She's skilled in medicine, martial arts, and even understands animal language—the abandoned dau

Seeing that many people had come to help, Lanxiang told Shenman to go play in the yard by herself. Just then, the batch of eggs belonging to Sun Da's wife hatched chicks, and she brought them over today as well.

Shen Man put them all in a cage so that the children in the village could see them together.

Just as everyone was having a great time, a sharp female voice suddenly rang out from the doorway, startling the children.

"Lanxiang, you brat! Building such a big house and you didn't even tell us? Don't you care about your parents at all?"

Upon hearing the sound, Shen Man immediately stood up and looked towards the door.

There were about ten people standing at the door, including men and women, the elderly and children.

The adults each carried a bundle on their backs; they didn't seem to be there for a drink, but rather for a long stay.

The old woman who was speaking was about fifty or sixty years old. She was tall but as thin as a bundle of firewood. An old gray dress wrapped around her frail body, as if it would break if the wind blew it.

Her hair was sparse and dry, casually tied back, looking quite messy.

Her face was covered with wrinkles, each one like a knife mark of time, deeply etched on her face.

Her eyes were sunken in their sockets, and her gaze revealed a kind of meanness and indifference that sent chills down one's spine.

Her lips were tightly closed, and the corners of her mouth turned down slightly, as if she were always dissatisfied and complaining.

"Who are you people, and what are you doing in my house?"

Shen Man had never seen these people before, but seeing that the old woman looked somewhat like Lanxiang, she secretly guessed that she must be a relative of Lanxiang.

The old woman looked unapproachable, and Shen Man disliked her from the bottom of her heart.

"How dare you talk like that, little brat? How did this become your home? It's clearly my daughter Lanxiang's house. Lanxiang, you little devil, are you pretending to be dead inside? Get out here right now!"

Ma scolded Shen Man and continued to shout loudly into the house.

After Lanxiang was driven out of the Zhao family, Madam Ma never saw her again. Even when Lanxiang returned home for help, the couple did not show up. They only sent Lanxiang's sister-in-law to tell her that since she was married, she could not return to her parents' home.

Therefore, she was unaware of Lanxiang's life afterward, not even knowing whether she was alive or dead, and even less aware that she had adopted a daughter.

A few days ago, she ran into a relative from Dahe Village. The person told her that Lanxiang had become successful and had built a big house. She immediately had the idea of ​​coming to live with her.

Rather than calling it seeking refuge, it would be more accurate to say it was like a cuckoo taking over a magpie's nest. Because this time they came, they had no intention of returning.

Especially now, seeing this large, square house standing before her, she was even more determined to stay here.

Lanxiang was busy in the kitchen when she heard the noise, and her heart skipped a beat. She quickly put down what she was doing and hurried out of the house.

She walked out of the kitchen and looked towards the door. Standing there was an old woman, none other than her own mother, Madam Ma.

At this moment, Ma was standing with her hands on her hips, glaring at her with a face full of anger.

"Father, Mother, what brings you here?"

Lanxiang walked over to Madam Ma with some surprise and asked in a low voice. She knew Madam Ma had a bad temper, but she didn't expect them to suddenly come to her door today.

"You heartless bastard, you only care about your own comfortable life, have you ever thought about our situation..."

When Ma saw Lanxiang, she became even angrier and raised her hand to hit her. Lanxiang was startled and instinctively tried to dodge, but Ma was stopped by the man beside her.

This man was Lanxiang's father, Ding Dagen. He quickly pulled Ma Shi aside and advised, "Alright, alright, let's go inside and talk. There are so many people watching, don't lose face."

Although Ma was resentful, she still managed to stop herself.

Lanxiang looked at her parents and the brothers and sisters-in-law following behind them, her heart filled with doubt and unease.

She didn't know why they had come, or why they were so angry. But she knew something must have happened to force them to come to her.

As soon as the group entered the house, Lanxiang quickly poured water for everyone.

Seeing the scene unfolding before her, Shen Man felt a sudden sense of foreboding. She quietly followed the group into the house and then gently tugged at Lanxiang's sleeve.

Lanxiang looked helpless and sighed deeply.

"Mother, what exactly happened?" Shen Man asked in a low voice.

Although Madam Ma was elderly, her ears were exceptionally sharp. Upon hearing Shen Man's words, she exploded like a lit firecracker, pointing at Lanxiang and angrily demanding, "Lanxiang, whose daughter is this? Why is she calling you 'mother'?"

"Mother, Man'er is my adopted child. Man'er, come and pay your respects to your maternal grandparents!" Lanxiang hurriedly explained, and gestured for Shen Man to bow to Madam Ma.

Shen Man didn't dare to go forward, but instead hid behind Lan Xiang.

"Are you out of your mind, you silly girl? Why did you adopt such a money-losing brat? If you want to raise a child, your older brothers have children all over the place. Why do you have to raise one that has nothing to do with you?"

"It's my own child, I can raise him however I want!" Lanxiang retorted angrily.

"You think you're all grown up now? Did you know how hard it was for your father and me to raise you? Now you don't even respect us anymore? Today I'm going to teach you a lesson, you disobedient brat!"

Ma's eyes widened in anger, and she raised her hand to slap Lanxiang's face.

"You wretched old woman, you're not allowed to curse my mother!"

Shen Man pulled Lanxiang aside, just in time to save her from Madam Ma's slap.

"You brat, you've really gone too far..." Madam Ma rolled up her sleeves, pretending to hit Shen Man.

"Alright! Stop arguing!" Ding Dagen spoke up. "Lanxiang, don't blame your mother, she's only thinking of you. You're still so young, with a child, how will you get married in the future! Listen to your father's advice, send this child away."

Lanxiang bit her lip and said firmly, "Father, I will not send Man'er away. Man'er is very well-behaved and sensible, I can't bear to part with her."

Ding Dagen sighed, "If you really want to raise a child so you'll have someone to rely on in the future, you can choose any of your older brothers' children to take with you. Other people's children aren't related to you by blood, so you can't raise them properly."

“That’s right, little sister, our Changrong and Changfu are smart and sensible, much smarter than this little girl!” Lanxiang’s sister-in-law, Bai, chimed in from the side.

Upon hearing this, Shen Man turned her gaze to the two boys beside Bai Shi. The younger boy looked to be only five or six years old. He was intently picking his nose with his fingers and putting the boogers he had dug out into his mouth.

Seeing this, Shen Man felt a strong wave of nausea and almost vomited on the spot.

She quickly turned her head away, trying to avoid seeing the disgusting scene again.