Chapter 215: Stepmother's Dilemma (7)

"Grandma, I'm not hurt." Mai Hua'er's eyes, which were like black grape beads, seemed to be lit up instantly.

She had never received the care from her own blood relatives, but she received it from the Zhang family. How could she not be grateful?

"Hurry up and take a shower, so you can have a good sleep." Grandma Zhang's eyes were red as she took off her clothes.

Back in the room, Old Zhang saw his wife lowering her head to wipe her tears and hurriedly asked what was wrong. When Grandma Zhang told him about the dense scars on Mai Hua'er's body, Old Zhang immediately knocked down the bedside table.

"You are so heartless!"

"Who said it wasn't?" Seeing the old man's angry look, Grandma Zhang calmed down and said calmly: "If Mai Hua'er really lets go back alone, she might be tortured to death by her grandma and dad."

"You can't stay in our house forever." Old Zhang rubbed his face with both hands, feeling heavy.

"Tomorrow you will go to Wu the matchmaker to make peace, arrange an engagement for the old Qi family first, and leave the baby with us openly." Zhang's grandmother's eyelids sank, and she said shrewdly: "We can't bring up the matter of marriage, we have to let the old Qi family come to our door to talk about it."

"The mother and son of the old Qi family must hate us to death, how could they take the initiative to come and propose marriage?" Old Zhang didn't understand what his wife said.

"You, you," Zhang's grandmother's hand kept poking his forehead, and she said angrily: "Our Zhang family is one of the most wealthy families in this village, and our precious daughter is a decent virgin, and it's her first marriage. Although she is a little older and has a hot temper, for Yu Qi Yangui, this is much better than his first-married wife. He didn't dare to think about it before!"

Old Zhang patted his head as if he had just woken up from a dream, and hurriedly flattered him: "It's still my wise old wife."

"You have to handle this matter well. If it fails in your hands, you don't have to go home." Zhang's grandmother patted him on the shoulder, and the force made old Zhang frown involuntarily.

His daughter's strength is definitely not inherited from his father, but from her mother!

"Does it still hurt?" Mai Huaer, who had washed herself, lay on the bed, and Shi Yi was applying ointment to her.

"It doesn't hurt anymore." Mai Huaer looked at her obediently, her eyes twinkling.

"Do you miss your mother?" Shi Yi stroked the most hideous scar on her back and blew it gently.

"Yeah," Mai Huaer nodded heavily and said sadly, "I couldn't stay by my mother's side when she died, and I felt very unfilial."

She also knew clearly that if she continued to stay at home, without her mother's protection, the abuse she suffered would be even more cruel.

"Your mother will forgive you." Shi Yi gently rubbed her head, felt that her hair was a little dry, picked up a towel and wiped it gently.

This child had never combed her hair carefully before, but today she spent a lot of effort to comb it until it was smooth.

"I didn't expect my mother..." She tried her best to control her tears, but her nose suddenly felt sore and she cried out.

Her mother died in childbirth in front of her, making the young girl feel the fragility of life for the first time. Is the rest of her life going to stay in that heartless home, be cruelly exploited, and then die like an ant? Maybe someone would talk about her occasionally, but they would never miss her, but would use her as a topic of conversation like telling a joke.

"Don't worry." Shi Yi dried her hair thoroughly, held her gently in his arms, and said seriously: "As long as I am here, you will never be bullied."

This sentence made Mai Huaer cry even more sadly.

Can such a worthless life like her really be protected?

She cried too hard, and her spirit finally relaxed, so Mai Huaer fell asleep with tears.

Shi Yi covered her with a quilt, opened the closet, found his old clothes and took them outside to be altered.

The next morning, Mai Huaer opened her eyes, and the feeling that immediately struck her heart was fear. She ran outside in a disheveled state without a coat, shoes, or hair, shouting, "Grandma, I didn't sleep late on purpose."

In her memory, she was still at home. Every morning, she had to get up before dawn at five o'clock to light the fire, cook, and cook pig food. If she was a little late, she would be beaten by her grandmother with the fire stick, and hit with the iron hook used to burn chili peppers. In more serious cases, she would be locked in the pigsty and made to eat pig food with the pigs.

Shi Yi patted her shoulder, wanting to tell her that no one here would blame her for sleeping late, but was startled by her sudden kneeling.

Mai Huaer thought it was her grandmother who patted her from behind, and she kept begging for mercy in fear: "Grandma, I will never dare to be lazy again, never again, please don't hit me, don't hit me." Old Zhang

and Old Zhang's grandmother, who were cooking in the kitchen, poked their heads out and looked at the child kneeling in the yard, and their hearts ached even more.

How much suffering must she have endured at home to be so subconsciously afraid.

Old Zhang didn't even bother to eat breakfast, he picked up his coat on the bench and went out.

"Oh~" Old Zhang wiped her tears, sighed and went back into the kitchen.

"Don't be afraid." Shi Yi squatted down and looked at her gently.

"I don't want to be beaten." Mai Huaer looked at her blankly, her eyes falling like pearls from a broken string.

"Do you believe your aunt?" Shi Yi wiped her tears tirelessly.

Mai Huaer was stunned for a moment, then nodded firmly, "Auntie is the best person I have ever met to treat me, I believe you."

"If you really believe in Auntie, then you will never be beaten again." Shi Yi took her hand and stood up, and walked into the house, "I altered a few clothes for you last night, I think you should like it."

After entering the room, Shi Yi took out the stack of altered clothes and placed them in front of her, smiling and saying, "Try it?"

Mai Huaer's fingers gently touched the clothes, afraid that this was just an illusory dream, and whispered, "It looks really good."

She had been wearing rotten clothes that her family wanted to throw away since she was a child. They never fit her. They were not warm in winter and stuffy in summer. But she never dared to complain. Because she had no right to be picky.

According to her grandmother, as a money-loser, it was already a kindness of their Qi family to let her live to see the sun.

"Then try this one first?" Shi Yi picked up the most popular cheongsam-style dress and encouraged her.

Mai Huaer couldn't bear to refuse such encouragement. Besides, she really liked these clothes. She nodded and put on the clothes with Shi Yi's help.

"It fits really well. Our Mai Huaer is so cute." Shi Yi pulled the hem of her skirt and praised her gently.

This was the first time someone praised her. Mai Huaer lowered her head shyly.

(End of this chapter)