Li Meihua came into the yard and saw her son getting out of the car, his brows covered in sweat.

"Why are you only coming back at noon?"

"Don't even mention it. The chain suddenly came off when I was halfway through the ride, and I fixed it." Qiao Xiaoshan wiped the sweat from his face. "I'm hungry. Is there anything to eat at home?"

Li Meihua said, "I just cooked noodles for your sister. There are still two bowls of noodle soup left in the pot. Your dad and I only ate some flatbread for lunch, and there's still one piece left in the bowl. You can eat a bite of that first."

Qiao Xiaoshan looked dejected as he thought about how his sister was eating noodles while he could only drink the soup.

"Mom, tell me the truth, am I the child you picked up from the mountains?"

Li Meihua raised her hand and slapped her son on the head. "You good-for-nothing! You are all children who crawled out of my belly. Don't say things like that in the future. What kind of talk will it make in front of outsiders?"

Qiao Xiaoshan rubbed his head and said, "You cooked noodles for my sister but only let me drink the soup. This treatment is too unfair. I want to eat noodles too. Go cook some for me."

Li Meihua said irritably.

"It's so hot, just make do with this meal. I just cooked noodles, and I'm still sweating! Besides, aren't you hungry? You should be grateful that you have anything to eat, instead of being picky."

Qiao Xiaoshan felt like he was an adopted child. In this family, neither he nor his older brother were well-liked, and only his younger sister received special care. He sighed and went inside.

Li Meihua ladled the soup from the pot into a large bowl, then went to the cupboard and took out the remaining flatbread.

"You eat first, I'll go to the backyard to pick some green beans, we'll stew some bones for dinner."

"Alright!" Qiao Xiaoshan's previous unhappiness vanished as he heard that there would be bones to eat that night, and he drank the noodle soup in big gulps.

...

The Song family.

Liu Zhaodi managed to hire a doctor from town at great cost, using a silver bracelet as collateral.

The doctor is quite old, over 60 years old this year. He usually just prescribes medicine at the pharmacy and rarely sees patients. Today, he was forced to come here for treatment because this woman had driven him to this point.

After a careful examination, it was determined that "fortunately, no vital organs were injured. However, your leg will require long-term care to fully recover. A slight mishap could result in permanent disability. You will be able to walk, but your leg shape will not be aesthetically pleasing."

If you want treatment, you'll have to have your bone re-set, which means breaking your leg again and then fixing it in a splint. Can you handle the pain?

Song Min's back was soaked with cold sweat. "Isn't there any other way? Do we really have to interrupt it again?"

The old doctor said, "This is the only solution I have. Otherwise, you should go to the orthopedics department of a major hospital. Maybe there are other options."

After taking a look around, he realized the family didn't have much money. Not wanting to get into any trouble, he figured he might as well just leave now.

Liu Zhaodi wasn't about to let the doctor leave, so she stood right at the door.

"Doctor, please treat him! My son isn't even married yet! Who will marry him if his leg is damaged?"

The kind-hearted old doctor sensed that the family was poor and turned back after taking the first step.

At this point, Song Min made his decision: "I want to get my leg treated. Do whatever you want with me!"

The old doctor nodded, took out some simple tools from his medicine box, stuffed a white cloth into the injured area, and then struck the wound hard.