Chi Hongcai scratched his head, "When I saw they weren't there, I sent the doctor back!"
"Heh, you sent the doctor away? You're kidding me. I saw you just now, you came alone. You're not here to ask them for money again, are you? This is the first time I've ever seen a son like you. How old are your parents? Not only do you not help them, but you come here to rob them every few days. How can you be so shameless?"
This woman was quite feisty; as she spoke, she rolled up her sleeves. The woman was rather plump, with thick arms.
Chi Hongcai, however, was thin and bony. He took a step back in fright, no longer daring to stick his foot out of the doorway. Seeing his cowardly appearance, the woman spat disdainfully, "Get lost! You're not welcome here!"
Chi Hongcai opened his mouth to retort, but seeing the woman's fierce expression, he took a step back. With a "smack," the old door slammed shut, and Chi Hongcai glared. He didn't dare argue with the woman.
He thought for a moment and then went to the next courtyard, banging on the door of the next room.
A moment later, the door creaked open, and a man stepped in. He looked to be in his fifties or sixties, slightly hunched over, and wiped his hands on his clothes as he opened the door. Unlike the woman, he wasn't resistant to seeing Chi Hongcai: "Don't ask me where they went, I don't know!"
Chi Hongcai... Who are these people? He hadn't even asked yet, and this guy had already answered.
After the man finished speaking, he was about to close the door. Chi Hongcai hurriedly stepped forward to stop him, saying, "Brother, I want to ask you something. Do you know where my parents went? I really did go to find a doctor for them, but I didn't have much money and it took me a while!"
This time, Chi Hongcai was a little smarter. He took two copper coins from his pocket and stuffed them into the man's hand. The man was about to close the door, but seeing the coins in his hand, he paused. He raised his cloudy eyes and looked at Chi Hongcai:
"I shouldn't have told you this, but seeing your filial piety, I'll kindly tell you. After you left yesterday, two women came and took your parents away!"
Two women? Hearing this, Chi Hongcai didn't understand for a moment. The man didn't continue, and was about to close the door again, so Chi Hongcai quickly took out three copper coins from his pocket and stuffed them into the man's hand again. Only then did the man speak.
"It seemed to be their daughter. The two men took them to their room and stayed there for a while, then called for a carriage and they all rode away!"
Chi Hongcai suddenly felt a bit cheated. If he had known that Yunniang and the others were coming, he would never have run away!
He knew his little sister would never abandon those two old folks! He wondered if his parents even cared about him as their son.
If they knew what was good for them, they should have spoken up for him in front of Yunniang. But since both old men had gotten involved with the younger sister, he had to go and join them.
They are siblings, and now that he, as the older brother, is in trouble, why should Yunniang ignore him?
Having made up his mind, Chi Hongcai's eyes became even more determined: "Do you know where my little sister took them?"
The man looked at Chi Hongcai as if he were looking at a fool.
Chi Hongcai gave an awkward smile: "They didn't tell me, and I don't know either."
The man sneered, "You don't even know? I'm just a neighbor. How am I supposed to guess?"
This time, he didn't wait for Chi Hongcai to speak and slammed the door shut.
Looking at the tightly closed wooden door, Chi Hongcai felt a pang of heartache. He barely had any copper coins left; this was his last savings!
The money was well spent, at least until the two old people were in Yunniang's hands.
He didn't know where Yunniang lived, but he knew about Lingxiu Pavilion.
Isn't Yunniang working over there? As long as he waits there, how could he not catch Yunniang?
Even if the people from Lingxiu Pavilion don't let him in, it's fine. He'll just wait outside. He doesn't believe Yunniang won't go there again.
Of course, Chi Hongcai wasn't embarrassed at all. He was always thick-skinned, and what did losing face matter as long as he could get the money? Thinking that his debts would be settled, Chi Hongcai was in a great mood and hummed a little tune as he returned home.
Upon entering, Chi Hongcai noticed that the swelling on his wife's face had indeed subsided, which greatly pleased him. He rushed forward and hugged her tightly, his expression excited: "You know what? Those two old guys have actually gotten in touch with Little Sister! Don't worry, someone will soon help us pay back the money we owe!"
The woman couldn't believe it. She had been following Chi Hongcai for several years and knew the Chi family had found their youngest daughter, but it seemed they hadn't acknowledged her. Although she didn't believe it, she didn't dare say anything more at this moment. But she also wondered to herself if she were in that situation, she might not be able to forgive the Chi family.
"Husband, it's good that someone helped us pay off our debts. You must never gamble again!"
The woman carefully tried to persuade Chi Hongcai.
Chi Hongcai curled his lip in disdain, "What do you know? I'll definitely win back the money I lost!"
How could he not gamble? He'd lost his entire fortune there; if he didn't win it back, he'd be bankrupt!
...
"What did you just say? What do you mean?"
Because of her large belly, Han Lenghua rarely goes out, but occasionally she will go out for some fresh air when the weather is nice. Today the sun is shining, so she took her clothes and went out to do laundry with Daya.
But when they returned, they heard people whispering, seemingly talking badly about Xue'er.
Han Lenghua's face turned cold. She listened intently, and what she heard next was quite alarming; she hadn't expected the villagers to say such unpleasant things.
The women had been whispering amongst themselves, not expecting Han Lenghua to overhear them. They looked somewhat embarrassed, but one of them reacted quickly, sneering, "What did we say? We were just stating the facts."
"Exactly! Han Luoxue brought this on herself! We're all from the same village, why did she have to be so petty? Now look what happened, her child has health problems!"
"I heard that Han Yuchen doesn't want her anymore either, and now he can't even find her. She deserves it!"
Han Lenghua was so angry that her vision blurred. The people who had just spoken were all people Han Luoxue had dealt with before, but in the beginning, they had also been loyal to Han Luoxue. Now that Han Luoxue was gone, did they forget all the good things she had done for them?
Han Lenghua felt a chill in her heart; indeed, people's hearts cannot withstand the test.
"Who told you that Xue'er's child has a problem??"
Han Lenghua stared intently at the women with a stern face. Daya, on the other hand, was extremely anxious, worried that her mother was angry. Suddenly, she remembered someone.
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