Even a child like Xiao Fubao could understand why his mother did what Kong Guihua did, since Kong Guihua was currently weak and needed to replenish her body.
Xu Zhiyin suppressed his resentment, knowing that once his third brother's wife left, he would eventually find his mother and ask her what had really happened.
Meanwhile, Zhang Xiao, who had just arrived at Lao Xu's house, was very uncomfortable. She had never seen such a dark stove before.
Is food cooked in such a pot and on such a stove really safe to eat? Holding her child, she couldn't hide the disgust in her eyes.
Xiao Hua was busy running around, both tending the fire and cooking, which made Zhang Xiao's heart ache.
"Zhitie, how can your family let a young girl do these things? Aren't you afraid of her getting burned?"
Xu Zhitie paused for a moment, then said, "It's alright. Xiaohua is used to doing things at home; she's very capable."
"Xiaoxiao, there are a lot of things to do at home. Why don't you take the child and sit in my room for a while?"
Zhang Xiao pursed her lips, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "How about I cook for her?"
"It's okay, Xiaoxiao. I can't bear to see you do those things. When you get home, just take good care of yourself. I'll come see you later, okay? Be good."
Xu Zhitie kissed Zhang Xiao on the forehead.
Zhang Xiao took a half step back and scolded, "What are you doing? There are children here!"
This interruption made Zhang Xiao give up on helping, and she went back to Xu Zhitie's room, where Xu Zhitie thoughtfully closed the door for her.
Everyone has been back for a short while, but the old lady is still in her room.
Xu Zhitie felt his heart bleed as he thought about the two hundred yuan he had spent on his elder brother's medical treatment. He knocked on the old lady's door and said, "Mom, I'm coming in. I need to talk to you."
The old lady responded from inside, and Xu Zhitie pushed the door open.
"Mom, what are you doing here? The house is very busy, and Xiaohua is cooking all by herself. She just burned her hand."
The old lady sat by the bed and spat dismissively, "A little brat, she got burned because she's clumsy, who can she blame?"
"I started cooking for the whole family when I was five years old. Was she some kind of precious person?"
Seeing that the old lady was a bit short-tempered, Xu Zhitie took two steps closer and said in a reproachful tone, "Mother, Zhang Xiao is here. Don't say these things in front of her."
"Where's the new mattress at home? Find it and put it on her. She's from the city, so she probably won't be used to sleeping on our rural earthen bed."
The old lady perked up as soon as she heard Zhang Xiao's name. "Why is she here?"
Xu Zhitie sighed helplessly, "Who knows? She came all this way with her child. Who at home can spare the time to take care of her? Isn't this just asking for trouble?"
The old lady stopped him, saying, "You brat, you can't say that. If you want a city household registration, you'll have to rely entirely on your father-in-law. Your wife is precious, but she won't be staying for more than a few days anyway."
As the old lady spoke, she rummaged through the cabinet to find the brand-new bed sheets and duvet cover. "These were made from new fabric bought last year. They were all envious, but I only gave them to you."
Xu Zhitie took it without hesitation, saying, "I know my mother loves me the most, so I will definitely take good care of her."
The old lady had a hint of joy on her face. She was most proud of two things in her life: one was her son, the third son, who was not only good at reading and writing but also married a woman from the city.
The other one, of course, is Xiao Fubao. A few years ago, with Xiao Fubao around, the family was like they had great luck, meeting helpful people everywhere. The wife of the section chief in the city especially liked her and even wanted to adopt her as her goddaughter.
But ever since returning to Xujia Village, Xiao Fubao's good fortune seems to have encountered some kind of nemesis.
Little Fu Bao is especially clever when he wants to eat; all the good things will automatically jump into his arms without them having to lift a finger.
But then, one by one, people in my family had accidents.
First she broke her ribs and was bedridden for over a month, then her eldest son suffered a head injury, and then her second son's wife went into premature labor...
One thing after another, when you look at them all together, isn't this just a sign that the Xu family has run into bad luck?
The old lady sensed something was wrong, so she called Xiao Fubao in.
Little Fu Bao was still a fair-skinned and chubby little dumpling. She stood a meter away from the old lady, somewhat hesitant to approach.
The old lady squinted her eyes and smiled, "Little Fu Bao, what's wrong? Come here to Grandma."
She patted the spot beside the bed, and Xiao Fubao hesitated for two seconds before slowly walking over and whispering, "Grandma."
The old lady knew that this was because she had scolded Kong Guihua before, and Kong Guihua was so angry that she miscarried and bled all over the place. Xiao Fubao saw it at the time, and the child was probably terrified.
The old lady stretched out her wrinkled hand and held Xiao Fubao's hand. "Grandma's little Fubao, why are you unhappy?"
Little Fu Bao frowned, his little face serious. "Grandma, why won't you give my mom money to buy eggs?"
"Oh dear, little Fu Bao, you've really hurt Grandma's feelings. Grandma needs money to buy this for your mother."
“Look at your uncle, he has such a big hole in his head, he almost lost his life. All the money Grandma saved went to his medical treatment. Forget about buying eggs for your mother, we can barely afford to eat at home…”
Little Fu Bao was innocent; seeing how serious the old lady was talking about it, tears welled up in her eyes. "Uncle, is he alright?"
The old lady looked heartbroken. "The doctor at the clinic said it's probably a bad omen... Little Fu Bao, can you bear to see your brother Xiao Gang and sister Xiao Hua without a father?"
Little Fu Bao blinked, a little flustered, "Of course, of course I don't want that! I want Uncle to be well!"
"I want my uncle to get better soon. If he gets better soon, everyone won't be in so much pain, Grandma won't scold my mother, and my younger brother won't be born so early..."
Little Fu Bao's voice trembled with tears as she spoke, her big eyes filled with glistening tears.
"Little Fu Bao, you are such a sensible and good child." The old lady patted Little Fu Bao's head affectionately.
"Fu Bao, tell Grandma, can you still turn into golden pearls?"
Fu Bao paused in her crying, and a heavy piece of gold appeared in her palm.
Changting's brother had advised her not to tell her family about her abilities, but her grandmother already knew, and she probably wouldn't harm her.
The old woman looked at the gold that had appeared out of nowhere, a greedy look flashing across her face. "Good child, come, give it to Grandma. Grandma will exchange the gold for money another day."
Gold is currently priced at five yuan per gram. This large piece of gold should weigh over thirty grams, which would be equivalent to one hundred and fifty yuan in RMB.
The money came too easily. If it weren't for the fear of arousing suspicion, the old lady would wish to have Xiao Fubao conjure up gold every day.
For the sake of the gold, the old lady became kind and gentle to the second family, saying, "Xiaohua, take a few sweet potatoes and go to the neighbor's house to exchange them for some eggs to cook for your second aunt."
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