In Li Laitou's courtyard, Li Laitou's mother sat on the ground, her right hand on her chest and her left hand rhythmically patting her left thigh, crying and recounting Wang Zhaodi's faults:

"That heartless, lazy woman, Wang Zhaodi, is making life impossible for the Li family! Ever since she married into our family, she hasn't gone to work. Others can earn work points while pregnant, but she earns our family's blood and tears while pregnant. She wants to eat and drink well, does nothing, and we can't even say anything! This isn't marrying a wife, it's marrying an ancestor! I endured it all for the sake of the child in her belly, but I never imagined that not only would I expose our ancestors, but also the thieves—thieves from our own village, a whole family of thieves! They stole our life-saving grain and our life-saving money, and we sent it all to her family thieves! This isn't marrying a wife, it's marrying a whole nest of thieves! I can't live like this! I can't afford to live! How am I supposed to survive?"

An Moxue listened and thought, "This is a talent! It rhymes so well!"

Li Laitou's mother sat in the courtyard, chanting and gesturing wildly. Wang Zhaodi, no pushover either, cried out in pain, "What's wrong with me taking some money? What's wrong with me taking some grain? My parents raised me with great difficulty, and you didn't even give me a dowry when I got married. I'm carrying your Li family's child, is this really necessary? I didn't even ask you to borrow grain. Besides, your in-laws are in trouble, you have to help them, you can't just stand by and do nothing, can you? You can't be so heartless. You can't act like this. Oh, my stomach hurts again, can someone go and call the village doctor for me? Oh, oh, please help me quickly!" As she spoke, she bent over, curled up into a ball, and buried her head in her arms, making it impossible to see what was wrong.

Li Laitou's mother continued, "None of you should interfere. She comes here once or twice a day, and she's just faking it. Her younger brother is getting married, and our Li family has to provide food and money. This is a brother we raised, and he has no parents. It's outrageous! She's from the city, but she can't even compare to our good widows in the countryside. She's a heartless and despicable woman."

As she poured out her grievances, Wang Zhaodi collapsed to the ground with a thud, muttering something under her breath.

At first, everyone thought she was faking it, but soon red liquid seeped out from under her body. Someone who saw it screamed, "Lazy Mom, quick, she's bleeding! Don't cry, come and see!"

The room fell silent. Lai Tou's mother was dumbfounded. "Lai Tou, Lai Tou isn't home! What should we do?"

Some kind-hearted people suggested, "Let's get the person inside first, and then someone else go find the village doctor."

Several neighbors near Li Laitou's house helped carry Wang Zhaodi into the house.

Another kind-hearted old lady nearby called one of her children and ran to fetch the village doctor.

The surrounding area suddenly erupted in excitement again—

"Wang Zhaodi is really something, judging from the looks of it, the child is probably not going to survive."

"Why are you making such a racket? Can't you see Lai Tou?"

"This is like crying wolf; Wang Zhaodi is just digging her own grave sooner or later."

“She would save up any good things she had and send them back to her parents’ home. This time, she simply stole all the money and grain from her family.”

"Old Li's family is really unfortunate to have such a clueless wife. Things are not going to get better for them."

"You're still talking about the future! Things are already bad now, what's the point of talking about the future?"

...

The villagers talked openly outside Li Laitou's house, getting more and more excited as they talked, showing no intention of leaving. They were all waiting to see the outcome, wondering if the child could be saved.

Since I'm just idling around anyway, it doesn't matter where I am!

An Moxue listened carefully to the villagers' chatter, thought about it carefully, and realized that it really made sense. She had always said that ordinary people understood the wisdom of life.

While the crowd was still bustling about, and An Moxue was listening with great interest, some of the educated youth who had heard the news rushed over. Ma Li, being the cheeky one she was, dragged Liu Jie inside and came to An Moxue's side. She even tried to pull An Moxue along to go inside and see Wang Zhaodi, but An Moxue took her hand away and firmly refused.

It's a joke. It's fine to watch the fun here, but she doesn't want to become one of the jokes. Liu Jie smiled helplessly at An Moxue and was pulled into the house by Ma Li.

Aunt Meihua arrived late and squeezed next to An Moxue. "Moxue, when did you get back?"

"Aunt Meihua, I came back yesterday. This morning I went to catch frogs with Xinghua and the others. I was thinking of bringing them to you later! You and I can take them together in a bit."

"Did you catch a lot? If you caught a lot, I'll go get some. If you caught a little, that's fine. You can keep it for yourself."

"There's plenty, don't worry! It's enough to go around."

"Okay, I'll go with you in a bit. I won't stand on ceremony with you. I'll bring you some good food when I have it at home. What's the situation with this Lai Tou family?"

"This is serious. Wang Zhaodi has fainted and is bleeding. It's hard to say what will happen to the baby in her womb. We're waiting for the doctor."

"Make way, make way, the doctor is here."

The crowd made way for the doctor, who went inside and came out shortly after. An elderly woman who was nearby rushed over and asked, "How did it go? Why did you come out so quickly?"

The doctor said, "The person has fainted and is bleeding so much. I'm not confident in treating him and dare not proceed. Let's go to town!"

The crowd erupted in alarm. This was dangerous; excessive bleeding during a miscarriage could be fatal. The doctor shook his head and left.

Upon hearing this, An Moxue also rode her bicycle away with Aunt Meihua on the back.

Unbeknownst to her, a few minutes after she left, Ma Li and Liu Jie came out and went straight to where she had been standing, wanting her to ride her bicycle to take Wang Zhaodi to town.

Li Laitou's mother insisted that the family had no money to send Wang Zhaodi to town, and that she didn't care what happened. She just let the scoundrel go, saying it wasn't that they refused to treat her, but that they had no money to treat her.

After An Moxue left, the two had no choice but to return to the educated youth settlement. Everyone in the settlement chipped in some money and asked Old Ma to take it to the town hospital. Several other people also went to help out.

The news didn't come until the next day when the educated youth returned: the baby hadn't survived, and they had brought the baby too late. The baby had suffered severe bleeding and uterine damage, and the baby's health was likely not as good as before. It would be difficult for the baby to conceive again, and the baby would have to stay in the hospital for a few days before returning home.

The educated youth were busy running around, but instead of receiving gratitude from Li Laitou's mother, she became unreasonable, saying that she had no money and that she should ask Wang Zhaodi for Wang Zhaodi's medical expenses. She also refused to go to the hospital, saying that she was too old and had been frightened the day before, so she was not feeling well and could not go until Wang Zhaodi returned.

Li Laitou had also been missing for several days. The female educated youths at the settlement had no choice but to take turns caring for her, one in two per day.

When An Moxue later heard the educated youth at the educated youth settlement talk about Wang Zhaodi, she just smiled faintly and said that it was just bad luck and she missed the opportunity.