up for her!
Huang Xiaoxia, who was listening on the side, had another concern: “She made the call at Dr. Ning’s house? Sister, didn’t you say that she had a fight with Dr. Ning? But Teacher Mi actually helped her?”
“Teacher Mi has been a teacher all her life and is known for her good temper, so she is especially patient toward kids going through the rebellious phase. But others won’t be half as tolerant. The neighbors in the compound must be annoyed with her by now,” Huang Xiaojuan said dismissively, “Otherwise, why didn’t she call from the Liu’s house? That old woman loves to meddle the most.”
But Zhang Qiming still felt something was off. For some reason, it seemed like Aunt Liu was also speaking up for Xia Mian today…
Or maybe, the thugs had just arrived today, and the people in the compound hadn’t reached the point of detesting Xia Mian yet… which seemed reasonable.
Huang Xiaoxia thought for a moment and said again, “I’ll visit Doctor Ning later, after all, since Xia Mian hit him, I should at least apologize. I can also check on the compound’s situation and gauge the neighbors’ opinion by the way.”
Huang Xiaojuan laughed, “That’s a good idea, killing two birds with one stone.” She looked at her younger sister teasingly, “Okay, take good care of Doctor Ning. If it gets too late, have Doctor Ning walk you back to the hospital dormitory. Our place is empty, so you cannot stay over, and with thugs around today, it’s particularly dangerous for a young woman like you.”
Huang Xiaoxia blushed, “Sister~”
Zhang Qiming chuckled, “But be careful, a girl’s reputation is the most important. Even if it’s Doctor Ning, we can’t let him off if he bullies our Xiaoxia.”
Huang Xiaoxia nodded shyly, her eyes glinting with calculations.
…
The Zhang couple might think they already had Xia Mian in the palm of their hands, but Xia Mian simply looked down at their petty tricks. With enough money, what couldn’t be done? So, with the neighbors as witnesses, the locksmith was called and quickly replaced the Zhang family’s anti-theft door lock with a new one, which also spent the last bit of Xia Mian’s money.
The house was exactly as Aunt Liu had predicted; there was nothing edible save for some rice and flour, and even the fridge was left unplugged. Xia Mian went back to the guest bedroom first to get Xiao Feng a small piece of bread to pad his stomach. Then, she looked around the Zhang family’s living room and quickly eyeballed the high-value items: the color TV, fridge, and sewing machine. The bicycle and cassette player she mentioned to Aunt Liu were just for show.
Thinking they could bully this Xia Mian? The cost wouldn’t be small!
Xiao Feng held his small piece of bread in his hands and followed Xia Mian around. Since there was no one else at home, he felt safe and relaxed, “Auntie?”
Xia Mian squatted down, gently pinched his little face, “Do you know what that scumbag likes the most?”
Xiao Feng was puzzled, “Scumbag what?”
“Well, Auntie means your dad.” Xia Mian had no intention of teaching Xiao Feng bad things, but she believed he must know how to protect himself as soon as possible, “He’s a bad guy, scumbag, trying to harm you. You should be wary of him from now on, got it?”
Xiao Feng nodded without hesitation. He vaguely remembered being bullied by his older cousin at his uncle’s house when he was younger. Back then, his grandma always said his father would stand up for him. But when he was sent to live with his father, he realized his grandma had lied.
His stepmother hit him harder than his cousins ever did, so painful he couldn’t even cry. But his father just watched, and that look in his eyes scared him, while his stepmother seemed pleased, hitting him even harder. He tried to hide every day, but it was no use, until Auntie came along…
Xiao Feng cautiously opened his arms, and sure enough, his aunt picked him up. He finally knew what it felt like to be cherished.
Xiao Feng held Xia Mian’s neck and buried his head on her shoulder, “Xiao Feng listens to Auntie.” Xiao Feng wants to be with Auntie forever.
Xia Mian, feeling heartbroken for this pitiful child, patted his head softly, “Good boy.”
Hugging Xiao Feng, Xia Mian sighed inwardly. Father and son were inherently connected. If Zhang Qiming had fulfilled some of his responsibilities as a father or even showed a bit of goodwill toward his son, Xia Mian wouldn’t have gone this far.
But that beast had been acquiescing to Huang Xiaojuan’s abuse until he discovered Xiao Feng’s use value.
In the past, when Xia Mian saw the world as a fictional story, Zhang Qiming was just a made-up character in a novel, and she thought nothing more of him beyond the fact that he was a villain.
Now that she thought about it carefully, she could see a deeper malice — Xiao Feng was so young; if he continued to be raised under Huang Xiaojuan’s care, all it needed was just one fever or illness, and a slight delay in seeking medical treatment could be fatal for him.
Xia Mian had a strong intuition that Zhang Qiming’s intention might be exactly that. He wanted Xiao Feng to die.
Anyway, until she figured out the whole picture, Xia Mian didn’t think it was wrong to teach the child to be wary of Zhang Qiming.
“Auntie, scumbag dad likes that one the most.” Xiao Feng lifted his head and pointed at the color TV.
Xia Mian looked at the 21-inch bulky color TV and immediately laughed. Of course Zhang Qiming liked it; with his and Huang Xiaojuan’s salaries, buying this TV must have been a stretch. Apparently, they had to save for a long time and had only brought the new color TV home two months ago.
For the sake of fairness, Xia Mian also selected something Huang Xiaojuan liked the most.
Seven to eight days was plenty of time, and Xia Mian was quite pleased. In fact, she was somewhat looking forward to seeing the couple’s reactions when they returned.
Pawning these things would have to wait until tomorrow. Xia Mian scoured the house, finally experiencing the frustration of having nothing. Even the best chef couldn’t cook without ingredients! What should she do with dinner? She didn’t want to eat plain rice porridge or pancakes.
She needed money, right now.
Just then, she heard people returning from work. Annoyed voices kept asking, “Where’s Xia Mian? When did she start hanging out with those thugs? What’s that about? We’ve never had such people in our compound before.”
“Oh, stop it, it wasn’t Xia Mian at all…” Aunt Liu tirelessly clarified on her behalf.
Xia Mian’s eyes lit up. She ran to the window and stuck her head out, “Sister, are those thugs still around? I’ll go chase them away later!”
Zhang Qiming must have paid them. How dare they take the money without finishing the job?!
She and Xiao Feng could have a good dinner tonight!
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I love Xia Mian’s resolution to the money problem! I can’t wait to see Zhang Qiming’s and Huang Xiaojun’s reactions to their most prized possessions being sold.
Thanks for the chapter! 😀