Font Size:
“Beaten? Who beat you? Shouldn’t the one who hit you be responsible for treating you?” Mrs. Gu furrowed her brows.
The situation at Widow Wu’s house was very bad. In the harsh winter, the mother and daughter nearly starved to death.
In the winter, when food was scarce at home, they typically only had one meal a day to stave off hunger—just enough to survive without starving.
Widow Wu had no husband, so the household only consisted of her and Baozi. Despite Widow Wu working tirelessly to earn a living, she could barely make ends meet.
The little bit of food left after winter would have to last them for several months.
Life was tight and extremely difficult.
The winter was extremely cold. Widow Wu took apart her late husband’s cotton coat, adding the cotton lining to the child’s clothes. She also saved food to give Baozi to eat, while she herself only ate wild vegetable dumplings. It was this way that they barely managed to survive the harsh winter.
The household was so poor that even a rat would have to leave behind two kernels of corn when it came.
In such a family, when Baozi was beaten, it was certain they had no money for medical treatment.
So, the one who did the beating should be responsible for the medical expenses, shouldn’t they?
“Some say it was Li Baobei who hit him, but Li Baobei denies it, saying it was Xu Wansui. Xu Wansui also denies it…”
“Xu Wansui’s father, Xu Chengxian, is a big, burly man, and he insists it wasn’t his son who did it. Baozi’s mother can’t do anything about it…”
As Gu Ningning spoke, tears uncontrollably streamed down her face.
“Sister Niannian , can you please help take a look at Baozi? He’s really about to die.”
Su Niannian watched as Gu Ningning cried, gasping for breath, and her heart ached deeply.
Normally, in a situation like this, she would never stand by and do nothing, especially now that Gu Ningning was pleading with her.
“Alright,” Su Niannian replied.
She wiped the tears off Gu Ningning’s face. “Ningning, don’t cry. Sister Niannian will do her best to save Baozi.”
However, the culprit who had beaten Baozi so badly would not be spared by Su Niannian, of that she was certain.
Things will eventually be made clear, won’t they?
“There’s no time to waste. Let’s go now,” Su Niannian said, having heard from Gu Ningning that Baozi was already on the verge of death.
Without hesitating, she took Gu Ningning’s hand and left.
“Aunt, I’ll take Ningning to see him first,” Su Niannian turned to Gu Zhi and said.
“Alright, go quickly,” Gu Zhi replied.
She also pitied Widow Wu, who had lost her husband at a young age. Baozi, just like her own Ningning, was small and frail, living a pitiful life.
During the past winter, Gu Zhi had even given Widow Wu ten jin of dark flour and two jin of cornmeal.
“Ah, I hope Niannian can save Baozi…” Mrs. Gu murmured, watching Su Niannian’s departing figure.
As long as there was still hope, Su Niannian would definitely be able to save Baozi.
Mrs. Gu thought to herself.
Gu Ningning pulled Su Niannian along, running quickly toward the place where Baozi and his mother had been earlier.
Not long after, they ran into Gu Nan, who had just finished work.
“In such a hurry, where are you going?” Gu Nan asked, noticing how quickly they were moving. He thought to himself, Could something have happened?
“It’s Baozi, Baozi is going to die. I’m taking Sister Niannian to save him,” Gu Ningning said anxiously.
Only then did Gu Nan notice the tear stains on Gu Ningning’s face.
“I’ll go with you,” Gu Nan said, also worried that something else might have happened. Having him there would provide an extra layer of protection.
Su Niannian nodded.
Soon, Gu Ningning led them to the spot where they had seen Baozi and his mother earlier, but when they arrived, the place was empty, and the two of them were no longer there.
“Ningning.” A child playing with an iron hoop nearby called out when he saw Ningning.
“He Ping, where are Baozi and his mother?” Gu Ningning asked anxiously.
“They went to Xu Chengwei’s house, the one who raises pigs. Baozi’s mother only managed to borrow a few cents, not enough to take Baozi to the county for treatment.”
“Yes, the adults all think Baozi’s family is poor and that they can’t repay the money. Even Aunt advised Baozi’s mother not to treat him anymore. Without Baozi, she could remarry without any baggage.”
“Baozi’s mother said that if Xu Chengwei doesn’t give her money to treat Baozi, she’ll die in front of his house.”
Gu Ningning’s little friends took turns speaking, each adding their piece.
In truth, it was possible that both Li Baobei and Xu Wansui could have been the ones to hurt Baozi. Baozi’s mother only went to Xu Wansui’s family, which showed that she likely knew there was no way to get money from the village chief, Lu Guofu.
This was a last-ditch effort.
“I know where Xu Chengwei’s house is.” Gu Nan took Su Niannian’s wrist and headed toward Xu Wansui’s house.
Gu Ningning quickly followed behind them.
Although Gu Ningning felt a bit disdainful of Gu Nan for forgetting his sister now that he had a wife, this wasn’t the time to dwell on that.
After all, Gu Ningning didn’t know how to treat Baozi. Gu Nan just wanted to get to Xu Wansui’s house as quickly as possible.
As they neared Xu Wansui’s house, they could already hear the noise from a distance. It was lunchtime, and people were taking a break from work, so there was quite a crowd gathered. The scene over there was already chaotic.
Gu Nan led Su Niannian through the crowd toward the entrance of Xu Wansui’s house.
There, they saw Widow Wu, holding a rusty axe that had clearly seen better days.
If that axe were to cut someone, it would likely lead to tetanus.
Not far away, Xu Chengwei stood with his hands on his hips, showing no fear at all. He felt confident that he had a hundred ways to subdue the frail woman in front of him.
As for Baozi, he was now lying on the ground, covered only by a tattered blanket. His face was still red, indicating he was still alive. If he were dead, his face would have turned a deathly pale.
“Put the axe down first. We’ll talk about this slowly,” Jiang Aiguo had also arrived at this moment. Seeing that Wu, the widow, was emotionally agitated, he hoped she would calm down for a moment.
“If you don’t have the money to treat Baozi, I can help cover the expenses for now. But if you cause a scene here, if someone gets hurt or dies, you’ll be arrested.”
Jiang Aiguo slowly approached Wu the widow, hoping to persuade her to put down the rusted axe.
“Don’t come any closer! I don’t want to hurt anyone, but my Baozi, my Baozi is going to die!”
“If Baozi dies, no one who harmed him will get away with it!”
“I’ll drag all of you down with me. You’ve bullied us too much!”
“I’ve struggled so much just to stay alive, and Baozi is still so young—why? Why do you have to bully the both of us?”
“I just want to raise Baozi properly! I want to see him grow up, marry, and have children of his own.”
“It’s all his fault! It’s all his son’s fault! They’ve ruined my Baozi like this!” Wu widow’s emotions were completely uncontrollable.
The years of pent-up frustration seemed to explode in that moment.
She didn’t want to end up like this, widowed at such a young age. She wanted to give Baozi a good life.
She had worked so hard, but as a woman in the countryside, all she knew was working the fields. Despite everything, her meals were poor, and her nutrition was lacking. No matter how hard she worked, she could only keep herself and Baozi from starving.
This was a vicious cycle— the less she earned, the worse her food, the worse her health, and the fewer points she could earn.
She felt truly trapped, so incredibly hard to bear.
“Secretary Jiang, there’s no need to reason with her. If she dares to strike, I’ll kill her today! Let her die with her son!”
This statement was like a lit fuse, setting off the storm within Wu widow’s heart.