Xiao Qi took off his socks, revealing red, swollen, and cracked frostbite below his ankles.
Zhao Tieshuan felt a pang of pain in his heart, never expecting his son's feet to be so badly frostbitten.
Sister Qiao patted Xiao Qi's head and asked Zhao Tieshuan, "What was Xiao Qi like when his biological mother was alive? What is he like now? You, as his father, don't even want your own son anymore. What are you thinking?"
Liu Dazui answered for Zhao Tieshuan: "What else could he be after? It's just his lower body!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the other onlookers burst into laughter.
The clinic's three-person team: ...
Xie Yuyao loosely clenched her fingers, coughed lightly in front of her nose, and said to Zhao Tieshuan, "As far as I know, you only have Xiao Qi as your biological son, right? Only a kind father can have a filial son. Don't wait until you're old to regret it."
Zhao Tieshuan's face turned purple, feeling utterly ashamed, and he wanted to shift the blame onto Deng Zhaodi.
At this moment, the brigade leader, who was sitting calmly, spoke up: "When your mother was alive, she held Xiao Qi in her arms every day, treating him like her precious darling. Now that you're in the afterlife, how will you face your mother and Xiao Qi's mother?"
Zhao Tieshuan stared blankly at Xiao Qi, feeling a rare sense of shame.
The captain continued, "When it really comes time to die and have your pot smashed, who else but Xiao Qi will be there? If anything happens to Xiao Qi, you won't even be able to get into your ancestral grave!"
Zhao Tieshuan turned pale and stammered, unable to speak.
"Now that we've got this, Deng Zhaodi, tell me in front of your own son, whose grave will you be buried in after you die? Will you be buried with your ex-husband or Zhao Tieshuan?" the captain pressed Deng Zhaodi.
Deng Zhaodi, who had been thinking about how to salvage the situation, fell silent.
She had a difficult childbirth with Ayu and would never have any more children. After her death, she naturally went with Ayu's father.
"Zhao Tieshuan, don't you understand yet?"
Looking at the silent Deng Zhaodi, Zhao Tieshuan, despite his lustful thoughts, sobered up. "Captain, I was wrong. I will definitely treat Xiaoqi well from now on. He is my own son."
Deng Zhaodi: ......
Captain: "Remember your words, don't let me see Xiao Qi suffer again, or else, hehe."
"No, it won't happen again!" Zhao Tieshuan repeatedly assured him.
Seeing that Zhao Tieshuan's side was almost settled, Sister Qiao said to Deng Zhaodi, "When you two came here, you were as thin as bamboo poles, almost tortured to death by your former mother-in-law. Now that you've eaten the food of the Zhao family of Daqingshan, you have to treat our Zhao family's children well, otherwise we'll send you back to where you came from!"
Upon hearing this, Deng Zhaodi turned deathly pale. She never wanted to go back to those hellish days.
After saying that, Sister Qiao and the brigade leader left first, leaving behind a deep and meaningful silhouette.
The other women also snorted and turned to leave.
Taking the opportunity, Zhao Guangliang asked, "Uncle Tieshuan, shall we settle Xiaoqi's medical expenses?"
"Sure, sort it out right away. Also, get some spare medicine for Xiao Qi, just in case something else happens." Feeling guilty, Zhao Tieshuan immediately agreed.
Seeing that Deng Zhaodi was not moving, Zhao Tieshuan shouted at her, "Hurry up and go!"
Deng Zhaodi, who had never been yelled at by Zhao Tieshuan before, turned red in the eyes and reluctantly went back into the house to get the money.
"Where are my socks?" Xie Yuyao hadn't forgotten about the socks; her things weren't something anyone could take away.
That Ayuk is no longer an innocent three or four-year-old child; he should understand things by now.
Zhao Tieshuan lifted Ayou's trouser leg and found where the socks were. He said irritably, "Ayou, take them off right now and let Xiaoqi wear them."
Ayu was frightened by the scene just now and timidly took off her socks and ran back into the house.
After Zhao Guangliang received the money for the medicine, he asked Zhao Tieshuan to go to the clinic in the afternoon to get a few more doses of medicine. Only then did the three-person team from the clinic leave.
The debate came to a perfect end, with Xie Yuyao playing almost no role. She remarked, "It's still the captain and Sister Qiao who know their weaknesses best and can strike right at them."
Zhao Guangliang laughed and said, "That's why Uncle Deqiang is able to be the brigade leader, and so is Sister Qiao. They know the families in the brigade very well."
"That way, Xiao Qi won't suffer anymore," Zhao Hongqin said happily.
Xie Yuyao, however, was uncertain: "That's hard to say. You don't know how powerful pillow talk can be. Maybe it won't be long before his father reverts to his old ways."
"What should we do then?" Zhao Hongqin asked anxiously.
Xie Yuyao glanced at her: "Tell Xiaoqi to stay away from his stepmother. Don't fight fire with fire. If anything happens, ask the brigade leader or Sister Qiao for help. Protect yourself first, then find someone to fight back."
"Preserve yourself first, then find help to fight back." Zhao Hongqin repeated, nodding in approval. "That's a good idea, Sister Yaoyao, how did you come up with it?"
Xie Yuyao smiled brightly: "Your older brother said so."
Zhao Hongqin: ......
Zhao Guangliang: ......
*
Back at Zhao Tieshuan's house, Xiao Qi went back inside and revealed the gloves he had hidden: "Dad, Sister Yaoyao gave me a pair of gloves. She said my hands and feet can't get cold anymore."
Zhao Tieshuan patted his head, his heart overflowing with fatherly love: "Good boy, don't do any more housework from now on, take good care of yourself."
The shrewd Deng Zhaodi secretly rolled her eyes and tearfully apologized: "I was confused before. I only paid attention to Ayou because I felt sorry for him after he lost his father. I will definitely take good care of Xiaoqi from now on and treat him like my own son."
Seeing that Zhao Tieshuan was fooled, Deng Zhaodi changed her tone: "As a father, you should also take better care of your child. I have to work in the fields to earn work points and do housework. Ayou is still young, and I really can't manage everything. Can you blame me alone for Xiaoqi's condition?"
Zhao Tieshuan wanted nothing more than to shirk responsibility, how could he let her shift the blame onto him? "You spendthrift woman, I provide for you and your child, and you can't even take care of the child properly, yet you blame me? What use are you to me!"
Deng Zhaodi was terrified. If he really kicked her and Ayou out, they would be doomed.
"Yes, yes, it's all my fault. I'll definitely change in the future." Deng Zhaodi appeared humble and submissive, but in her heart she secretly resented: When my son grows up and gets married, I'll dump you and make you pay for treating me like this!
Looking at Deng Zhaodi, who was being held firmly in his grasp, Zhao Tieshuan stared at her with a meaningful gaze, as if he had discovered a new continent.
The thought that Deng Zhaodi was unwilling to be buried with him after death, that she was ultimately an outsider, and that Deng Zhaodi could not live without him, made him wonder why he would mistreat his own son to be nice to that mother and son, who were outsiders.
As if his meridians had been opened, Zhao Tieshuan went to the other extreme, and from then on began his new life as a domineering lord at home.
As a result, Xiao Qi's life visibly improved.
Previously, Xiao Qi was neglected by everyone, and his father was blind and incompetent, so Deng Zhaodi could do whatever she wanted to him.
Now that she was under Zhao Tieshuan's control, she only dared to sabotage him behind his back. Xiao Qi, on the other hand, was clever and, after receiving Zhao Hongqin's instructions, knew how to protect himself.
Zhao Tieshuan's change shocked Xie Yuyao, who exclaimed at the complexity of human nature.
She never imagined that Zhao Tieshuan's current swagger would come at a terrible price in the future.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
