She knew her second son and his wife were inside; they had returned a little earlier than them. She had just heard children talking inside their house.
There was a huge commotion outside, but they seemed to be stuck inside; they hadn't even come out of the house.
One or two of them are like that, and the third one is an idiot.
Li was in despair.
"Don't even think about it. Maybe we're just not destined to get rich; we'll miss out on everything."
Zhao Dayong slumped onto the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), his hands covering his head, a muffled voice leaking from between his fingers, "What...what have I been striving for in this life?"
He was quite good when he was young. Compared to others in the village or even the third son, he was really no worse off than his eldest brother.
He had three sons with their own savings, and the family was well-off. His parents took care of everything, so he only needed to think about himself.
later……
One wrong step leads to another.
He shouldn't have let his children go to school back then, because the three brothers lost their family ties and ruined his youngest son's life.
Li sat down next to him and said, "Try to think positively. We'll divide the money after everyone has rested. Maybe we can even get a share."
Zhao Dayong shook his head, his eyes bloodshot. "We won't get a share. Do you know how much money was spent on Mother's funeral? Her coffin alone cost several tens of taels of silver."
The third son wanted to save face and show others that he was filial, so he did everything the best he could.
"If he wants to hold a proper event, he can't expect us to spend money along with him, can he?"
"No, Mother said that it would be counted after her private funeral, which means the funeral expenses were included. The third son wouldn't let us make up for it, but he didn't give us any money either."
"The house, the land, and all sorts of other things—Grandma had quite a lot of stuff. Oh, and a few servants too; we all chipped in to buy it back then."
“Dad, you must fight for it then. I think the eldest brother will fight for it too. No one in the village will hold such a grand and respectable funeral. The third brother has to pay for it if he wants to save face. We’ll divide up what Mother has.”
Zhao Dayong irritably ran his fingers through his hair. "Don't forget we still owe Mom money. That bastard hasn't paid back the silver bracelet he stole. Mom mentioned it to everyone the other day. Do you think they'll forget?"
Li was at a loss for words; she couldn't find any reason to evade the matter and refused to give the money.
That mother-in-law is a real jerk; she keeps asking them for money.
"What's the point of arguing? We already had everything."
Zhao Dayong was filled with resentment. Couldn't his mother forgive him just once more? Just once, that would have been enough. Just like she said, he had suffered the most. Among the three brothers, he was the poorest and most miserable, as were his sons.
Li remained silent; there was no solution to this matter. This hurdle would be difficult for her to overcome in her lifetime.
My mother-in-law is ruthless; she didn't forget to make a mess of their house before she left. She gave them hope, then took it all away with her own hands.
Was she doing it on purpose?
Zhao Dayong lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), thinking he would fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, but now he couldn't sleep.
Li was just as distressed.
"Go to sleep. Let's rest well for the next couple of days. Leave all the household chores to the second son and his wife. It's time for them to step up."
"Okay, let them cook dinner. They've been working all year, so let's have a ready-made meal tonight."
"Okay, when Guo comes back in the future, don't do any work, leave everything to her."
You can't just ignore the second son without giving him a talking-to; he thinks he's all grown up and can take you for granted.
It's necessary to put the Guo family to shame!
What they didn't expect was that when Li woke up, her second son and his family had already run away to the county town without even saying goodbye.
There's no readily available food, and no one to rely on but to do it all yourself.
Zhao Dayong fell ill.
It wasn't an act; he was genuinely ill and couldn't get out of bed.
This terrified Li, who hurriedly ran to Zhao Dashu's house to find a doctor.
"Third brother, third brother, your second brother... he's been delirious and talking nonsense. You need to get a doctor to take a look."
She and Zhao Dayong had become each other's only one; neither could live without the other.
Zhao Dashu had been saying for two days, and he hadn't seen his second brother come to reconcile accounts. He thought they were too afraid to come, but it turned out he had fallen ill.
He didn't go over; he only let the doctor go.
My second brother is actually very capable. Don't let his old age, thinness, and sickly appearance fool you; he's incredibly resilient.
He must have been really shocked to collapse this time, otherwise he could have lasted for many more years.
Like her mother!
When the doctor arrived, he noticed that Zhao Dayong's face was abnormally pale.
How long have you been unconscious?
"It started yesterday. I thought he was just tired and that I would be fine after sleeping more. Who knew that he would fall into a coma today and talk nonsense."
The doctor examined the person's eyelids, took their pulse, and finally managed to wake them up after a long time of needling.
"The patient is not feeling well."
It's not just bad, it's extremely bad.
The chronic illnesses that had been lingering for years were ignored, and they became more and more serious as the person got older, resulting in a decline in health.
Besides being tired, it's also because of excessive thinking and constant worry.
One must be open-minded about everything; otherwise, one will easily get stuck in a rut, harming both oneself and others.
"Doctor, will he get better?"
"Just rest and recover. It's nothing serious for now, but you're not young anymore, so it's better to be careful. This illness probably won't heal in a month or two, so don't go out in the wind."
"I know, I know."
The doctor prescribed medicine and told Li to go to the county town to get it.
"I don't have any medicine here. You'll have to go to the pharmacy and get it yourselves. Boil three bowls of water down to one bowl, and take it once in the morning and once in the evening. One dose should be decocted twice, which is just enough for one day. Get ten doses first."
Holding the prescription, Mrs. Li hesitated and asked, "Is the medicine expensive?"
It's not that she's stingy; her two sons aren't married yet, and she can't afford the expenses.
Sigh, the doctor couldn't help but feel sorry for Master Zhao, who was so wealthy and powerful, compared to the state of his second brother's family.
"It costs about 120 coins per dose of medicine."
Li gasped. That meant a little over an ounce of silver was gone?!
Dazhu remained silent, not understanding why his father was acting this way, and why he had to get sick when the family was so poor.
If he hadn't paid any attention to Sanzhuzi that day and hadn't argued with him, he wouldn't have gotten sick at all.
Yes, he was convinced that his father's illness was caused by anger.
Wouldn't it be better to live with him?
Why always have to control the third child?
Are you sick in the head?
After waking up, Zhao Dayong remained silent, lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) seemingly lost in thought.
Seeing their reaction, the doctor didn't say anything more. "I'll go back now and come back tomorrow. He needs at least seven more days of acupuncture."
"Thank you, doctor. You've worked hard today. Let me see you off."
Li treated him with exceptional politeness. Doctors are the last people you should offend; they are very petty. The doctor in the county town was like that before, and he still holds a grudge against him.
"I advise your old man to stop thinking about things unnecessarily. He's getting on in years and his health can't take it anymore. His children and grandchildren will have their own blessings!"
"Hey!"
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