Chapter 19 is a great relief, but Aunt Liu is in pain!
Jiang Anchao stepped forward and helped the little boy up, bowing his head with concern to ask, "Are you alright?"
Zhenwei shook his head.
Jiang Anchao finally had a moment to spare, and squinted as he slapped the newcomer in the face.
It turned out to be Liu Qing's younger brother, Liu Weiguo.
"I hit someone, please apologize."
Liu Weiguo was embarrassed, but because Commander Jiang was of a higher rank, he could only force a smile and put on a show.
"Oh! Look at me, I'm so blind! I didn't realize this was your son. I'm so sorry!"
He took out a cigarette and was about to offer it to Jiang Anchao, but Jiang Anchao dismissed him with a nonchalant wave of his hand.
"This is a hospital, smoking is not allowed."
"Yes, yes, yes!" Liu Weiguo nodded repeatedly.
Seemingly sensing Jiang Anchao's cold attitude, he kept slapping himself in the face, saying, "Look at my mouth, it's really annoying! Brother Jiang, no, Commander Jiang, please don't take it to heart!"
After he had slapped her a few times, Jiang Anchao finally interrupted, "That's enough."
"Thank you, Brother Jiang!"
Liu Weiguo immediately bowed and scraped, "Oh? You've come to see my sister, right? She's having her dressing changed. If she knew you came all this way to see her, she'd be so happy!"
As they were talking, Liu Qing had just finished changing his bandages and walked out with a limp.
When she saw Jiang Anchao, she felt a moment of guilt, as if she had done something wrong.
Upon seeing this, Liu Weiguo exclaimed excitedly, "Sister, Commander Jiang knew you injured your foot and came all the way here to see you!"
Liu Qing's eyes lit up instantly, full of anticipation. "Brother Jiang, really, I've troubled you to make this trip."
Compared to Liu Qing's shyness, Jiang Anchao's expression appeared cold and distant, with even a hint of barely perceptible disgust in his eyes.
"You're overthinking it. I brought Gansu here for a follow-up appointment."
Liu Qing's face paled. She noticed Deng Qiu following behind her, and her lips drooped instantly.
Seeing an opportunity, Sang Zhizhi deliberately said, "Aunt Liu, my parents registered their marriage today and got their marriage certificate. Aren't you happy? We're both very happy."
Every word spoken felt like a knife stabbing into Liu Qing's heart.
The resentment and venom in Liu Qing's eyes were almost impossible to conceal.
Unfortunately, Zhizhi is also someone who retaliates in kind.
Far from stopping there, she flashed a bright smile and said, "Mom and Dad look so well-matched, much better than some greedy old women who dream of marrying a beautiful woman. She said that since Dad married such a beautiful wife, there must be a big wedding banquet and lots of money to be given as gifts. Aunt Liu... ...you can't walk properly, so I won't force you to go. You can give your gift money now as a blessing for my parents' wedding~"
Liu Qing was so angry she was about to have a heart attack; her words were practically squeezed out through clenched teeth.
"Getting married is a joyous occasion, but my foot is injured... I..."
Jiang Gansu interrupted her, which was unusual for him.
“I remember last month, when Gou Dan’er scraped his knee, you even asked my dad to come and visit him. He gave eight yuan for nutrition expenses. Aunt Liu, social interactions are reciprocal. You wouldn’t want to take advantage of me, would you?”
Zhizhi's eyes were full of surprise.
My older brother is usually so quiet and reserved, how come he's suddenly become so eloquent?
She speaks so eloquently, and her tongue is quite sharp.
When Su exposed her little scheme in public, Liu Qing's face turned pale and then extremely ugly.
Even though she was unwilling, she had no choice but to pay up when she was put in this position.
"I... I didn't say I wouldn't give it to you."
Liu Qing rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a few small bills, managing to scrape together ten yuan.
When she handed over the money, her heart ached as if it were bleeding, and she clutched the bills tightly, unwilling to let go.
From now on, she can no longer skim money off the Jiang family; this ten yuan is equivalent to three months' worth of food for the whole family.
Jiang Anchao didn't stand on ceremony this time and let Zhizhi accept the money directly.
Sang Zhizhi smiled and grabbed the money, her little hands nimbly counting it, "Auntie, one yuan, two yuan, one yuan... ...a total of [amount] yuan. Thank you, Aunt Liu, for your wedding wishes. We won't invite you to the banquet then. Take good care of yourself~"
For a child to count Liu Qing's wedding gifts in front of others is tantamount to suspecting her of cheating or dishonesty.
She'd already given the gift, so she couldn't take the child over for a big meal.
Liu Qing felt as if her face was being rubbed against the ground, and she was so angry that she trembled all over. But she was in the wrong, and now she could only suffer in silence and feel humiliated.
When Liu Weiguo heard about the ten yuan, he was incredibly jealous.
He used to earn only 28 cents a day at his previous job, so this 10 yuan was a huge sum of money.
No wonder his sister was so determined to marry Commander Jiang; she's certainly reaped a lot of benefits over the years.
Liu Weiguo's eyes darted towards the woman behind Jiang Anchao, and his eyes lit up when he saw Deng Qiuhou.
This woman is really beautiful, with a slim waist and fair skin. Her face is as pretty as an actress in a Hong Kong movie videotape. No wonder Commander Jiang took a liking to her and wanted to marry her even though she was a divorcee.
"Commander Jiang, this must be your new sister-in-law, right? She's so beautiful... Um, may I come to the wedding banquet to share in the joy?"
He tried to flatter Deng Qiu with a grin, but his gaze kept drifting towards him.
Jiang An subtly blocked her way, saying, "You think you can just come here with empty words? How much are you planning to give as a gift?"
A single, casual remark completely shut Liu Weiguo down.
After losing his job, he idled away his days and couldn't afford to contribute a single penny to the wedding.
Jiang Anchao was too lazy to deal with the two of them, so he simply waved to his daughter.
"Zhizhi, consider this money as your reward pocket money. Let's go."
Watching this family leave happily, Liu Qing was so angry that he almost bit his back teeth until they bled.
She shoved Liu Weiguo hard, and then punched him several times, still not satisfied.
"Why did you bring them here? If he finds out about the injury on my foot, it won't be as simple as just giving me ten yuan! Liu Weiguo, can't you do something right?!"
"Why blame me? It's all because you're useless and can't get close to Commander Jiang, so you take it out on me!"
Liu Weiguo impatiently brushed her aside, "Look at her, she's beautiful and gentle. And look at you, you're like a crooked melon growing in the ground. If I were Commander Jiang, I wouldn't even look at you!"
Liu Qing's face was contorted with rage, his eyes filled with a dark and venomous resentment.
She had clearly told Gan Su that her stepmother was vicious, but she never expected that the little beast to change his attitude towards the mother and daughter so quickly.
Brother Jiang had taken pity on her and her child, so he had always taken good care of her.
Why should they just abandon their responsibilities now?
Why should I have to live a hard life while their family lives such a good life?
Ten yuan was her family's meager food allowance, but in the Jiang family, it became pocket money that they could give to the children at will.
It's all that vixen's fault!
If it weren't for her, how could Brother Jiang be so heartless to me...?
Liu Weiguo was still savoring the amazed feeling he had just experienced when he saw Deng Qiu, a greasy smile on his face.
"Her waist is so thin, I wonder what she's like in bed. Her skin is as white as tofu, I bet it would melt into water if you touched it..."
Liu Qing gripped the seat so tightly that her fingernails became deformed and twisted.
She scoffed, "If you're so capable, go and get her! Don't your buddies have plenty of potent drugs? Show me what you've got..."
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