Chapter 9
The doctor was being pulled along by Wen Xiaowu, running breathlessly the whole way. He knew that the second son of the Wen family was a child who was born weak and extremely prone to fever. He had to be carefully cared for, or his life would be in danger.
After the doctor arrived, Yuqin stopped crying. The doctor looked at the child, who had almost stopped crying, and sighed helplessly.
He placed the child on the dining table, immediately took out silver needles and began to use them, and the child's cries gradually grew louder.
He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Half an hour later, he put away his silver needles, and the child's body was no longer so hot.
"Give the child a damp cloth to wipe him down. This time it's a bit serious. The child is still young, so if he feels uncomfortable, bring him to me immediately. I can't delay."
"I'll write you a prescription in a bit, and you can get some medicine for the child later."
The courtyard was very quiet. The doctor wrote quickly. Yuqin held her son in her arms and tried to comfort him, but he started crying again. Looking at the family, the doctor sighed helplessly and handed the prescription to Wen Xiaowu.
"Remember to get your medicine."
The few copper coins on the left and right were enough for the consultation fee, so he didn't want anything else. As for the cost of the medicine, he told them to buy it themselves.
Wen Xiaowu glanced at the prescription, walked over to his second brother, and immediately handed it to him.
He had no money; he was still young and unmarried. The money he had just received was from his third sister-in-law; otherwise, the doctor might not have come. He hadn't forgotten that the doctor had been saying "not enough, not enough" on the way here.
Wen Lao Er then looked at his own father with pleading eyes.
Today's commotion has really made everyone lose face. Based on Yingxiang's previous experience living in the village, Liu Shi and Old Man Wen are probably going to have a hard time for a while.
To be honest, it's all their fault. The villagers still remember what happened when they sold the land.
The villagers' pointing fingers and whispers behind their backs could drown a person. Although the two were considered respectable, they were scholars, not officials. The elder brother hadn't become an official yet, and they were still living their lives in the village.
Old Man Wen immediately turned his head away, feeling utterly ashamed.
He had lived in the village his whole life, and he had never been so humiliated. As for Liu, she was also furious, never expecting that her second son's wife would dare to cause her such a scene.
She doesn't even need to think about what will happen next; she'll definitely be gossiped about to death by the villagers.
"Mom, give me money, I need to buy medicine for my child."
Wen Lao Er stood up, walked up to Liu Shi, who glared at him, muttered "useless thing" under her breath, and turned to go inside.
Now Wen Lao Er was even more at a loss, and Yu Qin's crying grew even louder.
She carried the child and walked directly to Yingxiang.
"Third sister-in-law, please, please help your second sister-in-law. The child is unwell and can't go without medicine, otherwise he will get a high fever again. Please, can you lend me some money?"
After saying that, she immediately knelt down. Yingxiang was stunned, and subconsciously knelt down in front of her, immediately helping her up.
Looking at the child in her arms, Yingxiang silently thought, "Fine, I'll be kind this once. But I'll avoid going back to this house if I can avoid it in the future."
She took out ten more copper coins from her bosom and gave them to Yuqin.
"Thank you, sister-in-law, thank you, sister-in-law."
The next second, Yuqin threw the copper coin at Wen Lao Er and immediately carried the child into the house.
Wen Lao Er squatted down and picked up the copper coins that had fallen to the ground one by one. Ying Xiang felt a little uncomfortable watching this.
"Second Brother."
Wen Xiaowu walked up to him, her little face full of heartache.
"Second brother is fine. He's gone to get medicine for your nephew. Thank you, third sister-in-law."
After saying that, he left dejectedly. In the end, his son was still the most important. As for Wen Lao Si, he watched the whole farce from beginning to end and couldn't help but feel even more annoyed. He had even more resentment towards his parents.
He had a feeling that his second brother and sister-in-law today were probably not him and his future wife. They were also not good at studying, were also not very clever, and only knew how to farm.
In his heart, he also felt that his parents were going too far. When the eldest son wanted to buy a house, they gave him the money from selling land.
The second son's child was also their grandson, but they wouldn't even give him a few copper coins for medical treatment. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but tremble.
If he were to be treated like a slave by his family, like his second brother, and still not get anything in return, he wouldn't want to, he really wouldn't.
When Wen Erge returned, it was almost night. He silently prepared medicine for his son, and the courtyard was empty.
Wen Shi stayed in the room with Ying Xiang.
Yingxiang suddenly spoke up: "If things continue like this, it would be better to separate the family. Second brother is so capable. Even if he just farms, he can support the whole family. Why should he be exploited like this? They won't even give him money for the children's medical treatment."
Anyone with eyes can see that Old Man Wen and Madam Liu are extremely biased.
Wen Shi then said, "Dividing the family is impossible unless the eldest brother takes the initiative to tell our parents, which is the most likely possibility."
"I'm not saying this to be mean, but your older brother is too selfish. He made our parents sell the land, completely disregarding the lives of his family. I bet he took a lot of other things with him when he came back."
"His parents are all counting on him."
"Even if your older brother becomes successful one day, I reckon he'll only think about abandoning the whole family. Why would he take you all with him?"
Yingxiang's voice wasn't loud, but I heard it clearly when I smelled it.
He knew in his heart that Yingxiang was probably telling the truth, but there was nothing he could do. His parents were the ones in charge of the household, and he had them completely under his thumb.
"All of you brothers combined are not as good as your eldest brother. By the way, is he really that good at studying?"
These days, there are quite a few poor people who are hoping to change their fate through scientific examinations. Wen Shi remained silent for a long time.
He then said, "I guess so."
He's already a scholar, while I'm not.
"Are you even here?"
"have no idea."
Wen Shi had never known that his elder brother's education, food, clothing, and even private school were all better than his. After all, his elder brother was already a scholar.
He's just a junior student; if he can pass the imperial examination this year, that would be great for him.
If he doesn't pass, then he's not as good as his older brother. Although his older brother has also taken the exam for several years, he's already a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examinations).
Yingxiang suddenly hugged Wenshi's waist.
"My husband, I believe in you. You will definitely be a thousand times more capable than your elder brother in the future."
Hearing this, I felt a warmth in my heart. It seems that getting married back then was the right thing to do. Her father valued Yingxiang, that distant relative, and her mother thought that this girl was as capable as her second sister-in-law, and guessed that she was easy to bully.
In retrospect, both of them misjudged the situation.
By a twist of fate, she turned out to be a good wife to him.
"Keep the money you earn from now on, don't buy me paper anymore. If you like jewelry, buy some hair accessories instead."
Yingxiang smiled but did not speak.
The next morning, the two left after breakfast. Last night, Yingxiang vaguely heard her in-laws arguing, but it had nothing to do with her.
Just live your own life well.
The moment the two left the village, the villagers began to gossip behind their backs, but they didn't care. They got on the oxcart and turned to leave.
Once they arrived in town, life went on as usual, peacefully and steadily.
“Go tell your parents that we don’t need your older brother anymore. From now on, we’ll live our own lives. Give us what we’re owed. Otherwise, I’d rather beg for food with my child than stay here.”
Yuqin, unusually, didn't go to the kitchen early in the morning. Although her child was much better, her heart was completely cold. She realized that if she continued to work like this, she would be a slave to the whole family and wouldn't be able to leave anything behind. If it weren't for Yingxiang's help yesterday, her son might have died.
The thought of this made her feel terrible.
"Don't think that just because the third brother's family is always there for you, they're taking pity on you this time and helping you out. Do you think they'll do it again next time? Your parents treat their own grandson like this, and they treat you like an animal. Do you still want to stay in this house?"
Yuqin was very clear-headed at this moment and insisted on separating the family.
Wen Lao Er squatted on the ground, and even when Wen Lao Die called him to get down, he didn't move for a long time.
He was naturally in pain as well, as both his sons and daughters were equally dear to him.
"The weather's getting warmer, so my daughter and I will pack our things. You can stay home with your parents. Whether we live or die is none of your business."
"Yuqin, don't be like this."
"I will tell my parents."
"Do you know why they won't give you money? It's because they're out of money. All the money in the family went to the eldest son, and he took it all when he came back that time."
Yuqin put down the child and shouted loudly. Liu Shi outside the door heard it clearly and her face immediately turned cold.
She never imagined that her second son's wife would be so formidable. Thinking about how difficult the days ahead would be, all because of her, she angrily kicked open the door to their room.
"Get out of here! From now on, you're no longer my daughter-in-law. Leave the child with me and go back home."
Liu was furious.
"Mother, this won't do. If Yuqin leaves, who will breastfeed the child and take care of him?"
Wen Erge immediately stood up in a hurry.
"You're trying to sow discord. The Wen family doesn't have a daughter-in-law like you. Get out!"
Yuqin glanced at the wicked mother-in-law, put the child down, and angrily turned to leave. After all, she had hands and feet; if necessary, she could just beg for food.
"Old woman, come out here."
Seeing that things were about to get serious, Old Man Wen immediately called Liu Shi out.
"Second brother, you stay home and help take care of the children today. Fourth and fifth brothers and I will go to the fields. Okay, let's go."
After Old Man Wen finished speaking, he went out, with his fourth and fifth sons following behind him with hoes. Neither of them said anything, but Liu felt her face burning.
She was so angry that she went straight back to her room, complaining of a headache.
"Yuqin, don't go. The child can't live without you. My mother won't take good care of our child. I beg you, please, for the sake of the child."
Wen Erge looked at his wife with a pleading expression.
“From now on, I’ll work more. I heard that the Wu family’s land is too big to work in. I’ll go to their house to work in my spare time in the evenings. I’ll make money, and I’ll give you all the money. Yuqin, don’t go.”
Wen Erge hurriedly stopped his wife, Yuqin, who was already in tears.
Why is she so unlucky? She never gets any good things, only bad things. She's already fallen out with everyone. After yesterday's incident, refusing to separate from the family, what will the villagers think of her now?
Looking at the tiny baby in swaddling clothes, she couldn't help but feel pain.
The Wen family was in complete chaos, and the villagers had been grumbling about it behind their backs. The village chief and the head of the village had also heard about it, and they never expected the Wen family's husband to be so biased.
Yuqin is a well-known figure in the village. After she married into the family, everyone knew who she was. Her second son is also an honest and hardworking man. It's really too much for the Wen family to bully this couple.
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