"Ouch, mom, I want to go home!" Liuliu improvised. Continuing as things were just wouldn't do. She decided to go home with her mother's family under the pretense of her illness and seize the opportunity to get clear about the circumstances of her maternal kin.
"Huzi, quickly, carry your sister home! The rest of you just wait for me. When he comes back, we will settle the scores with him!" While instructing her second son, Liuliu's mother did not forget to threaten her in-laws.
Liu Hu, Liuliu's second brother, heeding his mother's call to carry his sister back home, abandoned his defiance. He hastily bent down to carry Liuliu, "Your second brother will take you home, Liuliu, don't be afraid!" This tough guy suddenly softened into a tender-hearted second brother. Liuliu was amazed, her family was truly extraordinary!
After Liuliu's maternal family took her away, the elderly couple left behind exchanged glances before they collapsed. They were relieved that they had left. Just thinking about Liuliu's mother threatening to chop off her son's hand made them anxious and terrified.
"What can we do, dear? They are determined to chop off Xiaotian's hand, wu wu wu!" The grandmother, being a weak woman, said while sobbing uncontrollably.
"Don't worry, during this time, don't let Xiaotian come home, even if he comes back from hunting, let him go hunting again; just hide for a while. However, LiuLiu seemed to be protecting Xiaotian today, so maybe nothing will happen. We'll see! Once Liuliu's head is better, maybe the Liu Family will calm down too." Today, the grandfather noticed that Liuliu seemed to be very protective of Xiaotian, and he began to harbor some hope for Liuliu.
Yesterday, Liuliu had inquired a lot from Xiaoquan. She initially wanted to ask him about her birth family, but she feared that would seem too abrupt. She couldn't just ask her brother-in-law, "Hey, where does my family live? Do I have parents? Do I have siblings?" That could raise suspicions. Now the opportunity has come; it is time to figure out her origins.
Damn it, so my maternal home is in the neighboring village! The two villages appeared to be a few miles apart. The terrain of this village was lower than that of her husband's village. When they reached her maternal home, she saw a tall courtyard wall. Liuliu now understood that nearly every rural household in these mountains had built courtyard walls. Wealthy families used bricks, while less wealthy families used mud. Her maternal family had a brick wall, which suggested their decent conditions.
Upon entering, Liuliu saw a man around fifty years old slaughtering a pig, with several others assisting him. A big pig, about a hundred pounds or so, was being held down. The old man cut the pig's neck with a knife, and blood gushed out. A wooden basin was placed underneath to catch the blood.
"Dad, Liuliu is back!" As soon as Liuliu's second brother stepped in the door, he called out.
The old man killing the pig turned around and seeing his daughter carried on his son's back, he roared, "Liuliu, wait for dad to finish slaughtering the pig, and I'll cook you some braised pork!" His voice was mighty, yet full of indulgence.
Liuliu understood then, this old man slaughtering the pig was her father. He was as protective as they came. She liked that!
"Dad, I'm back!" Suddenly, Liuliu truly felt like she was home. Who wouldn't like such a family?
"Good! Good! Go to your room and rest first, wait for dad!" Seeing his daughter in good spirits, the old man brightened. He had originally planned to confront them, but with the task of slaughtering the pig at hand, plus his two sons accompanying their mother, it seemed to work out just as fine. His heart felt lighter seeing Liuliu returned safely. So he dedicated himself to slaughter the pig.
Liuliu took the opportunity to size up her maternal family's yard. It was quite spacious, with two courtyards. As they entered the first yard, a large open space was encircled in the middle. It was within this yard her father was slaughtering the pig. Behind the yard were four tile houses. Pass through these and enter another yard. This second yard was not for slaughtering pigs. Inside, clothes were hung out to dry, vegetables were grown around it. It seemed like her mother was good at managing a household, even her mother-in-law, who was so incredibly poor, didn't grow vegetables in her yard. Even her second sister-in-law grew them in her courtyard, could it be the original owner had gambled away even their vegetables?
There were also four tiled houses in the back row. It was a wealthy family's house. Living in so many tiled houses in ancient times was indeed a sign of wealth.
However, looking at the other houses in the village, they were basically all earthen houses. Only a few families like her own maternal family lived in tiled houses. It turns out that her own maternal family and her husband's family were on par. It's just that her in-laws now were only an empty shell; perhaps her maternal family did not even know that their daughter's in-laws were now having problems with their food. After all, judging by appearances, her in-laws were still living in tiled houses!
Liuliu's second brother took her to a room in the rear. At first glance, it was obviously a girl's room, with its pink curtains. The furniture and cabinets were also pale yellow.
"Liuliu, your mother cleans your room every day, look, the quilts have been sun-dried until they're soft." Liuliu's mother helped Liuliu to lie down, talking all the while.
Liuliu was moved, her mother was really good to her daughter, even keeping the room after she got married. Liuliu smiled at her mother, "Mom, my headache is much better after coming back. You go ahead with your tasks, I will be fine after a nap." Liuliu didn't know how the original owner got along with her maternal family and didn't dare to say much, so she chose to play along for now.
"Fine, we will go help your father with slaughtering the pig. You get some sleep. We will call you when dinner is ready." Liuliu's mother covered Liuliu with the quilt and left the room after closing the door.
Once everyone was gone, Liuliu didn't sleep. She got up and looked around, examining the original owner's room, to see what she had stored and discern her preferences. This could also reveal hints about her personality.
After opening all the drawers and cupboards, she didn't find any needlework or books that young girls usually like, nor any jewelry. What she did find were things like a slingshot and wooden swords, from which it could be inferred that the original owner may have been illiterate but enjoyed martial arts. By this reasoning, the original owner's temperament had to be similar to her family's, quick-tempered. However, the color of her furniture suggests she also had the heart of a young girl, dreaming of a beautiful romance. When she found something she liked, she decisively took action. A quick-moving person.
By the way, she looked around but didn't find any money in the original owner's room. Either there wasn't any money, or it had been taken by the original owner and gambled away.
At lunchtime, Liuliu's third brother, a strapping young man in his late teens, came to wake Liuliu for lunch.
"Liuliu, are you feeling better? Can you get up to eat lunch? Mom said if you're still in pain, don't get up. You can eat in bed, or if it's serious we can call a doctor!" He called to Liuliu through the door.
"I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm coming! Just wait for me." Liuliu hadn't slept at all, as she had inspected every nook and cranny of the room, gaining some understanding of her past.
After a short while, Liuliu opened the door and followed her third brother to lunch. Walking through the rear courtyard to a row of tiled houses on the front, they entered the main hall. Inside, a large table was laid out for a meal with a room full of people. After a quick glance around, Liuliu had a pretty good idea of who everyone was. The man sitting with her father was likely her uncle or her older uncle, he looked about seventy percent similar to her father yet seemed slightly older, so he was probably her older uncle. There were also two men around twenty, perhaps they were her brothers? So how many brothers did she really have?