When the doctor arrived, he crouched on the ground to check the pulse, his brows furrowed so tightly they could have crushed a fly.
Mrs. Wan had fainted, truly fainted—excessive blood loss combined with a weak constitution.
The doctor sighed, bluntly stating that it took years of not eating enough, not sleeping well, and working day and night without rest to ruin one’s body to such a broken state.
The crowd’s gaze toward Old Man Hua and Mrs. Li immediately grew meaningful.
Old Man Hua’s face flushed to the color of a purple walnut, feeling utterly humiliated.
Mrs. Li wanted to curse, but thinking of Hua Changfang’s yet-to-be-arranged marriage, she managed to hold back.
Hua Yun signaled to Hua Lei, who then asked the doctor question by question. The doctor clearly explained Mrs. Wan’s condition one point at a time: she needed good food and drink, to avoid any heavy labor, and it would take three to five years of rest to recover somewhat. If things continued as they were, in less than seven or eight years, she might as well be buried directly.
The children stared at Old Man Hua and Mrs. Li as if they had been poisoned.
Mrs. Li pressed her lips tightly together, saying nothing.
The doctor prescribed medicine on the spot, taking pity on the eldest branch of the family by adding several beneficial herbs and increasing the dosage. After finishing, he simply looked at Old Man Hua—time to pay up.
"Uncle, who will cover the consultation fee? Who will pay for the medicine?"
With the villagers watching, Old Man Hua had no choice but to signal Mrs. Li to hand over the money.
Mrs. Li felt as if her flesh were being cut, her face stiff as she tossed out two taels of silver. Her resentful expression made it seem as if the doctor had dug up her ancestral grave.
The doctor, angered by this, deliberately said, "Uncle, the medicine I prescribed is cheap and not worth much—it’s just to stop the bleeding and heal the wound. With such a large gash, she’ll need to take it for a while longer. If you want your eldest daughter-in-law to survive, she’ll need red dates, goji berries stewed with meat, old hen soup, and a steady supply of eggs and bones. We’re just offering advice. Whether you want your eldest daughter-in-law to live or not is up to you."
Old Man Hua felt like vomiting blood, but he knew it was Mrs. Li’s behavior that had provoked the doctor. One must never offend a doctor, so he had to send him off with polite words. He shot a glare at Mrs. Li afterward.
"Alright, the injury has been treated, and the money has been paid. Everyone, go back now."
Hua Lei, following Hua Yun’s cue, stepped forward again: "Grandfather, you heard what the doctor said. Please have some pity—my younger siblings are all small, and we can’t lose our mother. At least give us some food to help her recover."
Old Man Hua angrily replied, "We’ll discuss this at home."
Hua Lei, taking advantage of the crowd’s presence, spoke plainly: "Grandmother told us days ago to fend for ourselves. No grain, no vegetables, no money—are we supposed to live on air? The handful of mixed grains we’ve been eating these past few days were borrowed, and we’ve been surviving on wild vegetables with no salt or oil. How is she supposed to recover?"
"What a precious person! It’s just a head wound with some bleeding—costing a full two taels of silver. Does she think she’s a young lady from a wealthy family? And now she needs to recover? What does a country woman need to recover for? Just lie down in the room for a while and she’ll be fine. Stop making a fuss, all of you ingrates with no respect for your elders…" Mrs. Li could hardly contain herself.
Hua Lei sneered, "What you eat is grown by my father and cooked by my mother. What you wear is washed by my mother. The front yard and backyard are tidied by my mother. The vegetables are planted by my mother, the pigs are fed by my mother, and the chickens were hatched by my mother this spring. Grandmother told us to fend for ourselves. Grandfather, tell me, would it be wrong for us to pick some vegetables, stew a chicken, or slaughter a pig?"
Old Man Hua felt choked up. What could he say? Did these onlookers who loved drama have nothing better to do at home? What was so interesting to see? If no one were watching, how would he deal with this wretched child?
In the end, Old Man Hua, still concerned about his reputation, promised one chicken, twenty eggs, free access to the vegetable garden, and a bag of grain before Hua Lei finally stopped talking.
Carrying Mrs. Wan on his back, just before entering the door, Hua Lei added, "My mother is seriously injured and won’t be able to work for at least three months. Grandmother, you’ll have to manage your own meals." Seeing Mrs. Li about to lose her temper, he sneered, "I’ve rarely seen any of my aunts step into the kitchen. Don’t you want to enjoy the benefits of their service?" As he passed by, he whispered in her ear, "I accidentally overheard someone say: 'Thank goodness there’s that foolish sister-in-law, otherwise who’d be willing to serve that old hag?'"
Mrs. Li narrowed her eyes. "You’re lying."
Hua Lei tugged at his cheek. "Grandmother, I’d dare swear on my family’s lives."
"Who said it?"
"As a junior, it’s not my place to say. But it was one person saying it to another."
Hua Lei and the others walked away, heads held high as if they had won a battle.
As soon as the gate closed, Mrs. Zhang tugged at Mrs. Li’s sleeve with a pitiful expression. "Mother—"
Instead of the expected comfort, Mrs. Li shook her off and glared at her.
Mrs. Zhang felt a chill. "Mother, what’s wrong? Didn’t I take the blame?"
Mrs. Li thought to herself: Mrs. Zhang is reckless and thoughtless—she probably wouldn’t gossip behind her back, but she is lazy and loves to eat. She then turned her gaze to Mrs. Liang. This daughter-in-law seemed gentle, but she was cunning—it could be her. Next was Mrs. Wang, who followed behind. This woman was not simple—Changyao had disobeyed her several times after being influenced by her. Then she looked at Mrs. Fang, feeling even more suspicious. Mrs. Fang was the daughter of her youngest son’s teacher, always cold and aloof, acting superior. Compared to the others, she was definitely the least willing to do household chores, afraid of ruining her delicate young lady’s hands. Out of consideration for her youngest son, Mrs. Li had never ordered her around. Could it be her? And who was the other one?
The four women were scrutinized back and forth until they got goosebumps.
"Mother, what’s wrong?"
"My eldest daughter-in-law won’t be able to work for the next few days. You four will take turns cooking and washing clothes. That’s settled."
Mrs. Li made the decision. At this critical moment, she couldn’t order Mrs. Wan around, so it was a good opportunity to observe the hidden thoughts of these daughters-in-law.
She turned and went inside, leaving the four daughters-in-law with bitter expressions.
Mrs. Fang spoke softly, "Since Mother has spoken, I think we should arrange it by seniority. How about one person per day?"
Unable to avoid it, Mrs. Liang and Mrs. Wang nodded. "Then we’ll trouble Second Sister-in-law for today."
Mrs. Zhang reluctantly agreed. Fortunately, it was only one day per person. Before her next turn, she would definitely have to call Mrs. Wan back. The others wouldn’t be able to escape either.
Hua Changnian had been doing odd jobs in a neighboring village. When he heard the commotion and learned that his wife had been knocked unconscious by his family, he excused himself from his employer and ran home frantically, entering through the back door.
As soon as he entered the room, he saw Mrs. Wan lying pale on the kang, her head tightly wrapped in several layers of cloth, with blood seeping through the outermost layer. His heart sank. Was his wife alright? Then he glanced at Hua Yun sitting nearby, her head also wrapped in a blood-stained bandage, and his heart sank even further.
At that time, Hua Lei had gone to fetch medicine and hadn’t returned yet. Hua Yu had taken Hua Bing to wash the chipped medicine pot by the river, leaving only Hua Yun watching over Mrs. Wan.
Hua Changnian’s gaze was so sorrowful that Hua Yun felt a twinge of pity and said, "Mother is fine. Brother went to get medicine."
Hua Changnian did not feel happy; instead, he felt even more desolate. As a man of five feet, he couldn’t even protect his own wife and children—how shameful! Looking at Hua Yun, his once-foolish daughter, who didn’t seem to feel pain when she was hit and didn’t show fear when her mother was struck, even this most oblivious eldest daughter knew he couldn’t protect them. Had she long grown accustomed to such days and long given up hope in him?
Hua Yun couldn’t see the turmoil in his heart. Did it hurt when she was hit? Probably, but how could it compare to being bitten by a Mutant Beast and losing a chunk of flesh? That little pain was nothing to her. Would she be afraid when Mrs. Wan was hit? Ridiculous! Who did they think she was? Even if she were torn apart by a Mutant Beast or the Zombie King, she would fight to the death, never cower in fear.
Unfortunately, she didn’t know Hua Changnian’s despair, nor would she ever reveal her origins.
“It’s all my fault. If I had been home watching over you…”
Here we go again. What good would you have been at home anyway?
Hua Yun cut him off: “That person’s grandfather said he’d give our family a chicken, twenty eggs, a bag of grain, and vegetables to eat as we please. They’ll deliver it soon.”
Huh? Hua Changnian was stunned—not because of his father’s generosity, but because his eldest daughter had spoken such a long sentence without stumbling or changing her tone. It seemed she really had recovered.
But—
Was there resentment in this child’s heart? “That person’s grandfather”? What kind of address was that?
Still, she didn’t even call him “Father” yet, so how could she address her grandfather first? Hua Changnian consoled himself with this explanation, inexplicably feeling relieved.
Only then did he react: “Did your grandfather really agree?”
Hua Yun lowered her eyes, a flash of killing intent passing through them. It probably wouldn’t be that easy. Should she just kill him?
Forgive someone from the Post-apocalyptic Era—making a person disappear forever behind the scenes was all too simple.
Hua Yu returned holding Hua Bing’s hand, carrying a medicine pot in her arms, and grumbled: “I’ll go out and cry again if they dare.”
“Cry? Cry about what?” Hua Changnian, unaware of the commotion his children had caused, was bewildered. Would crying help?
Hua Yu proudly recounted everything, making Hua Changnian’s face cycle through shades of green, red, and purple.
“Nonsense. How could you act like that in front of outsiders?”
Hua Yun narrowed her eyes.
“You’re just a child. If word gets out and ruins your reputation, how will you ever marry?”
Hua Yun opened her eyes slightly and retorted: “Let’s survive first before worrying about marriage.”
Hua Yu chimed in: “Exactly. Should we just watch Mother be bullied to death?”
Hua Changnian fell silent. He glanced at Hua Yun and quickly lowered his head, looking like a bullied little wife.
Hua Yun felt a headache coming on and reflected inwardly: she needed to change the way she spoke. She couldn’t keep using that squad leader’s forceful tone all the time.
Unbeknownst to her, little Hua Bing watched her with a churning heart. Seeing how impressive his eldest sister had become after recovering—with just one sentence, she made Father fall silent. And Mother too—with just two words from Eldest Sister, she obediently complied. He wanted to learn from Eldest Sister and become someone formidable too.
Hua Changnian couldn’t argue with his second daughter, didn’t dare look at his eldest, and couldn’t scold his young son for being too little. He simply trudged over to Mrs. Wan and whispered: “Mother, Mother, how are you feeling?”
How was she? Still unconscious.
Hua Yu repeated the doctor’s words, and Hua Changnian tugged at his hair in worry again.
Hua Lei ran back, his arms full of medicine: “The doctor said he specifically prescribed a month’s worth of medicine. It’ll not only treat the injuries but also help regulate the body.”
Hua Changnian's face was full of worry. He took the medicine and asked about the brewing method, then insisted on preparing it himself.
Hua Lei fumed angrily, "Mom serves them food and drink every day, yet they still bully her like this. Let's stop cooking for them from now on."
Hua Changnian hesitated before speaking, "That wouldn't be right. We're all one family. Your mother and I are their son and daughter-in-law…"
Hua Lei stomped his foot, "Do you have to wait until my mother dies before you see them for who they are?"
"You child, after all, they are your grandparents, your blood relatives—"
With a single sharp glance from Hua Yun, Hua Changnian immediately fell silent, shrinking his neck as he went to brew the medicine. He muttered to himself, why was he so afraid of his eldest daughter? It shouldn't be this way.
Hua Bing watched this scene with another surge of admiration, determined to learn from her eldest sister!