After Li Qiuxia sent Aunt Xie away, she closed the door, went into the inner room, tidied up the hard quilt on the bed, and stood at the door and said to Li Qiuyue:
"Third sister, go to bed and take a nap. I'll boil some hot water to wipe your face and warm your feet. I'll make some porridge and heat up some steamed buns. Eat and go to bed early."
"I'm fine!" Li Qiuyue looked at Xiaobin who was chewing rice candy, and took out the small floral jacket she brought from her jacket, "Xiaobin, come here, let your aunt put it on for you."
"Oh!" Gao Xiaobin obediently walked up to her and Li Qiuyue put the jacket on him. This jacket belonged to Xiaoru and was made for her last year. It was made a little big when it was made. When it was cold, she took it out and put it on only to find that it was too short and small.
The food at home is better, and the kids are growing taller. Xiaobin and my second sister are so young and have yellow hair because they eat too poorly.
Gao Xiaobin touched the soft coat on his body and said, "Aunt, is this for me?"
Seeing his cautious look, Li Qiuyue recalled that her own children had never looked like this before, so she said softly, "This is for you. Is it warm?"
"It's warm!" Gao Xiaobin happily ran to the stove, "Mom, look at what my aunt gave me to wear. My aunt gave it to me, but my grandma tried to grab it, so I won't give it to her."
Seeing that he still remembered Gao's mother's snatching of her clothes, Li Qiuxia suddenly felt that she and her husband were really useless in the past, unable to even protect their own children. She squatted down and looked at him, "Okay, I won't give it to you, even if you snatch it away."
"Yes!" Gao Xiaobin nodded heavily, "I'll help you light the fire." Then he pointed to the firewood in front of the stove and said, "I picked these up."
"Xiaobin is the best!" Li Qiuxia took out an old wooden basin, scooped the water from the pot into the basin, and placed it in front of Li Qiuyue, "Third sister, you wash it."
There was only one iron pot in her family, and it was only after the old grandfather spoke that Gao's mother agreed to share it with them. Otherwise, the couple would have to cook in a sand pot.
Li Qiuyue took the face towel that was torn into pieces and said, "Boil some more hot water later and give Xiaobin a bath. Bring him his spring and autumn shirt and sweater. I was putting on his coat just now and found that his hands were cold. They were icy cold."
"Yes!" Li Qiuxia agreed and went to work in front of the stove.
Li Qiuyue washed her face, called Gao Xiaobin over, and washed him as well. She asked him to wash his hands as well, then took the water out and poured it onto the wasteland overgrown with weeds in front of the house.
Standing on the dam and looking around, I saw a vegetable field beside the dam, with some radishes and vegetables planted in it. There was also a large piece of wasteland next to the vegetable field, with a small path in the middle and a ditch further down.
Li Qiuxia's residential land is quite spacious. Maybe because it is at the end of the village, there are only three houses nearby. The yard closest to her house is also a mud-walled house, and even a part of the yard wall has collapsed.
Li Qiuyue looked around, picked up the wooden basin and went back to the house to put it away. She turned around and pushed the door to close it when she saw an old woman walking towards her in a hurry, followed by a few people who seemed to be there to watch the fun.
When she got closer, Li Qiuyue saw clearly that it was an old woman with dark skin and a frail face. Judging from her mean look, she was most likely Qiuxia's wicked mother-in-law.
Gao's mother strode to the door. When she saw Li Qiuyue, she was stunned for a moment. Without saying hello, she walked in and asked in a hoarse voice: "Li Qiuxia, where did you take my Dalin?"
I heard from the villagers that this bitch came back from a trip wearing city-dweller clothes. Her third sister also came with her, and she gave candies to the kids who had gone with her.
She waited at home for a long time but this bitch didn't bring her sister home. She didn't even send some of the good things to honor her mother. Did she really think that she would be able to become powerful just because she had a rich sister at home?
Li Qiuyue turned her head to look at Li Qiuxia, took two steps back and stood aside. Her mother said that outsiders could not help them for a lifetime. If she could not stand on her own feet, even if she asked the youngest brother to help her, in the end she would only be able to cure these blood-sucking worms.
Let's see today. If she were here, she would still be afraid of this old hag. She should go back and wait until Gao Dalin's leg is healed. It would be better for her to have less contact with him in the future.
Gao Xiaobin jumped in front of Li Qiuxia like a spring that was stepped on, and opened his arms like a stick, "Don't bully my mother!"
"Xiao Bin!" Li Qiuxia looked at Gao's mother who was furious, and hurriedly pulled him behind her. She swallowed her saliva and replied, "Da Lin is in Ning'an to treat his leg. The doctor said his bones were misaligned. If they are realigned, he won't limp when he walks anymore."
"No longer lame." Gao's mother's eyes turned wildly, thinking of the hardworking second son, who was no longer lame and could work, so why should they divide the family property? Moreover, they now had a rich sister, so they could not divide the family property and had to take her back.
Mother Gao turned her head and took a look at Li Qiuyue's tweed coat, her eyes lit up. This was something city people wore, and she had never even seen it in her life.
"This must be Third Sister Qiuxia!" Gao's mother smiled so hard that all the wrinkles on her face were squeezed together. "What a rare guest! What a rare guest! You see Qiuxia is not sensible at all. This is your first visit and she didn't even know to take you to the old house. There's nothing here. What can she use to entertain you?"
Li Qiuyue looked at the villagers who came outside to watch the fun and said calmly, "Dalin said they have separated. I'm sorry to disturb you."
"No! Who said it was a breakup!" Gao's mother turned her head and glanced at Li Qiuxia, then turned back to Li Qiuyue with a smile on her face, "Alas, her third sister, you don't know, Dalin broke his leg, and he gets angry every day at home, making people restless. That's why we let them live here, it's quiet, quiet!"
"We got it last year. The brigade cadres and my great uncle and great grandfather came to our house, and we signed the division documents in person. Our household registration and land were also moved out."
Li Qiuxia was furious when she thought of what Wang Zhen said about Gao Dalin's poor health. "Besides, Dalin never lost his temper after breaking his leg. It was you who scolded him every day, saying that he was useless. A man of his age could break his leg just by walking. Why didn't he just die?"
Gao's mother glared at her fiercely, "What nonsense are you talking about? Dalin was born after ten months of pregnancy. I wish him well..."
The villagers who were watching outside started to talk about it. "Mrs. Gao is really shameless. When she saw that Dalin was lame and couldn't work, she forced him to split up the family. Now that she sees that his sister is rich and can take advantage of him, she wants to join him back."
"A couple works like a cow and still gets scolded and beaten. Only a fool would get back together."
"Ask Dalin if I'm talking nonsense or not." Li Qiuxia listened to the discussions outside and thought about the life before the family split up. She clenched her fists and glared at Gao's mother, shouting, "Whatever you say, we've split up. Even if we die of hunger or poverty, we won't go back."
Dalin and I have already survived the most difficult days. Even in the most difficult times, living in the shack was more comfortable than living in the old house.
No one made indirect accusations. Xiaobin and his second sister were not afraid of someone snatching their bowls when they drank porridge, nor were they bullied by the kids from the eldest and youngest wives.
Now with the help of my third sister, my third brother-in-law, the kind-hearted Zhou family, and Dr. Wang, Dalin’s leg will soon be healed.
If she had to join forces, she would rather be an illegal resident in Ning'an than come back and get involved with this group of ruthless people.
When Gao's mother saw that she dared to yell at her, she flew into a rage and waved her claws at her, screaming, "Dalin is my son, how dare he..."
Li Qiuxia thought of what Li Qiuyue said, that when dealing with evil people, it depends on who is more reckless. She clenched her fists and stiffened her neck, "Then let him live with you. The three of us would rather die than live with you."
"Yes, it should have been done earlier. If the couple had done this earlier, Gao Dalin wouldn't have gone into the mountains to look for mountain products on a rainy day and broken his leg."
"That's right, why should we be afraid of her? We have separated everything, and we can live our own lives behind closed doors. Whether we eat coarse food or drink meat and wine, it depends on our own ability."
Gao's mother was furious. "This is outrageous..."
"Aunt Nian!" Li Qiuyue stepped forward and interrupted her with a faint smile, "Since Dalin is your son, then if he asks me to borrow money, I will ask you for it!"
"What money does he owe you?" Gao's mother shrank back subconsciously, then straightened her chest and asked.
Li Qiuyue looked at her with amusement, "As for the cost of treating the leg in Ning'an, Aunt Nian, you know, you can't go to the hospital without money. My brother-in-law's leg was broken and reattached. He was hospitalized and given medicine. We spent nearly two hundred yuan yesterday alone.
I asked Qiuxia to come back to get the money, but she said that you had split up. I had originally planned to come here to get acquainted with the family and wait for the autumn harvest next year to get food. Since you said that you had not split up, then she should pay me back so that I don’t have to come back to the mountains again during the autumn harvest.”
She paused, looking at Gao's mother whose face was changing. "Also, the doctor said that he is very weak at such a young age, and he has developed a chronic illness. If I don't spend money to buy tonic medicine to take good care of him, even if I heal his leg, he won't be able to work in the future."
"Oh my god, you are so young and your body is already weak. If you develop a disease, I'm afraid you won't live long!"
"It would be strange if it wasn't unfair! Dalin is only a little boy, but he has to cut grass and herd cattle. He is a teenager and has to earn work points like a cow. He doesn't have enough to eat and is scolded. The cows in the team are not treated like this."
Gao's mother listened to the discussion outside, her face turned from red to black: He can't work, but he still needs to take tonic medicine, why doesn't he go to heaven...
Li Qiuyue saw that she began to roll her eyes again, "Also, the doctor said that his leg was damaged for too long. After the leg is reattached, he will just be less lame. He won't be able to carry loads or do heavy work in the future."
Gao's mother's eyes flashed with the image of Gao Dalin walking with the help of a stick after he became lame. Thinking that the stick had been broken and reattached again, and must not be strong, her heart sank.
She said to Li Qiuyue in a bad mood: "Your sister said that she would rather die of poverty or starvation than go back. The money they owe her is none of my business. Go ask her for it." After that, she ran out of the door cursing.
Li Qiuyue chased after him, "Aunt Nian, please don't leave. Gao Dalin is your son. If you don't take care of him, who will?"
Gao's mother was afraid that Li Qiuyue would catch up with her, so she grabbed her and wouldn't let her go. She pushed aside the onlookers and ran away.
"Alas!" Li Qiuyue sighed and shook her head, "Is this still my biological mother? Could it be that Gao Dalin was picked up?"
A woman said with a smile: "Little sister, Gao Dalin is her biological child, and I helped to deliver him." (End of this chapter)
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