Finally, with everyone helping each other, they managed to get Grandpa Qin onto the oxcart, ready to take him to the big hospital in the county town.

Sitting on the oxcart, Wei Er was shivering all over when the cold wind blew on him.

Besides being hungry, I was also afraid.

He then remembered that Lin Atai should have just returned from worshipping at the back mountain today.

The swaying oxcart was brightly lit all around, but he dared not look up.

The whistling wind in his ears sounded like the howling of ghosts and wolves, constantly drilling into his heart.

"Wei Er, what's wrong?" asked Old Chen, the clinic doctor on the oxcart.

She was shivering and curled up in a corner, looking very strange.

cluck cluck…

Hearing the rumbling in his stomach, Old Man Chen's lips twitched; so he was hungry.

He took a white steamed bun from his cloth bag, stuffed it into Wei Er's hand, and said nothing.

With a mother like Aunt Qin, it's no wonder Wei Er has this kind of personality.

When Qin Atai was young, he was even more outstanding than Wei Er.

Wei Er wolfed down the white steamed buns, and only then did the fear in his heart dissipate somewhat.

His back felt cold, as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water in the dead of winter.

"Uncle Chen, what's wrong with my mother's illness?" Wei Er asked anxiously, having regained his composure.

He was in a daze when they lifted him onto the oxcart and didn't hear the final diagnosis.

Now that people are being sent to the county hospital like this, I don't know how much it will cost.

Wei Er felt a pang of heartache when he thought of this.

His son's injury was work-related, and the port will take responsibility. Even if the main responsibility lies with his son for leaving his post, he's not afraid.

The port project is so large, a few dollars won't matter.

"The old man got emotional, his blood rushed to his head, and he had a stroke," Old Chen said calmly.

If it weren't for his sense of responsibility as a doctor, he wouldn't have gone on this trip.

The Wei family is a bunch of scoundrels; he avoids getting involved with them whenever possible.

If the village party secretary hadn't spoken up, the villagers probably wouldn't have stepped forward to lend a hand.

There's always a reason why someone is pitiful.

Having served as a village doctor for so long, Old Chen has a deep understanding of this saying.

"What does stroke mean?" Wei Er asked anxiously, rubbing his hands together.

He had never heard of the term before, but he guessed in his heart that it referred to a serious illness.

"A stroke is a disease caused by blockage of blood vessels in the brain, and it carries a high risk of paralysis..."

Wei Er felt a buzzing in his head, and he couldn't hear what was said after that.

Paralyzed? If his mother becomes paralyzed, who in the family can take care of her?

Wei Er thought about many things, and by the time he came to his senses, the oxcart had already stopped in front of the county hospital.

He stepped off the oxcart, his legs went weak, and he almost knelt on the ground.

…

A week later, news of Qin Atai's disturbance at the Chen family's house spread throughout the village, sparking much discussion.

As Aunt Chen passed the big banyan tree, she quickened her pace.

She's been living in fear these past few days, worried that Wei Er will come knocking on her door and demand compensation from her family.

But so many days have passed, and I haven't seen anyone.

"I heard that Wei Er took Qin Atai home the next day and didn't treat her at the hospital..."

Even though Aunt Chen walked very fast, she still overheard some gossip.

They whispered among themselves, not daring to call her name.

"Mother..."

Aunt Chen heard her daughter's voice when she was almost at the entrance of the shrimp paste factory.

Fatty, "Who's chasing you, running faster than I can on a bicycle?"

She muttered to herself as she propped up her bicycle at the factory gate.

Today is the last batch of shrimp paste to be loaded onto trucks before the Lunar New Year.

The workers are now cleaning the factory. After they receive their wages, they will officially begin their annual leave.

"To avoid hearing the gossip in the village," Aunt Chen said softly.

She knew, of course, that she was fast, but she couldn't afford to be slow.

With the Lunar New Year just around the corner, they not only hadn't prepared anything, but they also had to listen to gossip about the incident that Aunt Qin had caused at her house last time.

The child's father advised her to just shut up and not listen.

Aunt Chen doesn't have that mindset. Living in the village, everyone sees each other all the time, so how can she keep quiet about everything? She'll be affected to some extent.

"Mother, do you have a problem with Ade too?" the chubby girl asked cautiously.

She felt sorry for Cao De; he really couldn't be blamed for this.

Moreover, the way Tan Atai kept calling her "someone with a different surname" made her very uncomfortable.

"Slap!" Aunt Chen slapped her daughter's arm.

"What nonsense are you talking about? What will your son-in-law think if he hears this?"

"This isn't Ade's fault. Aunt Qin originally wanted to make a scene at our house to divert the villagers' gossip about her, but she ended up getting herself into trouble." Aunt Chen knew perfectly well what was going on.

She hadn't received much formal education and could only barely recognize a few characters.

However, that doesn't mean she can't read people's minds.

At least she had met quite a few people before, having worked in the fish business.

"Mom, as long as you don't blame Ade," the chubby girl said with a sigh of relief, shaking her hand.

Aunt Chen glanced at her and sighed, "Girls grow up and leave home; they're starting to turn against their own families."

“Mother…” The chubby girl let go of her hand, her ears turning red.

The two entered the factory, where Lin Ziyan had already prepared New Year's gifts for the workers.

One can of malted milk powder, two pounds of pork belly, and two pounds of apples.

She had ordered the malted milk powder from Sister Fang in advance.

As for Apple, of course we should go to Lu Yunshen...

"Ayan, why are there so many things?" Aunt Chen looked at them, her eyes wide.

When she mentioned giving the workers New Year's gifts, she didn't think much of it, assuming that at most a pound of pork belly would be the maximum.

These things made her heart pound.

"Aunt Chen, these are 30 portions in total, I've already divided them up. I'll deliver them to your and Aunt Huang's homes tonight," Lin Ziyan said with a smile.

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