Inside the house, Chen Laosan and Li Shi were indulging in fantasies of the happy life that awaited them after getting in with the Shu family.
They failed to notice A Lian standing at the door.
A Lian's face was a complex mix of emotions. After a moment of silence, she knocked on the wooden door.
Li Shi turned around, her voice shrill. "You little slut! Are you trying to scare me to death, standing there so quietly?"
A Lian stepped past her directly, her eyes fixed on Chen Laosan. "Father, I heard you sold the land."
Chen Laosan's face darkened. "Did that dead girl from the Pei family tell you?"
A Lian sneered. "It doesn't matter who told me. This isn't a secret anyway. Everyone in Baiyun Village knows about it."
She continued, "Now that you've sold the land, you won't be able to build the new house. In that case, return the silver you took from me last time."
Li Shi was outraged. With a huff, she rushed over. "You little brat! Think you've grown wings, huh? You earn money but don't bring it home. I've had to beg you for it again and again. And now you have the nerve to ask for it back?"
A Lian tilted her chin defiantly. "The shameless ones are you and your son! I earned this money with my own hard work. Why should I let you take advantage of me? I've never gotten a single bit of benefit from you!"
Chen Laosan's face turned as black as coal. He slapped the table. "Are you rebelling?"
Hearing A Lian scold her son, Li Shi went crazy. She raised her hand to strike.
For some reason, when A Lian heard the whistling wind beside her, she turned her face to meet Li Shi's raised palm.
A sharp "slap" rang out. A red handprint quickly appeared on A Lian's cheek.
After taking the slap, A Lian glanced at Chen Laosan and Li Shi.
The next moment, she suddenly ran out of the door.
As she ran, A Lian messed up her hair. Tears welled up in her eyes. She cried out, "Father! Mother! Don't hit me! I just asked for a bit of my hard - earned money. I won't ask for it anymore. Don't hit me!"
As someone capable of being a factory supervisor, A Lian had a powerful voice. Her cry could be heard by half the village.
Although A Lian was acting, her heart was truly broken by her own father, Chen Laosan. Sighing at her bitter fate, tears streamed down her face, blurring her vision.
She stumbled forward and accidentally bumped into a broad chest.
A Lian was startled. She quickly took two steps back and wiped her tears with her sleeve.
When she saw who it was, she said in surprise, "Why is it you?"
Unbeknownst to her, when Qu Silang saw A Lian's swollen face, anger welled up in his eyes. "Who did this?"
At this moment, the village head and others rushed over.
Behind the village head were Pei Jin, Pei Li, as well as Jiao Niang and Pei Xia who had returned from the city.
Pei Jin and A Lian had shared their feelings beforehand. She knew the purpose of A Lian's homecoming drama.
Even so, when Pei Jin saw A Lian's state, her heart ached.
She stepped forward and wiped A Lian's face with a handkerchief. "Does it hurt?"
A Lian sniffed and shook her head gently.
With a large crowd gathering outside, Chen Laosan and Li Shi finally couldn't sit still. As soon as they came out, they were met with disdainful looks from the crowd.
Qu Silang stared intently at Li Shi and walked towards her step by step. Li Shi almost stumbled in fear.
Qu Silang ignored her completely. He stepped forward, grabbed Chen Laosan by the collar and scolded, "Shame on you, a man! You're disgusting! How can you even call yourself a father?"
Qu Silang was tall, with thick eyebrows and handsome eyes. When he was angry, he looked like a god of death.
Chen Laosan was lifted up like a chick by Qu Silang. His tongue was tied. "What did I do? I didn't hit her... Let me down quickly."
The village head knew well about the bad nature of Chen Laosan and Li Shi. It was not surprising that they would beat their daughter.
But since the matter had been made public, and behind them was A Lian's employer, Jiao Niang.
Now that Pei Xia was working in Yuhua Stockade, responsible for patrolling the security of Yinhai Bay, this matter could not be easily overlooked!
Seeing that Chen Laosan was about to be strangled by Qu Silang, the village head quickly stopped him. "Silang, put him down first! Don't kill him. It's not worth it!"
At this time, A Lian had also stopped crying. She pleaded with Qu Silang to put Chen Laosan down.
Qu Silang glanced at A Lian and then let go. Chen Laosan almost fell. He lay on the ground for a long time before getting up.
Li Shi helped Chen Laosan up. She didn't dare to do anything to Qu Silang. She just cursed A Lian non - stop. "You're such a disaster! You'll be happy if you kill your father."
A Lian stood there, her face expressionless. "Whatever you say."
She turned to the village head and said resolutely, "Uncle Village Head, I want to sever my father - daughter relationship with my father."
How could a father - daughter relationship be severed so easily?
The village head didn't expect A Lian to be so stubborn. He was about to persuade her when he saw Qi Jiao give A Lian a silver ingot. "A Lian, I support you."
A Lian's eyes instantly turned red. She held the silver and said softly, "Madam, I don't know how to repay you."
Qi Jiao smiled. "There will be many opportunities for you to repay me in the future. Go ahead."
A Lian nodded and walked up to Chen Laosan.
She handed the silver Qi Jiao gave her to Chen Laosan. It was about ten taels.
A Lian said loudly, "Li Shi took more than twenty taels from me bit by bit. That was my hard - earned monthly salary for a year. Plus this ten taels from my madam, it's enough to buy off your so - called kindness of giving birth to me."
After saying that, A Lian sneered. "What kindness of giving birth. If I were to repay that, I should repay my mother. But she was so unlucky. You and this woman got away with it. From today on, don't come asking me for money! Ask the children who are really yours!"
After she said this, she saw Li Shi's two sons shrinking back into the crowd.
A Lian turned to the village head and said, "My biological father is unkind, and my step - mother is mean. I can't bear it anymore. Please make the decision and remove me from the Chen clan - anyway, my name is not in the clan genealogy."
The village head also had the surname Chen. Although his relationship with the Chen family was distant, they were from the same clan.
Hearing A Lian's determination and the resentment towards the Chen clan in her words, he sighed. "Alright then. Since everyone is here, it's a good time to bear witness. After today, you don't have to be under the control of Chen Laosan and Li Shi. But filial piety is of utmost importance. After all, you are his daughter. When Chen Laosan gets old and passes away, you must contribute money and effort. You can't shirk this responsibility."
A Lian said, "I have no problem with that."
So the village head led her to the Chen family ancestral hall and announced to the clan members on the spot that Chen Molian was severing her father - daughter relationship with Chen Laosan.
A Lian walked out of the dim Chen family ancestral hall. The sunlight outside made her dizzy.
This glaring sunlight was something A Lian had longed for for many years.
She was finally free.
After kneeling in the ancestral hall for too long, A Lian's knees ached. She sat on a wooden stool outside to adjust for a while. Suddenly, a piece of stone - blue robe corner appeared in her sight.
A Lian looked up, and the man looked down.
"Why are you here?"
"I'm here to pick you up and take you back."
**
A Lian walked slowly, while Qu Silang walked quickly.
But soon, Qu Silang noticed something was wrong with A Lian.
Qu Silang suddenly realized what had happened. He said angrily, "Those old guys made you kneel in the ancestral hall?"
A Lian nodded slowly and smiled indifferently. "What I did was considered extremely rebellious. It was beyond my expectation that they only made me kneel in the ancestral hall for half a day."