Leng Yongkang scratched his nose and uttered words that could infuriate anyone without consequence, “Since you’ve had surgery, focus on recovering properly. Don’t lose your temper so easily—getting too angry might tear your stitches.”
Tang Lin snorted coldly. Anger did indeed strain her wounds, so she decided to endure it for a few days for the sake of her health.
Leng Hui finished the last sip of rice porridge from her lunchbox, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and asked, “My mom is injured and hospitalized. Did you go to her factory to ask for leave?”
Right, this was important. Tang Lin turned to look at Leng Yongkang.
His features were fairly regular, but his cheeks were gaunt and hollow, and he stood at less than 1.7 meters tall.
As for his personality, needless to say, he wasn’t her type.
Leng Yongkang had no idea that the mother and daughter had changed inside, let alone Tang Lin’s thoughts. He reassured them, “Don’t worry. I went this afternoon and already got the leave approved. For the next few days, just focus on recovering in the hospital. You don’t need to worry about things at home.”
His words were somewhat reasonable, so Tang Lin snorted but didn’t argue.
Leng Hui asked, “What did Grandma say? Didn’t she demand you make up for the money from today?”
Tang Lin had no memories of the original body and didn’t know how terrible Old Lady Leng could be, but Leng Hui remembered. She knew Old Lady Leng’s uncompromising nature—if her money was taken, she wouldn’t rest until she caused an uproar.
If she wasn’t causing trouble at the hospital, she must have gotten some other compensation.
“Your grandma may be sharp-tongued, but she has a soft heart. Don’t hold it against her. At worst, I’ll pay her back when I get my salary.”
Leng Hui sneered, “If I remember correctly, both Mom’s and your previous wages were handed over to her. Back then, she said that since we’re all family, it didn’t matter who managed the money. So why does it suddenly count separately now that Mom is injured and needs hospitalization? If we’re family, it’s only right that she uses the money to pay for Mom’s treatment. If she’s making you pay her back now, what are you going to use to repay her?”
What could he use to repay her?
Most of his monthly salary had to be handed over.
The little pocket money left had to cover miscellaneous expenses for their family of three. By the end of the month, there was basically nothing left to save.
Leng Yongkang scratched his head, “We’ll cut back on expenses from now on. With the money you earn each month from pasting matchboxes and doing odd jobs, we should be able to grit our teeth and pay it off by the end of the year.”
The mother and daughter in the hospital room were stunned by his nonsense.
Unable to stand up to Old Woman Leng himself, he actually set his sights on his own daughter, Leng Hui, even eyeing the little pocket money she earned. What kind of “fantastic” father was he?
Tang Lin had just had surgery and couldn’t move her body, or else she would have stepped forward and slapped him a few times.
She wanted to ask him: If you’re so useless, how dare you make your daughter help pay your debts?
Moreover, this was sucking their daughter’s blood to support his shrewish, biased widowed mother.
Leng Hui was much more direct. She let out a cold laugh and pointed at the door, “My mom just had surgery and needs to rest properly. Please stop standing here disturbing her and get out now!”
Being ordered to leave by his own daughter displeased Leng Yongkang. “Hey, how dare you speak to your father like that? No respect—”
Leng Hui didn’t want to listen to his lecturing. “Get out!”
The sudden shout startled Leng Yongkang. Realizing he’d been frightened by his own daughter, he grew furious and pointed at Leng Hui, “You… you… you unfilial daughter! I think you’re asking for trouble, I—”
Leng Yongkang raised his hand, ready to strike Leng Hui.
“Try laying a finger on her.”
Tang Lin’s hawk-like cold eyes stared at him icily, as if looking at a dead person—it seemed if his hand moved an inch, she would take his life.
Meeting such a gaze, Leng Yongkang inexplicably shuddered, a chill spreading from within his heart.
Too cowardly to meet her eyes, he turned his head only to encounter Leng Hui’s hostile glare, which made him even more uneasy.
Leng Yongkang fled the ward in disarray, his mind fixated on one thought: both mother and daughter had gone mad.
He was their husband and father—how could they treat him with such an attitude?
An inexplicable panic welled up inside him.
His heart raced violently.
Tang Lin disapprovingly said, “You shouldn’t have confronted him so soon, at least not until I’m discharged from the hospital.”
Leng Hui stood up and closed the ward door.
This was a three-patient room, currently occupied only by the mother and daughter. Tonight, Leng Hui could rest on the adjacent bed, which was quite convenient.
At least more comfortable than living at home.
The Leng family’s third branch, ten people in total, lived together in a single room measuring six meters long and only four meters wide.
The Leng family had partitioned the room into three sections—three rooms, one for each household.
Leng Yongkang, Tang Lin, and Leng Hui—a family of three—lived in the innermost room.
The middle room was occupied by Leng Yongkang’s younger brother, Leng Yongxing, and his family of five.
The room by the entrance served not only as Old Lady Leng’s bedroom but also as the space where the entire family ate and received guests.
One could imagine how cramped the Leng family’s living conditions were.
In truth, it wasn’t just the Leng family facing housing shortages; most ordinary city dwellers also lived in tight spaces.
Leng Hui took off her shoes and leaned against the adjacent hospital bed, glancing at Tang Lin’s pale face and snorting softly:
“I wanted to get along with him too, but that guy is just asking for a beating. He has no sense of responsibility as a husband or father. You’ve just had major surgery, and instead of thinking about getting you some nutritious food to recover, he’s even eyeing my pocket money. How could I possibly be nice to him?”
Tang Lin sighed faintly. Whether it was residual anesthesia in her body or sheer weakness after the surgery, her eyelids grew heavy again as she settled down.
“Let’s sleep for now. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
If only she had supernatural abilities, she could heal herself—at least ease the pain from the incision.
Leng Hui had no objections. Although her injuries weren’t severe today, she had multiple abrasions and a large bump on her head from the fall. Without proper rest, how could she recover?