RFGCF 02

Chapter – 02

Playing the Fool to Catch the Bully

After Ye Xiaohua had thoroughly inspected the two thatched huts that were on the verge of collapse and letting in drafts from every direction, she was absolutely certain that her timid, good-for-nothing “mother” had truly run away.

Not only had she run, but she’d also taken everything of any value that she and the family owned.

Father was dead, mother had fled—from now on, it would just be the two siblings in this household.

Xiaodouzi was still young, and losing both parents felt like the sky had fallen. At this moment, he was sobbing uncontrollably, and between his cries, an incongruous rumble of hunger echoed from his stomach.

He was hungry. She was hungry too.

Ye Xiaohua looked at the pitiful Xiaodouzi, cursing that irresponsible “mother” in her mind. “I’ll go make us something to eat.”

Xiaodouzi nodded, but as Ye Xiaohua turned to head to the kitchen, he clutched tightly at her tattered, hole-ridden clothes, as if she’d disappear the moment he let go.

“Jiejie? You won’t abandon me, will you?” After some hesitation, Xiaodouzi finally voiced the doubt in his heart.

Ye Xiaohua gently stroked his head. His sensitivity and fear made her feel uneasy. She tried to soften her voice as much as possible. “No. From now on, it’s just the two of us.”

Xiaodouzi nodded firmly, but his hand still refused to let go of Ye Xiaohua. With no other choice, she had to drag him along while she went to make food.

The narrow, dim kitchen was filled with a foul stench. Dirty bowls and pots were piled on the stove, the water they were soaking in had already changed color and gave off a sour, musty smell. But that wasn’t the worst problem.

The real issue was that the rice jar and flour jar were both completely empty. That damned “mother” hadn’t even left a single grain of rice for the two siblings.

Even a tiger wouldn’t eat its own cubs—she was trying to starve them to death.

After searching every nook and cranny of the kitchen, Ye Xiaohua found only half a potato left over from the morning. At her current level of hunger, she could easily eat eight or ten of that size without feeling full.

Ye Xiaohua considered skipping another meal and waiting until dawn when she’d have more strength to figure out food. But Xiaodouzi insisted they share whatever they had. So the two siblings took turns taking bites of the potato, washing it down with water—and that was their supper.

The musty, greasy smell emanating from the old, worn-out blanket made it hard for Ye Xiaohua to fall asleep. Xiaodouzi, however, slept soundly, holding her hand.

Li—the so-called mother—had never known how to manage a household. Lazy and good-for-nothing, she’d ruined the family. Now she’d left behind a giant mess for Ye Xiaohua to clean up. But Ye Xiaohua knew that compared to all this, tomorrow’s battle would be the real fight.

She had kicked Ye Teng. With his tyrannical nature, there was no way he’d let it slide. And even if he didn’t come, her grandmother—who doted on him like her own life—would surely come to settle the score.

The next day, Ye Xiaohua was woken up by the commotion outside.

“Oh, heavens above! My poor, pitiful children! How could they be cursed with such a heartless mother like that Li? Abandoning these two little ones and running off just like that! What sins has our Ye family committed to deserve this?”

Such a familiar voice—how could Ye Xiaohua not recognize it as her grandmother’s? At this moment, the old woman was wailing as if her heart was breaking, her words sounding as though she truly cared for them. She was a completely different person from the ruthless old crone who had threatened to beat her to death just yesterday.

Old Mrs. Ye felt bold enough to put on this hysterical performance without any fear of being exposed—after all, Ye Xiaohua was just a fool, and Xiaodouzi was too young for anyone to take his words seriously.

She was putting on this show for the villagers to see. At first, when she’d heard the news that Li had run off, she’d been furious, cursing every ancestor of the Li family for three generations.

But her eldest grandson had a sharp mind. Since Li had run away, they could justifiably seize the second son’s house.

Her eldest grandson’s marriage was just about settled, but the eldest son’s courtyard wasn’t big enough for so many people. If they had children later, it would be even more crowded.

Though the second son’s house was in poor condition, spending a little money to build a courtyard wall and fix up the roof was still cheaper than buying a new plot of land.

“Sister-in-law, what’s all this about so early in the morning? Who ran away?”

Old Mrs. Ye had wailed all the way here, drawing quite a few early risers to come watch the spectacle. It was a small village—a shout from the east end could be heard all the way at the west end, and with Old Mrs. Ye’s loud voice, it was impossible not to notice.

Old Mrs. Ye grabbed the hand of a woman who came forward to comfort her, weeping and blubbering about how well she’d treated Li, and how that ungrateful woman had just abandoned her children and run off to enjoy herself.

Ye Xiaohua hadn’t even taken off her clothes last night—she simply couldn’t bear the thought of sleeping under that filthy blanket. Not that her clothes were much cleaner, but at least they were better than the blanket. Now she simply rolled out of bed.

She gently woke Xiaodouzi, who was still asleep beside her. She knew that flimsy wooden door wouldn’t be able to keep Old Mrs. Ye out.

“Setting everything else aside, I just feel so sorry for Hua’er and Xiaodouzi—one simple-minded, one still so young. How are they supposed to survive from now on? That heartless mother of theirs might be cruel, but I, as their grandmother, can’t bear to watch,” Old Mrs. Ye said, sniffling dramatically at a particularly emotional moment. Then she turned and spat a thick glob of phlegm onto an empty patch of ground.

The hypocritical wailing drifted into the room through the broken window. Ye Xiaohua had just pulled on her shoes, her toes peeking through the holes, when the door was shoved open from outside.

When Old Mrs. Ye saw that the two siblings were already awake, and especially that Ye Xiaohua had lost the fierce edge from yesterday and now looked much calmer—more like her usual subdued, easily bullied self—she wiped her tears and spoke up. “Hua’er, Dou’er, don’t be afraid. Grandma’s here. Your mother may not want you, but Grandma does. Come on, come home with Grandma.”

Just as Old Mrs. Ye’s hand was about to reach them, Xiaodouzi was so frightened that he shrank behind Ye Xiaohua, frantically shaking his head. “No! I don’t want to go! I want to stay with my jiejie!”

As long as Ye Xiaohua didn’t have a knife in her hand, Old Mrs. Ye didn’t take her seriously at all. In her eyes, all she had to do now was get the little one under control, and the house would be hers.

“Tch… you silly child, what nonsense are you talking? You know your sister’s not right in the head—she can’t even take care of herself, how could she take care of you? Be good, Grandma has egg custard at home, a whole big bowl of it.”

The onlookers, unaware of the truth, also thought that the children’s only chance of survival was to go back with Old Mrs. Ye. They even helped persuade the two. “Xiaodouzi, go with your grandmother. That fool of a sister of yours can’t possibly keep you alive.”

Ye Xiaohua’s disheveled hair covered half of her face, but a mocking smile flickered across her cheek. Since everyone thought she was just a useless fool, she’d show them exactly what a fool could do—especially her “dear” grandmother.

Ye Xiaohua brushed her hair aside, revealing the terrifying, scabbed scar on her forehead. With a look of simple-minded innocence, she stared at Old Mrs. Ye and said, “Grandma, I want some egg custard. I’ll go back with you. But you and Cousin have to stop hitting me—the beating yesterday still hurts.”

Just as she’d expected, everyone around them was shocked. She watched with satisfaction as they gasped in disbelief—some of the more timid women even covered their eyes.

Old Mrs. Ye never expected that her carefully crafted image of a doting grandmother would be shattered by a single sentence from a fool. “Nonsense! When did I ever hit you?”