Inside a dilapidated tile-roofed house on the outskirts of the county town.
Li You, with a bandage wrapped around his nose and his face covered in bruises, sat on the bed, gasping for breath and cursing:
"Hurry up and apply the medicine for me. You've been dawdling for ages. Are you slacking off again?"
Wang Zhaodi had delicate features and a cautious expression on her face. Her back was slender, but she had a large, round belly protruding from it.
She walked over slowly and clumsily, carrying cotton swabs and medicine, and said:
"No, Brother You, I was just getting medicine."
Li You glanced at her stomach, his expression finally softening as he said, "How many more days until you give birth?"
As Wang Zhaodi wiped the medicine off him, she understood the meaning behind his words, and tears welled up in her eyes:
"It will be soon, this month."
Hearing the sob in her voice, Li You looked at her with annoyance and said impatiently:
“What’s there to cry about? The family I found this time is a wealthy family in town. Once our child goes there, he’ll be a young master. Isn’t that better than him staying with us?”
"In ten or so years, when those two are old, we'll go back to acknowledge our son. Then we'll be a master and mistress."
Wang Zhaodi lowered her gaze, gently and reluctantly touching her belly with her small hand, her voice slightly tinged with tears as she said:
"Brother You, if we're giving this one away, can we please not give away the rest of our children?"
Li You raised his hand and gently touched her belly like a precious treasure, coaxing her, "Don't worry, I promise I'll take good care of the next one."
A glimmer of hope appeared in Wang Zhaodi's eyes. She had never received any love since childhood; she was either enslaved by her parents or beaten and scolded by her younger brother every day.
Li You is the only person who is good to her. Although he sometimes scolds her when he's in a bad mood, he has never laid a hand on her. He even thinks of her when he has something delicious to eat.
Therefore, even though she eloped with him to this place and became pregnant, she still had to give the child away.
Even though she sometimes had to endure being pointed at and gossiped about, she still held onto her expectations of him.
She smiled ingratiatingly and said, "Brother You, how about you give me some money and tickets, and I'll go to the street and buy you some meat to nourish yourself?"
"You're so heavily pregnant, why are you running around like that? I'd be worried if something happened. You stay home, I'll go buy some things."
When Li You was in a good mood, he would often coax her. He stood up and saw two blushes appear on Wang Zhaodi's face as she walked out. Only then did he cautiously open the money and tickets in the wardrobe:
Just kidding, you saw all this, and if you run off with the money and sell your own child, wouldn't all my hard work have been for nothing?
Last year, Li You spent a long time wandering around the neighboring county before finally setting his sights on Wang Zhaodi.
He knew that girls who lacked love were the easiest to fool, so he appeared before her when she was being beaten and scolded by her parents and ran away crying.
He bought her a candied hawthorn skewer, made her laugh, and then pretended to bump into her several times, gradually winning her over.
When her brother beat and verbally abused her again, he pretended to abandon everything and ran away with her.
Even so, she still believed she had found salvation, even though he claimed life was difficult and he didn't want her child to suffer with her, so he found a good family for the child.
Wang Zhaodi still felt that he genuinely cared about her and her daughter.
Li You was walking down the street when he happened to see Wen Zhaoye, who had just bought his medicine. A look of panic flashed across his face, and he quietly took a step back, hiding in a corner, his eyes fixed on him with a sinister glint as he said:
"Since we've run into each other here, don't blame me for taking revenge."
Wen Zhaoye carried the medicine and turned to enter the supply and marketing cooperative.
Li You walked to his motorcycle and took out a knife from his pocket:
"I'll teach you to be arrogant, I'll show you this time."
Wen Zhaoye had just reached the counter when he felt his pockets and suddenly remembered that he hadn't taken the motorcycle keys out of the ignition.
He turned and walked out, when he suddenly saw Li You holding a folding knife, preparing to stab it into the chair. He angrily shouted:
"Stop if you don't want to die."
Li You was so frightened that his hand trembled, and he dropped the knife. He looked up in alarm and saw a fist, carrying a gust of wind, suddenly enlarged in front of him.
The next second, with a "bang," it slammed hard into his injured nose.
Wen Zhaoye's dark eyes were filled with disgust as he looked down at Li You, who was lying on the ground groaning in pain, and scoffed:
"He really is like a dog, he'd never change even if you beat him to death."
Li You's nosebleed stained the bandages, making his face look somewhat ferocious and terrifying. He staggered to his feet and said in a panic:
"It will be changed, this time it will definitely be changed."
Seeing that he was about to leave again after speaking, Wen Zhaoye raised his hand and gripped the back of his neck tightly. As the boy turned back to look at him in fear and trembling, Wen Zhaoye's thin lips parted slightly and he said:
"Tell me about Xu Dajun and Wen Jiaojiao. How did you know she was sold?"
Li You's calves trembled unsteadily; if it weren't for him supporting him by the back of the neck, he probably would have fallen to the ground. He swallowed the saliva mixed with the metallic taste of blood.
"I don't know the specifics, I just happened to run into the two of them when I went to Yuncheng."
Xu Dajun was covered in injuries, and Wen Jiaojiao was incredibly thin. I exchanged a few pleasantries and was about to leave when Xu Dajun grabbed me.
She said she found Wen Jiaojiao an old bachelor and planned to sell her to him in a couple of days to continue the family line. She hasn't eaten all day and wants to borrow some money from me for food.
Knowing his character, he definitely wouldn't pay me back even if he had the money, so I ran away in fear.
Seeing that he didn't seem to be lying, Wen Zhaoye let go of his hand and said:
"Where exactly in Yuncheng did you run into them?"
Li You honestly replied, "No. 118 Jiefang East Road, Binxi County, Yuncheng, is the place near the farmers' market."
At that time, Wen Jiaojiao had just finished picking up vegetable leaves and was about to go home when Xu Dajun was scolding her for being shameful.
Wen Zhaoye silently noted down the address, realizing it was in the next city. He disdainfully shook him off and rode away on his bicycle.
"It seems like I should take some time soon to verify it myself."
Wen Jiaojiao lay in bed, having slept peacefully, completely unaware that Wen Zhaoye was already planning to personally investigate her past.
She sat up and heard the sound of a motorcycle approaching from afar, until the roar completely subsided, then she said:
"Brother, did you buy anything else?"
Wen Zhaoye's eyes flashed with an unreadable expression as he walked over carrying his things. He pulled back the mosquito net, sat on the edge of the bed, and put down the things, saying:
"Let me apply the medicine first. Here are some pastries you can have."
Wen Jiaojiao had just finished half a pot of braised sea cucumber and abalone, but that didn't stop her from wanting some pastries to change things up.
She opened the package and looked at the osmanthus cake, mung bean cake, and peach shortbread. A smile appeared on her lips as she picked up a piece and held it to his lips.
"Brother, you've worked hard, hurry up and eat."
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