Qin Dongping was also utterly frayed. He had brought the two little girls back to his hometown earlier, thinking it would let Ma Juan rest and recuperate properly. But no sooner had they stepped through the door than the county public security office called the village commune asking after the children, treating him like some sort of child trafficker. He'd had no choice but to rush back to the city in a tearing hurry.
But his mother had been dead set on keeping one of the girls at home, insisting that he had to leave a granddaughter behind so they could raise a nephew for the family, otherwise his branch of the Qin line would die out with no male heir.
He had actually wanted to bring Big Girl back with them, too—she was old enough to do chores, and could help look after her little sister. But then Big Girl had offered to stay of her own accord, what was he supposed to do about that? He'd barely stepped inside their city home, hadn't even had a sip of water, when Ma Juan started throwing a fit. He truly couldn't see what all the fuss was about. They were all kids of the Qin family, what difference did it make which one they raised? And besides, even if she was upset about something, couldn't they have talked it over properly behind closed doors? Why yell and scream so loud, drawing everyone's attention and making a laughingstock of the whole family?
"That's your Qin family's kid, what does she have to do with me, Ma Juan? You say your mother would treat Big Girl well? But what about all the bruises on Second Girl's body? Are you blind? Which old bastard pinched my daughter until her whole body was black and blue?"
She reached out to feel Second Girl's forehead. The fever had gone down a little after she took the medicine, she wasn't burning as hot anymore. Right now, the only thing that mattered to her was getting Qin Dongping to bring Big Girl back. She knew a bad fever could not only damage a child's brain, it could kill them. She didn't even dare to think about what might be happening to Big Girl out there all alone right now.
"Ma Juan, why do you have to talk so crudely? On the way back, Second Girl was clinging to her sister and wouldn't let go, even started yelling insults at her grandma. That's why grandma pinched her just a couple times, she didn't hit her hard at all. The girl's so unruly, it's all because you spoiled her rotten. She dares curse an elder, I only didn't beat her because she was running a fever."
"Mommy," Second Girl stretched out a tiny hand to tug at Ma Juan's sleeve just then, "Sister said I'd be scared if I stayed there all alone... She told me to come back first, that she'd find her own way home, and told me not to be afraid."
Hearing what Second Girl said, Ma Juan nearly lost her mind. "Qin Dongping, your whole Qin family's a pack of beasts. Marrying you has been the worst luck of my entire life, eight lifetimes of bad fortune."
"Ma Juan, if you keep running your mouth like that, I'll slap you."
Qin Dongping grabbed Ma Juan by the arm by the doorway and tried to yank her back inside, ready to shut the door and sort things out privately. So much had gone wrong lately, he'd already become the laughingstock of the whole hospital.
At least if he got her inside, he could smooth things over with her. He was a grown man, he couldn't go begging for mercy in front of all these gawking onlookers, where would his dignity be then?
But Ma Juan wrenched free of his grip, and suddenly dropped to her knees, kowtowing toward the people gathered at the bottom of the stairwell. "Please, someone, call the police for me! My Big Girl's in the hands of Qin Dongping's mother, she's in terrible danger, I'm begging you all!"
She knew if Qin Dongping dragged her back into the house right now, she might not get another chance to say this in who knew how long. She couldn't wait, every single second felt like torture.
One of the onlookers, unable to stand by and watch, turned and ran out through the blowing snow, heading for the police station to file a report.
Qin Dongping was furious beyond belief. They were all family, the kid was just staying with her grandma, how did this end up with someone calling the cops? The police had already come asking twice in three days, what were the villagers going to say about his family behind their backs?
The man who had run out to report to the police had just reached the building gate, when a young nurse came rushing out of the hospital toward them.
"Excuse me, which family building does Qin Dongping live in? His little girl's had an accident."
The man froze, then led the nurse straight toward Qin Dongping's apartment building.
Qin Dongping was still yanking Ma Juan up off the floor, not even having dragged her fully back inside, when the nurse ran into the hallway.
"Doctor Qin, we just got a call from your hometown. It says your Big Girl... fell into the water... and she's gone..."
Everyone froze right where they stood. How could that be? That child was lively and kicking just a couple days ago, how could she drown in the middle of winter?
"You're lying," Qin Dongping's voice cracked. "The river back in our hometown is frozen solid, how could anyone drown?"
He could barely believe his own ears. He had parted from his daughter less than a day ago, this couldn't be real.
The nurse caught her breath and panted out the full details of the call.
After Qin Dongping left, none of the Qin family had even bothered to check on Big Girl's fever. They had sent her out to the river to fetch water instead. Burning up, her head spinning so bad she could barely stand straight, she had squatted down next to a hole in the ice to scoop up water, when a wave of dizziness hit her, and she pitched straight into the frigid water under the ice.
Some kids playing ice tops nearby saw what happened, and ran back to get the adults. But by the time they got to the river, it was already too late.
The Qin family had tried to keep the news from Qin Dongping, but the village chief had called the hospital to tell him, asking if he was coming back to handle the funeral arrangements. The chief knew what the Qin family were like—if Qin Dongping didn't come back, they wouldn't even bother to dig a proper grave for the child, they'd just dump her body out in the hills behind the village.
It took Ma Juan a long moment to react. She suddenly bolted into the kitchen, and hurled a kitchen knife straight at Qin Dongping. He dodged out of the way just in time, and the knife clattered against the cement floor, bouncing several times across the ground.
"Mommy!" Second Girl screamed at the top of her lungs, terrified. But Ma Juan went rigid, and fainted right where she stood.
Her face was as white as paper, her lips trembling too much to speak. Someone noticed dark blood spreading down the legs of her trousers.
The neighbors rushed over in a flurry to carry Ma Juan to the hospital. One person held Second Girl in their arms, others lifted Ma Juan up, the whole hallway descended into chaos. Second Girl struggled in the stranger's arms, screaming for her mother, the sound so heartbreaking it made everyone listening tear up.
Qin Dongping stared at the knife on the floor, his legs went so weak he had to lean against the doorframe to keep from collapsing. He left Ma Juan and Second Girl in the care of their neighbors, and set off alone to head back to his hometown again.
All the people who had been watching the commotion left with heavy hearts. The older aunties standing around wiped tears from their eyes.
Everyone felt terrible for the poor little girl, running a high fever and still being forced to fetch water from a hole in the ice. They hated how cruel the Qin family was, and they were all worried about Ma Juan too—there was such a big puddle of blood seeping through her cotton pants, it had looked absolutely frightening.
Xiao Mandong's chest felt tight and heavy too. She got home and saw the cold, congealed food on the table, and she couldn't bring herself to eat a single bite. She poured the whole bowl of rice into Diandian's food bowl, and Diandian wagged his tail, over the moon.
Xiao Mandong sat at the table lost in thought, when she suddenly heard Gu Jianghan's voice outside.
At first she thought she'd misheard him. They'd just parted a little while ago, why was he back already?
She opened the door, and there he was, the tall man covered in a fine layer of frost from the cold outside. Two horse-drawn carts were parked behind him, one loaded with firewood, the other full of coal briquettes.
"You... what's all this?" Xiao Mandong's words caught in her throat, her eyes stinging. She remembered her past life, when she'd had to chop all the firewood herself, when no one would even help her pick up a fallen broom if she couldn't reach it. She couldn't bear to think about it, every memory just made her chest ache.
"The weather's turned cold, you can't get by without enough firewood to heat the place," Gu Jianghan said, as he called over the men with him to start unloading the carts.
The men who'd driven the carts set to work together, moving quickly and efficiently. In no time at all, the once bare, desolate yard was stacked high with piles of firewood and coal. The little home suddenly felt warm, full of the cozy smell of a life lived well.
