The old man sitting there watched her walk away, shook his head helplessly, lowered his head and continued to weave the bamboo basket. He could only express sympathy for her situation but was unable to help.
Mother Fu ran straight to the ancient well, but unfortunately Zhang Xiaoqin had moved to another place, so she came back empty-handed again.
Following the directions given by the villagers beside the ancient well, she headed all the way to the south of the village, but she still didn't see any trace of Zhang Xiaoqin until she reached the end.
At this time, Zhang Xiaoqin happened to be fooling around with Niu Wa in bed.
The child's heartbreaking cry reached Zhang Xiaoqin's ears when Fu's mother passed by Niu Wa's residence. She even muttered in disgust, "Whose child is this? He cries like a pig being slaughtered. He's almost as good as that girl Fu Jiaorong."
The speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously. Niu Wa, who was lying on Zhang Xiaoqin, subconsciously stood up and walked to the window to check after hearing what Zhang Xiaoqin said.
Zhang Xiaoqin was a little unhappy. "What are you doing? Why are you looking at something instead of doing your work?"
"Xiaoqin, it seems like she is really our daughter. She is crying so sadly. She must be hungry. Go back and feed her first. We can make an appointment at another time."
"What are you feeding? You heartless people, you only think about that little girl all day long and don't even consider my feelings. She won't die if she's hungry for a few more minutes. Stop dawdling and come here quickly. I'm hungry too! I'll have the energy to feed her after her mother is full."
Zhang Xiaoqin urged Niu Wa and waved to him, asking him to hurry over.
Niu Wa was helpless. He looked at the child crying outside and could only do as Zhang Xiaoqin instructed.
Mother Fu was so anxious that she searched the entire village but couldn't find Zhang Xiaoqin. She was sweating profusely as she tried to comfort the child in her arms while yelling at the top of her lungs, "Xiaoqin, Xiaoqin..."
Niu Wa listened to the crying of the child outside and Fu's mother's repeated calls. He became a little absent-minded and soon surrendered.
"Okay, go quickly. The child will have a stomachache if he cries for too long." Niu Wa quickly climbed down from Zhang Xiaoqin, picked up her clothes and held them in her hands.
"A child again, child, you shouldn't have given birth to her in the first place. Has your soul been seduced away by her again? You're really spoiling my fun by giving me a perfunctory treatment like this."
Zhang Xiaoqin sat there, holding the clothes in her hand, with no intention of putting them on, and muttering to herself.
"There's a lot of time to come! There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. Look, the child's voice is hoarse, don't be angry."
Niu Wa was so anxious that he wanted to help Zhang Xiaoqin put on her clothes himself, but Zhang Xiaoqin pushed him away and said, "Get out!"
She put on her clothes slowly and sneaked out of Niu Wa's house.
Fu's mother happened to turn around to look for him and almost caught him red-handed.
The two looked at each other, and Zhang Xiaoqin felt a little embarrassed.
When Fu's mother saw her, she was completely surprised and quickly walked over to her, "Xiaoqin! Where have you been? I've been looking for you for a long time. Rongniu'er is craving milk and is very hungry. Please feed her quickly!"
"You haven't gone anywhere! Haven't you been wandering here all the time?" Zhang Xiaoqin didn't refuse. She took the child, sat on the washboard by the roadside, lifted up her clothes and started feeding the child.
Mother Fu was so tired that she was sweating profusely and her legs were stiff from running. She took this opportunity to sit down and rest for a while.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead and muttered, "That's strange. I've been looking for you here for several times, but I can't see you."
"Really? I guess it just happened to get sidetracked!"
"Maybe, Xiaoqin! The child hasn't been weaned yet and needs to be fed once or twice a day. You don't have anything important to do anyway, so try to stay home! Ajun is taking care of things outside, and I don't expect you to worry too much about the family affairs. You should at least pay more attention to feeding the child. Every time I carry the child around the village looking for you, others can't say you are well, don't you think?"
"Mother, what do you mean? Are you blaming me for not being a good mother? Or are you blaming me for not being a good daughter-in-law?"
"That's not what I meant. I just want you to pay more attention to the child. It's only a few months, and everything will be fine after the child is weaned. The child is so young, it would be pitiful if he starved."
It was okay for Fu's mother to nag Zhang Xiaoqin behind her back, but she really didn't dare to confront her in person. Not to mention that she couldn't control Zhang Xiaoqin, even Wu Ju was enough to make her suffer. So, she tried to be patient and give in when she could. With Fu Jun not at home, she felt even less confident.
Even though she still had some doubts about the child's background, she still took good care of the poor little guy.
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