Ye Qingxue rushed over in a hurry. Before he could even drink a sip of water, he urged Ye Xiu’e to leave with him immediately.
Ye Xiu’e quickly asked what had happened, and Ye Qingxue briefly explained.
It turned out that Su Wanwan’s maternal grandmother, Old Madam Ye, had suddenly fallen ill and was on the verge of death.
Hearing this, Ye Xiu’e didn’t dare delay. She entered the room, picked up her medical box, took Su Wanwan’s hand, and prepared to leave.
She glanced back at the room.
They had only just finished dividing the household and hadn’t even had time to tidy up.
Just as they stepped out, they ran into He Liang, who had come to deliver the money.
Ye Xiu’e accepted the money and explained the situation to him.
He Liang told her to hurry over and promised he would watch over her belongings.
With him there, none of the things assigned to her would go missing.
Reassured, Ye Xiu’e left.
However, she was too focused on her mother’s condition to notice the greedy look in Ye Qingxue’s eyes when he saw the money.
The three hired a donkey cart and rushed toward the Ye family.
On the way, Ye Xiu’e asked how her mother had suddenly become ill.
Old Madam Ye was only fifty years old.
She ate more than a young man and could walk ten li in one breath without panting.
Her body was even stronger than Ye Xiu’e’s.
Ye Qingxue stammered and only said that Old Madam Ye had fallen on her own.
Su Wanwan was also thinking about Old Madam Ye.
Mainly, Old Madam Ye didn’t like Su Wanwan and her mother, so Ye Xiu’e rarely returned.
Su Wanwan had always been timid, and her grandmother disliked her.
Every time they visited, she would huddle silently in one spot like a quail, barely raising her head.
Based on vague memories, Su Wanwan roughly understood what kind of person Old Madam Ye was.
It wasn’t only Su Wanwan and her mother that she disliked.
Old Madam Ye disliked every granddaughter.
She held a stubborn preference for sons over daughters.
Whenever there was good food or clothing at home, sons and grandsons got first priority.
Daughters-in-law and granddaughters could only watch from the side.
The women in the family were all dissatisfied, but there was nothing they could do.
After all, Old Madam Ye was capable.
She managed everything inside and outside the household.
The one she loved most was her third son, Ye Qingxue.
The eldest, Ye Qingyou, was honest and kind. He had one son and one daughter.
Unfortunately, he suffered from goiter, commonly known as big-neck disease, which affected his mental state.
Because of his illness, he couldn’t work and needed others to care for him.
Naturally, Old Madam Ye didn’t treat him well.
The second son, Ye Qingyuan, was healthy enough, but his wife had “failed” in Old Madam Ye’s eyes.
She had given birth to two daughters in a row.
For someone who favored boys, Old Madam Ye found that hard to accept.
The third son, Ye Qingxue, was the youngest.
He had a sweet mouth and knew how to please her, often making her smile.
With Old Madam Ye’s favoritism, Ye Qingxue gradually became lazy and gluttonous.
He never helped with household chores and often skipped work outside.
He was especially skilled at slacking off and playing tricks.
Second Brother Ye disliked him the most.
But Old Madam Ye liked him, and with her backing him, nobody could do much.
Oh, right.
There was also Su Wanwan’s grandfather, Ye Jiangang.
He was almost forgotten because Old Madam Ye’s presence overshadowed him so completely.
However, the whole family’s food and expenses depended on him.
In his younger years, Ye Jiangang had fought in war and later retired honorably due to injury.
He received a monthly subsidy of twenty yuan.
Although his injury later improved, it often relapsed, forcing him to rest in bed every few days.
As Su Wanwan thought about all this, the donkey cart arrived at her grandmother’s home.
Fortunately, it wasn’t too far.
The ride had only taken about half an hour.
Ye Xiu’e jumped off the cart, lifted her daughter down, and hurried into the house.
But Ye Qingxue called her back.
It turned out he had no money for the fare.
How badly had he fallen if he couldn’t even produce one jiao?
Helpless, Ye Xiu’e quickly paid the fare and entered Old Madam Ye’s room.
The entire family, young and old, stood inside with sorrowful expressions.
Old Madam Ye lay motionless on the bed.
Ye Xiu’e’s nose stung.
She hurried forward to check on her.
Su Wanwan followed beside her and quietly placed a small hand on Old Madam Ye’s wrist.
Her heart jumped.
There was no pulse.
Ye Xiu’e took a stethoscope from her medical box and listened to her mother’s chest.
There was no heartbeat.
Her own heart turned cold, and she immediately burst into tears.
Seeing her reaction, everyone else understood.
Things were bad.
They began crying too.
But what they cried for was not Old Madam Ye.
They were crying for their own future lives.
Although Old Madam Ye was unfair and favored some over others, she managed the entire household.
Without her, the family had lost its backbone.
How were they supposed to live now?
The most panicked person was Ye Qingxue.
He had always lived under his mother’s protection, carefree and comfortable.
He hadn’t even married yet, and now Old Madam Ye was gone.
Second Brother Ye immediately stepped forward and kicked Ye Qingxue hard.
The kick was heavy enough to send him sprawling.
“You useless wastrel! You angered Mother to death!”
Ye Qingxue’s leg hurt terribly, but he didn’t dare argue.
Old Madam Ye’s death really was related to him.
Today was the first day of the twelfth lunar month, the day they collected the brigade subsidy.
He had volunteered to collect the money.
Old Madam Ye had repeatedly warned him to return early because they needed the money to buy medicine for Ye Jiangang.
She waited and waited, but her beloved son never returned.
Instead, a group of village bullies arrived.
It turned out that after collecting the money, Ye Qingxue had gone gambling.
Not only had he lost the twenty yuan, but he also owed over one hundred yuan.
The creditors came to collect.
Naturally, Old Madam Ye didn’t have the money.
Even if she did, she wouldn’t have given it to them.
The village bullies became angry and started grabbing the family’s belongings.
The women and children were so frightened they hid inside and didn’t dare come out.
The rice, flour, grain, and oil from the kitchen were all carried away.
Then the bullies tried to take the egg-laying hens.
Old Madam Ye went forward to stop them.
But how could she compete with several young, strong men?
She had been strong-willed her whole life and had never suffered such humiliation.
Her blood rushed upward, and she fainted on the spot.
The bullies panicked after causing trouble and ran off without even taking the chickens.
Knowing he had caused disaster, Ye Qingxue hid outside and didn’t dare return.
When he finally dragged himself home, this was the scene he found.
He and Second Brother Ye quickly carried Old Madam Ye onto the bed.
Then he ran to inform Ye Xiu’e.
He hadn’t expected things to become this serious.
Old Madam Ye had actually been angered to death by him.
Thinking that the mother who loved him most was gone just like that, he felt like killing himself.
Second Brother Ye continued hitting him, and Ye Qingxue simply allowed it.
Eldest Brother Ye cried loudly.
Because his goiter meant he couldn’t handle emotional distress, his wife Zhou Xiaonan comforted him from the side.
Second Brother Ye’s wife, Wu Yulian, protected the children and sobbed.
The room was filled with crying, curses, and screams.
Watching everything, Su Wanwan also felt a deep sadness.
Her grandmother had been shrewd her entire life.
She probably never imagined she would end up like this.
Then Su Wanwan looked back at Old Madam Ye.
Suddenly, she saw Old Madam Ye’s finger move almost imperceptibly.
Su Wanwan jumped in fright.
Was this a corpse coming back to life?
She tugged Ye Xiu’e’s sleeve.
Ye Xiu’e was crying bitterly. Through tear-filled eyes, she looked at her daughter.
Su Wanwan pointed at Old Madam Ye.
Ye Xiu’e looked over and was startled too.
Old Madam Ye had actually turned over and was now lying facing inward.
Everyone noticed it.
The crying, cursing, and screaming stopped abruptly.
What… was going on?
Had Old Madam Ye come back to life?
But judging from Ye Xiu’e’s reaction earlier, she had clearly been beyond saving.
Could it have been a misdiagnosis?