Chapter 12 Chapter 12 I can also support my family

Huo Xing nodded. Before he could say anything, Miao Ying came up to him and pinched his injured arm with one hand: "How did it happen? Did you hurt the bone?"

"No, the doctor said I need to rest." Huo Xing said.

Miao Ying nodded, turned to Huo Xiaobao and said, "You go back with Big Brother. I'll go chop some cabbage."

Huo Xing brought Huo Xiaobao back home. Li Hongying was shocked to see his hands were tied up, and his grandmother's eyes were red. The two of them looked him up and down several times, and wiped away their tears with heartache.

"It's okay, the doctor said there are no broken bones." Huo Xing said dryly. He was never talkative and didn't know how to comfort the elders at home. He just used his working hand to give them the oil paper bag and said, "Snack, you guys eat it."

Li Hongying and her grandmother had no way to eat. Huo Xing was injured, which meant that they had no income this year. They had thought that with the five taels of money that Miao should have earned this year, plus the money earned by Huo Xing, they could have a good year. If they worked harder next year, they could build another room. After all, Huo Xiaobao was grown up and could no longer sleep in the same room with his grandmother. But they didn't expect Huo Xing to be injured.

Miao Ying came back with an armful of cabbage. Seeing them sitting in the yard, he asked Li Hongying, "Mom, are we making dumplings today? Lard-fat and cabbage dumplings?"

Li Hongying nodded: "I'll make the dough."

Grandmother sat there and looked at Huo Xing: "How could he be injured so seriously?"

"Accident." Huo Xing stood up and sat down at the stove door. Huo Xiaobao followed him and sat down next to him.

When mixing the stuffing, after cutting the cabbage, use coarse salt to remove the moisture. Chop the lard residue from the previous cooking and mix it with the cabbage that has been squeezed dry. After adding some green onions and ginger, the stuffing is ready.

There is also fine flour at home, which is only eaten during the Chinese New Year and other festivals. Today, Huo Xing was injured, and Li Hongying rarely used flour to make dough, so that she could make some dumplings.

Miao Ying mixed the stuffing. He was not very good at making dumplings, and the dumplings he made looked like a bunch of unknown creatures. Li Hongying stopped him from making them and told him to rest on the side. Now his grandmother came over to make dumplings, and Miao Ying had some free time.

Miao Ying pulled Huo Xing back into the room, reached out and took off his clothes, and saw the wound on his shoulder: "It doesn't look like it was done accidentally."

Huo Xing then said, "I saved a person." He had not told Li Hongying and the others about the ten taels of silver. He had a selfish motive. He wanted to give a few taels of the ten taels to Miao Ying. He couldn't let him leave empty-handed after his injury healed.

He described the whole process to Miao Ying, but he spoke in a bland and general way. He made it sound like he had picked up a cabbage on the street, like such a dangerous thing.

"So you feel guilty about holding these ten taels of silver, right?" Miao Ying came over and sat down next to him. "You don't need to feel burdened at all. You did a good deed, and good people will be rewarded. This is what you deserve."

"But…"

"You said he was a young master from the county town, right?" Miao Ying patted his uninjured shoulder. "For people like them, anything that can be solved with money is not a problem. You save his life, he gives you money, and that's it. If you don't want the money, they'll think you want something else."

Huo Xing looked at his serious eyes and was stunned for a moment: "Really?"

Miao Ying counseled him: "It's okay, take the money, there's no need to feel burdened."

After hearing what he said, Huo Xing felt that his heart was not so blocked anymore. He just looked at Miao Ying.

Miao Ying understood his personality and took the initiative to tell him about his family: "Everything is fine at home. We went to the county town to sell handkerchiefs that day and made five taels of silver. Also, I scolded your father."

Huo Xing's expression became more vivid: "Five taels?"

Miao Ying puffed out his chest and said, "Not only can you make money, I can make money even though I'm injured!" He told her what happened that day, "Mom and grandmother embroidered for too long, and it's not good for their eyes, so I just sold the patterns."

Huo Xing nodded: "Thank you very much."

Miao Ying raised his eyebrows: "I can also support my family. When I get better, I can make more money."

Huo Xing turned his head to look at his head and found that he had no medicine on his head today, so he asked, "Are you still taking medicine?"

Miao Ying nodded: "Mother checked it and said it has scabbed over and there is no need to apply medicine anymore."

Huo Xing showed him the medicine he had brought back: "There's donkey-hide gelatin in it. You can add it in when you boil the medicine next time."

Miao Ying shook his head: "I'm almost well now. I don't want to eat that. Why did you buy so much donkey-hide gelatin?"

Huo Xing didn't say anything. Miao Ying had already found an excuse for him: "Our injuries are similar, so it's normal for your prescription to include donkey-hide gelatin, but why so much?"

Seeing that Huo Xing still refused to speak, Miao Ying considered the purpose of the donkey-hide gelatin: "To nourish mother and grandmother."

Huo Xing just glanced at him. If Miao Ying had such a good thing in the past, he would definitely have taken it away. He would never have thought about his mother and grandmother.

At this point, Miao Ying asked again: "What happened to your father?"

Huo San actually had a period of time when he was like a human being. When his family just settled down in the village, he supported his mother with his own hands. When talking about marriage, the matchmaker also praised him for his hard work and diligence, otherwise Li Hongying would not marry him.

After marriage, their family lived in harmony and renovated the house. Huo Xing was born with the expectations of their family. However, Huo Xing was late in his education and there were constant rumors in the village, so gradually he disliked the child.

But Li Hongying was injured when she gave birth to Huo Xing, and there was no good news for several years. He began to have other thoughts, but his family could only barely make ends meet, and few people in the village took concubines. Li Hongying was filial to her mother-in-law, thrifty, and had the merit of giving birth. There was nothing wrong with her, and he could not even divorce her.

One day he went to the town to find another doctor to see if Huo Xing could be cured, but he stopped in front of a brothel.

In the days that followed, he emptied the cash box at home just for a moment of pleasure in the brothel. After the cash box at home was emptied, he pawned it. When he had nothing to pawn, he borrowed money from usurers. He used the money to gamble and owed a lot of gambling debts. Later, he could no longer hide it, and Li Hongying found out about it.

The originally good home became a ruin. No matter how his grandmother beat or scolded him, he was determined to redeem the girl. However, when the girl saw that she could not get any more benefits from him, she ordered her mother not to let him enter the house again.

Li Hongying had to use her dowry to pay off those usury and gambling debts, and the family became penniless again. She had thought about divorce, but Huo Xing was still young, and with a stepmother, he had a stepfather. She also endured all the things Huo San did. Fortunately, her mother-in-law was kind and Huo Xing was filial, so the man just treated him as if he were dead.

Huo San swore in front of his grandmother that he would never gamble again. In fact, he had not gambled in the past few years, but he drank more and more.

Huo Xing's speech was not lively, but Miao Ying was so angry that he broke out in a sweat. He thought Lao Deng was just an alcoholic, but he didn't expect him to do such a thing. He had no relatives since childhood, and after getting along with Li Hongying these days, he had regarded her as his own elder.

He said viciously, "Just wait and see how I deal with him when I get better."

Huo Xing looked at him with anger, and he was not sure what had happened at home during the days he was away, and why Miao Ying had become so close to his mother and grandmother.

Miao Ying added, "You still have to tell Mom about getting the money. We can't hide things from our family."

Huo Xing nodded and followed Miao Ying out of the room.

The buns were already being steamed. Miao Ying thought of the donkey-hide gelatin he had brought back, glanced at Huo Xing's bound arms, and finally took out the chicken.

There is only one piece left. It has been pickled with coarse salt. If you don’t eat it now, it will go bad. Now that it has been pickled, it should taste good if you stew it.

Chop the chicken into pieces and wash it with clean water. Add the chicken bones, donkey-hide gelatin and ginger slices into the pot and stew together. When it is almost done, add the radish. It is said that radish in winter is better than ginseng. This pot of soup is very tonic.

It had been a long time since they had a sumptuous meal. Huo San went out and Miao Ying felt happier. These delicious dishes of his were not meant for scum.

The cabbage scraps were greasy and the aroma of carrot and chicken soup lingered in the yard. Even Huo Xing, who was not a picky eater, felt hungry.

Huo Xiaobao couldn't hide his thoughts. He washed his hands and started eating the buns. Miao Ying served the two elders chicken soup: "Mom, Grandma, drink more soup. It has donkey-hide gelatin in it, which is good for your health."

"You should drink some too." Li Hongying also poured him a bowl. "Your injury hasn't healed yet."

Miao Ying didn't hesitate and served Huo Xing another bowl: "Drink it, you need to replenish your body too."

Looking at the old, weak and sick people in the family, Miao Ying felt that the burden on his shoulders had become much heavier. He picked up a bun and started eating. For the first time, he experienced what it felt like to be short of oil and water. He ate only four bites of the big bun and it was all gone.

After he finished eating a bun, he kicked Huo Xing's leg, signaling him to tell the two elders about the money.

Huo Xing nodded, and recounted the story of his injury and the matter of the ten taels of silver.

Li Hongying felt very complicated. These ten taels of silver were earned by Huo Xing's injury. Compared with money, she still hoped that Huo Xing would be healthy.

Huo Xing handed the ten taels of silver to Li Hongying, who pushed the silver back: "Your father will steal it if you leave it in my room. He also kept the money Miao Ying earned before."

Huo Xing turned to look at Miao Ying, the surprise in his eyes not seeming fake.

Miao Ying smiled at him, then looked at Li Hongying: "How long will it take for the New Year to come, Mom?" After he traveled through time, he didn't know what day it was, he only knew that it was winter and the weather was cold.

"Laba Festival will be here in a few days," said grandma.

Miao Ying nodded: "Shouldn't we start preparing for the New Year? We just made some money, so we need to make new clothes. Huo Xiaobao's pants have been added to several pieces, and it's time for Mother and Grandma to make clothes too."

Li Hongying looked at him and said, "Why are you making new clothes? They were only made last year."

Miao Ying didn't care: "Last year is last year, and the New Year should make new clothes."

Grandma also disagreed: "Just make it for Xiaobao, we don't want it."

Miao Ying refused to listen: "The money you earn is to be spent. Why save it? You can make more money in the future." He pulled Huo Xing's sleeve and made a decision on his own, "Let's go to the county town to buy New Year's goods tomorrow."