Chapter 59
As expected, when the food was served in the morning, there was none for Qiu Chi.
Qiu Chi even made a point to ask, "Where's my food?"
Old Woman Zhou snorted coldly. "Money-losing goods can eat shit!"
"Oh. Since I can't eat, then no one else will either."
Before Old Woman Zhou could react, Qiu Chi snatched the basin from her hands, lifted it over her head, and looked as if she was about to smash it.
Old Woman Zhou's face instantly paled in horror. Her lips trembled, but she couldn't utter a word.
Grandpa Zhou and Father Zhou could finally no longer remain calm.
Grandpa Zhou frowned deeply. "What do you think you're doing? Put the food down right now."
Father Zhou's brow was also furrowed. "You've been causing trouble since yesterday. Haven't you had enough?"
Mother Zhou quickly tried to persuade her in a low voice, "Erxi, hurry and put the basin down. Don't drop the food on the ground."
Facing several people alone, Qiu Chi was completely unafraid. "Wouldn't it be perfect if it fell? Then everyone can join me in not eating. That sounds great."
Of course, they had no intention of starving along with Qiu Chi.
But if they tried to snatch it back, they were afraid the food would really end up on the floor. They could only compromise.
Grandpa Zhou said, "Put the basin down and eat properly."
Qiu Chi's tone was innocent. "But there's no food for me?"
Old Woman Zhou clutched her chest and said hurriedly, "There is, there is! Just put the basin down quickly."
Qiu Chi didn't believe her. "Really? Are you sure you're not lying to me? What if I put it down and you go back on your word? Next time, I'll just smash it on the ground directly."
Even though Old Woman Zhou wanted nothing more than to beat Qiu Chi to death right now, she could only show weakness. "There really is. Hurry and put the basin down."
With her small, eight-year-old frame, they were genuinely afraid she would lose her grip and drop the food.
Old Woman Zhou's word wasn't enough. Qiu Chi turned her gaze to Grandpa Zhou and Father Zhou. Only after seeing them both nod did she feel satisfied.
"Now, that's more like it. If you'd just done this from the start, we could have avoided all this trouble."
Qiu Chi placed the basin on the table, and Old Woman Zhou immediately hugged it to herself as if it were a precious treasure.
She glared at Qiu Chi, about to say something, but Grandpa Zhou cut in, "Alright, hurry up and serve the food. Don't be late for work."
And so, after her little rebellion, Qiu Chi finally got a share of the food. Although it was a pitifully small amount, she didn't complain.
However, she didn't have much of an appetite. She glanced around at the Zhou family, gave up on the idea of sharing her food with them, and ate it herself.
As expected, it tasted mediocre.
After the meal, it was supposed to be Qiu Chi's turn to wash the dishes. She also had to watch three-year-old San Fu, clean the house, and catch insects to feed the family's few chickens.
But after what happened yesterday, Old Woman Zhou really didn't trust Qiu Chi to watch San Fu. She had to turn to Dahua instead. "You stay home and watch San Fu today. You can go wash the clothes in the river when I come back to cook lunch."
Dahua was delighted not to have to work in the fields. "I know, Granny. I'll definitely take good care of San Fu."
Seeing this, Old Woman Zhou looked at Qiu Chi again.
Before she could speak, Qiu Chi said, "Don't look at me. I'm not going to help you with anything. I'm still a child."
Old Woman Zhou let out a heavy snort, didn't assign her any other tasks, and left the house.
Left behind, Dahua held San Fu and looked at Qiu Chi. "Erxi, why have you become like this? Isn't it our duty to work? What family's children don't work?"
"If you want to work, then work. Don't drag me into it."
With that, Qiu Chi walked straight out the door.
She went up the mountain to look for food, but at the foot of the mountain, she ran into Maizi and her group of friends again.
At her age, Maizi was already old enough for marriage discussions. Her family had already started looking for potential matches, so instead of making her work in the fields, they let her stay home and rest up.
She had nothing to do today, so she came up the mountain with her friends to try her luck and gather some firewood.
Now, seeing Qiu Chi, Maizi was reminded of what happened last night. She immediately picked up a random branch and charged at Qiu Chi. "You damn brat! There's no one here today. I'm going to get my revenge for last night!"
Before she could reach her, Qiu Chi spoke. "If you don't want everyone to know about you and Educated Youth Sun, then by all means, come at me."
Not only did Maizi not stop, but her voice grew even louder. "You damn brat, what nonsense are you spouting? Watch me tear your mouth apart!"
Qiu Chi sneered and grabbed Maizi's wrist. She mercilessly snatched the branch from Maizi's hand, ignoring her cry of pain. "Three days ago, while everyone was at work, I saw you and Educated Youth Sun in the reeds. I don't need to spell out what you were doing, do I?"
Maizi couldn't break free from Qiu Chi's grip. Hearing Qiu Chi's words, her face flushed red with anger. "What nonsense are you talking about!"
She looked pleadingly at her friends, but unfortunately, they were the fair-weather sort. Besides, Educated Youth Sun was handsome, and Maizi wasn't the only one who liked him.
At this moment, they all stood watching from a distance. Not a single one stepped forward.
Qiu Chi continued, "You know perfectly well whether it's nonsense or not. And it wasn't just three days ago. Yesterday afternoon, didn't you and Educated Youth Sun go into the reeds again? Should I repeat what you two said for your friends to hear?"
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