Chapter 28: Gossip

After Manman finished her injection, Wu Zhiqiu asked what she wanted to eat. Manman hadn’t had anything good in a while; Fenglan was very frugal, and they rarely ate meat. When asked what she wanted, Manman didn’t know. She thought dumplings were delicious, but they were too much trouble to make.

Not wanting to trouble her grandma, she simply said she was okay with anything.

After settling Manman, Wu Zhiqiu went downstairs. Meat was nutritious! Buying meat was definitely the right choice!

There were many restaurants near the hospital, and since business was allowed again, there were plenty of stalls selling goods on the street.

Wu Zhiqiu bought a few apples, some bananas, and packed a portion of sweet and sour pork from a restaurant. The little girl would definitely love it. She also bought a pound of donkey meat dumplings and a bowl of meatball soup.

She hurried back to the hospital.

Meanwhile, back at the courtyard, after Wu Zhiqiu left, Li Mancang got up, ate the breakfast Wu Zhiqiu had left for him, and rode his bike to work.

Li Fengchun had planned to get up early to impress her parents by making breakfast, but when she woke up, her parents had already left.

There were no eggs left in the kitchen, and the food supplies were running low. Li Fengchun made herself a corn cake and then went to school.

The third son got up but didn’t dare to go outside. After listening for a while and hearing no movement in the house, he cautiously opened the door, poked his head out, looked around, and confirmed no one was home before he went out to wash up.

Everyone in the yard was busy eating or heading to work.

The third son went to the water tap in the middle of the yard to fill up water, and just then, the loudspeaker came out to get water too.

“Good morning, Aunt!” the third son politely greeted.

“Humph!” The loudspeaker snorted, not even giving him a glance, and went straight back inside without filling her bucket.

The third son… forget it, he wouldn’t stoop to her level!

He didn’t dare to expect breakfast at home anymore. After washing up, he rode his bike to work on an empty stomach.

At the entrance, the loudspeaker, Sister Liu, and a few other women from the neighboring courtyard were gossiping in the cold wind.

The loudspeaker was the main speaker, her mouth moving non-stop, and her hands gesturing excitedly.

As the third son was leaving, the loudspeaker suddenly stopped talking, and all four of them looked at him.

In their eyes, he saw disdain, contempt, disgust, and schadenfreude…

Needless to say, the women were gossiping about him!

“Hey, third son, are you going to the hospital?” the loudspeaker asked mockingly.

The third son hurriedly nodded, not knowing how to escape the gaze of the group.

The loudspeaker spat behind him, “Trying to save face, with his wolf-hearted, dog-lunged self going to the hospital?”

“A person who would push his niece to the brink for money is worse than a dog!”

“I heard he has his eyes on that He Meina, that worn-out shoe?” a woman from the neighboring courtyard said with a smirk.

“What pot matches what lid, a slut with a dog, eternal as heaven and earth!”

“I think they’re a good match, but don’t ruin someone else’s good child!”

Every word fell into the third son’s ears, and if he had heard someone say such things about his Meina normally, he would have argued fiercely.

But with Manman’s situation ahead, he didn’t dare to confront them. A yard full of women would surely come out to scold him!

Two fists couldn’t fight against four hands, let alone a group of women whose mouths were like machine guns!

Yesterday, the whole yard had searched for a long time, and their tempers were high. The third son didn’t dare to step into the line of fire now.

He could only pretend not to hear and hurried off to work!

When he arrived at his workplace, he felt that the way everyone looked at him was strange, and many were whispering and pointing at him behind his back.

The third son secretly cursed the loudspeaker.

In just a morning, the news about how he had almost driven his niece to death over his brother-in-law’s compensation had spread throughout the factory!

At the factory, the third son usually had a decent relationship with a few people, but now they avoided him like the plague. If they treated their own sister that way, how could they have any sincerity towards him?

There were whispers and pointing everywhere in the factory, and the third son didn’t even dare to look up while walking!

At noon, when he went to the cafeteria for lunch, he was met with the kitchen lady shaking her ladle. While others received heaping servings, he only got a ladle of soup, half of which was spilled.

Holding his lunch box, the third son looked at the plump lady serving food, who shot him a glare in return!

Fuming, he decided not to eat.

The serving lady spat, “What a thing! A wolf-hearted, dog-lunged person is not worth serving!”

Those waiting in line to get food were also gossiping about the third son’s situation.

The third son simply couldn’t accept the pointed fingers and whispers from his colleagues.

In the afternoon, he asked for leave from his supervisor, who shooed him away like a fly, telling him to leave quickly and not pollute the factory’s air!

As he exited the factory, the old gatekeeper looked at him with disgust!

Pushing his bike aimlessly down the street, the third son couldn’t understand how things had turned out this way.

The lady didn’t hit her child because of him; he just wanted to borrow some money from her, so what was wrong with that? Besides, hadn’t she lent him money before?

Wasn’t he just trying to protect the lady from his brother’s anger over money? Didn’t he act first to avoid being taken advantage of? How had he become so utterly despised?

Feeling lost and dejected, the third son didn’t dare to seek out Meina. He feared she would look down on him just like everyone else.

With nowhere else to go, he thought of his grandparents at his brother’s house.

His brother lived far away, and they hadn’t been in touch lately, so they probably didn’t know about his situation. It would be a good opportunity to go there for a meal.

When he arrived, he found the old man lounging in the living room with his legs crossed, eating a banana and watching TV, while the old lady munched on White Rabbit candies and drank milk powder.

The third son envied them, and tears streamed down his face.

“Third kid, what brings you here?” the old lady asked in surprise as she opened the door.

“I came to see you!” he replied.

The old lady pouted, “You come to see us and don’t bring anything?”

The third son awkwardly smiled, “Grandma, I haven’t received my wages yet, so I’m a bit short on cash!”

“If you’re short, then don’t wander around. Get home early and help out more!” The old lady didn’t even glance at her grandson.

“I just wanted to see you, Grandma, and thought I’d drop by,” the third son realized his grandparents didn’t seem very welcoming either.

“Oh, we’re doing just fine. Just go back after you’re done! Tell your dad we’re doing well here, and don’t come over if there’s nothing important!”

After the old man spoke, the third son felt he had nothing left to say!

He sat next to the old man, who had apples, oranges, bananas, various candies, and pastries like egg cakes and peach crisps on the coffee table.

The third son swallowed hard as his stomach rumbled a few times.

The old couple watched TV, and despite all the food, neither of them offered him anything to eat.

The old man and old lady were living quite comfortably these days.

Every time the old man saw something new, he would ask Wang Yue to buy it for them.

Wang Yue, wanting to make the old couple happy, had spent a lot of money this month, not sending any back to her family, but instead buying treats for the old couple.

As long as she could gather enough for overseas expenses, there would be plenty of opportunities to earn big money in the future! She planned to take her brothers and sisters abroad to earn a living together.

In the past couple of months, her family should understand her actions; she was doing it all for a better future for everyone!

At the same time, Wang Yue was also hoping that her mother-in-law would come to visit the old couple soon!

She wanted to settle things quickly; she didn’t want to sleep on the ground!