Chapter 46

The first person to open the door was Zhang shi. She couldn't help but gasp when she saw the child at the door, "Whose child is this?"

Who knew that when she picked him up, it was Dabao!

And Dabao was wearing a torn cotton coat, his face was flushed red, and his breathing was very rapid. The hands and feet that were exposed to the outside were already blue from the cold.

An old man ran over and said: "Da Cheng's family, oh my gosh, I was just about to come and knock on your door. I went to the mountains to chop firewood early this morning and saw this child crying and walking this way. I wondered whose child it was, I asked him but he didn't say anything, I just watched him fall at your door..."

Zhang shi hurriedly said, "This is my family's child, thank you, Uncle." After speaking, she quickly carried the child into the main house.

At this time, it was just getting light outside, and there were still many people in the house who had not completely gotten up. But upon hearing the commotion at the door, Li shi got out of bed, "What's going on, eldest family?"

Zhang shi anxiously stuffed the child into Li's bed, with a tone of panic, "Mother, it's, it's Da Bao..."

Li shi quickly lit a lamp and took a closer look, indeed it was Da Bao, and they couldn't help but exclaim, "What's going on? Is he alone?"

Zhang shi nodded and said, "There were only a few people outside at this time, just him, I checked."

Song Xingyi was awakened by the commotion. He quickly put on a cotton-padded jacket and felt the child's forehead in a hurry, "Is he running a fever? Eldest family, you go make some ginger soup, I'll go find the doctor."

"Let my family go find him, dad, you and mom look after Da Bao first." Zhang shi said, then hurriedly ran out, and shortly after Song Junli came out.

"Grandma, what's wrong?" Song Zijing, who was sleeping in the opposite room, also woke up. She put on her clothes and walked out quietly, afraid of waking up Bai, who was still sleeping.

Li shi said, "Go call your second uncle and aunt... and also call your second sister. Be quiet, don't wake your eldest sister."

"Okay." Although Song Zijing couldn't see the situation on the bed clearly, she vaguely saw a little figure.

She turned and went to the west wing, where Song Zhiyuan and his youngest son were living in the east room. The west room was originally occupied by Song Dingxiang, but now that Song Yulan had come, the two sisters were living together.

Fang shi and Song Zhiyuan also got up, and Song Zhiyuan was heating the kang, afraid that his child would be cold, and then he also heated some hot water for the family to wash up.

"Second uncle, second aunt..." Song Zijing's voice was gentle, "Are you up?"

Fang shi went to open the door, "We're up, we're up, what's wrong?"

Song Zijing said, "Grandma asked you to go with the second uncle, and also asked the second sister to go, but don't wake the eldest sister."

Fang shi looked puzzled, but still went to the west room and quietly woke up Song Dingxiang, asking her to put on clothes and come out quietly.

"What's going on?" Song Dingxiang anxiously washed her face, rinsed her mouth, and then followed Fang shi to the main house.

By now, it was starting to get light outside, but there were still oil lamps burning in the house. Song Dingxiang felt that something was wrong because Li shi were frugal and wouldn't usually light the oil lamp early in the morning.

"Second family, come and take a look." Li shi's voice trembled, "But keep it quiet."

Fang shi walked over in confusion, took a closer look, and almost shouted, "Da Bao? What... what's going on?"

Song Dingxiang looked carefully, she took the cloth from Li shi and covered Da Bao's head, then she felt the torn cotton jacket and boots that Da Bao had taken off. She asked Li shi, "Grandma, Da Bao came here alone?"

Li shi replied, "It was seen by our eldest family when she opened the door early this morning. They said that the old uncle from the village saw Da Bao walking over here alone, and he fell down at the door. He wanted to knock on the door to ask what was going on, and coincidentally our eldest family opened the door."

"What's wrong with that family? Sending a child over here early in the morning. How old is Da Bao? They really have no worries!" Fang shi looked at Da Bao, whose face was flushed red, and tears flowed from his eyes out of distress. "The eldest daughter is still sick. If she finds out about this, she might faint again."

"Then we shouldn't tell the eldest sister yet." Song Dingxiang remained calm, "Mom, grandma, I think this might be a trick they're playing. By sending Da Bao here like this, it will surely make my sister uncomfortable and she will want to go back, but we can't just let it go like that. If we send Da Bao and my sister back, it's like sending them into a dangerous situation. Something will happen sooner or later."

"What should we do then? Da Bao is such a big child, can we really hide him?" Fang shi was at her wits' end, turning round and round in panic.

Li shi also felt anxious. After all, this child surnamed Xu, and now that the Xu family had played such a trick, they didn't know how to deal with it.

Song Dingxiang thought for a moment and said, "I do have an idea... Grandpa, Grandma, can you see if this can be done?"

*

The doctor came and gave Da Bao medicine to reduce his fever, and also made him drink a bowl of hot ginger soup. Da Bao sweated all over and finally woke up.

He opened his big watery eyes, and as soon as he saw Fang shi, he cried, "Granny, Granny... wuwu, I'm hungry..."

——— TNote: 姥姥 (Lǎolao) is a Chinese term that translates to maternal grandmother in English. I will translate it as Granny. 奶奶 (nǎinai) is a Chinese term that translates to paternal grandmother in English. I will translate it as Grandma. ———

Fang shi quickly hugged him, "Good boy Da Bao, don't cry, Granny's heart hurts when you cry. Second daughter, go and bring some porridge for Da Bao."

In the countryside, during the winter, people often don't eat three meals a day because there isn't much to do on regular days. They can sleep until dawn, then get up and prepare for lunch. After dinner, when it's completely dark, it's time to prepare for bed.

However, in their family, they would get up early to feed the pigs and prepare the pork stalls, so in the morning, they would cook a large pot of millet porridge as a belly filler.

The porridge prepared for Da Bao was millet porridge with a bit of brown sugar added, cooked until thick and kept warm on the stove for him to eat whenever he woke up.

Da Bao ate a small bowl of porridge, and his complexion improved slightly.

"Da Bao, can you tell Auntie why you came here alone?" Song Dingxiang wiped his face and hands, then took some frostbite ointment to apply it to him, and asked softly.

At first, Da Bao hung his head, but soon tears started rolling down again.

Fang shi said, "Da Bao, it's okay. Tell Granny, what happened? Who dared to bully our Da Bao, Granny will help you fight back!"

Perhaps Fang's words gave Da Bao some courage. He cried and said, "It was my dad and grandma. They didn't give me any food and made me wear torn clothes today. They told me to come here on my own. They said that this way, Mom would come back with me. They also said that coming to Granny's house meant I would have meat to eat, but there's no meat to eat at Grandma's house."

Fang Shi was so angry after hearing this that she was about to curse, but Song Dingxiang covered her mouth.

Song Xingyi went out silently and smoked a cigarette. Then he said to Song Dingxiang, "Alright, Dingxiang, let's do as you say. Da Bao and your eldest sister can never go back to that family again."

He finished speaking and then went out to organize a group of about twenty men from the Song family, hitched up three or four mule carts, and then dressed Da Bao in warm clothes, carrying him as they headed towards Xu Family Village.

*

Wang shi felt a bit uneasy and couldn't help but ask her husband, "Honey, do you think Da Bao has arrived at their house now?"

Xu Maosheng replied, "What time is it now? Da Bao knows their house, he's already five years old..."

"Exactly, don't worry mom. When Da Bao cries, won't my wife have to come back?" Xu Dashan said nonchalantly, squatting on the ground eating sunflower seeds.

Wang shi continued, "But what if your grandmother asks?"

Xu Dashan impatiently replied, "Didn't we discuss this last night? We'll just say Da Bao missed his mother, so he was sent back."

She nodded, but still felt uneasy and restless.

The two or three large mule carts rattled towards Shanghegouzi Village Chief's house. Village Chief Xu was squatting at the door smoking, wondering whose cart it was.

When he recognized the people driving the cart, he couldn't help but feel a headache. Before he could fully comprehend the headache, the cart stopped at his doorstep.

Song Xingyi got off the cart, walked over smiling, grabbed Village Chief Xu's hand, and pulled him up, saying, "Old buddy, sorry to bother you."

Village Chief Xu looked at the group of strong men getting off the cart and his face stiffened, "What, what's going on? Shouldn't you all be going to the Xu's house?"

Song Xingyi replied, "Well, that was the plan, but... Hey, it's a long story, let's go inside and talk."

The large group of people from the Song family entered the courtyard, terrifying the people inside Village Chief Xu's house. What was even scarier was that there were two guards at the door, standing there so imposingly that no one could leave.

Frightened as well, Village Chief Xu's wife peppered him with questions. "What's happening? Everything seemed calm the past few days! Why is this happening again?"

Stepping forward, Li shi offered a basket and took her arm reassuringly. "Sister," she said, "we have no choice but to come here and beg for your intervention on behalf of my family."

The basket was surprisingly large. Village Chief Xu's wife lifted the oilcloth covering it, revealing a trove of plump pig knuckles and frozen fish inside. Upon hearing Li shi's explanation, she exhaled in relief. "This seems like a serious situation," she said. "What's prompted this?" Wouldn't a simple message have sufficed?"

Li shi, her eyes red-rimmed from tears, cried out, "What do you mean 'what's going on?' If we don't take these precautions, none of them will survive!"

The village chief's wife, stunned, exclaimed, "What on earth happened, old friend?" Taking the basket from her daughter-in-law, she ushered Li shi inside.

Overcome with emotion, Li shi recounted the whole ordeal, then burst into tears. "They want nothing to do with the child," she sobbed, "but we'll take him in. I insisted on naming him Song that day, but his grandmother just cried uncontrollably. I couldn't bear to take him at that time. But who could have known what would happen this morning? My great-grandchild's life almost gone! My poor great-grandchild, went alone to my house before dawn! Why would anyone do this to their own flesh and blood? What did my Yulan ever do to deserve such a fate?"

Village Chief Xu's wife, a woman herself, was furious upon hearing the news. "They've gone too far!" she gritted her teeth. "If their own children disappoint them, they take it out on the next generation? But wait, wasn't the child Dabao? Such a sweet and well-behaved boy!"

Li shi, tears welling up in her eyes, choked out, "Yes, Dabao is a good boy. He collapsed with a fever right at my doorstep! The doctor said if we'd found him any later, he wouldn't be here anymore!"

Song Xingyi, chimed in, "I initially thought it was a private matter. But who knew they could be so heartless? Village Chief, if you can't settle this, I might have to go to town and seek help from Wang Yuanwai. Of course, I understand it's a family issue, and involving outsiders wouldn't reflect well on your family. But outsiders wouldn't see it that way."

Furious, Village Chief Xu slammed his hand repeatedly on the table. "This is utterly outrageous! Brother Song," he exclaimed, "tell me, what does your family plan to do about this situation?"

Song Xingyi replied, "Their actions are unconscionable. My family cannot simply accept this. Today, I've brought the marriage separation letter for my granddaughter. Da Bao... has also come with me. This is a cruel situation, a true impasse. I want to show you something."

He took the child from Song Zhiyuan's arms and continued, "Look, this poor boy is still shivering. When he came to my house, he wore nothing but a tattered cotton jacket and boots. If you weren't hardworking people yourselves, how could you allow your child to be dressed like this? How can they be so heartless? It's freezing outside! He wouldn't even last an hour on the streets in this." His voice choked with emotion as he spoke.

Some people could not maintain their composure.

Village Chief Xu furrowed his brow as he read the separation letter. It was clear that the Song family wasn't just planning a divorce; they intended to take the children away.

He didn't particularly care about the gender of the child, but the fact remained - the child's surname was Xu. Everyone in the village had watched the child grow up.

What would the villagers say if the child was whisked away like this?

This situation really left him in a difficult position.

"Old brother, we have no other choice. We can't just watch this child die." Song Xingyi looked at Village Chief Xu's expression and continued, "Their family's actions are meant to force my granddaughter back. If she falls into their hands, how could things turn out well? They can just find an excuse, say my daughter fell down a well, or into the river, and died. My family wouldn't even have time to grieve, old brother. We are both fathers, can our hearts truly be at ease?"

"You're right, you're right. It's just this child..." Village Chief Xu looked into Dabao's big eyes, sighed, and said, "Let me think, let me think."

Song Xingyi said, "If they agree, my family will give their family fifty taels of silver. If they don't agree, I don't have any other options, except to have my own son come over to visit every day. What else can I do?"

Village Chief Xu: ......

He understood too well. Saying his son would come visit every day was just a euphemism for causing a scene every day. But verbal abuse wasn't even the worst of it; there was a fear of violence causing chaos.

The Xu family had finally produced a successful official, they absolutely could not allow that family to ruin their reputation.

Village Chief Xu told Song Xingyi not to worry, as he sent his son to fetch the clan leader and sent his grandson to Xu Dashan's house to call the Xu family over.

Upon hearing this, Wang shi immediately felt something was amiss and collapsed onto the kang, saying, "Oh no, I feel unwell...husband, you go, I really can't get up."

The young messenger was also sharp-minded, and said with a smile, "Auntie, stop pretending to feel unwell. If the Song family really comes to pull you off the kang, you will lose all face. My grandfather is already displeased with this situation."

"Curses!" Wang shi muttered under her breath and then proceeded to get up.

Old Mrs. Xu and Old Mr. Xu looked puzzled, "Why are they calling us over? What's going on?"

The messenger replied, "I don't know what's going on either, but someone from the Song family has come, and my grandfather has even opened the ancestral hall."

They even opened the ancestral hall??

The Xu family members looked at each other, and the aunt hid behind the crowd, lowering her head to conceal the upturned corners of her mouth. As long as the Xu family fell, their family could rise, and she would become the head of the household in the future.

She wouldn't always be suppressed by Wang shi.

The ancestral hall is a place that is only opened for ancestor worship or major events in the village. When Xu Qiang became an official, the ancestral hall was opened once, and all the men in the village went to pay their respects, creating a lively atmosphere.

Now, the ancestral hall was opened again, on the eve of the New Year, and the villagers inexplicably crowded in to watch the excitement.

The village chief and the Xu family patriarch sat in the center, Song Xingyi and Li shi held Dabao and sat beside them, with strong men from the Song family standing behind them.

When Old Mrs. Xu saw the Song family, she couldn't help but ask, "What's going on? Yulan, did something happen to Yulan?"

Li shi coldly snorted, saying, "So your family is hoping for something to happen to my granddaughter?"

Old Mrs. Xu hurriedly explained, "No, no, in-law, please don't misunderstand. We just want to know why there's such a big commotion today."

The clan leader asked the elderly couple to sit aside and then said, "Where is Xu Dashan? Wang shi, Xu Maogen, come forward! Kneel down!"

The three of them were pushed out, looking guilty.

Village Chief Xu said, "The Song family is here today to deliver a divorce letter. Which one of you will accept it?"

Xu Dashan was stunned and repeatedly shouted, "No, I don't agree to the divorce, I don't agree to the divorce!"

Even Old Mrs. Xu couldn't help asking, "Why suddenly talk about divorce? Which couple doesn't argue? I've never seen anyone divorce over something like this."

Village Chief Xu said, "Little sister, don't you know what your son and grandson have done? Nowadays, the Song family has come to me and almost made me furious! Xu Dashan, speak up, what has your family done!"

Xu Dashan hesitated, unable to help but look towards Wang shi. Wang shi just hung her head and remained silent.

"Speak up!" an irritable clan leader slammed the table, "Speak up now!"

Xu Dashan pursed his lips, raised his head and glanced at the child being held by Li shi. The child had kept his head buried in Li shi's embrace the whole time, not looking at his father.

"It's, it's because Dabao missed his mother, so, so I sent him over."

Li shi coldly remarked, "Oh, you sent him over, or forced Dabao to walk over alone in tattered clothes?"

After saying that, she tossed the ragged coat and shoes in front of everyone, "Everyone take a look, this is what Dabao was wearing. Early this morning when we opened the door, we found him unconscious at the doorstep, suffering from a high fever!"

Old Mrs. Xu was shocked after hearing this, she stood up and said, "No, this can't be true, the child seemed fine yesterday..." She suddenly remembered that Dabao hadn't appeared yesterday, Wang shi had just saying that he missed his mother and felt unwell so he went to sleep.

Unbelievably, she looked at Wang shi, then suddenly rushed forward and slapped Wang shi's face, shouting, "It's all because of you, you trouble-making woman! You rotten woman from the Wang family! I shouldn't have been soft-hearted back then, I shouldn't have thought you could take care of Dabao, I should have made my son divorce you!!"

Wang shi hurriedly protected her face and cried out, "Mother, Mother! Isn't your daughter-in-law doing this for the good of your grandson? Song Yulan wouldn't stop thinking about Dabao, so I wanted Dabao to bring Yulan back!"

"You let Dabao go and bring her back, dressed like this??" She picked up the tattered coat, looked at the patches and exposed black cotton inside, and felt dizzy.

Wang shi said, "If Dabao wasn't pitiful, how could Yulan come back? Her family wouldn't allow her to come back!"

The clan leader sneered after listening and said, "Did everyone hear clearly? Now with such a cruel mother-in-law, a man who doesn't care about anything, and this confused father, the Song family would be considered lenient if they didn't destroy your family! This divorce decree... I decide, it belongs to the Xu family!"

Village Chief Xu added, "Besides the divorce decree, this child cannot go to your family either."

Old Mrs. Xu was stunned, she looked incredulously at the Village Chief Xu and said, "Are you crazy? That is the child of the Xu family, with the surname Xu!"

The village chief angrily said, "Do you think I don't know he's surnamed Xu? Whose child with the surname Xu goes hungry for days, wearing a tattered coat? He was kicked out of the house in the dark by his grandparents and went to the in-laws by himself? Passed out at their doorstep, seen by so many people, and as the one responsible for the feeding, don't you feel embarrassed? I'm telling you, this matter is settled! If you disagree, you can deal with it yourselves!"

Xu Maogen, who had been silent all along, suddenly said something shocking, "Who knows if the child is from the Xu family..."

This shocked everyone in the room.

Song Zhiyuan was so angry he almost fainted, he slapped Xu Maogen in the face, then punched him while he was down on the ground. Xu Dashan tried to rescue him but was held back by Song Junshan and his brothers and was kicked and cried out in pain.

Li shi acted as if she hadn't seen anything, and just said to Village Chief Xu, "Village Chief, you saw it too, this is the kind of people they are. We used to think only honest and decent people would marry our daughters, but in recent years, my granddaughter hasn't had a good life, suffering so much. Now Little Yue has been beaten to the point of immobility, and their family still spews such venom. Those who know, know they are not righteous, those who don't know might think the entire Xu family treats their daughters-in-law this way."

The hot-headed clan leader stood up, "Stop fighting!! This is still our Xu family's ancestral hall! And Xu Maogen, are you speaking human language?"

Xu Maogen, with courage from somewhere, shouted, "You are also the clan leader of the Xu family, if they say a divorce is agreed upon, you agree, if they say they want the child, you agree, then why do you care what we say?"

"Why did we agree, do you really not know or are you pretending not to know?" The clan leader was about to faint, "Fine, fine, fine, we won't interfere in this matter, see how you solve it yourselves!" Then he sat back heavily in his chair, breathing heavily.

Song Xingyi threw a heavy bag of silver coins in front of Xu Maogen, "Just agreed, this fifty taels of silver is yours. Disagree, and we have our ways."

Seeing the silver, Xu Maogen and Wang shi exchanged a glance. Wang shi said, "After all, this child belongs to our old Xu family, and you think you can buy him for fifty taels of silver? It's not that easy! As long as we disagree, this child will always belong to our old Xu family!"

Song Xingyi nodded, glanced at Song Zhicheng.

Song Zhicheng didn't say a word, led a dozen people out of the door.

Not long after, Xu Xiujuan ran over screaming, "Dad, mom, the eldest Song family came to our house and smashed it!!"

Wang shi screamed in disbelief, "You, you are all bandits! Is having money so great?"

Song Xingyi said calmly, "Having money is great. If you have the ability, then bear it. Today we smash your house, tomorrow we smash your brother's house, the day after tomorrow we smash your parents' house. After we finish smashing the houses, we'll smash the yards. As long as you don't agree, we will raise this child from our Song family, and you won't have a good life."

Old Mrs. Xu trembled all over, helplessly looking at her old man. Old Mr. Xu's lips trembled, and after a while he said, "Agree, we agree. This child, in the future, in the future will... will have the surname Song!"

——— Author's Note:

Song Dingxiang: Blah blah blah, that's how my idea is.

Song Xingyi and Li shi: Isn't this a bit too harsh?

After resolution:

Song Xingyi and Li shi: We've never felt this relieved before!!!