Back To The 80s-Chapter 105 - 104: Abuse_1

Gu Xiaobei knitted his brows: "Why didn’t you let Jiujiu come over for dinner?"

Li Xianglan acted indifferent: "No problem, she can eat when the food cools down."

Gu Xiaobei wanted to say something, but Chen Gang, seated next to her, reached under the table and quietly tugged at her clothes, shaking his head to silence her.

Gu Xiaobei understood that if she stood up for Jiujiu now, Jiujiu would be the one to suffer after she left. She felt a blockage in her heart and kept quiet, lowering her head to eat.

Chen Gang served a bowl of large-grit porridge and took some potatoes to give to the mother in the house.

Potatoes in G province have always been famous, scientifically known as Solanum tuberosum, and referred to as yams by people in G Province. It is said that G Province has three treasures: Solanum tuberosum, potatoes, and yams.

The potatoes at Chen Gang’s home were small in size, but when cooked they were smooth, sweet, and sandy. The taste was quite good.

As everyone was eating, the child in Jiujiu’s arms, who was at the age of teething, saw the adults chewing and didn’t want to sit still anymore, starting to struggle.

A one-year-old child, when being rough, is quite strong. Coupled with Jiujiu’s petite size, she couldn’t hold on and both she and the child fell to the ground. The child cried with a "wah".

Seeing this, Li Xianglan put down her bowl, got up, picked up the child, and kicked Jiujiu hard with her foot. Jiujiu coiled up on the ground, not daring to cry.

Li Xianglan, still angered, stomped hard on Jiujiu’s stomach. She used all her strength in this kick. Jiujiu gave a muffled hum, biting her lower lip hard to hold back the tears. She knew if she cried, her aunt would beat her more violently.

Chen Qiang acted as if he hadn’t seen anything and continued to peel potatoes. Chen Gang, on the other hand, had rage in his eyes, but he dared not intervene. If he did, Jiujiu would suffer a worse beating after the event.

Gu Xiaobei was infuriated. She slammed down her chopsticks, stood up and blocked Jiujiu, shouting at Li Xianglan: "What are you doing? She’s just a young child. How can you be so cruel?"

Li Xianglan sneered: "This girl eats all day without working, don’t let her pitiful look deceive you."

Gu Xiaobei glared at Li Xianglan furiously. Even in her previous life when things weren’t good, her aunt had never hit her, she even sent her to school. Now Jiujiu, if things continue this way, will die in this family sooner or later.

Gu Xiaobei, feeling distressed, crouched down to help Jiujiu sit up: "Jiujiu, tell auntie where it hurts". Those two kicks were not light.

Jiujiu sat up, held back the tears in her eyes and said: "Auntie, I’m not in pain." She dared not say it hurt because after these people left, her aunt would beat her even harder.

Gu Xiaobei felt a little heartache, so young and she had to learn how to suffer in silence. She reached out to lift Jiujiu’s shirt, intending to check if there was anything wrong with her stomach.

As soon as she lifted the clothes, she was stunned. Apart from patches of green and purple, there was a palm-sized burn scar on her ribs. The dark red wound was somewhat terrifying to look at, it was obvious that it had not been properly treated when it happened.

Gu Xiaobei’s nose turned sour and she was on the verge of shedding tears.

Li Xianglan, carrying the child, went back to the table and resumed eating.

After everyone had finished their meal and left one after another, Gu Xiaobei turned around to find that Jiujiu had seized the opportunity to take a potato from the table and stuffed it into her mouth without peeling it, swallowing it eagerly. She couldn’t help it, tears fell down.

The cellar was in a corner of the yard, like a well, about a meter in diameter, and was dug two to three meters down. Two one-meter-deep holes were dug at the bottom. There was no ladder, but several small holes were dug on the sides to serve as footholds.

Chen Qiang stepped down on the footrests while Chen Gang handed the basket tied to a hemp rope down. After loading it up, Chen Gang hoisted the basket up bit by bit.

Li Xianglan sat in the middle of the yard, nursing her child and watching Jiujiu standing at the kitchen door, scolding her: "You lazy girl, standing there idling, can’t you wash the dishes? You’re like a grindstone, only moving a bit when pushed."

Jiujiu was startled and trembled a little, murmuring: "There’s no water in the vat."

"Then go and feed the chickens. Feed them less bran and chop the hay into small pieces." Li Xianglan immediately ordered Jiujiu to feed the chickens, as if she just couldn’t bear to see Jiujiu idle.

Gu Xiaobei watched, feeling angry but helpless. This was a family matter, if she interfered, Jiujiu would certainly suffer after she left. She could only hold in her anger and watch.

The potatoes in Chen Gang’s house were indeed small, the large ones being about the size of a fist, and the small ones about the size of a chicken egg. Li Fengmei was a bit reluctant to take them, considering the size of the potatoes. Once they were peeled, there wouldn’t be much left. It was estimated that the skin would account for half of the weight.

Dadong, however, kept advocating from the side: "Mom, just buy it, isn’t this pretty good? The potatoes we ate at noon were so delicious, much better than the bigger ones."

Li Fengmei was in a dilemma and looked at Gu Xiaobei, saying: "Sister-in-law, what do you think?"

"Let’s buy it then, it really tasted pretty good when we had it at noon." Gu Xiaobei didn’t think too much and agreed with Dadong’s suggestion.

Listened to this, Chen Qiang was very happy and rubbed his hands together with a broad smile on his face. On the other hand, Chen Gang’s face seemed a bit suppressed, his eyes full of worry as he kept looking at Jiujiu, who was chopping chicken feed not so far away.

Jiujiu stood up after mixing the chicken feed, holding the basin and preparing to go to the chicken coop.

Li Xianglan yelled again: "Hold on, bring it over for me to see."

Jiujiu brought it over, and Li Xianglan became dissatisfied again after one glance. She fiercely poked Jiujiu’s forehead with her index finger and viciously said: "Didn’t I tell you to use less bran? How come you still use so much? Once the bran runs out in winter, I’ll chop you up to feed the chickens, got it?"

Jiujiu was pushed back a few steps by the poke and nearly fell over.

"Why are you backing away? Come here." Li Xianglan glared and said discontentedly.

Jiujiu bit her lower lip, tears welled up in her eyes. But she didn’t dare to let them fall. Holding the basin of chicken feed, she walked a few steps closer to Li Xianglan.

As Li Xianglan was about to make another move, Gu Xiaobei, who had already had enough, stepped forward and pulled Jiujiu behind her, confronting Li Xianglan: "What are you trying to do? She’s just a kid. How can you treat her this way?"

Li Xianglan immediately lost her momentum and defended herself: "This girl makes a habit of tricking people with her poor appearance."

"I don’t see any trickery from her, all I see is you berating and beating her non-stop. You’re a mother yourself, how can you be so ruthless!" Gu Xiaobei scoffed, glaring at Li Xianglan.

Li Xianglan said nothing, glared at Jiujiu fiercely and carried the child back into the house with a look that said "just you wait".

Gu Xiaobei turned to Chen Qiang and said: "Isn’t this your own little sister? Aren’t you going to do anything?"

Knowing that he was in the wrong, Chen Qiang kept his head down and said nothing. Chen Gang, however, was worried. After Gu Xiaobei left, Jiujiu would probably get beaten half-dead by Li Xianglan.

Gu Xiaobei looked at Chen Qiang in disgust, crouched down, and asked Jiujiu, who had a red forehead from being poked: "Jiujiu, do you live like this every day?"

Jiujiu didn’t dare to make a sound. But her reddened eyes and the tears in them confirmed Gu Xiaobei’s words silently.