Why search for someone no one cared for?
Where would she run to?
The children and grandchildren didn't understand, but they obeyed.
Su Miao Miao watched the commotion from above, cold and unseen. She feared being noticed, but no one could see or feel her—she passed through the living as if they were air.
Curious, she listened to Jiang Mother and Jiang Father's conversation.
Why couldn't she escape?
Why were they searching for her?
She followed them as they walked toward the fields.
There was no one on the road; everyone had hurried home to eat and rest.
They spoke while they walked.
"What if she really escaped? The money will stop coming, right?" Jiang Mother fretted.
Jiang Father glanced around and lowered his voice. "Be quiet. Even the walls have ears. What if someone hears us?"
"No one is here—everyone has gone to eat and rest. Who would roam?" Jiang Mother scoffed.
"It's been so many years. Even if someone found out, so what? She isn't Su's biological child. They were the ones who wanted her gone. She's our daughter-in-law now. I just worry about that money. What if it stopped? In her current state, no one would recognize her if she went back to the city. Once I find her, I'll give her another beating. I'll make sure she can't stand for days."
Jiang Father shook his head. His wife was clever, but she could not hold back her tongue. He simply hoped her mouth would not bring trouble. He pressed, "Say less."
Jiang Mother fell silent.
To the family, Jiang Mother seemed the loud one while Jiang Father stayed quiet, but it was he who made the decisions and she who carried them out. They played the good-cop, bad-cop well.
Su Miao Miao was shocked.
It had been the Su family who wanted her gone? She wanted to know more. She tried to ask, but they passed through her as if she were nothing.
Before they reached the fields, the eldest grandson came running, "Grandpa! Grandma! We found Su Miao Miao!"
They followed, eager to punish the wench.
"Where is she?" they demanded. The eldest grandson panted, "Mother said she fainted in the family field."
"WHAT? She fainted? This morning? So she didn't go to the fields?" Jiang Mother bellowed. "That wench—if I don't beat her—" She hurried back toward the house.
Jiang Father slowed; since she was found, there was no need to rush. Jiang Mother and the eldest grandson dashed ahead—one furious to beat Su Miao Miao, the other hungry and ready to eat.
Inside the yard, they found Su Miao Miao lying unconscious, children and grandchildren gathered around her.
"What are you doing, just standing there?" Jiang Mother snapped. "Hurry up and pour water on her!"
Everyone turned to look at her.
The second daughter-in-law said worriedly, "She isn't waking up. Should we call the village doctor? It'll cost a lot of money."
Jiang Mother's face twisted in fury. "What doctor? Just cold water will wake her up!"
She grabbed a bucket of water nearby and poured it over Su Miao Miao's body. Still, there was no response.
The first daughter-in-law shivered. She had seen her uncle fall from the roof and die—and he had looked just like Su Miao Miao. "Mother, she feels cold. She's not moving."
Together, the two daughters-in-law carried Su Miao Miao's body into the yard.
At first, they hadn't thought it strange, but now, as the cold water failed to rouse her, the first daughter-in-law's fear grew.
"Mother… she's dead. There was a pool of blood under her when we found her. It had dried, but she must have bled out."
Everyone looked at the body and she did seem dead.
At that moment, Jiang Father entered the yard,"Jiang Father entered the yard at that moment. "If she's dead, then so be it. Call the village doctor. It isn't like before when we could bury the dead quietly. Now we must determine the cause of death and issue a death certificate. Such a hassle."
His cold tone sent shivers down everyone's spine.
Someone had died, yet he spoke as if commenting on the weather.
Jiang Father looked around. No one was moving. He guessed they must be hungry, and no one wanted to work on an empty stomach.
"Alright, eat first," he said understandingly. "Then one of you can go to the village doctor's house afterward."
Jiang Mother was the first to shake off her daze.
She was as old as Jiang Father and had seen many deaths. For parentless Su Miao Miao, she had no hint of care.
The Su family had instructed not to kill her, but if she died naturally, another large sum would come to Jiang family. She was happy inwardly by acted sad outwardly.
She sighed. "Well, now there is one less person to do work."
Turning to everyone, she barked, "The food's gone cold already. What are you doing standing there?"
She glanced at her still-standing daughters-in-law. "Hurry up and heat it."
The food was heated and eaten. The village doctor was called, and soon villagers gathered, drawn by the commotion.
Some thought it a miracle the educated youth had survived until now.
Others speculated she had been killed by her husband, though they had no proof.
Gossip spread quickly.
Some pitied her, "Tch-tch, look at that girl. She was once the prettiest, even among the educated youth. Now, look at her. Life has been too cruel."
"Serves her right. She should have been drowned in pig fertilizer five years ago for her shameless deed. Living till now was surprise.", Some felt she deserved it.
"What a wolf in sheep's clothing this Jiang family is! Look at them—unpatched clothes and looks properly fed. Only Su Miao Miao was given nothing. She's just skin and bones.", Some could see the injustice.
"If she had married me, I would have at least fed her and spared her the field work. Tch-tch deserved the young death.," an old lecher spat.