Zhong Chengren slowly sat up, rubbed his eyes, and said with a look of disapproval: "She's just a little girl, what's wrong with crying a few times? What a fuss!"
He paused, then muttered, "Zhou Mingli is also a loser. She can't even take care of a child! What's the point of marrying her?"
These words were like adding fuel to the fire, instantly igniting all of Zhang Chunxue's anger!
"I told you to say she is a waste! I told you not to take care of the child!" Zhang Chunxue was so angry that she was shaking all over. Without thinking, she took off her cloth shoes and slapped Zhong Chengren's butt and back hard!
“Snap! Snap!”
The sound of shoe soles hitting flesh was particularly loud in the silent night.
Zhong Chengren was beaten so hard that he kept crying out, "Mom! Why are you hitting me?! Did I say something wrong?"
"You're not wrong?!" Zhang Chunxue's attack became even more ruthless. "She's your wife! The child is your own daughter! Do you still have any sense of responsibility as a husband and a father?"
"She's just a little girl, is it worth making such a fuss?" Zhong Chengren stiffened his neck and spoke stubbornly.
"How dare you say that!" Zhang Chunxue smacked him with the sole of her shoe again. "Get out! Go find a doctor right now! If you can't find Doctor Li, don't come back!"
Zhong Chengren was scared after being beaten, and he knew that his mother was really angry this time. Although he was very reluctant and felt that it was not worth it to go through all the trouble for a little girl and a useless woman, he had experienced his mother's power since he was a child.
He got up reluctantly, rubbed his sore butt, and walked out mumbling.
After returning to Zhou Mingli's room, Zhang Chunxue picked up her little granddaughter who was crying so hard that she was almost out of breath.
The child's face turned red and his voice became hoarse.
"Mingli," Zhang Chunxue said in a slow voice to Zhou Mingli, who was fainting from fever on the bed, "You have such a high fever, you dare not breastfeed me anymore. What if you pass your illness on to the child?"
Zhou Mingli nodded weakly, tears rolling down her cheeks: "Mom... I... I'm sorry for my child..."
"Silly child, why are you saying all this?" Zhang Chunxue sighed. "The child will sleep with me for the next few days. Wait until Xiaoxiao makes the rice porridge and feed her some first. Yuanyuan is over five months old. A little rice porridge will do the trick."
Zhong Yuanyuan is the name of her granddaughter, and it was she who gave it.
Zhou Mingli listened to her mother-in-law's gentle arrangements, and a warm feeling welled up in her heart. Her eyes turned redder and she choked up, "Mom... Thank you..."
In the past few years since she got married, Zhong Chengren has either beaten or scolded her, and her mother-in-law used to watch coldly from the sidelines. When has she ever defended her like she does today?
This sudden warmth almost made her cry.
Zhang Chunxue patted her hands and said, "Just focus on recuperating and don't think about anything else."
Not long after, footsteps and faint voices were heard outside the yard. It was Zhong Chengren who came back.
Zhang Chunxue held her little granddaughter in her arms, her eyes turning cold.
The door was pushed open, and Zhong Chengren, with a dark face, walked into the house reluctantly and stepped aside.
Following closely behind him was an old man in his fifties with gray hair carrying a medicine box. He was Dr. Li, the village's barefoot doctor.
"Mr. Guosheng, what happened to your second daughter-in-law?" Doctor Li asked as soon as he entered the door.
However, just as Doctor Li stepped over the threshold, another figure followed in slowly.
The man was wearing a clean white shirt and black pants, and had an upright posture. Under the dim light of the oil lamp, the profile of his face looked particularly clear and handsome.
Zhang Chunxue's gaze fell on the man, and his whole body froze instantly as if struck by lightning.
The children in his arms seemed to weigh less.
It's him!
Song Xingzhi!
He...why is he here?!
Zhang Chunxue only felt that his heart skipped a beat at this moment.
As soon as Song Xingzhi came in, his gaze was as real as substance, and he paused on Zhang Chunxue for a few seconds.
During those few seconds, Zhang Chunxue felt as if the air had frozen, and she could even clearly hear the weak breathing of her little granddaughter in her arms.
Then, his gaze slowly shifted to Zhou Mingli, who looked sick and haggard lying on the bed.
"Why did you have such a high fever?" Song Xingzhi frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "Why didn't you go see a doctor earlier?"
Zhou Mingli felt a little embarrassed by his gaze. She pulled the corners of her mouth weakly and said in a voice as thin as a mosquito: "I... I just felt a little unwell at first... I didn't want my family to worry, so I didn't tell them... I didn't expect that I would have such a high fever at night..."
Zhong Xiaoxiao's eyes widened as she stared at Song Xingzhi, her face filled with surprise. "Teacher Song? You...why are you here?"
Song Xingzhi turned his gaze towards Zhong Xiaoxiao, his expression much gentler, and even a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "I was just discussing something with Doctor Li, and I heard that someone here was seriously ill, so I stopped by to see him."
He paused and looked at Zhong Xiaoxiao with approval in his eyes: "Xiaoxiao, I heard that the county leaders came to commend you today. You did a great job!"
Zhong Xiaoxiao's face flushed instantly, and she lowered her head somewhat embarrassedly, but her voice was filled with undisguised joy: "That...that's all thanks to your good teaching, Teacher Song!"
Zhang Chunxue stood aside, keeping her eyes lowered, not even daring to glance at Song Xingzhi out of the corner of her eye.
She was afraid that once she met those deep eyes, all her disguises would fall apart.
"Doctor Li," she forced herself to speak, but her voice was a little dry and hoarse, "Mingli, how is she...?"
Doctor Li had already given Zhou Mingli a quick checkup. Hearing this, he stroked his graying beard and said, "It's okay. It's just a high fever from a cold. I'll prescribe some medicine for her. She'll be fine after a few days. But don't breastfeed for the next few days. Some medicines will dissolve into breast milk, which is not good for the baby."
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