Su Ran nodded. "Fou Ling, bring the things up. Su Jia, you wait here for us."
The two nodded in agreement. Su Fuling carried the things and followed. Su Ran walked to his side and said softly, "We'll find a way to get Uncle Li to call Auntie away so I can have a private talk with Da Niu's wife."
Su Fuling nodded, while Su Ran followed leisurely behind.
Old Li walked ahead and said with a smile, "At first, I thought the big boss would be unhappy if I mentioned that Da Niu's wife was in postpartum confinement."
"Why do you say that?" Su Ran asked, following behind Old Li.
Old Li chuckled honestly and rubbed the back of his head. "Isn't there a saying that women who are in postpartum confinement are unlucky? I see a lot of rich people on TV who think that way."
Su Ran didn't answer directly, but instead asked, "So you think it's unlucky for your wife to be in postpartum confinement?"
Old Li shook his head repeatedly upon hearing this, "That's utter nonsense! It's an outdated custom! Who said that women who are in postpartum confinement are unlucky? Women lose half their lives giving birth, so they need to take good care of themselves and have proper postpartum confinement. How can it be said to be unlucky!"
Su Ran smiled and said, "So I don't think that postpartum confinement is an unlucky thing. On the contrary, I think every mother who has given birth should have a proper postpartum confinement, with her family taking good care of her to avoid her weakened body from being infected by external germs."
Old Li nodded. "My wife didn't want to do postpartum confinement after giving birth to Gou Dan. I had to make her do it. One minute she was worried that Gou Dan would go hungry, and the next she was worried that the chickens, ducks and geese we raised weren't being fed. If I told her not to do anything, she would say she felt uncomfortable. I had to persuade her a lot before she finally agreed."
Old Li's eyes were full of happiness when he mentioned his wife. Su Ran smiled. Old Li stopped at the room by the window and knocked on the door, saying, "Wife, I'm bringing the big boss in to see Cuihua. Is that convenient?"
No sooner had Old Li finished speaking than the door opened, and Aunt Li greeted her with a smile, "You've come at the perfect time! Cuihua just woke up, come in quickly."
Su Fuling handed over the things in her hand, and then stood at the door. "Aunt Li, I won't go in yet. I'll wait for you outside."
Old Li also smiled and said, "Go in with the big boss and take a look. These things were bought by the big boss for Cuihua to use during her postpartum period. Quickly take them in for Cuihua."
Aunt Li accepted it with a smile, praising Su Ran, "The big boss is such a good person!"
"A small token of my appreciation."
Aunt Li smiled and led Su Ran inside. As soon as Su Ran entered the room, she saw a thin, bony woman lying on the bed.
Su Ran approached with a frown and sat down on a chair. Aunt Li put down her things as she spoke, "Cuihua, this is the big boss I told you about. Now you've seen him, haven't you? Isn't he beautiful and kind-hearted?"
The woman on the bed glanced at Su Ran once before looking away. Su Ran happened to meet her gaze. The woman's eyes were lifeless, and her face looked somewhat malnourished, with sunken cheeks.
As Aunt Li brought chicken soup to Cuihua, she said, "Cuihua, this big boss is here to help your village. You two can talk about the situation in the village so that the big boss has a better understanding of the situation."
Cuihua took the chicken soup, picked up the spoon, and slowly drank it. Just as her aunt was about to speak, she heard her daughter-in-law's voice outside the door, "Wife, Gou Dan came back covered in dirt. I'll go check on him first."
Aunt Li sat on the edge of the bed and heard her husband's voice, "I know!"
Aunt Li muttered to herself, "That little rascal, who knows where he's off gallivanting again." Then she stood up and said, "Boss and Cuihua, you two sit down first. I'm going to check on Gou Dan. I'll be right back."
After saying that, Aunt Li hurriedly opened the door and left.
Su Ran sat in the chair, only to hear the door slam shut.
My gaze fell on the woman sitting on the bed, who mechanically repeated the action of scooping chicken soup into her mouth with a spoon.
Seeing the woman's condition, Su Ran realized it was unlikely she would speak first, so she said, "I'd like to ask you about the situation in Tongnan Village."
The woman's hands never stopped moving for a moment; she mechanically repeated the actions, seemingly oblivious to the sound, as she drank her soup.
Su Ran wasn't in a hurry. "Do you know about the online foundation application in your village?"
The woman on the bed paused upon hearing this, and sneered, "Someone actually believes that."
"You know the situation."
The woman looked up and gave a soft "heh," she said, "I didn't know there were so many women like you who came to offer financial assistance or teach in rural areas, and what was the final result..."
The woman spoke softer and softer, as if she were talking to herself, and in the end she mechanically continued to drink the chicken soup.
Seeing that she couldn't get the questions she wanted to ask, Su Ran left the room.
As soon as he stepped out of the room, he saw Aunt Li coming over. "Big Boss, what brings you out?"
"She didn't seem to be feeling well, so we came out."
Aunt Li didn't say anything, but called out to the big boss to go downstairs and sit down.
As soon as I got downstairs, Su Fuling was already sitting on the sofa.
Where's Old Li?
Su Fuling pointed towards the kitchen, and Su Jia handed her a glass of water.
Su Ran took it and sipped it lightly.
"Say hello to Lao Li and head back to the guesthouse. We'll come back if Da Niu arrives."
Upon hearing this, Su Fuling immediately got up to communicate, and soon Old Li rushed over in a hurry, "Is the big boss going back to the guesthouse? I'll pack up and leave right away."
"You stay home for now, on paid leave. We'll come back tomorrow to show you the way. We'll remember the way back to the guesthouse."
Old Li rubbed his hands together sheepishly, bowed deeply, and said, "Thank you, boss, thank you, boss."
Su Ran smiled and waved her hand, then left the Li family with Fu Ling and Su Jia.
...
B&B.
"Miss, how was your chat with Da Niu's wife upstairs? What's the situation in Tongnan Village?"
Su Ran leaned back in her bamboo chair and frowned as she said, "She's very thin, unlike what Aunt Li said. Tongnan Village is richer than Guihua Village, but if she was abused, her situation makes sense."
"She also has obvious injuries on her body. There are several scars on her exposed arms, some of which have healed and turned light pink. Her wrists look like they have been tied up, and the marks are quite obvious. She is also in poor mental condition, as if she has lost interest in life."
“She mentioned the funding, so she and everyone in the village probably knew that a boss was coming to inspect the village, but we didn’t tell anyone when we were coming. So it’s possible that we were exposed at the guesthouse.”
“That night, a stranger knocked on the door during a downpour. Su Jia came upstairs before leaving. It’s very likely that they were testing whether I was the big boss, or they might have had other plans that night to avoid being discovered and were just testing the door.”
"Finally, she mentioned the final results of the funding and teaching support. I didn't hear the rest of what she said, but I know the results weren't good. So this investment probably wasn't their first time doing this. Either the people who came encountered some misfortune, or the money wasn't deposited into the village."
Su Ran frowned. "Looking at it this way, everything about this village is strange."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
