Chapter 71 – Teasing the Chen Brothers
When it came to the reason for having Yan Xiaosi dress as a boy, Ms. Zhong couldn’t help but shed tears.
“Mother, don’t cry. If you don’t want to talk about it, we three sisters won’t ask anymore.”
Yan Shuyun hurriedly comforted her.
“It’s all because I’m useless that your fourth brother suffered.” Ms. Zhong wiped her tears with her sleeve, choking as she recounted the past: “Back then, I was unlucky with pregnancies, giving birth to three daughters in a row. Your grandparents favored boys over girls, and when they saw that I had given birth to three daughters, they told your father that if my fourth child was also a girl, he should take a concubine. But my fourth child was also a girl. Your father didn’t want to take a concubine, so he hid Xiaosi’s true gender from your grandparents. Fortunately, when Xiaosi was born, she had a teardrop-shaped mole at the corner of her eye. Your grandparents thought she was a person of ill omen and never looked at her wrapped in swaddling clothes. That’s how Xiaosi was raised as a boy until she was fourteen.” “Shuqin, Shuxue, Shuyun, it’s all because I’m useless, not only causing Xiaosi to suffer but also causing you three sisters to suffer. If I could speak like your eldest and second aunts, winning your grandparents’ affection, you wouldn’t have to live such a hard life. It’s all because I’m useless.”
As Ms. Zhong chastised herself and slapped her own face, Yan Shuqin hurriedly grabbed her hand.
“Mom, don’t hit yourself. It’s not your fault. It doesn’t matter if our grandparents don’t like us. We don’t care. As long as you like us, that’s enough.”
Yan Shuxue and Yan Shuyun also rushed over, the three sisters tightly hugging Ms. Zhong.
The four of them wept together.
“Mother, don’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault.”
“Mother, don’t torture yourself like this. We’re scared.”
Seeing her three tearful daughters, Ms. Zhong suddenly came to her senses, realizing that what she had done earlier was foolish.
She couldn’t hit herself. For the sake of her four daughters, she had to live well. If anything happened to her, her daughters would be bullied by others.
“Shuqin, Shuxue, Shuyun, don’t cry anymore. I won’t hit myself. For the four of you, I will live well. I want to see you get married and have children.”
Yan Shuqin, Yan Shuxue, and Yan Shuyun finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Yan Shuqin couldn’t control her emotions for the moment, sobbing a few times before saying to Ms. Zhong, “Mom, it’s good that you can think like this. As long as our family is fine, we don’t care what others think.”
Tears filled Yan Shuxue’s eyes as she nodded and continued, “Mom, it doesn’t matter if our grandparents don’t like us. We’d rather eat wild vegetables with you than beg for food in the Yan family.”
“Mom, Yun’er isn’t afraid of hardship either. As long as you’re well, Yun’er is happy.” Having given birth to three such sensible daughters, Ms. Zhong felt both gratified and distressed. She wiped away her tears, barely controlling her emotions. Seeing that it was getting dark, she said, “Qin’er, Xue’er, Yun’er, let’s go back. If Yan Xiaosi comes back to the broken temple and doesn’t see us, she’ll be worried.”
The four of them composed themselves and headed back to the broken temple in the dark.
Fortunately, they were familiar with the path, so walking in the dark wasn’t a problem.
At this time, a torch was stuck in the dam outside the village. The firelight reflected on the water, illuminating half of the dam.
Four heads floated on the undulating water surface.
Yan Xiaosi squatted next to the torch, watching the four men swimming in the water, feeling somewhat annoyed.
She was truly bored, staying up late at night instead of sleeping, watching four men bathe.
One of the heads dived and quickly swam to Yan Xiaosi, then waved at her, “Xiaosi, are you sure you don’t want to join us? The water is so refreshing.”
“Yan Xiaosi, are you too embarrassed to swim with us because your thing is too small? Or are you too scared to swim with us without clothes on?”
Yan Xiaosi hadn’t answered Tian Dazhuang before Chen Erhe spoke.
Chen Dahe and Chen Sanhe heard Chen Erhe’s words and immediately laughed at Yan Xiaosi.
Chen Sanhe deliberately dived twice in the water and then provocatively said to Yan Xiaosi, “Yan Xiaosi, are you too embarrassed to take off your clothes and swim because you haven’t grown hair yet?”
“Must be the case.”
Chen Dahe laughed mockingly in the water, “Look at his skinny arms and legs, like a woman. He definitely hasn’t grown any hair.”
“Chen Dahe, Chen Erhe, Chen Sanhe, do you three brothers have no shame? The three of you are ganging up on Xiaosi, aren’t you afraid of being laughed at by others?”
Tian Dazhuang couldn’t stand the three Chen brothers bullying Yan Xiaosi and got angry.
Yan Xiaosi, with a dry foxtail grass in her mouth, sat on the dike, her face showing a faint smile, as if she didn’t care about what the Chen brothers were saying.
Seeing Tian Dazhuang getting angry to defend her, she lazily interrupted, “Big brother Dazhuang, if a dog bit you, would you bite it back?”
Tian Dazhuang shook his head, “No, I’m a person, I can’t stoop to a dog’s level.”
“Pah!”
Yan Xiaosi spat out the foxtail grass from her mouth, stood up, and patted the mud off her buttocks, “That’s right. We are humans, there’s no need to argue with three animals. It’s beneath our dignity.”
The Chen brothers hadn’t understood Yan Xiaosi’s words at first, but now they finally realized that she and Tian Dazhuang were sarcastically calling them dogs.
Tian Dazhuang caught on, and as he looked at Yan Xiaosi, he couldn’t help but smirk. He admired Yan Xiaosi even more.
Not only was Xiaosi skilled in medicine, but he was also sharp-tongued. In just a few sentences, he compared the Chen brothers to dogs. This talent for insulting others was probably unmatched in Shaoyao Village.
Chen Dahe stretched his hand out of the water and angrily pointed at Yan Xiaosi, “Yan Xiaosi, who are you insulting, you little rascal?”
Yan Xiaosi looked up, blinking her eyes at the starless, moonless night sky, and lazily replied to Chen Dahe, “Oh, I was just insulting dogs. Chen Dahe, why are you getting angry? Are you and your brothers related to dogs?”
“You…”
Chen Dahe was so angry that he rolled his eyes.
“Yan Xiaosi, it seems like you’re getting tired of living.”
Seeing Chen Dahe rolling his eyes due to anger, Chen Erhe and Chen Sanhe immediately swam towards the shore, intending to teach Yan Xiaosi a lesson.
Fearing that Yan Xiaosi would suffer, Tian Dazhuang anxiously shouted, “Xiaosi, run quickly!”
Yan Xiaosi stood still on the dike, lowered her eyelids, and disdainfully glanced at Chen Erhe and Chen Sanhe. She lazily said, “I heard that silver ring snakes might come down to the river at night to catch fish.”
As she spoke, she glanced at a curved dry branch floating next to Chen Sanhe.
The branch was as thick as a child’s arm, curved and swaying on the water’s surface with the waves, looking very much like a snake.
“Chen Sanhe, look to your right.” She smiled mischievously as she motioned toward Chen Sanhe.
