Zhao Qinglan's heart clenched.
"Sister Sui, what's wrong?" she asked in a dry voice.
"Your mother is injured. She was beaten by your father and is in the hospital now."
Zhao Qinglan clenched her fists. "Why did he hit my mother!"
"Your grandma and her family found your sister an old man who is lame, but your sister and her family don't want him."
"Your letter just arrived, and when the commotion started, your village secretary rushed over."
"Your grandma and the others were afraid of the Party Secretary, so they sent the matchmaker away."
"But I never expected that they would kidnap your sister in the middle of the night and secretly send her away."
"I don't know what they did to provoke your mother, but she grabbed a kitchen knife."
“The incident escalated and attracted the attention of the entire village. Your Party Secretary was afraid that someone might die, so he took your mother and two younger sisters away and temporarily placed them in the village where the educated youth were staying.”
"As a result, your father got angry and went to find your mother. I don't know how, but he beat your mother up, and she ended up in the hospital."
Zhao Qinglan clearly felt that she no longer had much affection for her mother, who always knew how to cry and was incredibly weak.
But when she heard that her mother had been beaten and hospitalized, her heart still ached.
Was it because she felt sorry for her mother, or because her mother finally stood up for her child?
Before she knew it, Zhao Qinglan's eyes welled up with tears.
Wu Mei, who was standing to the side, was extremely worried, but she didn't dare to interrupt.
"Sister Sui, could you please look after my mother and the others with Brother Aiguo for a moment? I'll be right back."
"Okay, Qinglan, don't be too anxious or upset. The doctor said your mother is not in any danger."
"Okay, I understand."
After hanging up the phone, Zhao Qinglan wiped her face.
"Qinglan, are you alright?" Wu Mei asked worriedly.
Zhao Qinglan forced a smile. "Sister-in-law, I'm fine."
"What's wrong? I didn't understand what you were saying. Just tell me if you need any help."
“My grandma and her family wanted to marry my sister off to a lame old man for the bride price. My mother was beaten and hospitalized because of my sister,” she said succinctly.
Wu Mei was the person she trusted most in this residential area. She was both a neighbor and a friend, and Wu Mei knew perfectly well how she and Li Huai had gotten together.
Therefore, she was not afraid to let Wu Mei know about her family's shameful affairs.
"Sigh, tell me what's going on here," Wu Mei sighed. Every family has its own troubles.
"Sister-in-law, I have to go back to my hometown. I guess I'll need to trouble you with something afterward. I'll go over and discuss it with the children first."
"Okay, just call me if you need anything."
Zhao Qinglan hurried home.
Seeing that she seemed to have been crying, the sensitive and attentive eldest child became anxious first.
Before the eldest child could ask, Zhao Qinglan spoke first.
"At my maternal home, only Xiaoduo's maternal grandmother is hospitalized, so I have to go back."
As soon as she finished speaking, Da Wa suddenly looked up.
"You're not going to leave and never come back, are you?"
He just accepted her as his mother, and now she's leaving?
Hearing what the eldest child said, the second child and the little girl looked at her nervously.
Seeing the somewhat flustered Da Wa, Zhao Qinglan reached out and patted his head.
"How could that be? I'll be back as soon as I finish my business. It's not convenient for me to take you with me this time, so you'll have to stay at home."
"You're not lying?" the older child asked, his face tense.
Seeing how anxious he was about whether she would return, Zhao Qinglan smiled.
"Aren't you silly? Xiaoduo is staying at home just like you guys. Even if I don't want you, I still want my own daughter," she joked.
The eldest child relaxed a bit, but was still a little worried, since his biological mother was gone and no longer wanted him and the second child.
"You can't lie about what you said."
"Okay, I won't lie, want to pinky swear?"
"Hmph, I won't." The older child turned his head away.
Hearing Zhao Qinglan say she would come back, Erwa's tense heart relaxed, and he immediately asked worriedly, "Mom, what will happen to our pig's trotters now that you're gone?"
This guy really only cares about food.
Zhao Qinglan's sadness was almost completely worn away by the successive attacks from Da Wa and Er Wa...
"Don't worry, I'm not leaving right now. I'll make you pig's trotters today!" she promised, pinching Erwa's nose.
Erwa immediately became happy.
In the past, Xiaoduo would definitely have been unwilling to be left behind by her mother, but now that she is left behind with her older and younger children, she is not sad at all.
Even if she went fast, she definitely wouldn't be able to leave today, so Zhao Qinglan wasn't in such a hurry anymore and started tidying up the things she had bought.
After tidying up everything, she started cleaning the pig's trotters.
The raw pig trotters she bought weren't cleaned very well, so she had to use a torch to remove the remaining hair.
She struggled to chop two large pig trotters into small pieces.
Put the ingredients in a pot of cold water, add a little white wine, blanch until cooked, and remove any fishy smell.
After blanching, skim off the blood foam and rinse thoroughly with cold water.
Then add water, salt, sugar, soy sauce, scallions, ginger, and other seasonings, and start simmering slowly.
While waiting for the pig's trotters to stew on the stove outside, Zhao Qinglan went inside to continue preparing the pig's head meat and heating up the steamed buns.
After simmering for a while, the aroma of braised pig's trotters couldn't be contained and began to waft out.
Erwa stood in front of the stove, staring at the bubbling fire and swallowing hard.
Wu Mei thought that Zhao Qinglan was in such a state that she wouldn't be in the mood to cook, so she thought she would cook more and invite the whole family over to eat.
Just as she was wondering what to do, she smelled an enticing aroma.
"What did Qinglan make this time? It smells so good!" Wu Mei couldn't resist coming out of the house.
As soon as she entered the courtyard, Wu Mei saw Erwa and Xiaoduo guarding the stove and couldn't help but laugh.
"Xiaoduo, what delicious food did your mom make this time?"
"Braised pig's trotters!" Erwa answered quickly.
Braised pig's trotters? She had never eaten braised pig's trotters before. The aroma was even stronger in the yard, making Wu Mei's mouth water. She quickly went back inside.
While cooking, she began to remark that Qinglan was good in every way, except that she was too extravagant with food and too good at cooking...
Sigh, being neighbors with Qinglan is too miserable.
As soon as Wei Hong finished class, she rushed home. She got off work earlier than her husband, so she could hurry back and cook dinner so her husband could eat when he got home.
She could smell the aroma of braised pig's trotters even before she reached Wu Mei's house.
Upon searching, they discovered the fragrance was coming from Zhao Qinglan's house, and like Wu Mei, they sighed.
Being neighbors with Zhao Qinglan's family is really difficult. Even meals that were fine on ordinary days suddenly don't taste good anymore.
As soon as Li Huai returned and smelled the aroma, he knew it was coming from his own house, and his pace quickened immediately.
Sure enough, as soon as he entered the room, he saw a table full of delicious-smelling food.
After washing his hands, he immediately joined in, and the family enjoyed the meal together.
During the meal, Zhao Qinglan didn't mention going home, and the children, preoccupied with the delicious food, temporarily forgot about their father's matter.
When Li Huai finished washing up and entered the bedroom, he was stunned to see Zhao Qinglan packing her bag.
"Oh right, I haven't told you yet, I'm going back to my hometown."
"Why?" Li Huai took a step forward and stood in front of her, gripping her arm tightly.
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