"Get out, get out now!" He slammed the table forcefully, his anger rushing undisguisedly towards Qin Xiangnuan.
Suddenly, Qin Xiangnuan felt a sourness welling up in her eyes. She stepped back a few steps, then turned around, forcing herself not to let the tears fall. What else did she have left? Even her only dignity was gone, behind her was the joy of a family together, and the sound of their laughter filled her ears.
Outside, the sun still scorched the entire earth, almost searing her skin. She squinted her eyes, somewhat distractedly gazing at the distant mountain ridges, away as they always were, unreachable as in her childhood.
It seemed so close, yet she had never reached it.
The bag in her arms slid down a bit, she quickly held it tight, bowed her head, and started walking briskly.
The village now had a concrete road, reportedly donated by Qin Xiangmei's husband. Now, the Qin family had much reverence in the village, even the Village Chief gave them extra respect, not for anything else but because Guo Hua had a very capable son-in-law.
They built a three-story Western-style house, bought a big color TV, a refrigerator, a washing machine, and even Qin Xiangmei's elder brother, Qin Xianglin, had bought an apartment in the city and now had a legitimate job, eating the emperor's grain every day without doing anything.
All this glory of the Qin family came from Qin Xiangmei.
Guo Hua and Hu Li were just ordinary people, yet Qin Xiangmei grew more and more beautiful. She was like a golden phoenix flying out of the village, top of her class from a young age, attended the best university in the Capital City, married a second-generation official, and had twins, a boy and a girl. Such a person really had nothing to criticize in her life.
As for her, she was just a lone individual.
"Oh, isn't this Nuannuan?"
A sudden voice made Qin Xiangnuan pause her steps, she turned around to see a middle-aged woman squatting by the roadside, washing clothes. The tap water was still flowing continuously, the brightness of the water made her involuntarily lick her dry, cracked lips.
"You are…?"
She searched her memory for the name and face of this woman.
It seemed familiar, very familiar.
"Are you, Aunt Hua?" she asked uncertainly; after all, she had left the village for over twenty years. Many people had changed, and many were no longer around; children had grown up, and old people had passed away. The changes over these twenty years were not just in her alone.
She remembered Aunt Hua had treated her well back then. There were times when she couldn't get enough to eat, and it was Aunt Hua who secretly helped her. If it weren't for Aunt Hua, she actually wouldn't know whether she'd even exist.
"Hehe…" The middle-aged woman laughed heartily indeed, "Exactly, it's me. Alas, Nuannuan, is work too exhausting?" Seeing the state of Qin Xiangnuan, Aunt Hua knew she wasn't having a good time, so she asked rather indirectly.
The Qins are truly inhumane - no matter what, their own children are their flesh and blood, how could they mistreat them like this? Back in the day, she had married into the village alongside Qin Xiangnuan's mother, Du Ping, who had sadly passed early. Du Ping died young, in her twenties shortly after giving birth to Qin Xiangnuan, leaving the kids underfed and poorly clothed. Later, Guo Hua remarried, and the lives of those children became even less human-like, simply because they were not flesh off his own body, their mistreatment did not bother him at all.
Xiang Yang, that child, passed away before even reaching the age of nine. Now there's only Xiang Nuan, still so young, yet she seems older than her age, it's truly a sin.
"Come over here, let's talk, child."
Aunt Hua moved the stool she was sitting on to the side and offered it to Qin Henuan. Without asking anything, she already knew how the Qin Family treated this child. The child had come from far yet, how could they not even offer her a meal, especially in this hot weather, just letting the child walk.
Qin Xiangnuan walked up to Aunt Hua's side, but she did not sit down. Instead, she crouched down, feeling embarrassed as she tucked her untamed hair behind her ear.
The tap water was still running, which made Qin Xiangnuan very heartbroken.
Even if the water bill isn't high, it is still money.
"Auntie, may I have some water?" she asked cautiously, in a tone that added a heart-wrenchingly pitiful plea.
"You child," Aunt Hua felt a sour pinch in her heart, "Sit down, I'll go get you some water."
"No need, Auntie," Qin Xiangnuan quickly stopped Aunt Hua, "It's no trouble, I'll just drink this," she said, extending her hand and carefully cupping some water to her lips. That sip of water was like giving hope to a traveler in the desert, moistening her lips, her throat, it gave her life.
She took several more sips of water, not feeling relief in her throat until then. Even though it was tap water, she felt it tasted better than any other drink.
"Ah..." Aunt Hua let out a sigh and cursed Guo Hua deeply in her heart. How inhumane, not to offer the child food was bad enough, but to not even spare her a sip of water, which child with both parents ends up like this?
"Child, where are you heading off to?"
Tears welled up in Aunt Hua's eyes as she reached out to touch Qin Xiangnuan's hair, still remembering how the little child once crouched before her, how she used to stroke her little head. Her hair used to be soft and fine, always dry and yellow, now even more dry and worse off.
"I..." Qin Xiangnuan hugged her bag tighter, "I want to burn some paper money for brother and mom," her fingers touched her bag now and then, she knew, aside from her, no one else would do this. Remembering her brother who passed away early and her mother, who left even earlier, sometimes she thought if her brother was still around, then perhaps her life wouldn't be like this, at least, she'd have a relative, a real caring relative.
Aunt Hua's fingers trembled slightly, feeling an indescribable heartache.
"Come on, Auntie will make you something to eat, you must be hungry?" she stood up, ready to pull Qin Xiangnuan into her house.
"No need, Aunt Hua, I've eaten already," Qin Xiangnuan did not want to trouble anyone further; she had troubled others too much since she was young, her situation was such she couldn't even repay it, how could she eat someone else's food, she wasn't too hungry, there were a few biscuits in her bag, she would eat those in a bit.
"Just wait," Aunt Hua said, and ran into her house. In no time, she brought out some freshly steamed buns and a large bottle that used to contain drinks.