"Oh, you still dare to talk back, huh? Let's see if I won't beat you to death today."
Old Mrs. Mu glared at Yu Si Niang with eyes like poisoned daggers.
As soon as she finished speaking, she raised the stick in her hand high, aiming straight at Yu Si Niang's face...
"All morning, I've been hearing your noisy racket, what on earth are you doing? Aren't you afraid others will laugh at us?"
Just when the stick in Old Mrs. Mu's hand was an inch from Yu Si Niang's face, a shout came from the courtyard entrance.
Then, Old Mr. Mu appeared, carrying a bundle of unthreshed rice on his shoulder.
Unwillingly, Old Mrs. Mu withdrew her hand, snorted coldly, then raised the copper coin she had snatched from Yu Si Niang's hand.
"Look at this, Yu Si Niang always pretends to be so weak, but at critical times, she's fiercer than anyone!
She even dared to hide Silver, and lied to me that she didn't have wages. Does she really take me for a dead woman..."
Old Mrs. Mu dumped a bucket of dirty water on Yu Si Niang, making her face flush like pig liver. She opened her mouth to explain.
"Mother, I didn't hide the wages, what I meant was that the employer didn't deduct my pay today because I came back early..."
"Pah, now that there are more people, you dare not admit it? You heartless woman, be careful I'll skin you."
Seeing Old Mrs. Mu about to throw another tantrum, Old Mr. Mu finally spoke up.
"It's such a small issue, why all the fuss? If you have nothing to do, then after lunch everyone should go and harvest the rice. Let's see who still has time to argue."
Old Mr. Mu's words finally took effect, although the Mu Family had much work to do, there were many men in the family.
Usually, unless it was planting season, women wouldn't be required to help out.
Otherwise, Old Mrs. Mu wouldn't be idle all day, picking on this or that.
"No way, if we let this go, who in the Old Mu Family will listen to me anymore? Today, Yu Si Niang must be taught a lesson."
Old Mrs. Mu refused to back down, insisting on punishing Yu Si Niang.
Old Mr. Mu snorted angrily, and only then did Old Mrs. Mu fall silent.
She shot a furious glare at Mrs. Lin, then harshly scolded Yu Si Niang again.
"Today, you're not allowed to eat in the side hall at noon, or I will throw you out!"
Old Mrs. Mu followed closely behind Old Mr. Mu into the side hall, and after a few steps, she turned around, urging Mrs. Lin.
"What are you standing there for? Get going, if you delay the men's meal, you can starve to death!"
Mrs. Lin stood in place, gritting her teeth, just about to scold Yu Si Niang, but when she saw her gaze, which looked ready to devour someone, she immediately hurried away.
The entire Old Mu Family knew Yu Si Niang wasn't to be trifled with. Besides Old Mr. Mu and Old Mrs. Mu and her husband Mu Dashan, no one else could order her around.
Once everyone had gone inside, Yu Si Niang rushed into her own room to check on her daughter.
The curses finally ceased, allowing Jian Shuangshuang to regain her senses. Initially just examining the room, she suddenly saw Yu Si Niang entering from outside.
Out of professional habit, Jian Shuangshuang liked to start by examining people's features, then slowly piece them together.
The woman's face was a relatively decent almond shape, with wide cheekbones, and a narrow forehead and chin. Her eyes were large, but her eyelids slightly sunken.
As for the nose and lips, they fit the ancient standards of beauty - high-bridged and delicate.
The only flaw was the sallow skin, which, although not sun-spotted, was still somewhat glaring.
Perhaps because of years of hard work, her back was slightly hunched, not severely bent though.
But by Jian Shuangshuang's usual standards, the woman had a hint of stoop.
Yu Si Niang didn't know how to describe this feeling. At this moment, her daughter, despised by others, was staring straight at her, her eyes, as large as her own, filled with emotions she had never seen before.
Without thinking further, Yu Si Niang rushed over.
"Shuangshuang, I heard you were beaten, does it still hurt?"
Knowing her daughter wouldn't respond, Yu Si Niang still talked to her daughter as usual, daily, genuinely believing her daughter wasn't senseless.
As she spoke, Yu Si Niang had already reached Jian Shuangshuang's bedside.
When she saw the scabbed wound on Jian Shuangshuang's forehead, Yu Si Niang panicked, tears suddenly welling up in her eyes.
With trembling hands, she gently approached Jian Shuangshuang's injured forehead,
"Shuangshuang, does it hurt?"
That simple question made Jian Shuangshuang's body shiver slightly, her heart feeling both pained and warmed, as if something had been forcefully poured into it.
"It's my fault for being useless... I… don't have money to get a doctor for you… I..."
Every expense in the Old Mu Family, besides what was saved by their own children, had to be handed over, not a penny less, to Old Mrs. Mu if they were adults.
If Old Mrs. Mu ever discovered any money hidden away, not only would they be scolded harshly, but their meals would also be significantly inferior henceforth.
"Hiss..."
Her head started hurting again, and Jian Shuangshuang couldn't help but cry out, prompting Yu Si Niang to quickly help her onto the kang bed.
She pulled the thin quilt that was already on Jian Shuangshuang back over her.
"Shuangshuang, hold on a bit, I'll go ask your grandpa and grandma to get a doctor for you. Once there's a doctor, it won't hurt anymore."
Yu Si Niang stood up, but before she could take a step, her hand was grasped tightly. A small, black, claw-like hand gripped her hand.
"Mom..." Though not her first time speaking, every word made her throat ache severely.
"What did you call me?"
Yu Si Niang was so overjoyed that the tears in her eyes were forced back.
Nearly five years, since the incident five years ago, her daughter had refused to speak to anyone.
Afraid of everyone, even her own mother, she could only watch her daughter cower alone in the corner.
"Mom," Jian Shuangshuang cleared her throat, continuing. "Mom, don't go."
During that argument, although her head hurt, she heard most of what the old woman said.
Years of experience told her that the old woman was the stingiest type.
If Yu Si Niang recklessly went, she wouldn't just fail to get money for treatment, she'd probably end up getting herself flayed just for showing herself to that old woman.
"Shuangshuang, are you… willing to talk to me now?"
Yu Si Niang gasped, eyes full of excitement, wondering how long she had waited for this day?
Her daughter finally called her.
Jian Shuangshuang didn't know what kind of life the original owner had, but seeing Yu Si Niang's expression.
She knew this mother was still good to the original self, at least her eyes held love.
Yu Si Niang reached out with her hands, softened by years of working in water, to stroke her daughter's oily hair that hung on both sides.
When the hair was pushed aside, her eyes no longer seemed lifeless like dead fish, but rather like the stars in the sky—
So bright that one couldn't bear to look away.
"Shuangshuang, you must be hungry, right? Wait here, I'll go get you something to eat.
Once you've eaten, your father should be back, and maybe your grandpa and grandma will listen to what he has to say."