"Wahaha, Mother, I won't do it again. Second Sister fainted from hunger and I just wanted to boil an egg for her to eat."
"Good riddance if she starved to death; a debt collector who can't produce a fart even with three beatings, it'll save us some food if she's gone."
"Beat harder, pain is the only way to teach her a lesson."
Chickens and dogs were startled in the yard, and the sound was wafted through the drafty window into the ears of a little girl lying on the dilapidated wooden bed in the west room.
The little girl was emaciated with a pale face and a crescent-shaped scar on her forehead. She seemed to be in a deep sleep with her eyes shut, but her brows were already wrinkled as if she was an old man.
Song Yanning closed the book named "The Cherished Little Lucky Treasure of the '80's" in her mind, finally regaining control of her body.
Without any hesitation, she threw off the blanket, got out of bed, and with a lightheadedness induced by hunger, she stumbled out of the room, directing all her energy into a loud bellow at the yard: "Stop it!"
The sound of flesh being beaten with a stick ceased.
Song La'er, sucking on a tobacco pipe, Lin Guihua, wielding a firestick, and Song Zhao, covering her head with both hands, simultaneously turned their heads to look.
At the door of the western room, a shabby ragged young maiden dressed in a patchwork floral jacket, with a messy head of hair and muck covering her from head to toe stood straight and tall. Her eyes burned with such intensity and brightness that they were somewhat intimidating.
For a moment, all three people in the yard were stunned by her.
Sad that her impressive stance didn't last more than three seconds.
"Thud!" Song La'er took a puff of his pipe, knocked the mouthpiece against the wall corner, and with a mouthful of smoke, he stood up. Walking over, he grabbed the collar of his second daughter.
"You loudmouth, whom are you trying to scare? You nearly burnt my fingers."
As he spoke, he raised his foot to kick his daughter in her leg.
Song Yanning, after being caught by the collar, stayed in place for two seconds. Sensing danger, her body reacted faster than her mind.
She twisted her neck, easily shook off the hand grabbing her collar, and dashed to the side at lightning speed.
Her movements were extremely agile.
Song Laobao, on the other hand, was too slow to keep up. He aimed a kick at nothing and staggered a couple of times before he stabilized.
Realizing what had happened, he was overcome with rage.
"How dare this wretched girl dodge!" and he tried to grab her again.
If Song Yanning allowed herself to be captured once, she wouldn't let it happen a second time. She quickly ran to Lin Guihua, unexpectedly stealing the fire poker while she was off guard, and placed it between herself and a badly beaten Song Zhaodi.
Seeing the poker in front of him, Song Laobao was infuriated and laughed, "Song Pandi, you're gaining courage, daring to raise a stick against your father!" He reached out to snatch it away.
Lin Guihua managed to recover, helping her husband to seize the poker, "What kind of daughter would dare to fight against her father? Pandi, you should drop your stick right away, before the neighbours see and laugh."
Although Song Yanning wished to whack the couple with the stick, she realized that if she did so, she would no longer have a place in this house.
While she didn't care much for this household, in this age, a barely seven-year-old child like her wouldn't get very far without an introduction letter.
Thinking of this, Song Yanning loosened her grip. Song Laobao redeemed the fire poker and was about to swing it down when she blurted out,
"Mother is pregnant, it's going to be a little brother."
The stick froze mid-air as these words,'pregnant' and 'brother,' undoubtedly touched the couple's sensitive nerves.
Since the birth of her younger daughter, Laidi, Lin Guihua has not been pregnant for five years. Plus, the implementation of family planning since 1982 means that even rural families can only have at most two daughters. Even if they are desirous, they don’t possess the ability or courage.
Now, her second daughter unexpectedly says that Lin Guihua is pregnant again, and it’s a boy.
Lin Guihua couldn't help touching her rapidly beating heart.
Slowly putting down the fire stick, Song La'er looked at his second daughter's gaze and squinted his eyes. "How do you know that your mother is pregnant?"
Good, one less 'dead' word.
Indeed, sons are their weak spots.
"I dreamt it." Lying comes naturally to Song Yanning, "I just fainted from hunger and dreamed of a white-bearded old man who said that I would have a little brother, and he’s in mom's belly now."
"Dear husband." Looking at their second daughter's dark eyes, Lin Guihua couldn't help but tug at her husband's arm, "Laidi usually cannot utter a word properly, but what she said now, could it be true?"
Song La'er's emotional fluctuations were no less significant than hers, but he still managed to stay calm in the situation. His tone became much gentler as he asked, "Laidi, did you really dream of a white-bearded old grandfather, and he said you would have a brother?"
Song Yanning quietly scorned the sudden change of attitude in this couple, but her face remained solemn as she nodded vigorously, "The brother is still young now, why don’t you wait another month or two and then secretly check if what I'm saying is true or not?"
"That makes sense." Lin Guihua rubbed her stomach, "What Laidi said is correct. After a month, we’ll secretly consult with Wang Po to know the truth."
Wang Po is the midwife of the Old River ditch. She is highly skilled in delivering babies and can tell whether someone’s pregnant or not.
There are many families in rural areas like Lin Guihua and Song La'er, who, after having a daughter, would secretly desire a son to carry on the family line.
Lin Guihua, who wanted a son, naturally knew this very well.
Seeing Song La'er throwing the stick, Song Yanning breathed a sigh of relief discreetly.
Her first plan after reading "The Adored Little Treasure of the '80s," was to create an incident to make this little brother disappear.
However, considering karma and the fact that the root cause of the trio's sisters' miserable life as a foil to the heroine lay in Song Lao Er and Lin Guihua, she put that plan aside.
"Both of you sisters should get started with cooking and steam an egg for your mother while you're at it."
"What do you mean an egg? An egg can be sold for five cents."
"It's for the one inside your belly."
"I don't even know if there's one yet."
"What if there is? It won't be a loss if you eat it. You should eat one every day from now on."
Song Lao Er, unusually gentle, helped his wife to their room.
Song Zhao Di picked up the fire-stick from the ground and tugged at her younger sister's sleeve, "Pan Di, let's go to the kitchen."
Song Yan Ning looked at her older sister's battered face, moved her lips but in the end, didn't say anything. She obediently followed into the kitchen.
She would love to be the one to cook and let Song Zhao Di rest in her room, but if she was the one to control the rural stove, she would likely end up burning down the kitchen.
Once Song Zhao Di entered the kitchen, she skillfully added water to the pot, "Just kindle the fire, Second Sister."
"Mmhmm." Looking at the blackened stove and the randomly piled leaves and firewood on the ground, Song Yan Ning steeled herself and got to it.
Luckily, she managed to ignite the fire smoothly thanks to the original owner's expertise.
After covering the pot, Song Zhaodi moved a small stool and sat next to her sister.
"Zhaodi."
"Hmm?" Song Yanning stuffed a cornstalk into the furnace and then turned her head over.
"You today..." Song Zhaodi opened her mouth, momentarily unsure of what to say, paused, and then continued, "You seem a bit different from before."
Song Yanning's heart tightened.
One could say that the person who knew Song Zhaodi best in this family was not her biological parents, but this sister in front of her, who had been taking care of her since they were children. Now, the one being cared for was her.
She cleared her throat, "Where...where am I different?"
Song Zhaodi leveled her gaze at her younger sister for a moment before breaking into a smile, "Zhaodi, you've grown up."
