Jiaxi and Jia'an were too young to bear it any longer, so they fell asleep at the end of the kang (a heated brick bed).
The rest of the family members, however, did not dare to close their eyes.
Children's lives are too fragile. How many lives haven't been lost in the ravines outside the city?
They dared not imagine what would happen to their family if something were to happen to Jiayin.
Fortunately, the fever reducer that Jiayin found worked very quickly.
Within fifteen minutes, she began to sweat profusely, her hair plastered to her forehead.
"Alright, alright, sweating means the fever has gone down." Old Mrs. Li was overjoyed.
Tao Hongying and Zhao Yuru hugged each other and wiped away their tears. They then quickly looked for a coat and trousers to change Jiayin's clothes.
After about half an hour of this, Jiayin's fever completely subsided.
She groggily opened her eyes, gave her grandmother a weak smile, and then snuggled into her mother's arms to nurse.
Grandma Li hurried out to announce the good news, and everyone in the main room cheered quietly.
"Oh, it's finally done."
"That's great, Fu Niu'er is so lucky and has such a long life."
The village chief was relieved, gave a few more words of advice, and then went back.
Everyone else was about to go back to their rooms to sleep, but Jiayi knelt down in front of the old lady.
"Grandma, my mother... my mother also has a high fever and has started talking nonsense. Could you give some of the medicine my sister took to my mother...?"
Jiayi kept his head down, perhaps knowing that something was wrong, and his voice choked with emotion as he spoke.
No matter how bad Wu Cuihua is, she is still his biological mother, the one who gave birth to him and raised him.
He couldn't bear to watch his mother die...
The room was deathly silent, and everyone was filled with mixed feelings, especially Li Lao Er and Jia Ren, who had just received the news.
After a long silence, Old Lady Li finally spoke.
"Second brother, go and see what's going on?"
Li Lao Er quickly opened the door and went out, with Jia Ren following behind.
In the east wing, Wu Cuihua had already been untied. But her face was flushed with fever, and she was talking nonsense. She couldn't even move, let alone escape.
Jiaren and Jiayi exchanged a complicated glance. One poured water, while the other helped his elderly mother up…
Li Lao Er felt extremely distressed and turned to leave. When he returned and saw his mother, he sighed, "Mother, Wu Cuihua really has a high fever."
Grandma Li opened her palm, revealing the remaining half of the small pill.
To be honest, she was reluctant to part with it; it was a miracle drug that her granddaughter had found somewhere.
I don't know if I'll be able to find it again in the future, but I always need to keep some at home, just in case...
But Wu Cuihua is her son's wife and the mother of two grandsons; they can't just watch her burn herself into a madwoman!
"Alright, give her the medicine. Once she's alright, bring Jiaren and Jiayi over; I have something to say to them."
Grandma Li handed the pills to her son and turned to go back into the house.
Li Lao Er hurried to the side room…
When it was fully light, the Li family members, who had been up all night, all had dark circles under their eyes.
But Jiayin no longer had a fever, and although she was still a little listless, she had recovered from her illness.
Wu Cuihua, who was in the side room, had also recovered from her fever and complained that she had no taste in her mouth and wanted to drink porridge.
Unfortunately, everyone was gathered in the main room, and no one paid any attention to her.
Old Mrs. Li puffed on her pipe, and the letter of divorce lay on the table.
"I'm an old lady who doesn't understand big principles, but I just think that no one can do bad things all the time without being punished. Wu Cuihua stole Fu Niu'er this time and didn't care about Fu Niu'er's life or death at all."
She's not just stupid, she's vicious; she has no regard for the Li family whatsoever. If we keep her in the house any longer, she'll likely bring ruin upon our family.
But she did give birth to Jiaren and Jiayi, and Jiaren needed to study for the imperial examinations; he couldn't have a mother who had been abandoned.
She sighed and looked at her son and daughter-in-law.
"Second brother, go into the city later and find a place where you can do hard labor but have room and board included. The wages don't matter, just sign a ten-year contract."
"Send her there today. From now on, if she can earn a living, she'll live; if not, she'll die. She'll have nothing to do with her family anymore."
Jiaren and Jiayi knelt on the ground, their eyes reddening, wanting to say something but choking up.
My mother did such a terrible thing, it's only right that she was divorced.
But for their sake, Grandma got Mom medical treatment, and in the end, she only sent her to live in the city, without giving her a divorce decree…
"Grandma, we will definitely take good care of you in the future."
Grandma Li waved her hand and sighed deeply.
"You are good children, it's a pity you didn't have a good mother. I don't care how you treat me in the future. But if you remember what happened today, you must take good care of Fu Niu'er."
Your mother is foolish; she probably doesn't realize she was wrong. The debts she owes are for you brothers to repay. As sons, you've done more than enough; from now on, pretend you don't have a mother.
"Grandma..." Jiaren and Jiayi burst into tears, filled with guilt and the grievances of being caught in the middle...
That's how it was settled.
Even though Li Laosi and Tao Hongying were still angry, they were much better after Wu Cuihua was kicked out.
Wu Cuihua lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), perhaps feeling that her illness gave her something to rely on, and called out again and again until Jiayi finally brought her a bowl of porridge.
She thought that what happened yesterday was over, and while drinking porridge, she complained to her son.
"Your grandma is making a big fuss over nothing. It was just your uncle taking Fu Niu out to play for a while. What kind of child is so delicate that they can't even let a relative hold them?"
"Go quickly and find your father and brother, and plead with them to untie your uncle. What kind of behavior is this, keeping him tied up like that? That little brat is all better now, not a single hair is missing."
Wu Ergou'er had already had the rag pulled out of his mouth. Now he was lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), rolling to the edge of the kang, still shouting.
"Nephew, untie me quickly. When your uncle wins money later, I'll buy you candy."
Unfortunately, Jiayi ignored him completely, lowered his head, took the bowl, and left.
Wu Cuihua and her brother waited until noon.
Wu Ergou was starving and started making a fuss, so the door was opened.
Li Laosi picked him up and left. Wu Cuihua was terrified. Before she could call out a few times, Tao Hongying and Zhao Yuru also came in.
The two men tied her hands and feet and began to drag her out.
"What are you trying to do?!"
Wu Cuihua was terrified, but in the end she was thrown onto the donkey cart and put together with Wu Ergou.
Li Laosi drove the cart, while Li Laoer sat on the shaft, and they quickly left the village.
In less than half an hour, they arrived in the county town, and the donkey cart made its way through the most dilapidated shantytown in the north of the town.
An old woman was waiting in front of a low, small house when she saw Li Lao Er arrive.
She glanced at Wu Cuihua with some disdain and said, "She's obviously a lazy bum."
Li Lao Er replied, "Don't worry, Auntie. Once I'm here, I'm under your care. Whether I do a bad job or not, you can beat me, scold me, or let me go hungry, it's all up to you. We in the family will treat her like she's dead and won't interfere in the slightest."
The old lady reluctantly nodded, took out a contract, and Li Lao Er pulled Wu Cuihua's thumb to press her fingerprint on it.
Li Laosi grabbed Wu Cuihua and Wu Ergou and threw them violently into the yard.
Then, the two brothers left without looking back.
Wu Cuihua was still unaware of what was going on, and sat on the ground, slapping her thigh and crying in anger.
"You heartless bastard! I gave birth to two sons for you. Waaah, and you just threw them out like that!"
The old woman didn't listen at all, and with a bang, threw a basin of dirty clothes in front of the two of them.
"You have to wash ten basins of clothes a day; if you wash even one less, you won't get any food."
Wu Cuihua glared at her and asked, "Why should I wash your clothes?"
The old woman waved the deed in her hand, "Your family sold you to me to do hard labor for ten years! Don't try anything funny, or I'll break your legs!"
Wu Cuihua gasped in shock. Ten years of hard work!
She rolled her eyes and fainted, but Wu Ergou endured the pain and got up, asking, "Does my sister get paid for her work? How much does she get per month?"
The old lady rolled her eyes at him. "One hundred coins a month? The Li family has already taken a year's wages!"
When Wu Ergou heard that there was no money, he was disappointed and turned to leave without even glancing at his unconscious sister.
Since he wasn't sold into the gambling den anyway, and he wasn't going to be doing hard labor, he might as well go to the gambling den and try his luck.
Wu Cuihua was woken up by the old lady's splash of cold water and she truly regretted it.
She thought this mistake would go unpunished, and she would at most get a beating.
But to her surprise, she was actually kicked out of the house.
After ten years of hard labor, will she still be alive?
She threw a tantrum, refusing to get up no matter what.
But the old lady wasn't a member of the Li family, so she hesitated to act rashly and beat her up. Then she locked her in a dilapidated room and didn't give her any food for three days.
When the door opened again, Wu Cuihua had already crawled out, desperately begging her to do the work…?
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