Chapter 3: Listening to the Wall Root

In order to prove his point, Zhu Laosan even found someone to testify for him, loudly calling out to his second brother in the hall, "Hey, didn't that girl have a bald head two years ago? If Big Brother finds the wild girl's head looks like a bird's nest, we'll have her shave it bald. Haha, then we'll have a bald sister-in-law."

Zhu Laoer, who had gone hungry all day and returned home without even a bite to eat, was annoyed by Lao San's idle chatter and darkly told him by the stove, "Go play somewhere else, don't cause trouble. I need to gather firewood and start a fire."

Tianye's silver teeth were almost worn flat against the wall, "Black monkey spirit, your whole family are black monkey spirits. It's infuriating."

When she first arrived, her father had just passed away, and the house was in chaos. It was clear that the two uncles didn't live delicately. Not to mention the state of their heads, even their bedding was infested with lice. Just thinking about it made her feel uncomfortable and itchy all over.

Tianye had never suffered such torment before, so she immediately shaved her head.

If the conditions weren't so harsh, Tianye would have wanted to burn everything, including the bedding. She never expected to be left with such a miserable handle by this unfortunate child.

Tianye glared fiercely at the mud wall to the east, wishing she could stare a hole through it, and preferably stare the neighboring family to death. A bunch of unfortunate children, let's see how she'll deal with them later.

Zhu's mother realized that they were speaking too loudly and quickly whispered, "Shut up, speak softly. You're all a bunch of unreliable good-for-nothings. What's the use of being good-looking? What's wrong with the wild girl? Who would marry a wild girl? The family's food supply increases every day."

In Zhu's eyes, there were only city girls, and with Lao San making fun of the wild girl next to him, he truly despised her, "Even if there's more food, I won't marry a black monkey spirit. If you want the food, let Lao Er marry her."

From a single sentence, one can judge a person's character. And from Zhu Lao Da's words, one could see his greed and selfishness. Tianye thought to herself, she wouldn't want anything from this person even if it was given to her for free.

When Zhu Lao Er heard Lao Da's words, he didn't even change his expression and continued to tend to the fire. In their family, even if it was a good thing, even if it was an ugly girl, it wouldn't fall to him.

Since he was a child, he had never been in his parents' eyes. In their family, only when Lao Da and Lao San didn't want something, would it fall to him.

As for this eldest brother, from what he said today, one could tell what kind of attitude he had towards his brother. He could even say such things as pushing away things he didn't want onto his brother.

Zhu's mother was so angry that she punched her son, "You useless thing, as long as she has something to eat, that's enough. With food, doesn't it fill a man's belly?"

That girl still had three large rooms in her name, and such a large piece of self-cultivated land, could a city girl compare to that?

Although Tianye was the daughter of the team leader, the team leader also had a son. Who would give away a daughter without keeping any rooms or land for her? Marrying the wild girl would mean gaining another property.

Furthermore, for so many years, she had never seen that girl go hungry. What else are you complaining about?"

Zhu's mother's words were heavy and she wished she could stuff her thoughts into her son's head. But it would only make a round in her second son's head. The wild girl turned out to be so capable, she hadn't even gone hungry.

Zhu Lao Er thought of the nights when his stomach growled from hunger and he couldn't sleep. He thought he should learn from this girl how to avoid hunger. This was a skill he needed to learn.

Zhu Lao San was only concerned about the little bit of food, pulling on Zhu Lao Da's sleeve, "Big brother, when that girl's food supply comes to our house, you can't just fill your own stomach."

Zhu Lao Da was still thinking about the city girl from the educated youth point. No matter what others said, he dismissed Lao San, "Go, go play somewhere else. If you want to eat, go marry the black monkey spirit yourself."

Turning to Zhu's mother, he complained, "Mom, didn't you say that girl has a tough life? Even with more food, what's the use?"

Zhu's mother looked at her eldest son. Indeed, the wild girl next door had a very tough fate, she had even caused the death of her parents. There were still taboos.

But thinking about this year's harvest, it had been dry since spring, and it looked like there would be a famine. The wife of the team leader had lent two bags of corn cobs to her in-laws.

Their third son, on the other hand, couldn't even exchange the girl for food. Would they really have to go out and beg for food? Is it better to cause death or starve to death?

The eldest son was the pillar of the family, and he had taken the risk of marrying a girl with a tough fate. She was a bit reluctant.

Zhu's mother looked at her two younger sons, and considering their ages, the eldest was the most suitable. Besides, if the eldest didn't marry, there was no reason for the younger ones to marry.

Zhu's mother was a bit short of breath as she spoke, "What era is it now? Haven't you heard the horn from the team? We can't believe in feudal superstitions, don't talk about this in the future. What do you understand? I'm worrying and working hard for whom? You, pay attention to this matter, don't bother with useless things. In the future, don't wander around the educated youth point. I'm telling you, there are many people in the village who are concerned about the wild girl. It's better than starving to death."

At this point, Tianye's face really resembled a black monkey spirit, she was so angry. It turned out that this mother, who had taken a liking to her, wasn't because of her inner beauty, but because of her three rooms, a piece of self-cultivated land, and the daily seven percent increase.

This was really dark-hearted. She hadn't even entered the door yet, and they were already calculating. And they expected her to be grateful in the future.

These days are tough. How did this person become like this? It's hard to believe they have lost all sense of humanity.

She glared once again at the mud wall separating their houses and couldn't help but curse those scheming people. It's hard to know someone's true intentions. If she hadn't heard about their scheming today, she would have still thought Mrs. Zhu was a decent person.

What irritated her the most was that, according to Mrs. Zhu, there were quite a few people eyeing her meager possessions.

Is it a crime to not starve to death? Tianye was already worried about the threatening looks from idle men in the village. Now, to have her possessions coveted as well. Even the most resilient people have become targets. It's all because of poverty.

She couldn't be bothered to listen to what the neighbors were saying. She needed to carefully consider this matter.

Tianye's chest heaved with anger, and she couldn't calm down for a long time. Even in her current state, there were still people coveting her. It seems that the families in the village are really struggling.

There was a rustling sound from the wall next door, and Tianye followed the sound to see a teapot-sized hole in the east wall. Through the hole, half a face was revealed, with raised eyebrows and two big, dark eyes staring at her without blinking.