Upon hearing this, Liu Weisong breathed a sigh of relief, nodded, and then looked at Liu Shiping. "Shiping, why did you take the herbal medicine bag from your second brother? Why don't you tell him?"
He knew that his son had always been a bit mischievous and spoiled by his wife, to the point of being unruly. He wanted to discipline him, but since his son was sweet-talking and hadn't caused any major trouble, he turned a blind eye.
However, this almost resulted in a death!
"Why are you being so fierce? Shih-hua is fine, isn't he?" Zhang Su-mei didn't know what to say at first, but when she saw her husband getting angry at their son, Fu-xing, she immediately stood up for him.
She rolled her eyes as she spoke, then glanced at the brat sitting there and said irritably, "Shihua, you're alright, why are you making such a scary statement?"
Look how scared you've made your little brother! He's too scared to say a word. He's just a child and doesn't know any better. He didn't mean it. Why are you being so petty?
Liu Shiping was very obedient; as soon as she heard her mother say that, she immediately started crying loudly, looking as if she had really been frightened.
Liu Weisong's head was throbbing from the child's crying. He had wanted to say something, but the crying made him unable to continue, and he could only let his wife comfort the child.
Liu Shile lowered her head and ate her meal. Seeing this, she was somewhat disappointed. It was all bark and no bite. She should have punished the kid severely, but now it seemed impossible.
That's true. With such a protective mother, it's not easy to punish Liu Shiping. Since that's the case, let's just let him have a good scare. Didn't he say he was scared?
As she pondered this, her eating speed remained unchanged, steady as ever, as if everything in front of her had nothing to do with her.
The man gave in, and Zhang Sumei felt smug. She then gently coaxed her lucky son and promised to give him two milk candies after dinner. Only then did Liu Shiping stop crying.
He's quite perceptive; he knows when he can cry a little longer and harder, and when he should know when to stop.
As he wiped away his tears, he peeked through his fingers at his second brother and gave him a provocative look. His smugness made Liu Shihua's forehead veins bulge.
But with his parents there, he couldn't possibly go past them to discipline his younger brother, so he could only turn a blind eye and never mention it again.
In the days that followed, the well-drilling team came to the Liu family to drill a well and learned that the cooperative had fresh milk. This news spread and the whole town was swept up in a fresh milk craze.
Anyone who is even slightly better off wants to order fresh milk for their child, since it's said to be the most nutritious food, and who doesn't want their child to be healthy?
So, the cooperative added another job: delivery. Although it was temporary, being able to do temporary work was not bad these days.
During this period, Liu Shihua and her siblings and Wang Shihua and her siblings continued to go up the mountain to chop firewood every day, and their daily meals were quite good. That's why they say people who live by the mountain eat from it.
After a heavy rain, they also picked a lot of mountain produce, such as wood ear fungus and edible mushrooms like shiitake, which they dried while the weather was good.
Liu Shile also took this opportunity to donate a lot to her various farms, and some were even planted directly, which greatly enriched the resources of her farms.
Time flies, and these leisurely days didn't last long before they had to go to school in the county. So these past few days, Zhang Sumei has been giving them the cold shoulder.
As the start of the new semester approached, Zhang Sumei's expression grew increasingly grim. The thought of the tuition and living expenses they had to pay each year, and the fact that they couldn't even work for their family, filled her with resentment.
But it was only she who was unhappy; the other family members were in a pretty good mood. After all, although the family was missing two of her parents, Liu Shixi had a good job, didn't she?
The job doesn't require much work time each day, and the rest of the time can be used to take care of the family, so Zhang Sumei really has nothing to say.
"Dad, Mom, we're going to the county to report for duty tomorrow. You two need to take good care of yourselves at home. If there's any heavy work, save it for us to do when we come back on the weekend."
The night before school started, Liu Shihua began to say some parting words, as if they were going to be gone for a long time, which made Zhang Sumei's face long.
But Liu Shihua is now less and less afraid of his mother. No matter what kind of face she gives him, he just thinks she's distressed about the money. But he has to go to school, so he can't care about anything else.
Sitting in his wooden wheelchair, Liu Weisong nodded with a relieved smile and said, "You can just focus on your studies at school. We'll take care of things at home, so you don't need to worry."
He was genuinely happy; his energy and spirits were many times better than before, because now he only needed someone to lift him into the wheelchair, and he could move around on his own.
Unlike before, when I could only stay indoors all day, I was afraid to bother my family if I wanted to go out and bask in the sun or see what the outside world was like.
With her father's words, Liu Shihua felt more confident, so she looked at her mother and said with a smile, "Mom, about Lele's tuition..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Sumei angrily interrupted him, "Why are you in such a hurry? Do you think I wouldn't give it to you? Don't you know the family has spent a lot of money recently? You're just rushing us here, are you trying to kill us?!"
The relaxed atmosphere was completely ruined by her words. Before anyone else could speak, Zhang Sumei turned and went back into the house.
Yes, ever since Liu Weisong was able to move around in a wheelchair, he no longer eats in his parents' room, but in the main room.
Zhang Sumei put down her chopsticks, turned around, and left, leaving everyone in the family, except for the carefree Liu Shiping who was still happily eating, in a bad mood, but no one dared to say anything.
As Zhang Sumei walked, she kept counting how much money had been spent on various things around the house. Indeed, there had been many expenses at home recently.
Although she has partnered with the cooperative and now has a stable income, she hasn't received her wages yet, and there's no sign of any dividends.
So, on the surface, the family's finances were in deficit. She was just trying to fool the few children in the family who didn't know the truth.
Liu Shile ate her meal slowly, watching her adoptive mother's performance. If it weren't for the sake of family harmony, she would have exposed her lie on the spot and seen how her expression would change.
Glancing at her father's gloomy expression, she lowered her head. She still had to find a way to cure her father's leg. With an adult man in the house keeping him in check, her cheap mother wouldn't be too arrogant.
Her medical skills are currently all theoretical. To improve her skills, she not only needs to practice, but also needs to listen to her teacher and learn Western medicine, which involves surgery.
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