Chun Mian was not merely accusing this wretched family; she was digging a trap for them at the same time.
It was July, and Beigang Village was located in the south. In this sweltering weather, any water spilled on the stone slabs would dry up in no time. A few days ago, the original owner of this body had been pulling weeds in the backyard. The weeds there were incredibly stubborn; if they touched water, they could take root and grow back even after being pulled. Therefore, it was absolutely impossible for her to have brought water into the field while weeding. Given this, the water on the stone slabs carried a far more sinister implication.
The original owner didn't actually know who had spilled the water, but Chun Mian guessed it was either Old Mrs. Gao or Gao Anna. Judging from Old Mrs. Gao's subsequent attitude toward her grandchildren, it was obvious that her doting on her daughter, Gao Anna, was genuine. However, she wasn't quite as thrilled about having grandchildren. After all, another child in the house meant another mouth competing with her precious Anna for food. That was something she simply could not accept.
As for Gao Anna, from that single glance just now, Chun Mian could tell she wasn't a completely naive and innocent girl. Having monopolized all the best resources in the family, how could she possibly allow another child to come and divide them?
As for exactly who did it? There was no evidence left, making it impossible to investigate. Because of this, Chun Mian didn't plan on endlessly harping on the matter. Arguing about it wouldn't yield any results. It was better to just dig a pit for them along the way. Later, when the neighboring women realized what was going on, it would definitely plant a seed of doubt in their minds.
Another point was Chun Mian's seemingly unintentional, but actually utterly ruthless remark: Gao Anna's leg bones were weak, and she still couldn't walk at the age of eight. Who could blame the girl when Old Mrs. Gao coddled her so much? She was carried every time she left the house. If Old Mrs. Gao couldn't carry her, Gao Anna still had three foolish older brothers to do it. There was always someone to carry her, and everyone in the village had seen it. Because of this, there was absolutely nothing wrong with Chun Mian stating it so bluntly now.
Wei Shumei had a gentle temper and believed that family scandals should not be aired in public. So, no matter how much she suffered, she forced herself to swallow it all. She never told a soul, not even her maiden family. The only reason she had later become short-tempered and could no longer bear it was for the sake of her child!
Chun Mian couldn't care less about playing nice. The moment she arrived, she ruthlessly ripped off the Gao family's fig leaf. If they wouldn't let her live in peace, then none of them would!
"Nonsense! When did I ever rob you? We already had those in the house! I kindly wanted to bring them out to help you nourish your body, but you threw my good intentions right back in my face. My kindness was treated like dirt. How is a person supposed to live like this..." Seeing the family scandal exposed, Old Mrs. Gao was stunned for a moment. Her eyes darted around, and she quickly came up with an idea.
"That egg basket was hand-woven by my dad. That craftsmanship is unique to the Lao Wei Family. The folks from the neighboring villages all know about it and have used his baskets. Our family does have some, but the ones my mom uses to bring me things are specially woven small baskets." As Chun Mian spoke, she cast a contemptuous glance at Old Mrs. Gao. Before the older woman could hurl a string of curses, Chun Mian added, "Furthermore, as for our family's eggs, Anna eats three a day. We only have four hens in total. Sometimes they don't even lay enough eggs to meet that quota. Where would we get any extra stock?"
Having her lies completely dismantled by Chun Mian, Old Mrs. Gao felt a surge of guilty panic and fainted dead away from pure rage!
Gao Anna was terrified. Sitting on her stool, she didn't even bother checking on Old Mrs. Gao; she just sat there and bawled loudly.
The older women hadn't really been paying attention to her initially. Now seeing her cry, two young girls went over to coax her. Meanwhile, the other women inexplicably recalled what Chun Mian had just said. They realized that Anna's leg bones were poorly developed, and she still couldn't walk at eight years old. Eight years old and still unable to walk... They wondered just how weak her constitution must be. Not only would she be difficult to raise, but she would also likely have trouble bearing children in the future. Although the women didn't say anything aloud, they already had their own calculations in mind.
"Ladies, I know that peace in the family brings prosperity, but I truly cannot stay in this house any longer. My mother-in-law robs me of my things, and Jianmin doesn't mediate at all. He doesn't care about my suffering. He even tried to hit me, just because I protected my things and refused to hand them over. I..." Seeing the women looking thoughtfully at Gao Anna, Chun Mian discreetly curled her lips into a smirk. Soon, her eyes turned red, and her voice choked with sobs again.
Gao Jianmin, having been beaten by Chun Mian, still hadn't managed to crawl up from the floor. His two younger brothers had gone to help a fellow villager build a new house. Since the job provided lunch and pay, they wouldn't be back at noon. Now, everyone left in the Gao family was gathered in the main hall. Hearing Chun Mian say this, the women wore complex expressions.
Old Mrs. Gao doting on her youngest daughter was no secret in all of Beigang Village. But doting was one thing. If she wanted to cut off her own flesh to feed her daughter, that was her own willing choice. But to snatch the eggs, brown sugar, and walnut pastries meant for her daughter-in-law to recover from a miscarriage? That was crossing the line, wasn't it?
"These really are the eggs Mrs. Shumei sent over. I recognize these brown sugar packets and walnut pastries. We even chatted when she came over yesterday," one of the older neighbors said after walking over to take a look.
Because of the frequent marriages between the neighboring villages, many people knew each other. This woman lived just to the left of the Gao family. Since Mrs. Shumei visited often, everyone recognized her.
It was impossible for Wei Shumei's maiden family to be completely oblivious to her situation. Wei Shumei was proud and stubborn. She didn't want her maiden family coming over to demand justice for her, fearing it would ruin her relationship with her husband. Thus, she gritted her teeth and suffered in silence. But the older generation was shrewd; could they really fail to notice anything?
Chun Mian guessed that it was precisely because Mrs. Shumei had noticed that every time she visited, she would make a show of telling the neighbors exactly what she had brought. Naturally, this was meant as a subtle warning to Old Mrs. Gao. Unfortunately, it had been completely useless.
After the neighbor finished speaking, the crowd's gaze toward Old Mrs. Gao grew critical. Robbing a daughter-in-law of her nutritional supplements was already a disgraceful thing to do, but Old Mrs. Gao had not only denied it but also falsely accused her while pretending to be kind-hearted. Even though they had been neighbors for decades and knew Old Mrs. Gao's character, they couldn't help but marvel at how she had grown more shameless with age.
Two quick-acting neighbors had already pinched Old Mrs. Gao's philtrum to wake her up! She hadn't actually fainted in the first place; she just wanted to play dead to escape reality. When the two women pinched her, she broke out in a cold sweat from the pain and naturally woke up.
"Mrs. Gao, aren't you taking it too far? Shumei just lost her child. She's not in a good mood, and her health is poor. Snatching her eggs is just too much."
"Exactly. I see Anna looking plump and fair; where is she weak? Although girls are delicate, you still need to let her exercise more. Otherwise, not being able to walk at eight years old... that really doesn't look good."
"Mrs. Gao..."
The neighbors' tune changed very quickly, and one by one, they began to lecture Old Mrs. Gao.
Being scolded like this, Old Mrs. Gao's wrinkled face flushed red, but her eyes stared venomously at Chun Mian, as if hiding poison.
Chun Mian, however, couldn't be bothered with such a glare. She had encountered gazes a hundred times more vicious than this; Old Mrs. Gao's was simply not worth mentioning.