As these words were uttered, Lady Ding's face instantly turned pale, and the villagers gathering outside the door also started buzzing with discussions.
"You little brat, who gets an egg every day? When have I ever given out an egg every day? It's all for you heartless little beasts!" Lady Ding glared with round eyes, constantly making eye signals to Ji Dashan.
Ji Dashan cared about his face too, and he immediately put on a stern face and said, "Don't spout nonsense, or I'll kick you all out!"
Ji Xinhe quickly shrank into Ji Dong's arms in fear, "I was wrong, dad, please don't kick me out. Winter is coming; if I go out, wouldn't I freeze to death? I won't eat eggs anymore, all the nice food will go to stepmom and Sister Xiulan. My brother Xiao Bei and I can starve, it's okay. Xiao Bei, do you remember what your sister said? From now on, you must behave. Even if you get eggs from Gou Dan, you have to give them to mom, and you're not allowed to eat meat."
Upon hearing Ji Xinhe's words, Xiao Bei felt wronged, and his eyes reddened, "Xiao Bei never had eggs or meat. Whenever I was envious of stepmom and Sister Xiulan eating, at most I'd swallow my saliva. I've been good, right?"
"Xiao Bei is the best behaved. Even if life is harder, it's better than being kicked out and freezing to death in the cold," Ji Xinhe said as tears rolled down her cheeks and her small shoulders shook with sobs.
Xiao Bei cried out loud, "Sis, if only mom were alive."
"Yes, if mother were alive, she would never falsely accuse Xiao Bei of being a thief, nor would she refuse to give an egg even when sister was hurt like this."
Finally, someone couldn't stand it anymore, "Old Ji, you're being too hard-hearted towards the kids. With the child injured like this, what's wrong with an egg? Your wife gets an egg a day; sharing one with the kid wouldn't hurt. And to falsely accuse the child of being a thief, how can you be so heartless? Aren't you afraid your deceased wife will come back to haunt you at night for revenge?"
"That's right, just look at how thin these kids are. You'd best watch out for divine retribution!"
Lady Ding shrieked, "Don't listen to this little girl's gibberish. What nonsense are they talking about that you're believing them!"
Ji Dong clenched his teeth and said, "Xin He needed money to see the doctor and get medicine, which you didn't provide. It was I who borrowed it from Li Lang, with the plan to do hard labor in the town later and pay it back."
The villagers once again burst into whispered discussions.
Lady Ding's eyes popped wide, "The home's silver coins couldn't be accessed at the moment, so I only told you to borrow from Li Lang for the time being. How could I really let you do hard labor?"
Ji Xinhe wiped away her tears, "Brother, it's our fault. We wronged mom, thinking she purposefully withheld money. It seems there's no money at home after all. It's my stupidity; I always thought our family was rich."
In the past, Ji Dong would have thought Ji Xinhe had lost her mind again and scolded her to snap out of it. But this time he somehow felt Ji Xinhe had changed, and he bizarrely continued the line of questioning, "Why would you think our family has money?"
"Inside mom's jewelry box, there's a fine golden hairpin, silver hairpins, and a green bracelet that looks quite valuable."
The crowd erupted into a commotion. Perhaps it was because Li Lang was also nearby joining the ruckus, he couldn't help but stand out and scold, "Ji Dashan's wife, you're truly too much. For just seventy copper coins for medical expenses, you had Dongzi borrow from me. I thought your family was truly short on silver coins and couldn't make the turnover, so I agreed. I didn't expect you to have the audacity!"
Lady Ding's face turned from green to white, glaring fiercely at Ji Dashan.
Ji Dashan then shouted at Ji Xinhe, "Have you caused enough trouble? Do you want to make sure our old Ji family's reputation is completely ruined?!"
Ji Xinhe sneered internally, what did the Ji family's reputation have to do with her!
But Ji Xinhe was now "scared" and cried even harder, "Dad, I was wrong, it was my fault, please don't hit me. Last time, you beat me for eating a piece of Sister Xiulan's chestnut cake, so much that I couldn't get out of bed for three days. I will definitely not make you angry again, dad, please don't hit me!"
The villagers were truly furious, "Old Ji, you better not lose your conscience! These are your own children after all!"
Ji Dong clenched his fists, obviously unable to hold back any longer, and suddenly stood up, directly facing Ji Dashan.
Ji Dashan staggered in fright, retreating several steps in a row. He had always been timid by nature and only dared to throw his weight around in front of his children. Ji Dong had never contradicted him before, but now, all of a sudden, he exploded with such a menacing expression, indeed startling him, and he even felt fear in his heart.
"If dad and mom don't care about us, it's better to separate us out early. I'll take my brothers and sisters and live alone; it's better than letting them continue to be bullied," Ji Dong articulated through gritted teeth.
"How can this be! What kind of reasoning is this—children talking about separation? Our Ji family definitely can't do such a thing!" Lady Ding screamed, clearly not willing to let go of the few kids just starting to make money. Not to mention Ji Dong and Ji Bei's labor, but most importantly, Ji Xinhe—the silver from the pork deal was already in her hands, and that matter wasn't settled yet. How could she shove Ji Xinhe to the pork dealer if she were separated out?
Now, Ji Xinhe realized that Ji Dashan always liked to use the threat of kicking them out, but actually, Lady Ding could never bear to really drive them away. Since she's scared, doesn't that mean this is an opportunity that can be used as leverage?
Ji Xinhe blinked at Ji Dong, who caught on immediately and said directly, "At home, we're scolded for freeloading, denied money for medical treatment, and begrudged even a single chicken egg. Now when we talk about separating, mom isn't happy. Does mom want to force us to death?"
Lady Ding was severely choked by these words, but Ji Dong and his siblings watched her calmly, as if enjoying a good show.
Ji Dashan was also out of ideas and could only look towards Lady Ding.
Everyone's gaze shifted to Lady Ding.
Ji Xinhe simply fanned the flames, directly addressing the villagers, "Uncles and aunties, please help us out. Invite the village head to certify for us. My parents want to kick us out, and we feel the same, so let's just separate."
Lady Ding hurriedly interjected, "Separate what? We're all family. I couldn't possibly let you youngsters go out and face the Northwest Wind! I'll immediately compensate the money owed to Li Lang, and as for a mere chicken egg, if you want to eat, mom will give you one! You're just a child throwing temper tantrums too readily, how can such behavior be acceptable?"
The matter with the pork dealer was of utmost importance; she couldn't let Ji Xinhe get away at any cost!
"Xinhe is sick; one chicken egg won't be enough," Ji Dong stated.
Xiao Bei also chimed in, "Right, she needs one every day! And she needs to eat meat daily as well." He outright opened his mouth wide like a lion asking for more.
Lady Ding was hurting inside, but still gritted her teeth and agreed, "Of course, that's only right."
Meanwhile, inside she was venomously plotting, "Let's let you enjoy a few good days for now. Tomorrow I'll use some means again, and you must follow the pork dealer! The money lost today, I'll earn it all back tomorrow!"
It was only then that Ji Xinhe grinned, "I knew mom was the best. Just now, I was just throwing a temper tantrum at mom. If we really separated, I really wouldn't bear to leave dad and mom, though."
Today I gave you the opportunity to separate, but you didn't take it. Wait for the future, and it'll be several times worse than this.
Ji Xinhe sneered inside, her face beaming with smiles, yet she was indistinctly touched by a chilling sentiment.
Lady Ding watched on, inexplicably feeling a chill running down her spine.