Chapter 24 Ah Zhu is finally taken in, Hu Dali is heartbroken…
With Ah Zhu finally taken in, Hu Dali felt a weight lifted from his heart. He then went out and had a hearty meal and drinks. Around noon, he stumbled home and collapsed. In the evening, Ah Fu came back from playing, couldn't find Liu Shi, and was very hungry. He grabbed the drunken Hu Dali and begged for food, but Hu Dali drunkenly cursed him away. Ah Fu had no choice but to go to the stove and eat the half bowl of cold porridge left over from that morning. Half hungry, he went back to his room, hugged his pillow, and slept.
When Ah Lang brought Wei Yin and the others over, they woke Ah Fu up. Ah Fu rubbed his eyes, saw that it was them, ran out and hugged Ah Lang's leg tightly, ordering, "Ah Lang, Ah Yu, I'm hungry, go and cook me some food!"
Hu Datian was used to Afu's lack of manners at such a young age and didn't take it seriously. He even tried to coax his nephew to go play first. A Lang was in a hurry to find the bone urn. Seeing that Afu was sticking to him and wouldn't let go, he stopped holding back and sneered, "If you don't leave, don't blame me for kicking you."
Afu was startled. When Hu Datian heard his son say that, he subconsciously frowned and scolded him as usual: "Alang, how can you talk to Afu like that? He's only a few years old, he doesn't know anything."
Ah Lang laughed, "Ah Hu is even younger than him, so why doesn't Ah Hu act like this?"
Hu Datian was speechless. He couldn't bring himself to say the rest of his words about Ah Lang being harmonious with his cousin. For the first time, he stared at his second son with unfamiliar eyes, but the boy ignored him and only gave Ah Fu a cold look. Helpless, Hu Datian could only coax Ah Fu to go back to sleep.
Afu was naturally unhappy, but seeing that Alang's expression was not right, that Liu was not at home, and that Hu Dali was drunk and unconscious, he tucked his tail between his legs and dared not cause any more trouble.
Hu Datian woke Hu Dali from the bed. He was still drunk and his eyes were blurry. When he saw A Lang standing in front of the bed, he smiled and put his arm around A Lang's shoulder, pretending to take a wine glass to pour it down his throat.
"Isn't this Ah Lang? What brings you here? Come and have a drink with your second uncle."
Seeing Hu Dali so drunk, Hu Datian shoved him away, exasperated, "What are you drinking for? Wake up!"
Hu Dali was a good-for-nothing, and he was always being scolded by Hu Datian. He was somewhat afraid of his older brother. He was sobered up by the sudden fright and stared wide-eyed when he saw everyone gathered in his room.
Ayu couldn't wait any longer and asked first, "Second Uncle, where is Second Aunt?"
Hu Dali: "How would I know?"
Ah Lang frowned: "Where did Second Aunt go?"
"How would I know anything about her?"
After Hu Dali finished speaking, he regained his composure slightly and asked, "What do you want with her?"
Ah Lang: "My sister's urn has disappeared at Pudu Temple."
Hu Dali hadn't paid any attention before, but when he heard this, he suddenly remembered what Liu had said that morning, and his expression became subtle.
Seeing his expression, Ah Lang immediately understood and sneered, "Second Uncle, did Second Aunt take the bone urn away?"
Ayu understood, and rushed forward, grabbing Hu Dali's clothes tightly with her little hands: "Second Uncle, what are you trying to do with my sister's bone urn!"
Hu Datian was surprised to find that Liu had actually taken the urn. He asked in bewilderment, "Dali, what are you and your sister-in-law doing with Azhu's urn? What are you planning to do? Tell me what happened!"
Ah Lang retorted sarcastically, "Father, don't you know?"
"What do I know?" Hu Datian retorted, then inexplicably turned to Hu Dali and said, "Dali, what exactly is your sister-in-law planning to do? Do you intend to move Azhu to another temple? I know you care about Azhu, but you should at least have told us beforehand."
Upon hearing this, Ah Lang finally couldn't help but sneer. He was too lazy to say anything more to Hu Datian, and instead turned to Hu Dali and said coldly, "You'd better tell me, otherwise, if anything happens to my sister, I will never let you off the hook."
Hu Dali saw that although the boy was talking, his eyes were full of ferocity. He immediately remembered when Ah Lang was ten years old and they went to the mountain to collect firewood. They encountered an adult wolf. He had always been a coward and didn't care about Ah Lang at all. He was so scared that his legs went weak and he ran away. Later, he led people to the mountain to collect Ah Lang's body. Who would have thought that this boy was not only smart, but also incredibly brave. He actually took a wood-chopping knife and used a pile of bushes to kill the adult wolf all by himself.
I remember when they went up there, the child had been bitten by wolves in several places, and he had lost a lot of flesh. But he didn't cry or frown. He was covered in blood and thought the wolf wasn't quite dead yet. He was still coldly and fiercely hacking at the wolf.
The scene made Hu Dali's legs go weaker than if he had seen a wolf.
"I...I'll tell you!" Hu Dali was terrified and, disregarding Liu Shi, quickly confessed: "Your second aunt said this morning that she was afraid Azhu would run away and harm Afu again, so she wanted to find a master for her...I didn't expect her to actually go and get the bone urn. I really don't know anything else. She went there by herself."
Upon hearing this, Ayu burst into tears: "Sister!"
Hu Datian couldn't believe it, and his face finally darkened: "Hasn't Azhu already been taken in? Why is your sister-in-law treating her like this?!"
Upon hearing this, Wei Yin, who had previously harbored doubts but had not been certain, now understood completely. He looked at Hu Datian and said, "Uncle Hu, your brother and his wife are acting so guilty and ruthless. Was it not just you who caused Azhu to be married off to the River God to pray for rain? Was it also related to your brother and his wife?"
Hu Datian turned around in surprise, his face showing a look of utter astonishment.
A glimpse of the truth has finally surfaced.
On the other side, Ayu's face was full of sorrow. Hu Dali, feeling guilty and nervous, quickly lowered his pockmarked face. A Lang, who was standing coldly behind Hu Datian, sneered. He looked up at his father Hu Datian and his second uncle Hu Dali, his cold little face full of mockery.
“Madam, you are right. Let me tell you.”
He took a step and walked up to his father.
He was only twelve years old, much shorter and thinner than his father, but this boy was exceptionally resolute and composed.
"This year's drought is worse than ever before. There were signs of it since the beginning of spring, and it got to its worst point. In some villages, people have already starved and died of thirst. There are four children in my family, plus my father, that makes five people. My father is willing to work hard, and we all help him with chores. Although there are many people, we can manage to get by in such a drought. But my father can't bear to see my second uncle's family suffer, so he wants to help them. My second uncle and aunt don't even bother to weed their own fields, they're always thinking about how well other people's crops are growing." Ah Lang sneered and continued, "It was fine that they helped us, my sister and I got used to it. But one day, my father came back from the River God Temple and said that a wealthy family offered money for my sister to marry the River God to pray for rain. My sister felt sorry for us going hungry every day and couldn't bear it, so she agreed... But after my sister died! Ah Yu and I discovered that my father and the others had deceived her!"
Hu Datian's body trembled.
Ah Lang continued, "Actually, it was because Ah Fu was sick and urgently needed money for treatment. So, my second uncle and aunt persuaded my father to marry my sister off to the River God in exchange for silver. My father couldn't resist their pleading and ridiculously agreed..."
As Ah Lang finished speaking, Hu Datian suddenly raised his bloodshot eyes and hurriedly explained, "That's not it, that's not it! I didn't lie to Ah Zhu! Back then, even though Ah Fu wasn't sick, we were about to run out of food. At that time, I really had no other choice. Ah Zhu married the River God; how many taels of silver would we get? Otherwise, not to mention Ah Fu, none of us would survive! How could I, as her father, not feel heartbroken seeing Ah Zhu like this?! How could I not feel pain?! If I could, I would rather take Ah Zhu's place myself! Ah Lang, you little brat, what do you know! What do you know at all!"
Ah Lang laughed, a cold laugh. He abandoned his usual composure and could no longer suppress his temper, roaring at Hu Datian.
"If you hadn't insisted on giving all your grain to your second uncle's family, how could our family have survived?"
Hu Datian felt a sharp pain in his face and was speechless. He tightened his dark brown face, his lips cracked and bleeding from the agitation, but he was oblivious to it. Suddenly, as if struck by a sudden thought, Hu Datian finally found something to say and questioned A Lang in a similarly stern voice: "What kind of heartless words are these?! What are you saying?! Are they outsiders, not your own uncles and aunts? Are you going to watch your uncles and aunts starve to death?! You bastard!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a crisp slap landed on Ah Lang's face.
The group of people froze on the spot.
Hu Datian was so angry that his chest heaved violently.
"Second Brother!"
After a moment of stunned silence, Ayu burst into tears. She rushed forward, pushed Hu Datian away, and pulled her brother up.
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