The village chief thought to himself that Zhou Dashan and Yao Shi were, after all, Zhou Jing'an's parents. They were accompanying their son to seek medical treatment, so what could he, as the village chief, say?
Ning Huan understood the village chief's concerns: "You can bring a few respected elders from the village with you, and the Yao family shouldn't say anything more."
The village chief nodded in agreement, knowing that Ning Huan was right.
Yao was a troublesome woman; Zhou Dashan couldn't control her, and she was always causing trouble.
The most important thing is whether Zhou Jing'an's leg injury can be healed. When the time comes, he will ask an elder from the village to accompany him to the town to inform Zhou Dashan and Yao Shi, and tell them to wait at home.
After seeing the village chief off, Zhou Jing'an looked at Ning Huan and asked, "Are you using me as a shield?"
Ning Huan raised an eyebrow: "What else can I do? Your mother is deliberately causing trouble; I'll get scolded no matter what I say. Besides, what I said is actually the truth..."
She assumed Zhou Jing'an disliked what she had done today, and explained, "Don't worry, once your injuries have healed, we'll get a divorce. I won't use you as a shield anymore then."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Jing'an was about to explain that he didn't mean it that way, but he swallowed the words back.
He replied coldly, "Hmm."
But in fact, he didn't want to divorce Ning Huan so soon. The time they spent together made him feel that this woman was taking meticulous care of the four little ones.
Although he didn't want to admit it, even he himself had begun to stop hating this woman and had gotten used to her presence.
After he gradually accepted the explanation of being resurrected, he also realized that the current Ning Huan was not the woman who only abused the four little dumplings.
If she can continue like this, he doesn't have to divorce her. When he passes the imperial examinations in the future, he can give Ning Huan a title so that she can continue to take care of the four little ones in the house.
But this woman seems to want a divorce even more than he does. Thinking of this, Zhou Jing'an frowned. Could it be that she dislikes him?
Just as Zhou Jing'an and Ning Huan were talking, the four little ones at the door overheard them talking about getting a divorce.
The eyes of the two little ones immediately reddened, and the two older ones quickly covered their mouths and pulled them back into the house.
The four little ones sat on the bed, none of them speaking. Two faint sobs could be heard, and no one knew who had secretly shed tears.
The first to speak was Xiao Sibao, who cried pitifully, "Why do Mom and Dad want a divorce? We're doing fine now, aren't we?"
Da Bao said calmly, "Do you remember what Mother said when she said she would help Father get treatment? Father agreed to divorce Mother, and we were so happy to come..."
Upon hearing Da Bao's words, the four little ones fell silent.
They remembered that their mother had treated them badly back then. They hadn't started calling her "mother" yet, and they were overjoyed to hear the wicked woman say she wanted a divorce from their father.
But now, they are very sad to hear their mother mention divorce to their father again.
At this point, Xiao Sanbao couldn't hold back any longer and cried, "I don't want my parents to separate! I don't want to be separated from my mother! What should I do..."
The third child burst into tears, and the fourth child couldn't hold back either, crying along with him: "I don't want to be separated from Mommy either! Is there any way to keep Mommy and Daddy from being separated?!"
The four little ones fell silent again; none of them slept well that night.
Ning Huan and Zhou Jing'an, however, were unaware of the four little ones.
The next morning, Ning Huan woke up to find them squatting in the yard, not exercising but staring blankly with worried expressions.
She frowned and stepped forward, asking, "What's wrong with you four little ones? Why are you all so listless so early in the morning? Did you have a fight?"
The four little ones, who had been in a daze, suddenly looked up when they heard Ning Huan's voice, and then pounced on her with a wronged expression.
But no one said what had happened. Just as Ning Huan was about to ask, the four little ones ran off as if they had made a pact.
She felt something was off and was about to chase after them when Yang's voice came from the doorway: "Ninghuan, I'm all better now, let's go."
Last night, Yang came to visit and said she wanted to go up the mountain to collect herbs with Ning Huan. She also wanted to learn this skill to earn some extra money to supplement the family income.
Ning Huan readily agreed and arranged with Yang to go up the mountain together this morning.
When Yang arrived, Ning Huan stopped worrying about the four little ones, assuming they had just had a disagreement and didn't dare tell her.
Not long after Ning Huan and Yang Shi left, Xiao Taozi came to play with them.
Seeing the four little ones looking listless, Little Peach lost interest as well: "Hey, what's wrong with you guys! You haven't said a word all morning, just sitting here ignoring me!"
"What's wrong with you guys?!"
As soon as Little Peach finished speaking, Little Sanbao burst into tears.
This startled her greatly: "Little Sanbao, why are you crying? I didn't bully you!"
Before Little Peach could even comfort the third child, the fourth child started crying too: "My mom said she's leaving us! What am I going to do, Little Peach? I don't want Mom to leave!"
Hearing Xiao Sibao's words, Xiao Taozi was taken aback: "You mean Aunt Ning is leaving, that's why you're all crying like this?"
Little Erbao nodded, his eyes red, clearly trying to hold back his emotions. Otherwise, he would have cried like Little Sanbao and Little Sibao.
Little Peach, however, didn't take it seriously and said, "I thought it was something serious. Your mother must have just said it in anger. My parents often say they're going to leave when they argue, but they're fine after they calm down."
Little Sibao asked, sobbing, "Really?"
Little Peach nodded: "It's true, why would I lie to you? There were a few times when my mother got really angry and even packed her bags, but she never actually left."
Xiao Sibao was skeptical, but after wiping away her tears, she finally stopped crying.
Little Sanbao's eyes were red from crying. He sighed, "What if what my mother said is true? Is there any way to stop her from leaving..."
Little Peach shook her head: "I heard from the old man in the village that there is a mountain spirit on the mountain next to our village. If you can find the mountain spirit and make a wish to her, she will grant it no matter what it is."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Sibao asked in surprise, "Is there really a mountain spirit granny on the mountain...?"
Little Erbao interrupted Little Sibao and said, "Definitely not. If Granny Mountain Spirit really existed, then everyone could have whatever they wanted."
Seeing that Xiao Erbao was questioning her, Xiao Taozi, who was originally going to explain to Xiao Sibao that she had only heard about it, was very dissatisfied.
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