When Dahe’s father heard it, he was shocked. “You… Xiaoxi is dead?” Hearing that, he couldn’t quite take it in. Although he hadn’t treated Xiaoxi—their daughter—very well, she was still his daughter; the news was hard to accept.

“She’s dead, just as you wished. The family’s food won’t be wasted.” Dahe gave a forced little laugh. His stepmother had often scolded and beaten his sister for wasting food and said many cruel things; those words had sunk deep into his heart.

Dahe’s father’s already sullen face darkened further. He rubbed at the edge of his clothes and asked Dahe quietly, “How did Xiaoxi die?”

When they fled, he had wanted to take both Dahe and Xiaoxi with him, but his wife had objected—bringing so many people would make escape impossible. It would be better to leave Dahe and Xiaoxi behind; maybe they’d still have a chance. He thought it over and agreed.

He hadn’t expected that his son would survive while his daughter would die.

Though his son mattered most to him, a daughter was still his flesh and blood. Hearing that she had died, he could not help but grieve.

“Starved to death.” Dahe ground out the words through his teeth. He wouldn’t tell his father the truth about how his sister had died—he wanted his father to live in guilt forever.

If Li Qingling hadn’t taken them in, they really would have starved to death long ago.

What he said was not without truth.

Hearing that, Dahe’s father involuntarily took a step back; sorrow showed plainly on his face. He looked at Dahe’s hateful expression and opened his mouth, but didn’t know what to say.

The stepmother jumped up and began shouting at Dahe. “What nonsense! Li Dahe, look at you—do you look like someone who hasn’t eaten? Huh?” No one believed her when she said that.

She spoke loudly; the people in line nearby all turned to look. Seeing Dahe and the others clean and not looking like refugees, their expressions shifted.

Li Qingling felt her heart drop. Before leaving, she had had everyone change into ragged clothes to be less conspicuous.

But with Dahe’s stepmother blabbering like that, the contrast between them and the others was still obvious.

She set her face coldly, stepped forward to stand between Dahe and his stepmother, and faced the woman. “If it weren’t for us saving Dahe, he wouldn’t be alive today.” She paused, then sneered, “A stepmother is a stepmother—she fled with her own son and left the older children at home, not leaving any grain, letting them fend for themselves. Who could be crueller than that?”

After addressing the stepmother, she turned to Dahe’s father. “And you—how could you, their father, do something worse than a beast?” Li Qingling looked at the flushed face of Dahe’s father and added, “Sure enough, where there’s a stepmother there’s a stepfather—those words aren’t lies.”

Her aim was to shift everyone’s attention away from the children and onto Dahe’s parents.

As she intended, the crowd immediately began pointing at Dahe’s parents and criticizing them, all agreeing the couple had been heartless to abandon their children when fleeing.

The stepmother was offended and snapped back at the crowd, “What are you talking about? I don’t believe any of you, if you were a stepmother, you wouldn’t be partial?” She spat that the children weren’t from her womb, so favoritism was normal. “Get lost! This is my family business—don’t flap your mouths here.”

Her nasty attitude offended the crowd further.

“Look at that woman—so fierce, no one would dare marry her, so she became someone’s stepmother.”

“Exactly, even as a stepmother you shouldn’t be that cruel. People like that will get their karma.”

“If she’s heartless as a stepmother, fine, but for the father to be so cold too—that’s a rarity. Isn’t he afraid the old wife back home will come and make trouble?”

Hearing these comments, Dahe’s father reddened with shame. He tugged at his wife’s sleeve, trying to make her say less and not offend so many people.

But at home he usually had no authority; his words carried little weight. Now when he tried to rein her in, his wife simply ignored him.

“What are you tugging my clothes for?” The stepmother glared at him. Not daring to argue with the crowd, she picked on the perceived softer target. “Li Dahe, come over here—what are you hiding behind this girl for?”

“What? You failed once, and now you want to try again?” Li Qingling widened her eyes and stared at the stepmother as if she were a monster. “I’ll tell you this: as long as I’m here, I won’t let you hurt Dahe again.”

Even if later Dahe had to return to live with them, in public she had to defend him so he’d know he wasn’t alone—that they had his back.

The stepmother was furious with Li Qingling. She took a heavy breath, pointed at her, and spat out slander: “You protect Li Dahe so much—do you have a thing going with him, huh?”

That accusation gravely wounded Li Qingling’s reputation. If she didn’t clear it up, the crowd would tear at her with their words.

Before Li Qingling could speak, Liu Zhimou stepped forward with a dark face and stood beside her. “Auntie, this girl is my fiancée. If you don’t apologize to her, we’ll take this to the magistrate.”

Though they weren’t people obsessed with reputation, they wouldn’t tolerate such a serious slander.

Hearing the stepmother’s absurd words, Dahe couldn’t bear it anymore. He stepped out from behind Li Qingling, his eyes red, and choked, “Mother, Sister Li and the others saved my life—if you aren’t grateful that’s one thing, but to slander her like this… what do you mean?” If his birth mother were alive she would never say such things.

After all, she wasn’t his birth mother; she didn’t care about him.

His eyes turned to his father. Taking a deep breath, he said, “Father, if you don’t want me anymore, say it plainly. Don’t humiliate my benefactors like this.” He bit his lip and continued, “If you tell me to leave, I—I’d rather starve than beg to come back home like some parasite.”

“You… what nonsense are you talking?” Dahe’s father stammered, trying to comfort him. Then he turned to his wife with a fierce look. “Lai Dani, say another word and see what I do to you.”

Even the meekest man can be terrifying when angry.

Seeing Dahe’s father turn fierce, the stepmother felt a chill. She murmured a couple of discontented words but fell silent.

At home he was often weak and compliant, but when he got angry he could be frightening. She remembered vividly how, on the road while fleeing, he had driven off people trying to steal their grain.

Dahe looked at his stepmother in surprise—he had expected her to lash out at his father, but instead she obediently shut up. Truly, the sun had risen in the west.

“Dahe, come stand with your father. Once we receive the grain, we’ll go home as a family.” If he hadn’t added that last line, Dahe might have felt a little touched. But added on, it left a bitter taste.

Would his father be as kind to him if there were no grain to take? He doubted it.

“No, I’ll stay right here.” Dahe refused curtly. “Father, I’ve been living off Brother Zhimou’s family these past months and I feel bad about it. I want to return the five sacks of rice we receive as my thanks. You don’t mind, do you?”

Hearing that, Dahe’s father’s face shifted, then he forced a stiff smile. “No objection—that’s only right.” Though he wanted to object, with so many people watching he couldn’t.

If he had said no, the crowd would have drowned him in curses.

“No way—absolutely not. Five sacks of rice are lifesaving for our family.” The stepmother objected strongly, glaring at Dahe. “Look at Liu Zhimou and his people—they don’t look like they lack grain. Why give it to them? If you give our grain away, don’t come home—just go and eat at their place.” She refused to let others freeload off what she considered her household’s food.

“It’s not our blood; I’m not going to raise someone else’s son for nothing.”

“Auntie, you must be joking. If we weren’t short of grain, why would we come here to receive rations?” Li Qingling’s expression was cold. If she didn’t retort, people would really assume her family had plenty of food—and that would bring trouble to them.

“We hid up on Song Mountain because the children were too young to flee far, and my hunting’s not bad—so the kids could sometimes eat a bit of meat and look relatively well. But that doesn’t give you the right to slander us as having grain. If your irresponsible words cause us to miss out on rations, our whole family will be forced to come to your house and eat every day.” Threats were a tool anyone could use.