When Li Xiufang saw her child spit blood, she completely panicked. Not only Li Xiufang—Gu Chuan, Gu Jianguo, and even the onlooking villagers were all thrown into a panic. The child had vomited blood—this was serious. This was all caused by Gu Li. Forget compensation—if anything happened to Gu Rou, Gu Li would have to pay with her life!
Seeing Gu Rou in this state, everyone hurriedly sent her to the hospital. Before leaving, the look Li Xiufang gave Gu Jiandang was like she wanted to kill him, making Gu Jiandang, Zhang Cuihua, and the others feel a chill down their spines.
Battered and bruised, Zhang Cuihua and her family stood helplessly at their doorway, with a few villagers still lingering nearby.
“Pah—what a vicious family.”
“Why aren’t you getting the money ready? If you don’t, I say your family’s going to be carrying a death on your backs.”
“Being related to your family is eight lifetimes of bad luck.”
……
Amid the villagers’ curses and hostile stares, Gu Jiandang’s fists clenched tight. But he couldn’t lash out—if he did, he’d become an outcast in the village. He could only swallow his anger and go home to get the money.
“What are we going to do now?” Zhang Cuihua said through clenched teeth. “Both kids were beaten so badly, Gu Li’s reputation is ruined, and we still have to give money to the third branch?” Thinking about losing money and suffering disaster at the same time made her grind her molars in rage. Two hundred and fifteen yuan—that was money their family would need two years to save. If they handed it over, there’d be almost nothing left at home.
Gu Jiandang looked at Gu Li and his face darkened. He didn’t want to pay either. He quickly came up with a plan and whispered to Zhang Cuihua, “Take good care of Xiao Li these next few days—make sure her face heals properly.”
“I’ll go ask around about the Pei family in the city. While Gu Rou hasn’t recovered yet, have Gu Li find a way to get together with Pei Jing directly.”
That way, no matter how good the third branch’s reputation sounded, it wouldn’t matter. Once the marriage was settled, there’d be no fear of not dealing with the third branch later.
Gu Rou’s coughing up blood had terrified her family, and she was immediately rushed to the hospital. After examination, the doctor said she had multiple abrasions and a sprained ankle. As for the vomiting blood, it wasn’t serious—it was due to pent-up emotions, and spitting it out was actually a good thing. Only after hearing the doctor say Gu Rou was basically fine did Li Xiufang finally stop crying.
As soon as Gu Rou arrived at the hospital, she fell into a deep sleep. As a doctor herself, she knew very well that this body didn’t have any real problems. The earlier vomiting blood was because the original owner had gone through too much emotional turmoil, compounded by Gu Rou’s own techniques. In reality, there was nothing wrong—if anything, she was just overly fatigued and needed good rest.
She slept for more than ten hours. When she woke up, it was already past midnight. Opening her eyes, she saw Li Xiufang asleep at the bedside. She carefully got up and went to the restroom to take care of business.
After coming out, Gu Rou realized she was starving. Seeing a lunchbox on the bedside table, she picked it up without hesitation and opened it. Inside was a chicken drumstick, a chicken wing, an egg, and a portion of mixed rice.
Gu Rou froze. Based on the original owner’s memories, she knew that this kind of food was considered top-tier in those times. Normally it was pickled vegetables or homegrown greens; seeing meat once every ten days or half a month already counted as a well-off family.
Gu Rou was just a daughter, and the family only raised three chickens. Li Xiufang had killed one outright to nourish her body—clearly, these parents truly loved their child and didn’t favor sons over daughters.
She cast a gentle look at Li Xiufang sleeping beside her, then picked up the big drumstick and started eating. Although the chicken hadn’t been cooked with much seasoning, she had to say—it was truly fragrant. Even eaten plain, there was a hint of sweetness to it.