Chapter 128 I Can't Live Like This Anymore
Looking at his mother's pale face, Shen Lao Er felt a pang of panic: "Mother, are you alright? Are you feeling unwell?"
As Chen's mother stared at the pile of jars, her legs went weak, her vision went black, and she fainted.
The Shen family was thrown into chaos, and they hurriedly carried the old lady to bed.
Shen Lao Er went to fetch a doctor, and soon returned alone, panting heavily.
"Where is the doctor?" Father Shen asked anxiously, stamping his feet.
Shen Lao Er's face turned ashen: "He refuses to come, saying he's afraid we'll take advantage of him."
"That bastard..."
Just as Shen's father was about to curse his wife, Shen Hongmei shouted from inside the room, "Father! Mother is awake!"
Mr. Shen rushed into the house and grabbed his wife's hand: "Old woman, how are you?"
Mother Shen trembled all over, her eyes filled with despair: "It's all over! Everything's over!"
Old Master Shen thought she was angry about the doctor, so he spat on the ground and said, "Mom, don't be angry! Once we sell the pickled vegetables and make money, we'll walk all over the village like we own the place, and see who dares to look down on us!"
Shen Lao Er chimed in, "That's right! Once we've made some money, we'll go straight to a big hospital in the city for treatment!"
Mother Chen's eyes were red-rimmed, and her voice trembled like a leaf: "It's ruined! Those pickled vegetables... they're all spoiled!"
Shen Hongmei's heart skipped a beat, and she asked incredulously, "Mother, what did you say? What's wrong with the pickled vegetables?"
Suddenly, Mother Shen broke down in tears, pounding her fists on the bed and screaming, "Damn it! All our money and food have been invested! It's all over! We can't live like this anymore!"
Startled, Shen's father rushed into the kitchen like a madman, grabbed a stinking jar, and yanked off the lid.
"vomit--!"
A suffocating stench assaulted my senses, like that of a rotting corpse.
Shen's father was closest to the source of the fumes and was so overwhelmed by the smell that he vomited all over the place.
The rest of the family realized what was happening and rushed into the kitchen like madmen, prying open the remaining jars one by one.
Without exception, they were all rotten and moldy vegetables, emitting a pungent, sour stench.
The smell was so strong that even the neighbors couldn't stand it. They stood on the wall and yelled, "Shen family! Are you making manure in your yard? It stinks to death!"
Shen's father seemed not to hear the insults around him. His legs went weak, and he collapsed onto the messy floor, his eyes vacant.
"Oh no... everything's ruined... we're out of food, how are we going to get through the winter..."
The rest of the Shen family members were deathly pale, as if they had lost their parents.
To prevent the stench from spreading further, the family had to endure the disgust and dispose of all the stinking jars, along with the rotten vegetables inside. The smell had seeped into the clay, rendering the jars unusable.
This time, the Shen family has completely lost everything.
While cleaning up the mess, Shen Hongmei cursed through gritted teeth:
"Liu Zhixia! How cruel you are! You actually gave me a fake formula! Since you won't give me a way out, don't blame me for dragging you all down with me!"
Old Master Shen sat on the threshold with a sinister look on his face, watching the three women deal with the mess. His eyes were bloodshot, and a murderous intent surged in them.
Old Shen Er came over carrying a full jar and nudged him, saying, "Brother, what are you standing there for? There's more in the inner room, hurry up and move it. If the neighbors find out we've lost everything, they'll laugh at us to death!"
Old Master Shen remained motionless, his brows furrowed into a tight knot, his voice low and frightening: "We've emptied our coffers this time to make pickled vegetables. How are we going to get through this winter?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Lao Er's face fell: "Yes. Before, we could borrow some from relatives and neighbors, or beg from the Liu family, so we wouldn't starve. But now... my eldest sister is gone, we've cut off ties with the Liu family, and our relatives and neighbors are avoiding us like the plague. Who would lend us grain?"
Old Shen's fists clenched so tightly they cracked: "Now we don't even have money for my son's schooling! Someone has to take responsibility for this!"
Shen Lao Er's heart skipped a beat, and he lowered his voice: "Big brother, what do you want to do?"
The eldest son, Shen, snorted coldly, his eyes fierce: "It's all the fault of those despicable women from the Liu family! They gave us a fake formula to deliberately trap us! They knew the formula was in my eldest sister's hands but didn't warn her, clearly trying to force us to our deaths! Since they're so heartless, then don't blame us for being ruthless!"
Shen Lao Er's eyes darted around: "Go and ruin their business?"
"What's the point of ruining business? What we need now is money! It's food for the winter!"
Shen Lao Er's eyes lit up: "Then why not kidnap Liu Zhixia? Her husband is rich!"
"Smack!"
Old Shen slapped him across the face, annoyed. "Are you stupid? Her husband is a military officer! Harming a military family member is suicide, you'll get shot! You're such a pig-brain, how come your son is smarter than you?"
Shen Lao Er shrank his neck, looking aggrieved: "Then, brother, what do you suggest we do?"
A ruthless glint flashed in Shen Laoda's eyes, his voice chilling: "Go and arrest Liu Dabao! Make the Liu family pay ransom! If they don't pay, or dare to call the police, we'll kill him! Anyway, the child came from my sister's womb, it's only right for a mother to take back her son's life!"
Shen Lao Er was startled and glanced at Shen Hongmei, who was still cursing and dealing with the jars in the distance: "This... would Eldest Sister agree to this?"
"She doesn't agree? Then sell her for money?" Boss Shen spat viciously, then lowered his voice, "Don't tell her yet, lest things get worse. Get the child first!"
The two brothers hit it off immediately, dropped what they were doing, made up an excuse and went out, disappearing into the night.
As night fell, villagers gathered under the big tree at the village entrance to cool off.
The jokes from the Lu family today were so entertaining that everyone chatted enthusiastically and stayed out much longer than usual. The children also took advantage of the lively atmosphere and ran around wildly.
As it grew increasingly dark, everyone began urging their children to go home and sleep.
Zhang Xiuying shouted "Da Bao" several times, but received no response.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she grabbed Xiao Tao, who was passing by: "Xiao Tao, have you seen my Da Bao?"
Xiao Tao scratched her head, looking bewildered: "We went to catch bugs. Da Bao said he caught a big one to show Grandma, so he ran back first. Then we haven't seen him since."
These words made not only Zhang Xiuying and Liu Shouren, but also the remaining villagers tense up.
They were talking until dark. If the child had run back long ago, how could they have been missing for so long?
Liu Shouren's expression changed, and he said urgently, "Old woman, I'll go look around! You go back and get the flashlight, and call the eldest, third, and fourth brothers out to look for them!"
Zhang Xiuying panicked and staggered home. Seeing this, the villagers nearby shouted, "Xiuying! Don't panic! Let's go back and get help to look for her!"
Soon, beams of flashlight light illuminated the village as villagers spontaneously organized themselves and called out Da Bao's name throughout the village.
Liu Zhixia had just finished her work in the space when she heard that Da Bao was missing. Her heart jumped into her throat, and she rushed out without saying a word.
Liu Xuejun, carrying his sleeping second child on his back, was also anxiously pacing around.
The group arrived at the place where Xiao Tao had said they would separate. Liu Zhixia crouched down and carefully searched the area using the light of her flashlight.
Suddenly, her gaze fell on the grass not far away—there was a patch of messy footprints, clearly the marks of an adult.
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