After a busy day in the orchard.
Xia Cha’s frail body felt like her waist was about to break.
Not only was she tired, but the food she ate was also even harder to swallow than pig food.
Xia Wangshi was definitely out to make them her slaves!
Xia Cha wiped the sweat on her face and looked at Xia Zhenyuan and Qiu Zhi. They seemed to be used to this kind of life.
Xia Lan was also working quietly. Only Xia Xing complained from time to time.
This family really seemed to be living in the old feudal era.
After finishing her work, Xia Zhenxiang gave their family a few steamed buns.
This was their dinner.
Qiu Zhi and Xia Lan felt sorry for Xia Cha and passed the steamed bun in their hands to her. “Cha Cha, eat more.”
Xia Cha shook her head. “I have enough. You guys can have it!”
After eating, the family walked back.
Along the way, Qiu Zhi whispered to Xia Zhenyuan, “The weather is so hot, and Xing’er and Cha Cha don’t have cool clothes. When you go back, go to Mom and get some money from her!”
“I told Mom about it a few days ago. She told me that Zizi has a few pieces of clothes she can’t wear and she said to give them to Xing’er and Cha Cha.”
Qiu Zhi pursed her lips. She was a little unhappy, but did not dare to say anything.
Why were her children only able to wear clothes that Xia Zi didn’t want anymore?
All these years, Xia Zi had constantly gotten new clothes, but her three children could only take whatever was left.
“Ah Zhi, I’m doing this for the good of this family.”
Xia Cha was walking behind them and frowned when she heard their conversation.
Her dad must have been brainwashed by Grandma!
They were living in modern society! How could they live such a miserable life just for the good of the family?
Their family was being treated as free labor!
Although Xia Cha was anxious to change this situation, Xia Zhenyuan had been under the control of Xia Wangshi for a long time. If she wanted to change the situation, she would have to find an opportunity!
After returning home, Qiu Zhi went to her room to find clean clothes for Xia Xing and Xia Cha.
Xia Cha and her two sisters sat under the roof.
After a while, she heard Qiu Zhi’s panicked cries.
The three sisters quickly ran into the house.
“Mom, what’s wrong?” Xia Lan asked.
Qiu Zhi’s fingers trembled slightly as she pointed at an old suitcase on the cabinet. The suitcase was originally locked, but now, it was unlocked.
It had obviously been smashed open by someone.
“Mom, is something missing?”
Qiu Zhi looked panicked. “I-It’s a jade pendant your grandmother gave me when I married into the Xia family. It’s very important.”
A jade pendant?
Her mother had never mentioned it.
“A thief entered our house!” Xia Cha said.
When Xia Wangshi was at home, they were not allowed to lock the door, because she said that no thieves would come in. When it came to this, Wenfeng County was really good. Even if the door was open, no one would come in to steal anything.
If it had not been outsiders, it had to be thieves within the family.
Xia Cha looked around carefully and found some ashes on the table.
In the Xia family, only Xia Wangshi liked to smoke.
“Mom, Grandma came in before.”
Hearing this, Qiu Zhi’s body trembled.
When they got married, Xia Wangshi had asked her to hand her the dowry. She had complied and had only kept the heaviest jade pendant.
She had hid it in a suitcase in the corner, thinking that no one would find out.
If Xia Wangshi had taken it away, she could forget about getting it back.
Qiu Zhi was so anxious that her eyes turned red.
“Grandma is too much. How could she come to our room to steal our things?” Xia Xing was indignant. “I’ll go and get it from Grandma.”
Xia Xing ran out angrily.
Qiu Zhi wanted to pull Xia Xing back, but she heard Xia Cha say in a clear voice, “Mom, if it’s something very important, why should we let Grandma have it?”
Qiu Zhi trembled, clearly afraid of Xia Wangshi. “With your grandmother’s personality, she won’t return it to me.”
“How would I know if we don’t try?”
Qiu Zhi looked at Xia Cha’s clear and fearless eyes, and froze slightly.
Xia Cha held Qiu Zhi’s rough hand. “Mom, if you still give in this time, Grandma will only go even further in the future. Perhaps, the three of us won’t even be able to go to school anymore. Grandma might sell us one by one for money.”
Qiu Zhi’s body trembled violently.
Why was she working so hard in this family and doing everything without any complaints?
It was so that her three children could study and leave this traditional and conservative small town in the future.
Xia Lan was persuaded by Xia Cha and she held Qiu Zhi’s other hand. “Mom, I think what Cha Cha said makes sense. Since it’s the most important thing to you, why should you give it to Grandma?”
Qiu Zhi looked at Xia Cha and then at Xia Lan. She seemed to have thought of something and nodded. “Okay, let’s go find your grandmother.”
In the main room.
Xia Xing’s shouts disturbed Xia Wangshi. When the latter came out of her bedroom, a trace of disgust flashed past her eyes when she saw Xia Xing shouting at her.
Xia Wangshi sat on the chair and knocked the pipe in his hand. “Why are you shouting? Will you die if you don’t? Since Qiu Zhi doesn’t teach you well, let me teach you in the future!”
Xia Xing glared at Xia Wangshi angrily. “I think you know very well what you did in our room. Take that thing out or I won’t be polite anymore.”
xXia Wangshi seemed to have heard a good joke. She smirked and laughed. “Little girl, have you gone out of your mind?”
Xia Wangshi was the matriarch of the Xia family. Of course, she wasn’t going to allow a little girl like Xia Xing to challenge her authority. She shouted at the top of her lungs, “Everyone from the first, second and third branches, come here!”
Qiu Zhi, Xia Lan, and Xia Cha were the first to arrive. When they saw Qiu Zhi, Xia Wangshi glared at her with a straight face. Qiu Zhi shivered in fear from her glare. Xia Cha hugged Qiu Zhi’s arm and whispered, “Mom, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
Qiu Zhi saw that the children were all so brave. As their mother, if she continued to be timid, the children’s lives would be even more miserable in the future!
Qiu Zhi took a few steps forward and looked back into Xia Wangshi’s eyes. “Mom, my suitcase was pried open by someone and the jade pendant inside is missing. I found traces of ash on the table. If you took my jade pendant, please return it to me!”
Seeing that Qiu Zhi dared to speak to her like this, Xia Wangshi’s expression darkened even more. “You’re revolting!”
“Mom, what happened?”
The eldest and third branches came over.
Xia Zhenyuan, whom Xia Wangshi had sent to weed the vegetable garden, also arrived.
The moment Xia Wangshi saw Xia Zhenyuan, she started to cry loudly. “Zhenyuan, when I gave birth to you, I had a difficult labor and almost lost my life. Is this how you repay your mother after growing up? By letting your wife and daughter contradict your mother and hurt your mother’s heart?”
“Your wife and daughters are all rebelling against me. All of them came to question me like shrews. Do they still treat me as their elder?”
