Yuan Ni smiled and pointed at the old woman on Bed Two, retorting, “If you hadn’t shielded that woman in the green headscarf, I could have saved the child. Who told you to stop me? You were so eager—are you in cahoots with the green-headscarf woman to sell children?”
The old woman on Bed Two slapped her thigh and cried out in grievance, “I didn’t! I didn’t do it! How could I ever sell my precious grandson?”
Yuan Ni slapped her own thigh too. “Then why did you let the criminal get away?”
The refined couple also spoke up in Yuan Ni’s defense. “This girl acted bravely for the sake of justice—she’s the one who stopped our Xiaohu. You must distinguish right from wrong and not wrongfully accuse a good person.”
The couple who had lost their child also knew Yuan Ni bore no responsibility. They had simply wanted to find someone to vent their anger on, never expecting anyone to come to her defense.
Seeing that they couldn’t pin the blame on her, they turned their fury back on the old woman on Bed Two.
“Mom, did you collude with outsiders?”
“I didn’t! If it were a worthless girl, I might have sold her off, but that was our grandson—a boy! How could I bear to part with him?”
This family of three was utterly unreasonable, and they went outside to make a scene.
Chen Wenqi and her husband breathed a sigh of relief and warned Yuan Ni to be careful. “The one who lost the child is Director Jia of the Gongshe. He’s petty-minded—you need to watch out for him.”
Hearing this, Yuan Ni’s Mother panicked again. “Tell me, what are we ordinary folks supposed to do?”
Yuan Ni comforted her. “Mother, don’t overthink it. We’re just farmers—what can they do to us?”
That was true enough. Seeing Yuan Ni’s Mother gradually calm down, Chen Wenqi and her husband took their leave. “We’ll come visit Auntie again another day.”
Only after Chen Wenqi and her husband had left did Yuan Ni’s Mother remember that no one had mentioned soap. “Ni, you helped them for nothing. Those two didn’t give you any thanks at all.”
Yuan Ni didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She had just formed a good connection with someone, and her mother was already reaching out for repayment. Yuan Ni’s Mother’s vision was narrower than a sesame seed.
She didn’t want to say more. “I’ll get you another bowl of noodles.”
It wasn’t until the nurse came in the evening that Yuan Ni learned Chen Wenqi and her husband had paid ten yuan toward the hospitalization fees. If the money wasn’t fully used, the remainder would be refunded directly to Yuan Ni.
That was their cleverness—giving a gift in a way that couldn’t be refused.
Seeing that they had gotten ten yuan for free, Yuan Ni’s Mother finally shut her mouth.
Early the next morning, Chen Wenqi and her husband arrived at the ward again, carrying canned goods and crisp pastries as a formal visit.
Yuan Ni’s Mother’s face was wreathed in smiles. Her mouth said, “You shouldn’t have,” but her hands were anything but hesitant, keeping all the canned goods and pastries.
After they left, Yuan Ni wanted to eat a piece of the pastry, but her mother stopped her. “You get white steamed buns in the hospital—aren’t you afraid you can’t digest it? These pastries are golden and look delicious. Save them for your eldest uncle—your two cousins need proper nourishment.”
The smile on Yuan Ni’s face vanished instantly. If she hadn’t racked her brains, her mother wouldn’t even have been able to be hospitalized for treatment.
She had earned those pastries with her own ability—so why did her mother want to keep them for her uncle’s family?
After this incident, Yuan Ni gained a new understanding of her mother: she was a brother-enabler.
Three days later, the doctor said her mother could be discharged to rest at home and return in a month to have the cast removed.
Her mother then asked Yuan Ni for the remaining money, saying she would keep it safe for her, but Yuan Ni refused outright.
She didn’t believe that money would ever see the light of day again once it entered her mother’s hands.
Given how her mother had guarded those pastries, the moment that money touched her palm, it would end up at her uncle’s house the very next day.
The hospital stay cost eight yuan and nine mao in total. Chen Wenqi and her husband had given ten yuan, and after deducting food and drink expenses, the money earned from selling the Yuan Dynasty silver dollar was barely touched.
Yuan Ni’s mother thought of the soap again and urged Yuan Ni to go to the Gongxiaoshe to find Chen Wenqi. “Go find her—she’ll definitely give you a discount. Maybe, since you saved Huzi’s life, she’ll just give it to you for free.”
Yuan Ni already had plans for the next stage of her life. The connection with Chen Wenqi was of great use and needed to be carefully maintained—it couldn’t be squandered on such trivial matters. “I don’t have money. Give me the money to buy the soap.”
Yuan Ni’s mother had worked like a beast of burden in the Yuan household and hadn’t saved a single cent. Seeing Yuan Ni ask for money, she immediately shut her mouth and said nothing.
The village’s tractor went into town every few days. Once the discharge procedures were completed, Yuan Ni helped her mother to Da Shizi, where the tractor usually parked.
During the days in the hospital, they had bought quite a few things—bowls, chopsticks, shortbread biscuits, canned goods, and the like—all wrapped in newspaper and packed into mesh bags.
Yuan Ni set the things beside her and sat down with her mother.
Before long, the Xiangyang Dadui tractor drove up, and Old Captain was again riding along.
Seeing Yuan Ni and her mother, Old Captain was quite pleased. “So you’ve pulled through and can be discharged now?”
Yuan Ni’s mother nodded. “Thanks to your care, Uncle. We’ve been away from home for several days—have Zhaodie and Pandie been obedient?”
“Put your mind at ease. The two girls have been very well-behaved, vying to do chores at home. You know my family has many mouths to feed—how could we let the girls lift a finger? But…” Old Captain hesitated.
“But what?”
“Old Mrs. Yuan woke up. She insists that Yuan Ni pushed her down and wants Yuan Ni to pay with her life. She also says Yuan Ni stole things from the house.”
“What? Uncle, you know Yuan Ni is the most timid and obedient girl. Besides, on the day of the incident, Yuan Ni wasn’t even at home. How can her grandmother pin this on the child?”
The moment Yuan Ni’s mother thought of her fierce mother-in-law, her face turned pale with fear.
Old Captain quickly comforted the mother and daughter. “We’re not fools. We can’t just believe whatever Old Mrs. Yuan says.”
On the day of the incident, they had all gone to the Yuan house. It was clear that Old Mrs. Yuan had simply fallen by accident due to her own carelessness. Now the old woman was falsely accusing her granddaughter just to make up for her youngest son’s shortcomings.
Ever since eating the white steamed bun Yuan Ni had given him, Old Captain’s heart had leaned toward this poor girl. So when Old Mrs. Yuan started making a fuss, Old Captain suppressed it right away.
Come to think of it, Old Mrs. Yuan was quite wronged—she had finally told the truth for once, and no one believed her?
Yuan Ni silently pondered her next move. If Old Captain was willing to protect her and her mother, then she needed to maintain this relationship even more carefully.
The tractor had come to the Gongshe to pick up chemical fertilizer.
Yuan Ni’s intention was to have her mother ride back with the tractor while she went to buy some daily necessities, and also pick up something for Old Captain’s family.
Yuan Ni’s mother disagreed. “How much money do you have? A good life comes from saving. Give me the money—don’t keep thinking about spending it recklessly.”
The tractor driver hesitated, then finally couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Yuan Ni’s mother, even if you want to live a good life, you need to see whether your sister-in-law is willing to let you.”
“What do you mean?”
Old Captain had gone off to take care of business, and the tractor driver eagerly shared the gossip. It turned out that no sooner had Yuan Ni and her mother left than the wife of the second son of the Yuan family had returned from the Gongshe.
When Yuan the Second’s wife heard that her husband had been sent to the study session, she couldn’t swallow the indignity. Taking her two children with her, she stormed into the storage room and smashed every last bit of the belongings that had been allotted to Yuan Ni’s Mother’s family.
“What? How dare she?” Yuan Ni’s Mother had never been on good terms with this sister-in-law of hers, but she never imagined the woman would be so vicious as to come to her home and smash her things while she was away.
Wasn’t this just kicking a person when they were already down?
If this could be endured, what could not be? Yuan Ni’s Mother wished she could rush back to the village that very moment and fight her sister-in-law to the death.