Chapter 30: She Refuses to Submit! She Hates! She Resents!

Bai Ruzhu was drenched in sweat, her back soaked through. Her naturally fair face was flushed as if scalded by boiling water, and she gritted her teeth, hunched over to harvest the rice. She had never done such labor before; she had always lived a quiet life, embroidering at home or occasionally going for a stroll, never even having carried a bucket of water.

At this moment, the only ones in the family capable of working were her, her mother, and her brother. The entire village was harvesting rice. Her grandfather, anxious and impatient, had forced them out into the fields. Deprived of her grandmother’s protection and coddling, these past few days had been nothing short of miserable. There was endless work to be done, and her once delicate, fair hands were already rough and ruined.

That she had fallen to such a state was all the fault of that cursed fool! She should have remained an idiot her whole life. She was already dead, so why did she have to come back? In a fit of resentment, Bai Ruzhu lunged with her sickle.

"Ah! My hand!"

Caught off guard, the sickle not only cut the rice but also sliced a deep gash into her hand. Blood dripped instantly. Bai Feijing, exhausted and half-dead, heard her cry and rushed over immediately.

"Zhuer, what’s wrong? Your hand?" Seeing it bleeding profusely, his face turned pale with anxiety. He stomped his feet, at a total loss for what to do.

Hearing the commotion, Mrs. Liu hurried over. Upon seeing her daughter’s bleeding hand, her expression darkened. "It’s nothing. Just find some herbs and patch it up."

She was joking—if one of the three people in the family capable of working stopped now, would the rice ever get harvested? Mrs. Liu glanced around, stepped onto the field ridge, and grabbed a handful of weeds. She chewed them up thoroughly in her mouth, returned to Bai Ruzhu’s side, and unhesitatingly spat the sticky green mash onto the wound.

"Sss—" Bai Ruzhu winced in pain, tears welling in her eyes. "Mother, it hurts. Can’t I go back and see a doctor today?"

Mrs. Liu’s face remained cold. "What a trivial matter to see a doctor for! My own waist is aching, yet I’m still working. Don’t try to find excuses to be lazy. Once the bleeding stops, get back to cutting rice."

She had never liked this daughter. After all that hardship in the delivery room, she hadn't expected the child to grow up and not only remain distant from her own mother but also spend all day fawning over her grandmother. To anyone who didn't know better, it would seem as if she were the grandmother’s late-life daughter.

Bai Feijing frowned, disagreeing. "Mother, this wound looks deep; we can't just brush it off. Let me carry Zhuer to see the village doctor."

Mrs. Liu glared at her son. She was full of resentment; if the daughter wasn't close to her, the son was no better. "What doctor? Get back to work!" she barked, turning away to resume cutting.

Bai Ruzhu felt a wave of bitterness, tears streaming down her face. Her grandmother was gone, and there was truly no one left in the house who cared for her. Once she managed to calm herself and the bleeding slowed, she bit her lip, enduring the pain, and prepared to start cutting again.

Just then, she noticed a few people she despised approaching.

"What are you doing here!" Bai Ruzhu glared at Bai Ruyu, who looked as if she were out for a stroll. Her eyes were filled with venom, especially when she saw Bai Ruyu’s new clothes. The hatred only intensified. Why was she left in such a wretched state while this fool lived better and better? She refused to accept it! She hated her! She loathed her!

"What would I be doing in a field? If not to cut rice, am I here to watch you?" Bai Ruyu felt slightly speechless. She rolled her eyes and stepped into the adjacent field—her own.

"Ha! I knew it! You’re here to mock me!" Bai Ruzhu stood in place, glaring viciously.

Bai Ruyu turned and sighed helplessly. Was there something wrong with this person? "Who has the time to watch you make a fool of yourself? Everyone is busy." With that, she lowered her head and began to cut the rice.

Bai Ruzhu stared at her busy back and sneered, "It’s all because of you! My good life has come to an end, and our family is suffering more every day. Tell me! Where is my grandmother?" She had searched the town for days, but there was no news. She had heard that the old man of the Feng family had happily buried his son, and there must be something fishy about that!

Bai Ruyu didn't stop her work. "Hey! You can’t just go around saying things like that. I never harm anyone." She mostly harmed those who didn't act like human beings. Setting down her rice, she straightened her back and smiled faintly. "What’s the matter? Can’t you survive without servants? And you’re the biological granddaughter of Old Lady Zhang—if you don’t know where she is, how would I?"

Without their father, this family was nothing. They couldn't even manage to harvest a patch of rice properly. Having lived a life of ease for too long, they truly thought they were some sort of nobility.

"You!" Bai Ruzhu, smoke practically coming out of her ears, grabbed her sickle and charged at Bai Ruyu, completely abandoning all pretense of dignity.

Bai Xiuming, quick as a flash, stepped in front of his daughter and caught Bai Ruzhu’s wrist. "What? Are you trying to take my daughter’s life right in front of me?!" His face was grim, his voice stern and sharp.

Cold sweat beaded on Bai Ruzhu’s forehead. Feeling her wrist throbbing, her eyes filled with a layer of mist. "I’m not… I just wanted to scare her. You’re hurting me." She looked pathetic on the surface, but in her heart, she had long since harbored a deep grudge against all of them.

Bai Xiuming let out a cold snort and released her. "It had better be as you say. Otherwise, don't blame me for ignoring the differences of gender or age." After issuing his warning, he turned his back and resumed cutting the rice. Bai Ruyu followed suit, immediately joining in.

Completely ignored, Bai Ruzhu stood there with trembling lips before silently turning away. She was being bullied, yet no one came to help; her mother acted as if she were deaf, and her brother just stood to the side without the slightest intention of intervening. She missed her grandmother so much.

...

The sun hid behind the rolling mountains, painting the sky a deep purplish-red. A gentle breeze brushed against everyone walking home. Bai Ruyu enjoyed the beauty of the moment, squinting her eyes as she walked with a sack of grain slung over her shoulder.

Sanwa, carrying a smaller bag of grain, asked subconsciously, "Big Sister, what are we eating tonight?" After tasting his sister’s cooking, he felt that the meals their mother made weren't as appetizing anymore, though he dared not say that to her, lest he get his backside paddled.

"Hmm? Why are you asking your sister instead of your mother?" Jiang Shi, also carrying a sack of grain, replied with a hint of displeasure.

Sanwa’s face stiffened, and he laughed, "I just think Mother has been working too hard these past few days, so I wanted to let you rest, and Big Sister is feeling better, so she should get some activity."

Little Ya chuckled from the side. "Third Brother, you’re such a coward!"

"Hahaha..." The group burst into laughter.

Bai Ruyu pondered for a moment, thinking of the tomatoes in her shop. "We have a few eggs left at home. How about I make you all stir-fried tomatoes with eggs?"