Chapter 48: War with Mom

  After that, Qiu Ye and Zhao Shuyan started studying the method of making handbags. They talked about beaded straps and pleated lace, and as they spoke, they both became enthusiastic. In the end, they decided that apart from selling the bags outside, each woman in their own household would also make one for themselves. The patterns were all designed by Qiu Ye, and the embroidery was done by Zhao Shuyan.

  The design was done by Qiu Ye, not because she drew better than Gan Ma, but because she had more experience in her previous life. When designing patterns, her thinking is broader than Gan Ma's, so the cartoon characters she designs are very cute and have distinct characteristics, making people feel refreshed at first sight.

  Then Zhao Shuyan began to rummage through the trunks and cabinets to find usable fabrics, just as she had agreed with Qiu Ye earlier. Meanwhile, Qiu Ye lay on the large desk in the study, designing patterns for the bags.

  Not until she had decided on the material for making bags and roughly finished the design did Qiu Ye realize it was time to have dinner, by which time her father must have returned home.

  She bid farewell to her adoptive mother and walked with her head held high to the execution ground.

  Qiu Ye quietly opened the door of her home with a key, first poking her little head inside. Whew! Everything was calm and peaceful, she let out a breath, then gently pushed open the door and tiptoed inside.

  She didn't even need to change her shoes, Qiu Ye was ready to slip into her own bedroom, thinking that if she could meet her father alone, it would be even better. She would first deal with her father, and then together they could handle her mother, which would be much easier.

  But heaven didn't follow human wishes, Qiu Ye had just poked his little head out of the kitchen door when he was caught red-handed by his mother.

  "Hmph, so you're finally back. I thought someone would have to go fetch you." Qiu's mother looked at the sly girl with annoyance, wondering why she couldn't be like other ordinary children, and said in a sarcastic tone.

  "Hey, mom, didn't I just say that when I left? I was just going to find my aunt for something and then come back. Oh no, mom, what have you done? It smells so good! I ate a bun outside at noon and now I'm starving, craving the dishes you made." Qiu Ye saw she had nowhere to hide, so she started acting pitiful. Alas, she was also helpless - her dad was somewhat henpecked, and even if he wanted to rescue his beloved daughter from his mother's side, he didn't know how; she could only save herself. Her own words were indeed true: "Rely on a mountain and it will collapse, rely on people and they will run away; relying on oneself is the best."

  "Hmph, don't think that just because you say some nice words, I'll let you off the hook. Hurry up and eat now, or else I'll make sure to deal with you later." Qiu's mother heard that her daughter hadn't eaten well at noon and felt heartache for her. She said that this little girl looked frail and weak, how could she still go out and run around recklessly?

  Qiu's mother didn't want to scold Qiu's daughter severely, but just now when Qiu's father came back, he had already discussed with Qiu's mother that their own children were independent-minded and couldn't be educated in the same way as ordinary children, which means he disagreed with hitting children.

  Qiu's mother heard that and rolled her eyes at Qiu's father several times. She wasn't really going to hit the child, just scare them a bit. In this family, there isn't anyone she's afraid of, so why wouldn't she be in charge? A daughter is one's own flesh and blood, hitting her would hurt her mother's heart. How could she bear to hit her?

  At the dinner table, Qiu's mother said: "With your small build, for the sake of earning that little bit of money, you can't eat or sleep well. What are you after? If you ruin your body, I won't support you."

  "Don't worry, mom, I didn't go out by myself. I asked Zhuzi to accompany me, so I just chatted and didn't do anything." Qiu Ye said while eating her rice.

  "What's with Wang Zhu again? Are you bothering him again?" Mr. Qiu thought that maybe the girl had gone to fool around with Wang Zhu and get him to do her bidding again.

  "Dad, I wanted to sell tea eggs in front of the train station, but I couldn't carry such a heavy bucket, so I had to find someone to help me. Originally, I wanted to ask my brother for help, but he's still a kid, and Dad said that kids shouldn't do such heavy work or they won't grow up properly. I didn't want my brother to become a dwarf, so I could only ask Zhuzi Ge for help. Besides, I'm paying him for his labor." After finishing speaking, Qiu Ye wrinkled her nose, not mentioning how much she paid the helper, otherwise Mom would say, "You haven't even earned that much money yet, and you're spending so much on hiring someone? What if you end up losing money? It's better to just stay at home and be honest."

  "Hmm, Zhùzi this kid is not bad, although a bit silly, but he's really kind-hearted. You can't bully him just because he's honest and hardworking." At this time, Qiū Dad was worried about Wáng Zhùzi instead.

  "Dad, look at what you're saying, it's like I'm Zhou Bapi or something. But I really do consider Zhu Zhi as my brother, and whenever I have good food, I'll always give him a share." What Qiu Ye said was true, these past few days, the steamed buns she brought for lunch, most of them ended up in Zhu Zhi's stomach. No matter what, Zhu Zhi worked with her, at least they could fill their bellies together.

  "Besides, I don't want to go that far either. If mom lets me set up a stall at Xizhai market, why would I need to go so far?" Qiu Ye took this opportunity to also make her attitude clear to her mother: if she wasn't allowed to set up a stall at Xizhai market, then she would still go to the train station.

  "Just you wait, I won't make tofu for you, every day is like this, you still dare to come and threaten me? Is this a threat?" Qiu Ma heard the girl's words and got angry again. This dead child even dares to threaten herself, she can't spoil that stinky temper of hers.

  Qiu Ye fell silent, it's better not to argue with mom, or else there won't be any good fruit to eat for oneself. However, one can still pretend to obey on the surface while doing something else in secret. The things that need to be done will still be done.

  Qiu Ye had made up her mind and fell silent, Qiu's mother saw that the girl was so satisfied and thought she had given in, so she ate with relish.

  Qiu Feng remained silent throughout the meal, only using his big eyes to glance at this and that. He knew from his sister's expression that she was up to something again, definitely thinking of striking first and then letting him take the blame. Seeing how happy his mom looked, he thought to himself that she must think she had already won, but alas, mom still didn't understand his sister.

  He let out another sigh, Ah! Can't they just calm down and let him have a good meal? For his sister's sake, he was scolded by his mom at noon today for not taking care of her well, and now they're causing more trouble. He shook his head and sighed again, then buried himself in his rice bowl once more.

  "Eat properly, children at home have nothing to sigh about." Qiu's mother had improved her mood a bit, but her son's repeated sighs made her lose all her good mood. This dead child, can't he just eat properly?

  Qiu Feng suffered an unjust disaster, didn't dare to resist, and could only shrink in front of his rice bowl, lamenting that he had no status at home. Anyone at home could scold him, and from now on, he must tell everyone that a family that favors girls over boys is even more terrifying than one that favors boys over girls.