Two drops of blood that the old lady spat out even splashed onto Ma Hongmei's cloth shoes, and a chill climbed up along her tailbone.
Before she could react, Gu Shutong slapped her in the face: "Go to the village committee and call for help. Get a car to take Mom to the clinic!"
"Yeah."
Ma Hongmei staggered and almost fell.
Then he stumbled and ran outside.
A pair of white hands wiped the blood from the corner of Gu's mother's lips. Gu Shutong raised his eyes and caught a glimpse of Su Niannian's worried eyes. He wanted to say something but hesitated. His Adam's apple rolled and his voice was dry: "Sister-in-law, your sister-in-law made a mistake today. I hope you don't bother with her. I'm..."
Su Niannian's crow-feather eyelashes trembled slightly, interrupting him.
"Mom's health is the most important thing, there's no need to talk about other things."
Everything is a foregone conclusion. If the person who came to the Su family to pick up the bride was Gu Shutong, she would never agree to marry him. Perhaps this couple could become her stepping stone to leave Lianhua Village.
When Su Niannian went in to help pack the old lady's clothes, she quietly put the two dresses into the inner room.
…
Gu's mother already had serious lung problems.
After being strongly stimulated, there is more air intake than exhalation.
The doctor shook his head and motioned for them to talk to the old lady some more.
Ma Hongmei was so frightened that she sat down on the ground. She said with trembling lips: "I just said one or two truths. I didn't mean to make her angry! I..."
The veins on Gu Shutong's forehead throbbed. He leaned over and pulled his wife up. "Aren't you quite capable? Where did your ability to argue just now go? If that brat Gu Zhiye finds out that you pissed me off to death, you'll be damned. He will definitely take revenge on you!"
"Isn't this all caused by you and Su Niannian? Ah! Which of my words is not true? Is it that you don't like her or that you didn't give up your place in the army, Gu Shutong, speak with your conscience.
"Since I married into your Gu family, I have taken good care of you and your daughter in every aspect, from eating, drinking, defecating to urinating. I have never despised you for being a cripple, but you, you are always greedy for more, what a miserable life!" Ma Hongmei was so frightened that she sobbed in front of the two men.
The doctor frowned and said, "Lady, this is a hospital. Please keep quiet."
"Doctor, do you have a public phone here? I want to call my family. My husband doesn't know about this yet..." Su Niannian's light words made the couple's hearts rise to their throats in an instant. Even Ma Hongmei stopped sobbing and stared at her with horror.
The doctor gave an affirmative reply: "Yes, follow me."
Gu Shutong gritted his teeth and forced a smile: "Sister-in-law, you and Hongmei go in and accompany mom first. I'll make the call and ask Zhiye to come back and see mom for the last time."
As Ma Hongmei dragged them, Su Niannian and she entered the ward one after another. Because it was evening, there were not many people in the clinic. At this moment, only Gu's mother was lying on the bed. The surroundings were quiet, and only the rising and falling of her chest showed that she was still alive.
The pair of skinny hands hung at her side, with needle marks on them. Ma Hongmei shivered and knelt beside the bed, crying bitterly, "Mom! Mom! It's my fault. I shouldn't have said that. I was jealous of my sister-in-law..."
Su Niannian saw the old man's eyes move twice.
Then, the skinny hands touched Ma Hongmei's head.
Mother Gu slowly opened her eyes, breathing weakly: "Hongmei, I know you are unwilling, but there is one thing you must understand. It is true that it was Shu Tong who wanted to sign up for the army, but it was Zhiye who went to participate in the selection and political review. Because of this, the two had an argument and rolled down the slope. The eldest brother broke his leg and became disabled. This matter cannot be blamed on anyone, do you understand? It's all fate..."
Ma Hongmei had heard about this from her husband, but she was not happy about why it was Gu Shutong who had his leg broken.
"Niannian, come here..." Su Niannian was surprised at the old woman's accent, and then she waved at Ma Hongmei, signaling her to go out.
Ma Hongmei wiped away her tears, glared at Su Niannian and walked outside. As soon as she reached the corridor, she saw Gu Shutong striding towards her. She quickly grabbed his hand and asked anxiously, "What's going on?"
"She's on a mission, and I can't contact her." Gu Shutong looked annoyed: "Why aren't you in there with mom?"
"Mom asked me to come out first, what do you think she meant?"
The couple looked at each other, both of them were a little unhappy. If there was anything the old lady was still thinking about, it was the monthly pension. Her father-in-law was a martyr, and that amount of money was not a small sum. The second son's family had taken advantage of everything, so they wouldn't want to swallow up even this money, right? !
Subconsciously, both of them put their ears close to it...
…
"Niannian, you...you must be careful of your brother and sister-in-law. After I leave, you will join the army and let Zhiye protect you. You are a good child and be good to Zhiye. I am sorry for what happened that night..." The pair of hands like dry tree bark tightly grasped Su Niannian, with an unwilling persistence. She was breathing weakly and her voice was very low, so Su Niannian had to lean over and get closer.
Listening to every word of concern from the old man, she felt deeply guilty.
After a while, he said silently: "Mom, I am not Su Niannian."
Her eyes suddenly met the old man's cloudy eyes, and the latter smiled: "I don't care who you are. Since you are sent by Wang Guifen, then the friendship we had in the past is repaid. You are now the daughter-in-law of my Gu family. Come closer. Mom has something to tell you..."
After Mother Gu finished her words, she stared at Su Niannian: "I... I have never seen him so happy, you..."
The rest of the words got stuck in my throat.
Mother Gu's hand dropped suddenly and she was no longer able to breathe.
Before she died, she did not see Gu Shutong again. From the old man's words, it seemed that he was extremely displeased with his eldest son. Su Niannian did not have time to think about what happened next. The funeral procession, burial procession, banquet and a series of other things came upon them, making the three of them so tired that they could not breathe. The wedding and funeral were both in the same time period, which caused complaints from the villagers.
After returning to Lianhua Village, Su Niannian called and telegraphed Gu Zhiye more than once, but the news fell on deaf ears. The matter of Su Niannian wanting to join the army was also temporarily suppressed.
Captain Song Aiguo glanced at the new bride who had just entered the room. She was wearing black clothes and had a hemp rope tied around her waist. She looked very fragile. No wonder Gu Shutong said he was worried about her going to the northwest alone. He sighed, "Zhiye's wife, go home first. When Zhiye calls back, I will notify you as soon as possible."
Su Niannian pursed her lips, realizing that she was alone and powerless at the moment.
No one believed her when she told them the cause of Gu's mother's death. The villagers seemed to favor Gu Shutong and his wife. Under such circumstances, it was difficult for her to leave. Su Niannian felt uneasy and simply called Xiangyang Village.
Coming out of the village committee, I headed home. As soon as I stepped into the house, I heard the sound of rummaging through the cupboards in my mother-in-law's room: "No! There's nothing in the cupboard at all, nothing but some nice clothes. Where did your mother hide the money?! I searched Su Niannian's room, but there was nothing..."
By the time Ma Hongmei reacted, Su Niannian was already standing at the door, with a cold look on her pretty face.
"Sister-in-law, what do you mean?"
"No point?!" Ma Hongmei hid the goodies she had found behind her back, took off the dusty bedspread, and threw it in front of Su Niannian, and simply stopped pretending: "Wash this mosquito net first. We don't want to keep idle people in our family."
Gu Shutong wanted to help, but he hesitated for a moment and said nothing.
So as not to push Su Niannian into the abyss.
The latter did not refute, but walked away with the mosquito net in his arms, lowering his head and looking obedient. When they reached the stream in the back mountain and there was no one around, Su Niannian used a sharp stone to cut one of the patches.
An old passbook revealed its entire appearance, and Gu's mother's words were still echoing in her ears.
"I have a gift for you, my only daughter-in-law..."
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