Chapter 164
"Of course I can bear it, how could I not?"
Ignoring her surprised expression, Tao Tao walked straight ahead.
Just as Tu Miaoling was feeling sorry for herself, a pair of familiar shoes appeared right under her nose. She looked up in surprise and immediately showed a joyful expression.
Tao Tao shoved the medicine into her hand and said irritably, "Once your foot is healed, I'm going to see just how good-looking he is that you'd be willing to go bankrupt to borrow money to redeem him!"
Tu Miaoling reached out and hugged her, resting her face against her lower abdomen: "Tao'er, I knew you wouldn't abandon me. You're my best friend."
“If I find out he has deceived you, and you are still willing to do so, then we will cut ties completely. I don’t make friends with people who are not thinking straight.”
Her expression was calm, but her tone was cold.
Tu Miaoling assured her confidently, "Don't worry, I'm not an idiot. I know what kind of person he is. He won't lie to me."
Tao Tao: "That would be for the best, then your efforts wouldn't have been in vain."
She smiled and nodded.
Tao Tao pointed to the wall and asked, "Where were you going when you jumped down from up there?"
Tu Miaoling said, "He asked me for money, so I thought I'd go see him. I didn't see him when I went to Chu Feng Pavilion before."
"You have money? You're going even if you don't have money?!"
"Never mind, I reckon your dad'll be back soon. Do you have a key? This lock is from the outside."
Upon hearing this, Tu Miaoling struggled to her feet, supporting herself on the rocks. Tao Tao reached out to help her steady herself.
She patted herself down to see if she had her keys, and after a while, she looked up and shook her head awkwardly.
So, in broad daylight, the two sat on a large rock, watching people come and go, with passersby casting strange glances at them.
Fortunately, neither of them seemed to care that much, and they were able to look back when others looked at them.
Just as I was about to fall asleep, I heard a voice filled with surprise and anger.
"You brat! How did you get out here? I told you to stay home, but you wouldn't listen and insisted on doing things that made me lose face! Do you think it's honorable to do those shameless things?!"
Tao Tao groggily opened her eyes and saw Uncle Tu grabbing Tu Miaoling's ear and cursing her. Tu Miaoling was screaming in pain under his grip.
"Dad! Let go! Let go... What are you doing! It hurts..."
Tu Miaoling shouted irritably, her cheeks flushed, showing great resentment towards him, and struggled desperately.
She got up, stood aside and watched, scratching her head helplessly.
It would be easier to stop someone else, but this is her father. She's an outsider, so it's not appropriate for her to interfere.
"Uncle Tu, she's injured her foot. Why don't you let her in first?"
Upon hearing the sound, Boss Tu turned around and looked over. After listening carefully, he looked down at her feet with suspicion and immediately roared again.
"Look at what you're doing! Giving all your money to that pretty boy isn't enough, and even with the door locked, you're still trying every possible way to escape. Don't you have any shame?! What young woman would want to be as eager to marry you as you are!"
"And to make matters worse, you're not from a respectable family, going to those filthy places like brothels and music halls! You're going to ruin yourself!"
His voice was so loud that people five miles away could hear it, and it attracted a lot of onlookers to watch the spectacle.
Seeing so many people laughing at her made Tu Miaoling feel ashamed and humiliated, and she struggled even harder to break free.
"Ouch!! Let go! Dad!!"
Seeing this, Tao Tao quickly stepped forward, grabbed his wrist, and Boss Tu immediately let out a scream as his arm twitched and he let go.
He looked up at her in shock, wondering how this seemingly frail young woman could be so strong.
She looked up with an apologetic expression: "I'm sorry, Uncle Tu, I didn't mean to."
After practicing martial arts, her strength increased considerably, but not to such an exaggerated degree. It was just that she had just pinched his tendons, causing her wrist to go numb and forcing him to let go.
Tu Miaoling rubbed her swollen ear, wincing, and then burst into carefree laughter when she saw her father's embarrassed expression.
Tao Tao sighed speechlessly: "You can still laugh? You've got a really big heart."
"Uncle Tu, calm down. It's not entirely her fault. Miaoling is naive and easily deceived. Why don't we go inside and talk about it?"
Boss Tu twisted his aching wrist, noticing the stares around him. He immediately flared up again, glaring with his bull-like eyes, and roared, "What are you looking at! Haven't you ever seen people chatting like family?! Get out of here!"
The butcher's family all have incredibly volatile tempers.
The passersby, feeling somewhat embarrassed by what was said, chuckled, waved their sleeves in boredom, and dispersed.
After both of them calmed down, Boss Tu snorted coldly and scolded, "You brat, why don't you get inside right now? You're getting more and more lawless."
"You even gave that pretty boy the money you'd use to buy your dad alcohol. If I ever see him again, I'll definitely kill him!"
Tu Miaoling leaned against Tao Tao, her face full of impatience: "Slaughter! Do you think this is slaughtering a pig? Murder is punishable by death."
"What kind of attitude is this? You're so disrespectful to your father. I've wasted my time raising you."
Tao Tao was caught between the two, looking utterly hopeless, forced to listen to the father and daughter arguing, their voices rising higher and higher, as if they were having a contest to see who could shout the loudest.
"How can you face my mother?! If it weren't for you, would I have lost my mother when I was little?"
Upon hearing this, Boss Tu immediately fell silent, his face showing both guilt and regret.
When Tu Miaoling was five years old, her mother was pregnant and about to give birth. She thought that Tu Miaoling had been drunk and missed her due time, which led to the death of both her and her unborn child.
He made up his mind to stop drinking from then on, but after more than ten years, he couldn't help but start drinking again.
Knowing the truth is why Tu Miaoling felt such disgust and heartache over his drinking, and she was quite proud that she had spent all her money to keep him from drinking.
"Miaoling, sit here. Do you have any medicine at home?"
Tao Tao helped her to sit down on a stool and looked around.
"Yes, it's on that cabinet."
Tu Miaoling pointed to the wooden cabinet leaning against the left wall.
She looked in the direction the finger was pointing, grabbed a stool, stood on tiptoe to take it down, and then closed the door, preparing to apply medicine to Tu Miaoling.
Tao Tao looked down at her ankle, which was red and swollen, on the stool. She poured the medicine into her palm, warmed it up, and then applied it to the ankle. She was done in a few moments.
"Tao'er, you're so kind, thank you."
After not seeing her for so long, Tu Miaoling became clingy and wouldn't let go of her hand.
Suddenly, she remembered something and asked, "Tao'er, where have you been these past few days? I went to the shop the day Grandma Zhang passed away, but I didn't see you there."
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