Chapter 28: The Three Little Fools
Bai Lixia and her siblings felt uneasy hearing Zhang’s words.
Bai Midou couldn’t hold back and shouted back, “Aunt Zhang, you’re talking nonsense! My mom didn’t go to the fields because she took my eldest sister to the town market to sell dried sweet potatoes and earn money, not because she’s lazy!”
“Yeah!” Bai Zhuye chimed in, “Mom even said if she makes enough money, she’ll buy some meat for us to eat.”
“Ha, listen to this! First time I’ve heard anyone actually buys dried sweet potatoes. With the money from selling sweet potatoes, they buy noodles and flour, saying they’ll sell sweet potatoes to buy meat for you. Fooling only you three little fools, believing Su Mulan’s nonsense.”
Zhang sneered, her face full of mockery and sarcasm. “Who knows, maybe your wicked stepmother isn’t going to town to sell dried sweet potatoes at all. Maybe she’s planning to sell Bai Shuiliu to get money.”
“What did you say?” Bai Lixia’s face flushed with anger. “My mom is going to sell my elder sister?”
Bai Zhuye and Bai Midou were also stunned, their faces first filled with shock, then turning to fear, tears immediately welling up in their eyes.
The bundle of grass they were carrying fell to the ground, the sticks used to tie it breaking apart and scattering the grass all over.
Seeing the unintended consequences of her careless words on Bai Lixia and her siblings, Zhang herself was momentarily taken aback. However, seeing them so distressed now, she couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow and smirk.
“Can she still deceive you? Have you ever thought that Su Mulan usually beats you with willow sticks and never lets you eat enough? Now suddenly she’s changed for the better, letting you eat your fill and buying meat for you? Where in this world does such a good thing exist?”
“And besides, how much money can these dried sweet potatoes even fetch? Who would buy such a thing? I bet Su Mulan has been sweet-talking you these past few days, planning to sell each of you off and enjoy herself with the money.”
“Tsk tsk, if you ask me, Su Mulan is really cunning. She lures you in first, and when it’s time to sell you off, you might even help count the money for her. That’s cold-hearted. Even if they’re not her own daughters, she shouldn’t just sell them off.”
“But then again, Su Mulan has always been malicious. You can’t expect anything good from her. As for you three siblings, you’re just too naive!”
After venting her bitter words for a while, Zhang looked at the increasingly gloomy faces of Bai Lixia and her siblings. She felt a sense of satisfaction in her heart, her tone even rising with triumph, “Alright, forget I said anything. It’s not my business anyway. Why should I bother with this? It’ll only end up making me look bad in the end.”
As she spoke, Zhang threw the hoe over her shoulder, twisted her fat body, and walked away.
The villagers who had finished their work in the fields also started to leave.
However, as they departed, many of them glanced meaningfully at Bai Lixia and her siblings, exchanging whispers.
“Su Mulan, she’s really so heartless.”
“We’ve known Su Mulan for a long time. Why are we surprised?”
“Well, the sun rises from the east after all…”
Listening to these remarks, Bai Lixia and her siblings’ faces turned even more grim, almost as pale as paper. They stood there dumbfounded, unsure of what to do.
“Elder sister…” Bai Midou snapped out of it, pulling at Bai Lixia’s sleeve, almost crying.