[Mo Dao Zu Shi Fanfiction] I Raise A Ying in Yiling

After wailing in her heart for a long time, Wei Chaoyan touched her face with her free hand, forcing herself to calm down. Then, with a calm expression, she touched the front of her clothes, as if caressing a sachet hidden inside. She made up her mind that as soon as she finished dealing with her parents' funeral, she would immediately pack her things and take her younger brother and the boy she had taken in, Qiye, to live in Yiling Town.

It wasn't that Wei Chaoyan was cynical and thought the worst of everyone in Wei Village; it was just the way things were, and that's human nature. Although there were certain dangers in taking two young children to live in Yiling Town, leaving the village meant getting away from all the inexplicable demands based on blood ties and seniority (such as not being able to keep their parents' inheritance, having to eat the least, do the most work, live in the worst conditions, and still being looked down upon, having to obey their elders' demands to get married and exchange dowries before the age of fourteen or fifteen, and not being able to take care of their younger brother, not to mention Qi Ye, whom Wei's father had taken in).

Moreover, once she arrived in Yiling Town, she could find buyers as soon as her embroidery was finished. It's worth noting that it takes at least eight hours to walk from Weijia Village to Yiling Town, and five or six hours by donkey cart, with many dangers along the way. If she stayed in the village, she wouldn't be able to exchange her embroidery for money in a timely manner.

Besides, living in town would be much safer; at least there would be fewer wild animals and evil spirits than near the village. However, living in town would require a considerable amount of money. Wei Chaoyan swallowed hard, quickly calculating in her mind whether her savings and her parents' hidden funds would be enough. She knew she wouldn't get much of her family's publicly known assets. Not only were the expenses for her parents' funeral considerable, but most of the remaining money was kept by Village Chief Wei and his associates. The very small portion she would receive would already be a result of their great generosity.

Wei Chaoyan silently calculated in her mind that she had about eleven taels of silver, which should be enough for her family to stay in Yiling Town for a while. If her grandparents could get a few more taels when dividing her parents' inheritance, she would be even more confident.

So Wei Chaoyan gritted her teeth, first apologized to her parents in the mourning hall, then struggled to her feet, her hands on the ground. She wanted to take advantage of the darkness to go to her grandparents' house and persuade them to let her take her two children to live in Yiling Town. For this, she was willing to give up inheriting her parents' estate in place of her younger brother, leaving it to her grandparents to distribute.

After walking quickly for a while, Wei Chaoyan arrived at Village Chief Wei's house. Seeing the light still on in the chief's house, she knew someone was still awake. So, she tiptoed past the energetic dog in the yard and approached the chief's house. Taking a deep breath, she quickly reviewed her prepared persuasion speech in her mind, making sure it was flawless. Then, she approached the wooden door and softly called out, "Grandpa, Grandma, it's me, Ayan. I need to discuss something with you. Could you open the door and let me in?"

Upon hearing Wei Chaoyan's words, a muffled scolding voice came from inside the house, followed by the soft rustling of people getting out of bed. After a while, the village chief's wife opened the door with a dark expression and let Wei Chaoyan in.

After going inside and closing the door, Wei Chaoyan suddenly knelt down, startling the village chief and his wife, who were wearing clothes. "You brat, why aren't you keeping vigil for your parents in the mourning hall? What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" the village chief's wife said gruffly.

"Grandpa, Grandma, after our parents' funeral is over, I want to take my younger brother to Yiling Town," Wei Chaoyan said meekly, revealing her plan.

"what?!"

"How dare you, you brat, act so recklessly?!"

Village Chief Wei and his wife both roared in shock.

“Grandpa, Grandma, it’s not that I’m deluded and talking nonsense. I only have one question for you,” Wei Chaoyan paused and continued to ask pointedly, “If I take my brother and don’t leave, do you, or even the villagers, allow my brother and I to grow up safely with such a large inheritance?”

These scathing words brutally exposed the reality that Village Chief Wei and his wife were trying to conceal: they were powerless to protect Wei Chaoyan and her siblings as they grew up safely, even with all the property left by their third brother and his wife; in fact, they didn't even want to protect them. This thought made their weathered faces flush red, then pale, then dark, and their lips trembled, unable to utter a single word.

"Grandpa, our brick house is spacious and sturdy, and it's still quite new, even though it's less than ten years old. My father still has about thirty taels, twelve mace, and seven copper coins left unspent before he died, and there are two embroidered pieces my mother made that we haven't sold. I can give all of these up on behalf of my brother. I just hope that you can give us siblings two taels of silver and take us to town." After we get to Yiling Town, how Wei Chaoyan and the others live is none of their concern.

Wei Chaoyan shifted her knees forward, looked up at the village chief's cloudy old eyes and pleaded, "Grandpa, for my father's sake, I beg you." The village chief stared into Wei Chaoyan's swollen eyes, as if he could see her unspoken words: she didn't want to live a precarious life in the village with her younger brother, didn't want her young brother to live under the malice of most of the villagers, didn't want to worry every day that she couldn't protect her brother as he grew up safely… She was willing to risk her life for a way out!

Although Village Chief Wei was reluctant to admit it, it was an undeniable reality. Since ancient times, it had been difficult for widows to survive in rural areas with children, let alone Wei Chaoyan, a girl who had just turned ten and was raising a one-year-old brother, especially since their parents had left them so many enviable possessions. Therefore, Wei Chaoyan's request to go to Yiling Town, while somewhat far-fetched, was also a good way to break the deadlock. Besides, this girl had inherited her mother's embroidery skills, so life in town shouldn't be too difficult.

After careful consideration, Village Chief Wei ultimately decided against witnessing a fratricidal conflict (although Wei Chaoyan didn't show it, he knew deep down that she was a ruthless girl; if he forced her to stay in the village and the villagers bullied her and her siblings too much, no one knew what she might do. This specifically referred to his eldest son's family, his second son's family, and his wife). "Forget it," he said, "they are ultimately the children left behind by my third son. Helping them out will at least fulfill our father-son bond in this lifetime."

So Village Chief Wei frowned and said in a slow, deliberate tone, "Alright, Yan girl, you go back and continue keeping vigil." He waved his hand to stop the village chief's wife from speaking, "We'll talk about these things after the funeral of the third son and his wife is over."

Upon hearing this, Wei Chaoyan knew that Village Chief Wei had agreed to her request, so she quickly stood up from the ground and said, "Then I won't disturb your sleep, Grandpa and Grandma." After saying that, she quietly opened the door and left.

Watching Wei Chaoyan's departing figure, the village chief's wife opened her mouth and asked, "Old man, how could you agree to this wild girl's words?"

"Do you want to fight her to the death?"

"how come?"

"If Yan Yatou and her brother stay in the village, they will definitely have to choose a family to raise them. Which of your two sons do you think will treat them well? Or are you planning to take them in yourself?" Village Chief Wei said coolly.

"This..." The village chief's wife was in a dilemma.

"Why not let another family in the village adopt him? Are you and your son willing to part with what your third son left behind?"

"..."

“This girl Yan is indeed worthy of being the third son’s daughter. She’s bold and daring. As her grandfather, I’ll help her this time. Whether she becomes a dragon or a worm in the future depends on her own fate.” Village Chief Wei shook his head and said, “Alright, old woman, it’s late. Go to sleep early. There’s still a lot to do tomorrow.”