Chapter 235 Guarding
She suppressed a laugh, not uttering a word to expose him. Instead, she quietly placed the orange peel on the corner of the table, slowly wiped her hands, and then said unhurriedly, "That five hundred yuan was saved by your mother from dawn till dusk, penny by penny, one fried dough stick at a time. Every penny was for you siblings to study hard and have a bright future. This money is not for spending carelessly, much less for squandering."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Anguo's face immediately plastered with a fawning smile, his chubby cheeks squeezing into a ball. He laughed and shouted, "Mother, what are you saying? Shen Cuifen is just a girl. What's the use of her studying so much? She'll get married sooner or later. It's not worth spending money on her! Your own son is right here. How practical!"
As he spoke, he raised his chubby hand and waved it back and forth in front of Zhao Lin's eyes, patting his chest exaggeratedly to assure her: "Mom, don't worry! My second and third brothers are both useless and can't be relied on. The family depends entirely on me! You give me all the money, and I promise to save it carefully and take care of you for the rest of your life. I will never break my promise!"
Zhou Xiuli stood outside the door. When she heard these words, her heart clenched as if gripped tightly by an invisible hand, and the pain made her breath catch in her throat.
She could no longer contain herself and shoved Zhou Nuli forward, shouting, "Quick! Stop listening and get inside!"
Zhou Nuli stumbled from the push, and without thinking, he hurriedly raised his hand and knocked hard on the door, his voice urgent and loud: "Open the door! It's me! Zhou Nuli is back! Open the door quickly!"
Hearing the knocking and the familiar voice, Zhao Lin frowned, slowly stood up, and went to open the door.
She only opened the door a crack, peeking out a pair of wary eyes, about to speak and ask why she was so late.
Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Nuli gave him a sudden, forceful push.
"Bang!"
The old wooden door slammed heavily into Zhao Lin's chest, the force so great that she instantly lost her balance and fell backward to the ground.
She felt as if her lower back had been hit by a hammer, and a sharp pain shot straight up her spine; her buttocks slammed heavily onto the cold cement floor, causing her to gasp in pain; when she hurriedly braced herself with her hands, her palms were scraped and burned, with a few streaks of blood seeping out.
Zhou Nuli stood at the door, looking down at Zhao Lin lying on the ground. His lips were slightly pursed, his eyes were cold, and he said in a cold voice without any warmth, "What kind of act are you putting on? I already said it's me who's back. Why aren't you opening the door? What are you pretending to be cautious for?"
Shen Cuifen bit her lip, her eyes instantly reddening. She quickly squatted down, supporting Zhao Lin's arm with one hand, and whispered in distress to defend her, "Dad, it's the middle of the night, what's wrong with Mom being careful? Who wouldn't be wary if someone suddenly knocked on the door in the middle of the night? Do you have to be so fierce? If Mom really falls and hurts herself, twists her back, breaks her bones, you'll regret it!"
Taking advantage of the chaos, Zhou Xiuli quietly slipped into the house from behind Zhou Nuli.
As soon as she entered the room, her gaze swept over the scene before finally settling on Shen Cuifen.
As soon as Shen Cuifen helped Zhao Lin to a chair, she looked up and saw Zhou Xiuli enter. Her brows furrowed tightly, and her eyes revealed a hint of wariness and displeasure.
At this moment, Zhou Anguo was still lazily nestled in the old recliner in the living room, holding a bag of sunflower seeds in his hand, cracking them open with a "crunch" sound. He didn't even bother to lift his eyelids. He just casually said to Zhou Nuli at the door, "Dad, we're brewing some beer. It's piping hot. You've come back just in time. Come and have a couple of sips to warm yourself up!"
Zhou Xiuli glanced at Zhao Lin, who was still rubbing her back in a disheveled state on the ground, and then looked at Shen Cuifen, who was helping her up. Her face immediately darkened, and she shouted at the top of her lungs without any politeness: "Cuifen! I came home out of kindness to see your mother, and you have a face longer than a donkey's. Is she refusing to pay back money owed to her? Who are you trying to impress with this attitude? You really don't know any manners!"
Zhou Nuli glared at her fiercely, his eyes looking like he wanted to devour her, then shouted at Shen Cuifen, "Stop pretending to be weak! Who are you trying to fool? Do you think I don't know what you're thinking? Hurry up and help your mother up! What time is it? She hasn't had dinner yet, she's starving! Go to the kitchen and cook some hot soup and rice, don't just stand here like a wooden doll!"
Shen Cuifen trembled at the shout, her face turning deathly pale. She lowered her head, her fingers digging tightly into her palms, but dared not utter a word in rebuttal.
She gritted her teeth and used all her strength to support Zhao Lin's heavy body with her thin shoulders, pulling him upwards with all her might, her arms trembling slightly as she could not bear the weight.
Zhao Lin hissed and gasped in pain. A piercing pain in her ankle made it almost impossible for her to stand. She walked with a limp, her heels barely touching the ground, each step feeling like walking on a knife's edge.
She leaned against Shen Cuifen's shoulder, cold sweat beading on her forehead and her lips slightly pale.
Shen Cuifen's eyes welled up with tears, which streamed down her cheeks and dripped onto the cold floor.
She choked back tears as she said, "Mom, where did you hurt yourself? Did you twist a muscle? Maybe... we should go to the village clinic to get it checked out? What if the injury gets worse if we keep putting it off?"
Zhao Lin was panting, his brows furrowed. After a moment of silence, he finally nodded slowly.
She gripped Shen Cuifen's arm tightly, practically dragging her towards the door: "Come on, let's go to the clinic. I can't take it anymore."
Just as the two staggered towards the door, Zhou Xiuli suddenly burst into tears from the corner, her voice shrill and piercing, filled with heavy sobs: "Brother! I understand... I'm such an outsider! Nobody in this family cares about me, I can't even get a bite to eat! What's the point of me living? I might as well die! Out of sight, out of mind!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Nuli's brows immediately furrowed into a deep frown, and his face turned terribly gloomy.
He whirled around, pointed at Shen Cuifen, and his voice boomed like thunder: "Anguo! Take your mother to the clinic! What are you standing here for? Are you deaf? Your mother asked you to cook, didn't you hear her? You won't even cook, and you expect me to support you and your mother for free?"
Zhou Anguo was huddled by the stove to warm himself, his fingers were so cold they were stiff, and he didn't want to move at all.
He frowned, reluctantly raised his head, but was startled by his father's roar.
He reluctantly stood up, slowly lifted the iron lid on the stove, peeked at the remaining food in the pot, and muttered, "Well... you have to leave me a bite! I cooked this this morning, and I put in a lot of meat, so no one is allowed to eat it all!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Lin disregarded the pain and grabbed Zhou Anguo's thick, muscular arm, clinging to him like a vine and refusing to let go.
Zhou Anguo was pulled so hard he stumbled, and immediately frowned, saying impatiently, "Mom, why don't you just let me carry you?"
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