Lin Yi listened with a pounding heart, "Girl, take it easy! Don't fight with your mother-in-law again! Dad really got a big scare this time!"
Lin Qin lowered her head guiltily, knowing such incidents would only increase in the future. She hoped her father's heart would be strong enough, otherwise, he would surely be angered to the point of collapse.
Seeing her expression, Lin Yi knew she hadn't taken his words to heart. He sighed helplessly and said, "This morning, I opened the door and found another processed black fish in the kitchen, just like yesterday. I don't know which kind person gave it. I drank a bowl first, no problem, you guys eat it. Black fish is good for wound healing, you should eat more."
Yesterday morning, he woke up to find a cleaned black fish on the stove, about a pound or so. He thought it was given by someone nearby, asked around, and no one admitted.
In this weather, a killed fish left uncooked for a day wouldn't stay fresh, so he just cooked it up without much thought.
To his surprise, another one appeared this morning.
Their village had fish ponds, but they were filled with small African perch, wild but small, which no one caught or could catch.
This kind of black fish could only be found in Nanxi.
Thinking of Nanxi, the image of Chen Wenjun flashed through Lin Yi's mind. He instinctively glanced at Lin Qin, then shook his head quickly. It couldn't be that person. He didn't even know his daughter and had never been to their house. How could he know where they lived?
If it wasn't Chen Wenjun, who else could it be?
Lin Yi was completely perplexed.
Lin Qin, however, guessed who it was.
She first picked the fish bones out for Liu Yaya, then fed her a bowl of fish soup.
She asked with a smile, "Yaya, does the fish soup taste good?"
Liu Yaya nodded obediently, "It tastes good! It's better here with Grandpa, we get to eat fish every day. At Grandma's, I can only eat sweet potato rice with pickled vegetables. If I eat one more, Grandma would scold me as a worthless girl."
Don't judge a six-year-old child by their size; she actually understood everything.
Lin Yi's face instantly darkened halfway, so angry he almost threw his chopsticks, "Ma Cuihua is too much! Yaya is her own granddaughter! How can she treat a child like that?"
Lin Qin snorted lightly, "Dad, since she can treat us mother and daughter that way yesterday, do you still expect her to give Yaya meat to eat?"
Lin Yi was choked up and sighed again.
Lin Qin calmly ate her fish soup and helped Lin Yi clean up the table.
In the following days, every morning Lin Yi would find another black fish on the stove. At first, he was determined to get to the bottom of it, but to no avail. Gradually, he got used to it and cooked the fish in various ways when he saw them.
Sometimes he made tofu fish soup, sometimes simmered it with soy sauce paired with sweet potato porridge, or if feeling extravagant, he would fry it with some lard.
All just to let his daughter and granddaughter have a few more good bites.
Under Lin Yi's care, Lin Qin's injuries healed particularly fast. In just three or four days, scabs formed, and in seven or eight days, they started peeling off.
As she was thinking of excuses to prolong her stay at her parents' home, someone from the Liu family came to deliver a message saying Liu Yongming would return soon and that she should bring Liu Yaya back.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yi was eager for Lin Qin to stay but quickly relented and told her to pack up and go back.
"Girl, listen to Dad. Yongming is a college graduate and a cultured person. Surely, he won't side with his mom. Go back and talk to him clearly, let him advocate for you. If possible, take the child and move with Yongming to avoid being bullied by that wicked woman, Ma Cuihua."
Lin Yi rambled on about many things.
Hearing more of it, the more bitter Lin Qin felt in her heart. She fought back tears and turned to pack her bags in the shack, handing over fifty yuan to Lin Yi, "Dad, it's not safe for me to keep this money, you hold on to it for me, if I need money, I will come to you."
Lin Yi understood Lin Qin's concerns and agreed without a second thought, happily seeing her and Liu Yaya off as they left the village.
Mother and daughter walked for an hour before returning to the Liu family.
As they just stepped in the door, they were met with Xe Manzhi's grim face.
Lin Qin didn't give her the time of day, directly carrying the child back to their room.
She hadn't even settled down when Ma Cuihua's yelling started.
"Our old Liu family really owes her! It's bad enough she can't have a son, but she still wants to be treated like an ancestor! Aren't you afraid of shortening your life?"
Lin Qin covered Liu Yaya's ears, giving her a comforting smile, "Don't listen to that mess, it's bad for your ears. Are you tired? Want to sleep?"
Liu Yaya shook her head, tightly clutching Lin Qin's sleeve.
Lin Qin smiled knowingly and hugged her to sleep together.
Ma Cuihua cursed in the courtyard for half a day, her mouth dry and tongue parched, but the room stayed quiet as if she was singing a solo. Enraged, she immediately summoned Liu Li to action.
Liu Li, having her face scratched by Lin Qin and holding a grudge ever since, rushed to Lin Qin's room and pounded on the door, "Second sister-in-law! Mom says you need to get out and work, do you hear me? Are you deaf? Open the door now!"
Liu Li's urgent shouting was like summoning the dead, the noise being so loud you could feel your heart jump.
Annoyed, Lin Qin got up, filled a cup with days-old cold water, hurriedly went to the door, and splashed it over Liu Li.
Liu Li was drenched to the bone and after the shock, jumped up in anger, pointing at Lin Qin and cursing, "You bitch! How dare you splash water on me! I'll fight you!"
Saying this, she charged at Lin Qin, who sidestepped and tripped her instead.
Liu Li fell flat on her face, her chin hitting the floor tiles, crying out in pain, "Mom! Big Sister! That bitch Lin Qin bullied me, wah wah wah..."
While crying, she climbed up off the floor and ran outside, both wet and dirty, saliva mixed with tears and mucus streaming down.
Seeing her youngest daughter's pitiful state, Ma Cuihua flew into a rage, "Lin Qin! I'll beat you to death, you bitch!"
Xu Manzhi also came to help.
Seeing someone backing her up, Liu Li's vicious eyes rolled, she turned back to the kitchen to grab a pail of boiling water, charging towards Lin Qin, "You splashed me with water, now I'll let you experience being splashed."
Ma Cuihua and Xu Manzhi moved to hold Lin Qin on either side to prevent her from moving.
The hot water being thrown at Lin Qin, at the critical moment, Liu Yaya darted out and crashed into Xu Manzhi.
"Ah!" A heart-wrenching scream echoed through the alley, accompanied by Liu Yaya's shrill cries and Ma Cuihua's vicious curses.
Lin Qin clutched the crying Liu Yaya, rushing out of the yard, pounding on the neighboring neighbor's door.
"Lin Qin? What happened to Yaya?" Granny Liu anxiously inquired.
Lin Qin fell to her knees in front of Granny Liu, "Granny, that madwoman Liu Li grabbed a pail of boiling water to splash on me, Yaya took the hit for me and her back got splashed with the hot water. I need to take her to the hospital, but I have no money. Can you lend me a few bucks? I'll pay you back later."
"Okay, okay! Hang on, let me go get it." Granny Liu hurried back inside.
Lin Qin then went next door to borrow as well.
Borrowing from three or four households in a row, she finally managed to gather a bit over ten dollars.