Since the last case ended, Gan Tao followed Gan Li back to town and went straight to the restaurant. She never returned to Yuxi Village, nor did she inquire about the family.
However, even though she didn't inquire, she still caught up with the news—there was no way around it, since all the staff working in the restaurant were from Yuxi Village, and such a big thing had happened, it was impossible not to discuss it.
Ganli also overheard it.
It turned out that Gan Tao Niang had finally returned to the village with her sons.
Gan Tao Niang paid for a mule cart and asked someone to bring them back.
It is said that when everyone learned of their return, they blocked the village entrance and refused to let them in, saying they didn't want to live in the same village as such people. After all, if they dared to harm even their own daughter, they would be even more ruthless in harming others. Who knows who might be unlucky one day.
Gan Tao Niang had considered that her family would be gossiped about if they returned, but she really had no other choice. Without money or food, where could she go? At least if she returned to the village, she would still have land to cultivate and a house to live in.
But she didn't expect everyone to be so resistant to them, to the point that they wouldn't even let them into the village.
But Gan Tao Niang was not one to be trifled with. Seeing this, she sat down at the village entrance and burst into tears, refusing to mention what she had done, but instead accusing everyone of bullying her and her orphan.
She sat on the ground, crying and cursing, single-handedly confronting an entire village of elderly women and young wives, without showing any sign of weakness. Her cursing continued until everyone couldn't resist rolling up their sleeves to beat her up, at which point she screamed and fainted.
Even though everyone knew she was faking it, no one dared to step forward. Everyone had heard about Gan Tao Niang being beaten and knew she was still injured. If they went up to her and she tried to extort money from them, who could stand that?
But neither side was willing to back down, so the two sides reached a stalemate.
Finally, the village chief stepped in and persuaded everyone to make way for Gan Tao's deceased father. However, he also made it clear beforehand that if Gan Tao's mother dared to cause any trouble, she would be immediately kicked out of the village, and even the Heavenly King himself wouldn't be able to stop her.
Gan Tao Niang was quite shrewd. After entering the village, she returned to her own home and didn't go out to cause trouble. She didn't even leave the house for several days. The house was quiet until one day, when the villagers heard the children crying. Worried that something had happened, they went to check on her and found out that Gan Tao Niang was sick.
She was given twenty strokes of the cane, and all the money she had left was used to buy food. She had no money for medicine, and although she endured it for a few days, she still developed a fever. Not only was she burning up, but she also started talking nonsense.
The children were crying pitifully, but how much money would it cost to see a doctor and get medicine? Gan Tao's family didn't have any, and the others weren't kind people either. At least the money would make a sound if it was thrown into the water, but to use it to treat Gan Tao's mother? They wouldn't even see a hair of it.
It was the village chief who took pity on her and gave the two doses of medicine he had left over to Gan Tao Niang.
She was lucky; after taking two doses of medicine, she really got better and was able to get out of bed in just two days.
However, although her internal injuries healed, her leg was damaged. She had broken a bone when she was being flogged, and she walked with a limp. This time, she could no longer spend half a tael of silver to get medicine from the clinic.
—People are starving to death, who cares if they're lame or not!
Everyone says this is retribution; she pretended to be sick to trick Gan Tao into being her slave, and now look what happened, her leg is really lame!
Therefore, we should act with a clear conscience and not say lies casually. There are gods watching from above!
Although everyone was gossipy, they were also considerate of Gan Tao's feelings, worried that she would be upset if she heard these things, so they told her these things behind her back.
However, Ganli knew that even if she didn't say it to his face, Gantao was certainly aware of these things.
After all, this case has caused quite a stir. Not only are people in the restaurant talking about it, but people in the surrounding towns are also discussing it. Gan Tao Niang's current situation is also a hot topic of conversation. How could it possibly be kept secret?
Now that I see it, it's true. Before leaving for the capital, Gan Tao was still worried and couldn't help but ask about this matter.
However, to Gan Li's relief, Gan Tao only asked her to keep an eye on Xiao Si, and didn't mention anything else, which was a good sign.
The reason why the previous case was resolved so quickly was largely due to Xiao Si's testimony. It's not surprising that Gan Tao cares about this younger brother. Gan Li readily agreed.
Seeing her nod, Gan Tao felt completely relieved. When she finally boarded the carriage, although she still looked reluctant, her expression was relaxed.
"Shopkeeper, you can go back now."
"Brother Quan... I'll be back in a year!"
After saying that, Gan Tao gave the two of them a deep look and lowered the carriage curtain.
Watching the convoy depart, Gan Li turned her gaze away and glanced at her nephew beside her, only to find that the silly boy's eyes were still fixed on the convoy.
She couldn't help but nudge him with her elbow: "You'll be back in a year. Don't act like this, as if your eyes are glued to him as he flies to the capital."
Gan Quan withdrew his gaze, and the usually expressionless boy showed a rare shy expression, scratching his head embarrassedly.
However, he quickly regained his composure, looked at Gan Li, and solemnly asked, "Auntie, may I learn skills from you from now on?"
"Learn a skill? What skill do you want to learn?" Gan Li asked curiously, wondering why he suddenly changed the subject.
Gan Quan said earnestly, "No matter what skill it is, as long as you are willing to teach me, I am willing to learn."
Gan Li looked into the boy's earnest eyes, which were filled with an upward yearning, and instantly understood that he had seen his sweetheart go to the capital and was worried that if he didn't improve, he wouldn't be good enough for her.
Ganli admires that they strive to be a good match rather than worrying about not being good enough and trying to keep the other person in the mire.
She nodded: "After we go back, we'll go to school for a year."
"Go to school?" Gan Quan was taken aback and looked at her in confusion.
Gan Li looked at him teasingly: "Otherwise, since you can't read, what skills do you want to learn from me? Do manual labor? I can't teach you that. But I can talk to you about how to manage restaurants and taverns, how to keep accounts and purchase goods."
I'll give you two years. If you learn it well, you'll be the manager of my branch. If you don't, you'll stay here and wait your turn.
Gan Quan looked at her earnestly and solemnly promised, "I will definitely help my aunt manage the branch store well!"
This time it was Ganli's turn to be stunned. After a while, she came to her senses and looked at the boy's determined eyes, and couldn't help but laugh.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
