Chapter 6: The Crime of Gender 6

Chapter 6 - 6: The Crime of Gender 6The village chief sighed for a moment. After all, it wasn't his family's business, and since the facts were already clear, he just left directly. After the village chief left, the Qin family finally realized they should get a doctor. Mr. Qin coughed, looked sternly around at his children, and instructed, "Hurry up and help lift them onto the bed. Da Lang, take a string of coins and head to town to bring back Doctor Min." Doctor Min was renowned in the area for his skills in setting bones, though his fees were a bit steep. Qin Laoer and Qin the Third were the family's main laborers. Mr. Qin feared a less skilled doctor might affect their future work, so he could only reluctantly spend the extra money. The money was spent, but as Mr. Qin looked at Old Chen, who was already hoarse from screaming and lying on the ground, he felt a bit of disdain. Even with his preference for sons over daughters, he found it hard to blame a few-month-old baby, so naturally, he held a grudge against Old Chen! Old Chen habitually bullied her daughters-in-law, and Mr. Qin never interfered. But today, as trouble arose, he began to blame her in his heart. This old wife of his frequently mistreated her daughter-in-law Mrs. Bai over trivial matters. Now, the trouble she stirred up had brought shame to the family, with the entire village hearing the bad news, and it cost the family money! The more Mr. Qin thought about it, the more he detested her, and he couldn't help but flick his sleeves and turn to head inside to avoid further annoyance from Old Chen! Although Qin Laoer and Old Chen howled in pain, their injuries weren't too serious. It was merely a dislocation due to sudden force; it could be fixed by resting for about a month. However, Qin the Third's injury was a bit more troublesome, not to the point of paralysis, but he would at least have to lie bedridden for two or three months, unable to move. After this incident, Qin Shuangshuang feared Old Chen might retaliate against Mrs. Bai, so she pretended to be terrified by a slap from Old Chen. Whenever Old Chen approached Mrs. Bai, Qin Shuangshuang would flail her arms and legs in Old Chen's direction to intimidate her. Not only that, but Qin Shuangshuang would also scream fiercely as if being abused, alarming the neighbors several times, giving Old Chen a notorious reputation for seeking revenge on a baby, and infuriating Old Chen! After this, as long as Qin Shuangshuang was by Mrs. Bai's side, Old Chen only dared to scold Mrs. Bai with inventive insults and didn't dare come within a meter of her. Old Chen did consider having Mrs. Bai leave Qin Shuangshuang alone, but Qin Shuangshuang wouldn't cooperate with Old Chen's wishes. Every time she was with Mrs. Bai, Qin Shuangshuang was especially well-behaved, never crying or making a fuss. But as soon as Mrs. Bai left Qin Shuangshuang alone in a room, Shuangshuang would start making a fuss! After Qin Shuangshuang grabbed a coarse porcelain bowl inside the house and threw it into the yard, breaking a large jar, Old Chen gave up on the idea of leaving Qin Shuangshuang alone in a room. After discovering this, Qin Shuangshuang stuck to Mrs. Bai's side every day. Whenever Mrs. Bai put her down, Qin Shuangshuang would start wailing, forcing Mrs. Bai to keep her by her side at all times. Mrs. Bai even made a cradle herself using willow twigs, keeping Qin Shuangshuang by her side even when sleeping because Qin Shuangshuang refused to sleep unless she was next to Mrs. Bai! Sometimes Mrs. Bai felt that Qin Shuangshuang clinging to her was out of affection, as she was so well-behaved she never caused any trouble while nearby. When Qin Shuangshuang was a baby, she clung to Mrs. Bai. By the time she was three and could understand words, she could no longer use the crude method of kicking to prevent Old Chen from bullying Mrs. Bai, so Qin Shuangshuang changed strategies! Every time Old Chen tried to hit Mrs. Bai, Qin Shuangshuang would leap forward, grab Old Chen's hand, pin her to the ground, and then cry out, "Granny, don't hit my mother! Hit me instead! My mom is too frail to be hit..." She wouldn't stop until all the neighbors gathered round. Little Qin Shuangshuang would cry until her nose was running and her face was red, pleading for her mother's sake, appearing pitiful to the villagers, like a neglected child in the fields. Through Qin Shuangshuang's relentless antics, Old Chen's reputation in the village became even worse—it was thoroughly infamous. Everyone scorned her, so much that Old Chen hardly ever left the house! Sёarch* The NôᴠeFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Since Old Chen couldn't go out, she vented her anger on Mrs. Bai at home, and Qin Shuangshuang inevitably protected Mrs. Bai. This resulted in a vicious cycle, and Old Chen's reputation began to spread even to nearby villages! Time passed like flowing water; the spring became autumn in a blink, and it had been five years since Qin Shuangshuang's rebirth! Early in the morning before dawn, Qin Shuangshuang had already woken up. In the kitchen outside, the faint clattering of pots and pans could be heard, along with Old Chen's muffled cursing! Beside her, separated by a thin wooden board, came the gentle sound of snoring. It was clear her father, who was never responsible, was still sound asleep. Qin Shuangshuang frowned with disgust. Whether it was the harsh granny Old Chen or this so-called father who remained silent even after his wife died and handed his daughter over for cooking, both made Qin Shuangshuang sick. The early spring mornings were cold, and Qin Shuangshuang shivered, swiftly getting out of bed and putting on a piece of clothing. Though it could be called clothing, it was just a piece of burlap wrapped in a circle, stitched with two small straps, worn straight over her body. Originally, Qin Shuangshuang had no clothes. Life on the farm was hard, and even adults had at most two sets of clothes to switch between, usually made of coarse linen. Children didn't have clothes to wear except for winter wear until they were about seven or eight years old. Especially since Qin Shuangshuang was a girl not favored by Old Chen, having clothes was even less likely. However, Qin Shuangshuang's Inner Strength was that of an adult, so she stubbornly refused to be naked. Mrs. Bai, being a daughter-in-law, couldn't have money in hand; all the money was with Old Chen, who naturally wouldn't give Mrs. Bai money to buy fabric for making clothes for Qin Shuangshuang. So, Mrs. Bai spun some thread from hemp and exchanged it with a woman in the village skilled at weaving for a piece of fine linen to make a straight dress for Qin Shuangshuang. Qin Shuangshuang wasn't picky about the fabric; having something to wear was enough to cover her body, otherwise being naked would be too embarrassing! Feeling sorry for Mrs. Bai, Qin Shuangshuang got dressed, stepped down, hurriedly put on straw sandals, and rushed to the kitchen. Mrs. Bai was washing vegetables. In the early spring weather, it was very cold. Mrs. Bai had her hands submerged in ice water, her ten fingers red from the cold. Seeing her mother's fingers turn bright red from the chill, a flare of anger ignited in Qin Shuangshuang's heart!