Aunt Zhao was held tightly between her husband and son, one on each side, and was forced to stagger forward.
She glanced back one last time, her eyes reddening, her lips trembling, but she said nothing. She just sighed deeply, lowered her head dejectedly, and let her family drag her into the torrent of numb progress.
Xiao Tao watched this scene silently.
Her young heart was filled with immense confusion:
Why? Why were so many people cursing Sister Jiang for being heartless and forcing her to help Grandpa and Grandma Zhou? But when Sister Jiang offered her cart, saying she'd lend it to whoever wanted to push it for free, not a single person stepped forward? Even the kindest Aunt Zhao, who wanted to go back and check on them, was held back by her family…
Xiao Tao felt a tightness in her chest, a feeling even more unbearable than when she was scolded by the Zhou family elders. It was a feeling of immense confusion and vague disappointment with the "adult" world.
The group marched on with difficulty for another half an hour. Just as they were about to cross a low earthen slope, a series of hurried and unsteady footsteps suddenly came from behind, accompanied by panting, wheezing breaths.
"Wait...wait for me...wait..."
Everyone turned around at the sound.
A disheveled figure stumbled and scrambled after them! It was Old Zhou!
He's all alone!
His gray hair was stuck to his forehead with sweat, his face was covered with dirt and sweat, his lips were cracked and bleeding, and his cloudy old eyes were filled with the fear of surviving a disaster and an indescribable shame.
But there was no one beside him! His wife, whom he had begged to be taken onto the cart, was nowhere to be seen!
Dead silence.
After a brief silence, the crowd erupted in chaos! Everyone understood what had happened!
"Uncle Zhou? Why are you alone? Where's Aunt Zhou?" Jiang Fu was the first to squeeze forward, his face full of exaggerated surprise, but his voice carried an undisguised sense of amusement. His sly eyes swept over Old Man Zhou.
Old Zhou's body stiffened abruptly, his head drooping even lower, almost burying itself in his neck. He made a "hoarse" sound in his throat, but couldn't utter a single word. Only sweat streamed down the lines of his face.
"Yes! Where's Aunt Zhou?" Liu asked shrilly, hands on her hips, looking like she was about to interrogate someone. "You didn't...you left Aunt Zhou...on the way, did you?" Her words were like knives stabbing at her.
"Old Zhou! Say something! Where is your old woman?!"
Old Zhou was surrounded by the crowd, and the gazes that were either surprised, disdainful, or gloating felt like thorns in his back.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, his cloudy old eyes flashed with resentment and a desperate madness, and his voice rose sharply as he pointed at Jiang Chan.
"It's all her fault! It's all that damned Jiang girl's fault! It was her! She overturned the cart! She broke my back! I can't move at all! If she hadn't gone crazy and overturned the cart... I... I, this old woman, would I be unable to walk?! It's all her fault!"
He spat as he spoke, his withered fingers trembling as he pointed at Jiang Chan, as if he had found an outlet for all his grievances. His face was twisted and ferocious with grief and indignation, yet he could not hide the guilty evasiveness deep in his eyes.
Everyone followed his finger and looked at Jiang Chan.
Jiang Chan's eyes flickered, but her expression remained blank, and she ignored his accusations.
The others had already witnessed Jiang Chan's "power," so they pretended not to hear and continued to press Old Man Zhou for answers.
"But you can't just leave her behind! You have to carry her with you..."
"We'll get there eventually if we take it slow, we're all on this path..."
More and more people are joining in the questioning.
Overwhelmed by shame, Old Zhou trembled all over. He suddenly raised his head, his wrinkled face contorted with shame, anger, and despair, and his cloudy eyes flashed with the ferocity of a trapped beast!
"What...what do you know!" he roared hoarsely, his voice cracking with agitation. "What can I do?! Huh?! She can't leave! Am I...am I supposed to die with her in that godforsaken place?! Huh?!"
He waved his withered arms, spitting as he spoke, “This road! This damned road! Who can walk on it?! What kind of great benefactors are you all pretending to be?! Try it yourself! You would do the same as me! Abandon the old and sick! Otherwise, we would all die! We would all die!” He roared hysterically, as if he wanted to shout out all his guilt and fear.
The crowd fell silent for a moment, stunned by his outburst.
Immediately, an even louder roar erupted!
"Bullshit! Old Zhou! You're the one with a black heart and a rotten lung! Don't drag us into this!" An old man who was close to him was so angry that his face turned blue, and he pointed at him and cursed.
"Exactly! You even disgraced your own spouse! Are you even human?" someone else chimed in angrily.
"We would never do something as despicable as you!"
"Bah! You have no conscience!"
"Hmph, all talk and no action." Some people hid behind the crowd and let out a disdainful snort, but they were so quiet that they didn't dare let Old Man Zhou hear them.
Accusations, insults, attempts to distance themselves, gloating... all sorts of voices mingled together, creating a chaotic scene. Old Zhou was as if he were being roasted over a fire, his face turning red and white in turns. Sometimes he would stubbornly argue, "You would be the same if you were in his shoes!", and other times he would be so insulted that he couldn't lift his head, leaving him only with painful gasps and desperate silence.
He became the target of public criticism. While everyone was condemning him, they also seemed to be desperately trying to clear their own names and prove that they had distanced themselves from such "despicable" behavior.
Sitting in the car, Xiao Tao witnessed the entire ugly farce clearly. Her small face was filled with shock and confusion, and her eyes were wide open.
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