The air was filled with the smell of disinfectant. As soon as Li Huai sat down in front of the hospital bed, the person on the bed opened his eyes.
Upon seeing him, Zhao Qinglan's lips twitched slightly. "You've come."
Looking at her weak and pale face, Li Huai felt a pang of heartache and held her hand tightly, nagging, "Qinglan, if you feel unwell, go back to sleep."
"I'm not sleeping anymore, I sleep all day. Talk to me." Her eyes were full of longing.
"Okay." Li Huai helped her rock the bed.
Thinking about the matter he had just discovered, he hesitated. Qinglan's body couldn't withstand too much stimulation now. However, he also knew that his daughter's matter had always been a thorn in her heart and her greatest regret in life.
Although they had only been together for a year, they had known each other for several years, and Zhao Qinglan quickly noticed his unusual behavior. "Li Huai, you seem to have something on your mind," she said bluntly.
Upon hearing this, Li Huai sighed. "Qinglan, I told you not to get too excited. I've found out where Xiaoduo is."
"What!" Zhao Qinglan's pupils contracted sharply as she stared intently at Li Huai, asking, "Really?"
Li Huai gave a wry smile. "Really, why would I lie to you?"
Judging from Li Huai's reaction, Zhao Qinglan knew that her daughter Xiao Duo's situation might not be very good, but the extent of her distress still exceeded her expectations.
At Zhao Qinglan's insistence, Li Huai told her about Xiao Duo's situation.
After Xiaoduo was lost at the age of five, she went to a poor family in the countryside to be raised as a child bride. At a young age, she started working in the fields, fetching water, cutting grass, washing clothes and cooking.
At the age of sixteen, Xiaoduo was forced to marry the son of a family with some disabilities. After that, she became pregnant and gave birth year after year. Some of the children survived, while others died. However, she also had to endure all kinds of insults and beatings every day.
The continuous production and heavy labor took a toll on Xiao Duo's body. Xiao Duo, who was not yet forty-one years old, looked much older than Zhao Qinglan, who was sixty. There was something Li Huai kept to himself: Xiao Duo's health didn't look like she had many years left to live.
Every word Li Huai uttered made Zhao Qinglan's heart bleed.
However, the inside story that Li Huai discovered was even more unacceptable to Zhao Qinglan.
The disappearance of her daughter, Xiaoduo, was not an accident. It was the work of her ex-husband Wang Dazhi's son, Wang Xiaofei, her daughter, Wang Xiaoyan, and her maternal grandmother. The family that Xiaoduo was sent to was a relative of Wang Xiaoyan's maternal grandmother.
That was bad enough. Later, the rest of the Wang family also found out about this, but everyone kept it from Zhao Qinglan. While she was grieving for her daughter and trying every possible way to find her, these people just watched coldly.
Zhao Qinglan could no longer hold back and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Qinglan!" Li Huai rushed over.
"Pick up, pick up Xiaoduo, take her home." She held Li Huai's hand and pleaded.
Li Huai nodded with tears in his eyes.
On her deathbed, Zhao Qinglan was filled with nothing but hatred.
Although Zhao Qinglan was forced to marry into the Wang family, she was dutiful to her parents-in-law and devoted countless efforts to raising her stepchildren. She worked like a slave for the Wang family for thirty years, but what did she get in return?
After Wang Dazhi became successful, he grew increasingly impatient with her. He kicked her out of the house with nothing and then married a young and beautiful woman.
Her elderly but still healthy in-laws didn't say a word on her behalf.
Her stepson and stepdaughter, whom she had raised with great difficulty, also watched coldly and even advised her to leave the Wang family as soon as possible.
Penniless, she struggled to make a living, but the jobs she finally found were repeatedly lost due to interference from her stepchildren, who felt that it would be a disgrace for them if she stayed in the city.
Forced by circumstances, she had no choice but to leave her hometown at the age of fifty.
Even after suffering so much, she never thought of seeking revenge against the Wang family, but they shouldn't have done that to her Xiaoduo.
Her little Duo was so adorable. When she was doing laundry and chores for the whole family, only her little Duo would secretly massage her mother's shoulders. When she stayed in the kitchen to prepare meals for the whole family and couldn't serve them, only her little Duo would secretly hide food for her.
How could the Wang family do such a cruel thing to their daughter, who is so well-behaved and sensible?
It's one thing for Wang Xiaofei and Wang Xiaoyan to do all this, but what about their in-laws and Wang Dazhi who found out later? Xiaoduo is also a member of the Wang family, how could they just stand by and watch Xiaoduo suffer like that and do nothing?
If her body hadn't given out, she would have rushed to the Wang family and taken them all down with her!
...
“She’s so delicate. What family’s wife doesn’t do any work? She’s already in the hospital after doing just a little work, which is a waste of money. Dazhi, listen to your mother and get her home right away.”
"Mother, if we don't get him cured quickly and take him home now, who will do the housework? Who will take care of Xiaofei and Xiaoyan?"
Zhao Qinglan opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling above her, which was peeling and mottled. She blinked and couldn't react for a long time. How could she hear the voices of her annoying mother-in-law and ex-husband Wang Dazhi? Was it because she hated them too much?
Just then, her ex-husband Wang Dazhi's face appeared above her head. "Qinglan, you're finally awake," Wang Dazhi said with delight.
As if by reflex, Zhao Qinglan swung her hand and heard the crisp sound of the slap. She felt a surge of satisfaction; she had wanted to hit her scumbag ex-husband Wang Dazhi for a long time, and now she had finally succeeded.
Wang Dazhi was stunned by the blow, touching his face and not reacting for a long time.
"Oh my god, this is outrageous! You woman, how dare you hit Dazhi!" The Queen Mother, who had been stunned for a moment, rushed over as soon as she came to her senses.
But Wang Dazhi stopped her as soon as she reached the bedside. "Mother, there are other people here," he whispered, then pulled his mother out.
Although he was angry because he was beaten for no reason, he was a very proud man. His wife was doing chores at home when she suddenly fainted. When they got to the hospital, the doctor said it was due to malnutrition and overwork, and even looked him up and down with that kind of gaze. He felt ashamed.
If someone sees him beating his wife who's still in the hospital, and it gets back to their clothing factory, what will become of Wang Dazhi?
Zhao Qinglan hadn't held back her strength in that palm strike. Feeling the stinging pain from the rebound in her palm, she raised her hand and looked around, frowning in deep thought. What was going on? Wang Dazhi and her former mother-in-law had come to the hospital to visit her, who was on the verge of death.
Wait a minute, something's not right. She's been in the hospital ward for so long, when did the ceiling get so shabby? And Wang Dazhi's face looks way too young.
She looked around, and when she saw the old newspapers from the 1960s pasted on the wall, her pupils suddenly contracted, and long-lost memories resurfaced.
She remembered that it was November 1976. She had been working non-stop at home for several days without getting any rest, and she was not eating well because she was always eating the leftovers from the Wang family. Eventually, she fainted and was hospitalized.
So, did she travel back to 1976?
My mind was racing when a little girl ran in from the doorway.
"Mom, Mom, you're finally awake! Grandma wouldn't let me come to the hospital, so I secretly followed her here."
Looking at Xiao Duo's tender and adorable face, Zhao Qinglan suddenly stood up and hugged her daughter tightly, tears streaming down her face.
"Xiaoduo, Xiaoduo..."
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