Chapter 30 Poor Mother and Son
The little beggar stiffened his neck and said stubbornly, "I'll take as much as I can eat, and I won't take more than that."
Lan Fang was amused by his serious look.
Fu Danjun liked this child from the bottom of his heart. He was so young but had such a strong character, so he wanted to cultivate him well. "Then tell me, are you willing to learn to read and write?"
The little beggar scratched his ear and said embarrassedly, "I still prefer to wield swords and sticks. I can beat people who bully me."
Fu Danjun sighed repeatedly when he thought about how the child had been bullied a lot.
Seeing her like this, the little beggar quickly waved his hands and said, "I'll stay in this house from now on, so no one will bully me. When I grow up and leave, those people won't be able to bully me anymore. Sister, you don't know, it's a bad place out there. In the Beggars' Gang, children as young as seven or eight are either beaten or sold."
Fu Danjun patted his head again and said, "The sufferings of the past are now far behind you. Grow up carefree from now on."
After saying this, he called the rickshaw driver Tietou over and said, "Take him home and bring him back after he has seen his mother."
When Tietou was about to leave, Fu Danjun called him back: "Go to the kitchen and get some food to bring back to him."
The little beggar was treated so well that he followed Tietou contentedly.
Fu Danjun then asked Lan Fang: "Among our servants, are there any who can read? If so, please pick one out to teach the children."
After Lan Fang agreed, she asked in confusion: "Miss, it's ok for you to feed this child, but you also want him to learn to read. Isn't that too much?"
As Fu Danjun walked out, he said, "This child knows some martial arts and is quite proud. If we train him, he will be even more loyal to his duties in the future. If he is proficient in literature, he may even be able to pass the imperial examinations."
Lan Fang smiled and nodded: "Young lady, you are very thoughtful. I admire you."
Fu Danjun smiled and said, "He's just a child after all, so just treat it as charity."
Then, Fu Danjun went to the pawnshop to find Qiao Yishan.
She wanted to tell him about her brother, but the pawnshop owner said that Mr. Qiao had gone to visit relatives and would not be back for a month or so. He left in such a hurry that he didn't even say goodbye to Fu Danjun.
After hearing this, Fu Danjun had no choice but to go home. He found that Tietou had returned, but the little beggar was nowhere to be seen.
"Have you seen Jin Zhao's mother? Why hasn't he come back?"
Tietou sighed and said, "The child's mother has tuberculosis and is dying. The child said he wants to take care of his mother and won't be back."
Fu Danjun was shocked: "Why didn't you tell me earlier? Hurry up and bring some money to hire a doctor to treat him."
Tietou agreed to go again, but came back dejected an hour later.
"The child's mother refused to accept the money and said that the tuberculosis did not need treatment."
Fu Danjun looked at the purse that was returned to him in its original state and thought to himself that the child's mother was a woman of integrity.
"Lan Fang, come with me to Jin Zhao's house."
Tietou drove the cart and brought the master and servant to a dilapidated hut.
The little beggar ran out upon hearing the noise, and upon seeing Fu Danjun, his eyes immediately filled with tears: "My mother is dying."
Fu Danjun didn't bother to comfort him and walked into the house in two steps.
There were only a few pots, pans, and a broken bed in the thatched hut.
The woman was lying there coughing, her face had turned pale and she had little strength left.
Fu Danjun saw a black kettle and a thick bowl next to her, and quickly poured her a bowl of water.
The woman took two sips to calm down a bit, then looked at Fu Danjun carefully: "You are the kind lady, right? Thank you."
Fu Danjun saw the woman's kind eyes and was attracted to her: "Your child is smart and cute. I just happened to be short of someone to do odd jobs, so I took him to my house."
The woman smiled bitterly and shook her head. "He's only eight years old. What can he do? You're just being kind."
Fu Danjun tried hard to maintain her self-esteem and said with a smile: "The servants in my house are all trained from childhood to be loyal."
The woman finally believed it and sighed, "I never thought I would meet a benefactor before I died. Now that my child is with you, I can die with peace of mind."
The little beggar rushed over and cried, "Mom, don't die."
The woman was agitated and coughing non-stop, so Fu Danjun quickly said, "There's always hope with treatment. I'll find a doctor for you right away."
After saying that, he called Tietou to go quickly without waiting for the woman's consent.
Seeing this, the woman took out a bracelet from under her torn pillow and said, "Take it. It will be used as medicine money."
Fu Danjun stopped her hand and said, "It's not too late to pay for the medicine after you recover."
The woman said hurriedly: "No one's money is free, this makes me feel better."
Jin Zhao also objected: "Mom, this bracelet was given to me by my father."
The usually gentle and docile woman suddenly exploded: "Don't mention him! That ungrateful, heartless beast is not your father. Your father died a long time ago."
The child started crying, and Fu Danjun comforted the child while guessing that this orphan and widow must have been abandoned by her man.
She didn't want to ask more questions, so as not to make the other person more sad.
Finally, the woman said: "My last name is Yuan, and the father of the child is Li Xiuyuan, who is the Minister of Revenue. Take this bracelet and go to him if you encounter difficulties in the future. Maybe he can help you, or you can extort some money from him. Anyway, he is not a good person."
Fu Danjun was dumbfounded. He had no idea that this was the original wife of the Minister of Revenue.
It is not difficult to guess why the mother and son have fallen to this point.
There are so many heartless men nowadays, and it is not uncommon for them to abandon their wives and children.
Fu Danjun thought for a moment and said, "I'll take the bracelet, but you have to get treatment. The doctor will be here soon."
Yuan nodded in agreement.
Soon the doctor came in, took the woman's pulse and said, "Although this is tuberculosis, it's not fatal. With careful treatment, it can be much better."
Fu Danjun was very happy to hear this and did not bother Lan Fang any further. Before leaving, he asked Lan Fang to secretly leave a bag of silver.
When the carriage arrived in front of the house, Fu Danjun was surprised to see the gate open.
Because when I am not at home, the gate will not be left wide open unless something big happens.
"Miss, you are back."
The nanny came out crying and shouting, "That Miss Xu wants to hang herself. She's been making a scene since you left, and she's been hitting anyone who tries to stop her."
Fu Danjun was shocked, and then he heard the crying and shouting inside, making a huge commotion.
It turned out that Xu Yu had hung a white silk thread in his room, intending to end his life. When the nanny saw this, she called for help, but Xu Yu, unable to die, started to make a scene.
Now that Fu Danjun has returned, the servants all ran out to report to the young lady as if they had found a savior, waiting for her to deal with it.
But Xu Yu took the opportunity to put his neck into the white silk and kicked the stool.
When Fu Danjun came recently, he saw that she had passed out with her back hanging high up.
"Hurry up, call a doctor!"
Fu Danjun was extremely anxious because he had no way to explain to Xie Changsheng that Xu Yuzhen had hanged himself!
Fortunately, the doctor arrived in time and Xu Yu woke up after treatment.
Lan Fang and others breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from their foreheads.
When Xu Yu found out that she was still alive, she was so sad that she cried until her pillow was wet.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
