Aunt Zhao was startled and almost dropped the water jug in her hand. Seeing Zhang Laowu's miserable and desperate appearance, her old soft-heartedness kicked in again, and a deep sense of pity appeared on her face.
"Mom! What are you doing!" Aunt Zhao's son suddenly stood up, grabbed his mother's hand holding the water jug, his face ashen. "We only have this much water left! If you give it to him, what will we drink?!"
“Yes! Mother of my child!” Aunt Zhao’s husband also spoke up with a stern face and a harsh tone, “This water is for saving lives! We can’t even take care of ourselves, how can we care about the lives of others?” He glared at Zhang Laowu.
Aunt Zhao looked at her son's anxious face, then at her husband's stern eyes, and then at the pitiful Zhang Laowu... A tremendous struggle tore at her heart.
Finally, seeing the despair in Zhang Laowu's eyes, Aunt Zhao gritted her teeth and forcefully broke free from her son's hand.
"Half a bowl should be enough!" Ignoring her husband and son's objections, she picked up a broken ladle, trembling as she scooped a small half ladle of murky muddy water from her own water jug and carefully poured it into the broken bowl that Zhang Laowu had extended.
"Thank you! Thank you, Mr. Zhao! You are a great man! May the Bodhisattva protect you!" Zhang Laowu held the half bowl of muddy water as if it were fine wine, expressing his gratitude profusely and shedding tears of thanks.
He eagerly brought the bowl to his lips and greedily gulped down the murky liquid. In just a few mouthfuls, half the bowl of water was gone.
The lingering feeling of wanting more and the burning thirst in his throat instantly took over. He looked at the jar in Aunt Zhao's hand, which still had quite a bit of water left, licked his lips, and put on a fawning smile again. "Aunt Zhao... you're so kind, please give me some more... this really isn't enough!"
"Get out!" Aunt Zhao's husband could no longer hold back. He stood up abruptly, shoved Zhang Laowu aside, and glared at him angrily. "Having given you half a bowl isn't enough? Do you want to drink our whole family dry? Get lost!"
Zhang Laowu was pushed and stumbled. Looking at the water jug that he was protecting so carefully, the gratitude on his face vanished instantly, replaced by resentment and unwillingness.
He jumped up and down, pointing at Aunt Zhao's husband and cursing, "Pah! What are you pretending to be a good person for! If you don't want to give, don't pretend! Fake compassion!"
Aunt Zhao was so angry that she trembled all over, and her eyes instantly turned red. Her husband and son were even more furious and rushed forward to fight with Zhang Laowu. The scene immediately became chaotic, with shouts, curses, and shoving all around.
Beside the cart, Jiang Chan had already bandaged Xiao Tao's hand. The two of them had witnessed the whole farce of borrowing water from beginning to end.
Xiao Tao watched as others didn't get water and nothing happened, but Aunt Zhao was scolded for kindly giving her water, and watched Zhang Laowu's face change from being grateful to turning against her... Her little face was once again filled with great confusion and bewilderment.
She couldn't understand why her kindness was met with harsh words. Why was she scolded after giving water?
Jiang Chan coldly observed the chaos ahead, a cold, sarcastic smile curving her lips.
She pointed to the arguing crowd, her voice calm as if stating a simple fact, clearly reaching Xiao Tao's ears:
"See that? This is called—"
"human nature!"
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