The 1970s: Married First, Fell in Love Later-Chapter 178 - 177: On Fire

"Dad, how could that be? Daya is a burden now. Who would take her in?" Liu Jian Country was telling the truth.

He Yun stood to the side, biting her lip without saying a word.

Mrs. Liu said, "It’s precisely because she’s a burden now that our family can’t keep her. We were already struggling, and now, not only have we lost that six yuan a month, but we also have to feed a whole other person. Where are we supposed to find the extra food for her?"

Liu Jian Country was silent for a few seconds. "Mom, just give some of my rations to Daya. She doesn’t even eat that much."

He Yun turned her head to look at Liu Jian Country.

"Bullshit! If you give her your rations, you’re a grown man! How are you supposed to work if you can’t eat your fill?" Mrs. Liu strongly disagreed.

Liu Jianwei said bluntly, "Big Brother, if you ask me, didn’t the He Family always go on about how well they treated Daya? Let’s just send her over to them. The He family won’t let her starve, right, Sister-in-law?"

He Yun hesitated for a moment. "Should I go back and ask my parents?"

Mrs. Liu shot her a displeased look. "Ask what? Just take her over. If they don’t agree, just leave Daya there and walk away. I refuse to believe they’d actually ignore her."

"Mom, that’s not a good idea," Liu Jian Country said. "He Yun’s brothers aren’t easy to deal with."

Liu Jianwei said disdainfully, "Not easy to deal with? What can they do? I wasn’t around before. Otherwise, I’d love to see just how ’not easy to deal with’ they can be."

Mr. Liu knocked on the table. "Alright, that’s the plan for now. He Yun, can you handle it on your own?" He was referring to the matter of taking Daya to the He Family.

Before He Yun could speak, they heard Jinbao shouting from the courtyard, "Fire! Fire!"

The people in the room froze for a second, then rushed outside.

Smoke was pouring out of He Yun and her husband’s room.

Liu Jian Country shouted, "Daya is still in the room!" and quickly ran inside.

"Jian Country—" He Yun stood outside, stomping her feet anxiously.

Mrs. Liu shouted in a panic, "Oh no, the house!"

When Liu Jian Country went in, he saw Daya holding a matchbox and lighting things everywhere. The quilt that had been wrapped around her was now on fire, and the bed had already caught. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Liu Jian Country snatched the matches from Daya’s hand and extinguished them. He quickly found a piece of clothing, wrapped it around Daya, and ran out holding her.

Daya was still struggling, yelling, "Fire, fire."

Seeing Liu Jian Country emerge from the room carrying Daya, He Yun finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Liu Jian Country put Daya down and said to He Yun, "Watch Daya. She’s the one who started the fire." He then hurried off to get water to put it out.

Fortunately, the fire wasn’t large and had been discovered early, so it was quickly extinguished.

But after this incident, the Liu Family had even less tolerance for Daya.

Mrs. Liu stood with her hands on her hips, pacing back and forth. "We can’t keep her, we can’t! If we keep a fool like her in the house, who knows when she’ll burn the house down again. We’ll end up having to live in the wilderness! Eldest, you and your wife take this menace to the He Family right now! If the He Family won’t take her, then just find some place to dump her or give her away. Whatever you do, just make sure I never see her again."

"Mom, Daya didn’t do it on purpose."

Mrs. Liu scoffed, "Pah! So just because it wasn’t on purpose, we should let her burn the house down? Let me tell you, Eldest, if you two dare to go soft now, I’ll kick your whole family out the next time something happens."

Liu Jian Country’s face was grim as he remained silent. After a long while, he finally stood up and walked out.

He Yun immediately followed him.

He Lang had said it wouldn’t take more than three days, but unexpectedly, not even a full day had passed before Liu Jian Country and He Yun arrived with Daya.

As soon as He Nan saw Liu Jian Country, he grabbed him by the collar. "What are you doing here? Looking for a beating?"

He Yun went to pull He Nan away. "Big Brother, we need to talk to Mom and Dad."

He Nan sneered, "Don’t call me brother. I wouldn’t dare have a sister like you."

He Yun’s eyes reddened at his words.

He Nan let out a cold snort and went inside. He Yun turned, took the dazed and vacant Daya by the hand, and followed him into the house.

Inside, Mrs. He was lying on the kang, a damp cloth on her forehead.

"What’s wrong with Mom?" He Yun asked.

But no one answered her.

Mr. He glanced at He Yun and Liu Jian Country, then went back to fiddling with the shredded tobacco in his hands. "What is it?"

He Yun and Liu Jian Country looked at each other, neither speaking.

Mr. He’s voice was heavy. "So difficult to say? It must not be anything good. Is there anything you two won’t do that you’re too ashamed to talk about?"

He Yun took a step forward and said sheepishly, "Dad, can we leave Daya here at home? We just don’t have the energy to watch her. You don’t know... just a little while ago, Daya nearly burned our house down."

He Nan snapped, "You never said that when she was fine. Now that she’s like this, you have the nerve to send her back? Mom and Dad are getting old. How are they supposed to watch your child for you?"

He Yun dropped to her knees before Mr. He, her voice choked with tears. "Dad, please, take pity on your daughter. We won’t abandon Daya, but we’re out of options. It’s just too dangerous to keep her at home."

Mrs. He was too furious to stay lying down. Forgetting her headache, she scrambled off the kang. Without even putting on her shoes, she grabbed one from the floor and started beating He Yun with it.

Mrs. He showed no mercy. The shoe landed with loud THWACKS on He Yun’s body, and she was even struck across the face a few times. He Yun cried as she tried to dodge the blows. When Liu Jian Country saw this, he tried to intervene, but Mrs. He started hitting him too. Liu Jian Country didn’t dare to fight back and simply endured it.

He Nan just stood to the side, watching coldly. ’He wished he could go up there and land a couple of blows himself.’

"Eldest, pull your mother away," Mr. He ordered.

Only then did He Nan go and pull his mother back. Mrs. He was panting heavily, too unsteady to even stand on her own.

He Nan helped her back onto the kang.

"Go get He Lang, and tell him what’s happening on the way," Mr. He said to He Nan.

When He Yun heard her father tell He Nan to get He Lang, her expression stiffened.

’Knowing He Lang’s personality, her request was likely doomed.’ She slumped weakly to the floor.

He Lang arrived quickly. As he entered, he saw He Yun and her husband on the floor and raised an eyebrow. He then noticed the vacant-looking Daya to the side. When Daya met He Lang’s gaze, she quickly lowered her head.

He Lang suppressed the smile threatening to form on his lips and cleared his throat with a cough.

"Dad, you called for me."

Mr. He looked at He Lang. "Your big brother told you?"

He Lang nodded.

"What do you think?"

He Lang looked down at He Yun. "He Yun, what do you take the He Family for?"

He Yun kept her head down and said nothing. He Lang had no desire to waste words on someone so empty-headed.

"For the sake of the bond we formed when Daya lived with us last year, I’ll take her in. But not like this. I’m going to adopt Daya. Your Liu Family will write a formal statement declaring that from this day forward, for better or for worse, Daya will have no connection to you whatsoever."

"No," said Liu Jian Country. "Daya is my daughter."

He Lang scoffed, "Daya is your daughter? Then take her back with you. What exactly do you think you’re doing now? Do you take the He Family for pushovers, here to clean up your messes for you? I’m not negotiating. If you agree, go back and write the statement. Have everyone in the Liu Family sign it and add their thumbprints, then take it to the subdistrict office to be stamped. Otherwise, you can leave the same way you came."

He Lang wanted to prevent any future complications. The Liu Family was simply too shameless and capable of anything.

He Lang sat down on a stool, languidly watching them make their choice.