"Alright then, Yu Zhiqing, be careful."
Li Zhaodi was very obedient. When Yu Jiu asked her to go up, she went up obediently and watched Yu Jiu pick lotus leaves.
Many of the lotus leaves were wilted and withered, which Yu Jiu didn't like. She specifically picked the ones that looked good, tender green, and picked several of them. However, there were only lotus leaves here; she couldn't see any lotus flowers or lotus roots, probably because they had all been picked clean.
Anyway, Yu Jiu's only goal was lotus leaves; other things would be nice to have but not essential. She couldn't swim and was afraid of falling in, so she moved around the edge of the lake in a horse stance, avoiding anything too far away or out of reach—safety was the most important thing.
In just over ten minutes, Yu Jiu had picked quite a few lotus leaves. Seeing that it was almost done, she came upstairs.
"Yu Zhiqing, let me carry it for you. Is it important?"
When Li Zhaodi saw her come up, she immediately reached out to take the lotus leaf, afraid that the small amount of lotus leaf would crush her.
Yu Jiu found it amusing, and she used one hand to rub Li Zhaodi's head.
"No need. I'm an adult, and you're a child. If I can't carry it, then I definitely can't let you carry it. Wouldn't that be even heavier?"
"That's not necessarily true. Yu Zhiqing, you're from the city. It's obvious you haven't done any heavy work. You might not even be as strong as me. I could probably do it!"
Li Zhaodi proudly puffed out her chest.
"Really? What kinds of jobs have you done?"
Seeing that she really wanted to help, Yu Jiu gave her a few lotus leaves to hold, while she held her other hand, and the two walked back chatting and laughing.
“I’ve cut pig feed, searched for insects, fed pigs and chickens, helped my younger siblings gather firewood, and sometimes helped my mother pick sweet potatoes in the fields. Those firewood and sweet potatoes were so heavy! I couldn’t carry them before, but now that I’m taller and stronger, it’s much easier to carry them.”
Li Zhaodi said proudly, seemingly without feeling any sadness at all.
But looking at her delicate and youthful face, Yu Jiu felt a pang of sadness. However, this was how girls grew up these days, especially those from the countryside, as evidenced by her name, Zhao Di. She herself wasn't much better off; perhaps she received more scolding and did less work compared to her.
"You're amazing. There are so many things I can't do, but you can do them at such a young age."
"Of course, there aren't many kids in the team who can compare to me! By the way, Yu Zhiqing, when are you and the team leader getting married? Will your parents come to your wedding?"
"I don't know yet, we haven't decided on a date. I'll invite you to the wedding banquet after we get married."
"Wow, really! That's great! I've never been to a banquet before! My parents always take my younger brother!"
Li Zhaodi beamed with delight and excitement, chattering on and on about how she would soon be able to go to school. Her words revealed the girl's optimism and longing for school. Yu Jiu continued talking to her with a smile until they reached Xu Zijiang's house.
Li Zhaodi handed the lotus leaf back to Yu Jiu.
"I'm going to play now, Yu Zhiqing, you..."
"Where have you been gallivanting off to, you little slut! I've been looking for you everywhere! Where the hell have you been?! Do you even know your brother almost died at home?!"
Suddenly, a figure appeared like a gust of wind in front of Yu Jiu, then raised her hand and slapped Li Zhaodi hard across the face. She was still heavily pregnant, but her face was contorted, and she had none of the appearance or demeanor of a kind mother.
"Mom, why are you hitting me? Didn't you want to take my little brother out to play today?"
Li Zhaodi covered her swollen, red cheek from the slap and asked with some grievance.
"You dare talk back! If it weren't for you, would your brother have gotten burned?! Now look what's happened, he has blisters on his face, the doctor said it will leave scars, your brother is ugly now. If he can't find a wife in the future, I'll sell you, you slut! I'll teach you to ruin your brother! You wicked devil!"
Chen Liangdi spoke fiercely, then raised her hand to hit Li Zhaodi.
Upon seeing this, Yu Jiu quickly reached out and stopped Chen Liangdi's slap. She frowned her beautiful eyebrows and said disapprovingly.
"What does this have to do with Zhao Di? She was playing outside, and it wasn't her watching her brother at the time. Her brother got burned. I know you're upset, but you can't take all your anger out on Zhao Di, can you?"
"What's it to you! Yu Zhiqing, I'm only refraining from scolding you because you're the team leader's wife! If you hadn't taken Zhaodi away for no reason, picking those damn lotus leaves by the lake, would my son be in this state? Seriously though, you should be paying us back!"
Chen Liangdi glared fiercely at Yu Jiu, her eyes filled with resentment. She had even come to hate Yu Jiu. She had given birth to six children before finally producing this precious baby; how could she not care! Although she was seven months pregnant, she felt it was still a girl, so Chen Liangdi's favorite was undoubtedly her youngest son!
When Yu Jiu heard her say that she had to pay compensation, she laughed in anger.
Yu Jiu pointed to himself and asked in return.
"You want me to pay you money? Why should I pay you money? Don't worry about Xu Zijiang's sake, I'm going to have a serious talk with you about this today! Were you home when your son was burned? Did you ask Zhao Di to come out and play, saying you were looking after your son?"
She glared coldly at Chen Liangdi.
Chen Liangdi didn't notice anything amiss, or perhaps she was just shameless. She nodded with her hands on her hips and said confidently.
"Yes, I was the one who told her to go out and play. I was at home, so what? Did she just go out and play because I told her to? She doesn't know how to be considerate of me at all. I'm pregnant, with such a big belly, and my son is only a little over a year old. He's at the age where he's very active. How am I supposed to keep an eye on him!"
"If that little brat hadn't run off to play and not come home, would my son have been scalded by boiling water?! If you hadn't taken her to the lake, she might have come home sooner, and my son wouldn't have been scalded or left with a scar! So, don't you bear any responsibility?"
"It's good that you admit it. You're the one who let Zhao Di come out to play, and you're the one who looked after your son at home. It's your responsibility that your son got burned. It's your irresponsibility as a mother. Why are you pushing the blame onto Zhao Di? What, your son is your child, but your daughter isn't? Don't be so biased!"
"Are you so eager to pin this on Zhao Di because you're afraid of being blamed by your family?"
Yu Jiu looked down at her with a mocking gaze, showing her no sympathy whatsoever.
"You, I won't..."
"Furthermore, according to your logic, you shouldn't have had your son in the first place. Why did your son get burned? Wasn't it because you brought him into this world? If you hadn't given birth to him, would he have had to suffer like this? So you're the one who's guilty! You're the one who's wrong!"
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