The 1970s: Married First, Fell in Love Later-Chapter 58 - 57: Er Ya Was Given Away

Mrs. He looked at the disappointing He Yun. "Your brother-in-law’s girlfriend pushed you down, so why is your mother-in-law apologizing to you? Shouldn’t that girl be the one to apologize?"

"My mother-in-law said we’ll all be family soon, so we shouldn’t make things too ugly."

Mrs. He pointed at He Yun. "How can you be such a pushover? She’s not even married into the family yet and she’s already bullying you like this. What will happen once she is?" 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

He Yun said weakly, "They won’t dare bully me anymore. I gave the Liu family a son."

He Yun felt that her son was now her source of confidence. This was the Liu family’s first grandson. In the past, her mother-in-law had looked at her with nothing but disdain, but these last two days, she had been uncharacteristically kind. He Yun knew it was all because she had given birth to a son.

Mrs. He rolled her eyes. ’So a son is her get-out-of-jail-free card now.’

He Nan asked He Yun, "Little Sis, where’s Erya?"

Xue Yue found it strange too. Daya had said she hadn’t seen Erya in a long time, and she wasn’t in the room either.

Hearing this, He Yun’s expression instantly froze, and her eyes darted about.

Mrs. He just then remembered as well and looked around. "That’s right, where’s Erya? Why isn’t she in the room?"

"Erya... was given away."

Mrs. He thought she had misheard and asked again, "What did you say happened to Erya?"

He Yun said with red-rimmed eyes, "Erya was given away."

Mrs. He’s breath hitched. She staggered back in shock and was caught by He Nan, who was standing behind her.

When she came to her senses, she shouted at He Yun, "Everything was fine, why would you give Erya away? She’s almost a year old! How could you just give her away secretly without telling us? Whose idea was this? Where was she sent?"

"WAHHH! WAHHH! WAHHH!" The baby in He Yun’s arms was startled awake and began to cry loudly.

He Yun began to frantically soothe the baby.

He Nan patted Mrs. He’s back. "Mom, don’t get so worked up. Calm down. Look, you’ve woken the baby."

Guo Jinfeng, holding Tuanzi, also looked at He Yun with disbelief.

Only Xue Yue listened without showing any expression. Given the Liu Family’s and He Yun’s preference for boys over girls, she wasn’t surprised at all that Erya had been given away, especially now that a son had been born.

Once she finally managed to quiet the crying baby, He Yun said uneasily, "Erya is still little, and now that I’ve had Jinbao, I can’t take care of both of them. Besides, Erya is a girl... I’ll have more children later. The main thing is we can’t afford to raise three children right now. Mom, you don’t understand. This isn’t the countryside. Everything here costs money, food and drink included. Only my father-in-law and Jian Country are earning money to support this big family."

"Bullshit! What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Isn’t every family like this nowadays? You can’t afford to raise her now, but you think you’ll be able to afford another child later? You just look down on Erya because she’s a girl, don’t you? Aren’t you a woman yourself? Did your father and I ever treat you poorly? I don’t know where you got these ideas about favoring boys over girls." Mrs. He ground her teeth in anger.

He Nan also said in disappointment, "Little Sis, if you couldn’t afford to raise Erya, you should have told us. We could have taken her in. Why would you give her away without saying a word? How long has she been gone?"

"Two months."

Mrs. He was trembling with anger at He Yun. "Who did you give the child to?"

He Yun shook her head.

Mrs. He was stunned. "She’s your child, and you don’t even know who she was given to?"

He Yun lowered her gaze. "My mother-in-law sent her away."

So that was it. It had been the whole family’s idea.

Mrs. He slapped her thigh and roared, "Your whole family is inhuman! I could forgive anyone else, but Erya is your daughter! She’s your own flesh and blood! How could you have the heart to give her away? You’re all worse than pigs and dogs, doing something so heartless! I’m going to go ask your mother-in-law why she refuses to act like a human being!"

He Nan couldn’t stop her as she rushed out.

He Yun shouted "Mom" toward the door, but no one answered her.

Xue Yue gave He Yun a complicated look, then followed them out.

As soon as Mrs. He got outside, she ran right into Liu Jian Country, who was just returning.

"Mom, you’re here."

Mrs. He pointed at Liu Jian Country and yelled, "Where is Erya? Where was she sent?"

Liu Jian Country’s expression froze instantly. He stood there, at a complete loss.

"Isn’t Erya your child? How could you have the heart to give her away? She’s almost a year old! You’re her father, yet you didn’t even protect her. What kind of man are you?"

Liu Jian Country gave a bitter smile and said nothing.

Mrs. Liu, coming out of the kitchen, couldn’t stand it anymore. She slapped her thigh, her voice sharp and piercing. "I’m telling you, this is our Liu Family’s business. It has nothing to do with your He Family, does it? What gives you the right to criticize my son?"

Mrs. He sneered and cursed, "Erya is my granddaughter! How could she have nothing to do with us? Your Liu Family is a bunch of heartless monsters for giving my granddaughter away! Are you even human?"

Mrs. Liu put her hands on her hips, not holding back. "She’s one of our Liu Family. I’ll do whatever I want with her, and no one can say a thing about it."

"You old hag, you’ll get what’s coming to you!"

The sight of Liu Jian Country infuriated He Nan. In an instant, he rushed forward, grabbed Liu Jian Country by the collar, and started hitting him. Liu Jian Country didn’t dare fight back.

When Mrs. Liu saw He Nan actually daring to hit her son, she flew into a rage, reaching out and lunging at He Nan.

Mrs. He moved to block her, and then the two women started grappling with each other.

Xue Yue pressed a hand to her forehead in exasperation. She truly hadn’t expected their visit to the Liu family to see He Yun would end this way.

Xue Yue was pregnant, so she didn’t dare get involved. She looked over at Guo Jinfeng, who was standing to the side.

"Sister-in-law, it’s not convenient for me since I’m pregnant. Go pull Mom away."

This was the Liu residence, and there were only four adults on their side. Plus, she herself was pregnant. It was almost noon; if the rest of the Liu family came back, they would be at a disadvantage.

Guo Jinfeng held Tuanzi’s hand, glanced at Xue Yue, and tightened her grip, but she didn’t move.

Xue Yue frowned slightly, then shouted to He Nan, "Big Brother, pull Mom away! Finding out where Erya is is more important!"

Hearing this, He Nan stopped fighting and hurried over to separate the two women, pulling Mrs. He back.

Mrs. He tried to lunge forward again but was held back by He Nan. "Mom, Erya is what’s important."

Mrs. He was panting heavily, her clothes torn and two buttons ripped off. She yelled at Mrs. Liu on the ground, "You old hag! Who did you give Erya to? If your family doesn’t want her, the He Family will take her!"

Mrs. Liu, also panting as she sat on the ground, slapped the floor. "Is there no law? How dare you come into my home and hit me! All of you, get out!"

Mrs. He lunged again, trying to tear at Mrs. Liu’s mouth, but He Nan quickly held her back.

"Liu Jian Country, who was Erya given to? You’re her father. If you won’t raise her, can’t we, the He Family, raise her?" He Nan said to Liu Jian Country.

Liu Jian Country glanced at Mrs. Liu on the ground and shook his head. "We gave her to someone at the train station. We don’t know where that person went."

What Liu Jian Country didn’t dare to say was that Erya hadn’t been given away—she had been sold by his mother for eighty yuan.

"What? The train station?" He Nan said, astonished.

"The train station..." Mrs. He muttered, then fell silent.

The train station was bustling with people coming and going. They would probably never find her.

Mrs. Liu, with her guilty conscience, stopped wailing. Her eyes darted back and forth.

Mrs. He walked toward the door, utterly devastated, without a second glance back at He Yun.

He Nan quickly chased after her.

Xue Yue glanced at Daya, who was squatting in a corner, crying ceaselessly.

She walked over and stroked Daya’s head, her heart aching with sorrow.