Grandma Ge's thin, withered face was covered with crisscrossing wrinkles, which etched deep lines into her features. Her complexion was not radiant but rather bluish-gray. Her sparse eyebrows were half white-gray, and her triangular eyes were dull and yellowish.
The garlic-shaped nose twitched with each breath, its thin, bloodless lips parted, and its mouth was wide open, revealing only its upper and lower front teeth. It weakly raised its arm and pointed at Xiaoyue with trembling fingers: "You, you..." The words were barely uttered, its breath coming in short, intermittent gasps.
Ge Erping hurriedly supported Old Madam Ge's back, covering her chest with one hand, while angrily saying to Xiaoyue, "You were saved by my third brother, how can you treat the old lady like this? I'm going to tell my third brother and see how he deals with you!"
Seeing Ge Erping's expression of both fear and a desire to stand up for himself, Xiaoyue took a step forward, circled the mother and son, and noticed that Old Mrs. Ge was truly so angry she could hardly breathe. Thinking of Old Mr. Ge still lying on the kang (heated brick bed), Xiaoyue...
Not wanting to cause any more trouble, and knowing that even if she won an argument with Old Mrs. Ge, what good would it do? She had to take a roundabout approach. So Xiaoyue stepped forward and helped Old Mrs. Ge to the front room, making the mother and daughter move to the back.
As soon as the door opened, Old Madam Ge's critical gaze and mean expression were revealed on her face. She deliberately taunted Xiaoyue, saying, "Young Master Yun doesn't want you anymore. He stayed at your house, didn't he?" She gave Xiaoyue a malicious glare.
Xiaoyue suppressed her anger and helped Grandma Ge sit down. Then she took out a bowl, poured Grandma Ge a bowl of hot water, and gave it to her. She then sat down on the kang (a heated brick bed) herself, since Li Lei and Chunyue's house was too small and had no windows.
Grandma Ge added, "That's true. Young Master Yun is from a respectable family. Even if you were an orphan, or a girl from a good family, you wouldn't be able to stand being kidnapped by bandits for a night."
Ge Erping looked at the house with disdain and sneered, "You live in this house, what shameless memories could you possibly have?"
"You're keeping a man, aren't you?"
Xiaoyue suddenly grabbed Ge Erping by the collar, dragged her outside, kicked her to the ground, and then kicked her a few more times. This was a pattern from previous fights between Xiaoyue and Ge Erping.
Xiaoyue can't beat Ge Erping, but now beating Ge Erping is as easy as beating a chick.
After a series of beatings, before Ge Erping could react, she pulled him back into the house and handed the bowl of water to Old Madam Ge, saying meaningfully, "Little Sister Lu is still lying in the upper room. Including your granddaughter, the medicine for ten days last time cost me two taels of silver."
You can ask Doctor Hu; I've kept the prescription. You can also ask at the pharmacy in town. When I brought Lu Xiaomei back, she was almost dead. The reason I didn't stay in the main room was because the smell there was indescribable.
Grandma Ge nodded; the room where Grandpa Ge lived also had a strange smell.
Xiaoyue rested her head on the kang table and said in a low voice to Grandma Ge, "If you want to take her back, tell Ge Sanlin to bring a flatbed cart, and I will send her out, including Xiaodouding."
He went to the kitchen, added some firewood to the stove, returned to the room, sat down and pondered, and said, "To tell you the truth, I foolishly brought Lu Xiaomei back, and I regretted it the very second day. I not only had to brew medicine for her three times a day, but I also had to empty her bedpan."
"Don't even mention it. Since you insist on taking her back, just say you absolutely have to. Don't tell me you don't want her to stay either. Yes, you absolutely insist on taking her back, otherwise how could I bear to let her go?"
Ge Erping rolled his eyes at Xiaoyue, his heart pounding again. He decided to let his third sister-in-law stay with Xiaoyue, since she had agreed to take him to her home. But he was also reluctant to think: After all this time, Lu Xiaomei is still not well. If we take her back, Dad will be lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), and his third sister-in-law will be lying on the kang too. That's absolutely not going to work.
Grandma Ge was also deep in thought when she felt Ge Erping tug at her sleeve. Grandma Ge was old after all, so she didn't mention taking Lu Xiaomei back, but only said, "We've come to see Ge Sanlin's wife, and we'll leave after we've seen her."
Xiaoyue didn't hesitate and said, "Let Ge Erping go. You're too old. You'll be frightened if you see her like that."
Ge Erping went to the main room alone. When he got to the east room, as soon as he opened the door, a stench hit him. He saw Lu Xiaomei lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) with her hair disheveled and coughing incessantly.
Little Douding sat next to Lu Xiaomei, dressed in old, thin clothes, his face smudged with dirt and tears streaming down his face. Seeing Ge Erping push open the door, he ran towards him barefoot.
As she ran, she asked, "Is Auntie here to pick up my mother and me?"
Ge Erping shoved the little boy aside, slammed the door shut with a "bang," and fled in panic.
Upon arriving at the front yard, Ge Erping's face turned ashen. Without a word, he entered the house, grabbed Old Madam Ge, and dragged her away.
Xiaoyue saw the two of them off at the gate.
Back in the east room, the smell hadn't dissipated yet. Lu Xiaomei was washing her hair, and Xiaoyue laughed, "Whose idea was this?"
With a cloth wrapped around her head, Lu Xiaomei looked at Li Lei standing in the kitchen and said, "It was all Li Lei's idea."
Li Lei opened the door and glanced at Lu Xiaomei inside. He didn't say anything and went about his business. Xiaoyue then said to Lu Xiaomei, "We hope you didn't throw away the quilts in that yard, or it will be really hard to find them."
Lu Xiaomei hummed in agreement and started tidying up the house again. Originally, she thought that Grandma Ge would also come, so Li Lei made the east room very messy, filled a basket with excrement, put it on a mat, and placed it on the kang (a heated brick bed).
He scooped up another shovelful of dirt from the porch, scattering it everywhere. Li Lei grabbed a handful and mixed it into Lu Xiaomei's hair, making it a mess. He changed Xiaodouding's clothes, smeared ashes on Xiaodouding's face, and prepared chili powder for Xiaodouding.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com